Hello Boys and Girls and many, many greetings from beautiful Singapore!

 Christmas, New Year, sightseeing and the Singapore Volvo Ocean Race stopover was sooooooooooo fantastic. I just don't know where to begin ..... So I'll jump straight in and tell you all about my adventures. The Singapore Sports Council theme is LET'S PLAY so that's exactly what I did!

 Mrs. O'Bear was up for a fun time too and she never needed a second invitation to join in. In fact, a lot of the time, she was the cause of us having such fun and seeing so many fantastic sights. I'll tell you something , when the Volvo Ocean Race is over for this year, Theresa will certainly get a job with any world famous travel company - maybe Royal Caribbean Cruises , now that would be something for a travelling bear to sample. After all I've been through to get here (Green Dragon accommodation is certainly NOT 5 star) I do believe I need a luxury holiday to unwind and recover after the dust ... eh... waves settle.

The Race Village was really cool. It was on Sentosa Island at Sentosa Cove. I've been told that Sentosa Island was once a pirate hideaway ....argh, argh me hearties! Eventually it became a small fishing village and a long time later it became a British Military Base. Nowadays, Sentosa Island is a haven for activity and fun with beaches, a theme park, walking trails and a nature reserve.

We travelled to the highest point by cable car. From the Sky Tower you see the whole bay with lots of large container ships too. All the racing boats were lined up alongside too and would be good and ready for the off on the next leg to QingDao. But enough of sailing for now - we're ashore in Singapore with so much to see in such a short time. I must get my bearings and map and sort out my expeditions. Ian Walker and GD Shore Manager Johnny Smullen (Mr.O'Bear) are happy to pose with me before I venture outside to take in all the sights and sounds of this amazing port of call.

With so many sights to see and only so many hours in each day, a small bear like me has to plan ahead. So here I am with my Map of Singapore and my trusty camera. I also have with me my Walterstown School Travelling Bear Flyer. This is an information sheet which tells my story to any interested people I meet. I get so tired at times, telling the story of my travels, over and over again that Theresa thought a ready printed info sheet would do the trick. And it certainly does. There are many curious onlookers wherever I go - it isn't every day people meet a travelling bear involved in photo shoots in exotic locations. So I have my CV ready to pass around whenever I am asked for explanations.

In Singapore it was very easy to get around town - on foot, by rivercruise, subway, bus, taxi or by Trishaw. I did them all! (Except the bungy jumping which I have put on hold for another time. I had just eaten lunch and I wasn't sure where that would end up if I took the plunge! Mind you, now that I remember, Mrs. O'Bear was very keen that I should be the one to try out the Bungy Jump - not her. I wonder why??) We'll have to chat about that at a later stage. I may have to demand danger money.

This blog will be very long so my plan is to divide it up into as many interesting parts as possible. I certainly don't want my readership to go into data overload. The stopover in Singapore spanned many days so there really was time to see as many of the sights of this great city as possible. So I'll tell you about it in this way:

·       History of Singapore and the Merlion.

·       Botanical Gardens and Museums.

·       Raffles Hotel and the Esplanade.

·       Sightseeing funstops with Mrs. O'Bear.

·       Chinese New Year in Singapore.

·       In-port Race Day and the Blessing of the Fleet.

·       Onboard Green Dragon

 So you can see I have much to report and share with you. But for now I'll sign off and wish you all a Happy Chinese New Year - the Year of the Ox..... and a peek at my new wardrobe (courtesy of the Cool Bear Work Station Store - yes, really!!)

Slán go foil,

Pádraig the Bear ©