Zai Jian Villanova, Ni Hao Hong Kong!: A Royal Visit to Singapore

Well, I’m down in Singapore for two weeks. My company thought it would be good to send me here to get a better feel for the place, seeing as I’ll be moving down for good before year’s end. So hopefully this is only the first in a long series of blog entries that I'll post from the Lion City. The goals of the trip are to look at various apartments and office spaces, and possibly even to make a commitment on a place to live or work before I leave.

I was originally only going to stay for one week, but when I realized the Singapore Grand Prix, a wildly popular Formula One race, was taking place the weekend after I was supposed to leave, I decided to extend my trip. As Kevin said, "It'd be stupid to miss the F1 by only four days. You might as well stay." Although the company is only paying for a hotel for this first week, I asked my friend Sonia if I could stay with her for the second half of my trip. Since she graciously said yes to the request, I’ll get to check the Singapore F1 off of my “Asian to do list” very soon.

I flew down here on Monday evening. And until that very morning, I had no idea that Prince William and Kate Middleton would be in town on an official tour that would overlap with my own trip! As soon as I read about it online that day at work, I decided that if it were possible, I would try to see the royal couple during their visit.

As it turned out, I got to see them twice! Both yesterday morning and today there were events where the public had an opportunity to spend time in the presence of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge: yesterday, at the Gardens by the Bay, a new Singapore horticulture center, and this morning, at the Kranji War Memorial, where they paid tribute to soldiers of the Commonwealth who gave the ultimate sacrifice during the Second World War.

Armed with my Olympus Pen, I got some good shots of the couple. I had arrived significantly early for the first event, so I was stupidly close to the barricades at Gardens by the Bay separating the royals from the crowd. I was so close, in fact, that I even got to shake the Prince’s hand as he passed by and asked me how I was doing!

William and Kate left Singapore following this morning's event, and are currently headed to Kuala Lumpur, continuing their nine day journey in commemoration of Queen Elizabeth II’s diamond jubilee. Below are some of the photos I took over the past two days.

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The event on Wednesday morning was an opportunity for the Duke and Duchess to visit the newly opened Gardens by the Bay, a grand botanical garden near Singapore's iconic Marina Bay. They toured the facilities and then took about a half hour to mingle with the crowd of around three thousand people who had gathered to catch a glimpse of the young royals.

The 'Supertrees' of Gardens by the Bay

Sign directing visitors to the meeting area

Close-up detail of the 'supertrees' with the Marina Bay Sands behind

Schoolchildren at the event

A sea of Union Jacks and Singaporean flags

Prince William making his way past the gathered crowd

Shaking hands with the crowd

The Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton

Interacting with the schoolchildren

Prince William, with 'supertrees' and the Singapore Flyer behind him

I even got to shake his hand!

Kate was all smiles throughout the entire event.

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This morning's event was much more somber in tone. The couple did not mingle with the crowd who had gathered to see them. Instead they quietly laid a wreath at a war memorial on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip. They took a few moments to meet representatives of the armed forces and the British High Commission in Singapore and then spent about fifteen minutes quietly viewing the graves. It was very different from yesterday's more joyous event, but it was just as memorable and far more poignant.