On May 1, 2024 we docked at Singapore, our last port of call. Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island coumtry and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It is located about one degree of latitude north of the Equator, off the southern end of the Malay Peninsula. It is bordered by the Strait of Malacca to the west, the Singapore Strait to the south, the South China Sea to the east, and the Straits of Johor along with the state of Johor in Malaysia to the north. It has approximately 6 million people located in its 284 square miles. It was established by the British as a trading post in 1819 and colonized by the British in 1867, until after World War II when it joined the Malaysian federation. It became an independent state in 1965.

In the morning we took an excursion into the city to see some of the highlights of Singapore. Our first stop was at the National Orchid Garden which had a spectacular display of thousands of orchids and other tropical plants.

Then we drove through the city and passed some of the older colonial government buildings, as well as many new highrise structures, including the Marina Bay Sands Resort, a brand new three-tower complex that features a rooftop swimmimg pool and an observation deck.

Our next stop was along the city shopping area that features the Merlion which is the official mascot of Singapore. It is depicted as a mythical creature with the head of a lion and the body of a fish. It is widely used to represent both the city-state and its people in sports teams, advertising, branding, tourism and as a national personification.

Our last stop was a visit to Chinatown, a maze of narrow roads with many restaurants with traditional fare, including a locally popular chili crab. We also visted the 1827 Sri Mariamman Temple.

That afternoon we returned to the Seabourn Sojourn to begin the task of packing all of our luggage and getting ready for our disembarkation the next day. It was a bit sad saying goodbye to many new friends we had met on our “home away from home”.

On May 2, 2024 we left the Seabourn Sojourn early and were transferred to a local hotel where we had a room until later in the day.

We spent that day on our own and decided to visit the Gardens by the Bay, which is a nature park covering 250 acres in central Singapore, adjacent to the Marina Reservoir. The park consists of three waterfront gardens. The largest is Bay South Garden which is 130 acres and includes the Flower Dome, the largest glass greenhouse in the world, and the Cloud Forest that features trees from around the world and a large rock formation and waterfall.

In the afternnon we returned to the hotel and were transported to the Singapore International Airport for our 20-hour flight back home, which included a 3-hour stop in Tokyo. It was a long peaceful flight, a perfect ending to our four-month journey around the world.