I was lucky enough to meet a local of Singapore on the plane her name was Ruth Chew, and we got on like a house on fire, she had an English boyfriend working in Hong Kong (i think) so her English was very good (most people in Singapore speak English i found out to my Pleasure)
It was the day before Chinese New Years Eve, and there would be great celebrations in Singapore,
i was looking forward to seeing the fireworks, Ruth said she would join me and we both met near the waterfront where the main celebrations would be.
First we had a meal overlooking the river/bay then at midnight the fireworks started a great display, after that the Dragon started his dance (on poles) this was fabulous,
the dragon dance with colourful Chinese lanterns hung everywhere , dancing shows, and the smells of cooking food at the local stalls made the atmosphere magical.
On our way home Ruth invited me to her family dinner on New years eve the most important day to the Chinese, and greatly honoured i excepted.
I met Ruth at a underground Station near her Uncles place where her family would be celebrating, i arrived with a couple of presents and they gave me money in a red envelope with little clementines/oranges a very traditional gift meant to bring you luck and prosperity,
the evening was great fun and I was an honored guest,
I tossed a salad with the rest of the family (another tradition) then we tucked in to all the different food served,at the end of the evening I was driven back to my hotel,
I felt that I was very Lucky to have been invited to such a family evening.
In Singapore, one of "the places to go" is the famous Raffles, for a Singapore Sling,
and i thought would treat Ruth for being so kind,
we both had a good look around the great old Hotel and enjoyed our Singapore slings in the upstairs bar overlooking the courtyard, then after that we went for a meal at a local Restaurant just newly opened, which was a great hit with both of us.
Next i did the city tour, seeing Little India and China town ending up in the Botanic Gardens with a wonderful display of Orchards.
I loved Singapore, but on to my next Stop, Bangkok.
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