Singapore day two Monday 14/11/11

Tried to follow some of the Little India walk from the web but as we couldn't print it our precis wasn't too good and we were starting in the middle so it didn't quite work out but what we did was iteresting. We ended up in Serangoon shopping centre, very old crowded and asian. Trago mills came to mind, however we found several things we were looking for so it was good. Back to Clarke quay and Selangor pewter shop, where we eventually decided against the 'school of hard knocks' where we could have a go at making our own bowl, mainly after seeing some of the examples! Iced coffee overlooking the river.. very brown after yesterdays rain. Had lunch in the food court of the centre over the MRT station. OK but a bit pricier than yesterday. Back on the train to Marina bay heading for the Artscience museum which was a 15 minute walk which we expected to be in the blazing sun, but after a block through a building site we got into the sshopping precinct attached to the conference centre. Very very swish. Shades of Las Vegas casinos, which isn't surprising as it is owned by the Sands corporation that owns half of the casinos in LV. Got into the museum and went through a brilliant Titanic exhibition, complete with reproduction of the central staircase, and quite a number of artifacts from the seabed. Went on to look at the rest of the museum and were disappointed to find that only two rooms were open. One of those was just a ten minute video display and the other was interactive pc screens with very limited information, supposedly thought provoking, but wikipedia is more stimulating. As we had tea in the cafe we watched water pouring from a hole in the roof into a pond in the middle, and spent some time discussing if it was a water feature or rainwater harvesting. It turned out to be the latter and there was a severe thunderstorm raging outside. Back to the convention centre shops and discovered that the World Orchid Convention was being held in the building. At the ticket desk we found we could get in for only 9 dollars each and there was a vast hall full of orchid displays. That kept us amused for a couple of hours, and we found a cafe there too. Not the usual rip off event pricing, but a substantial meal for two with soft drinks for about 9 pounds. Made a few attempts to trace Charles Stuart who we recalled was there as a judge. Hadn't previously noted that he'd be here at the same time as us. Leaving the centre we were pleased to find it had stopped raining so the trip home was quick and uneventful.