Singapore

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After a good eight hour flight from Sydney we arrived in steamy Singapore! We landed about 10pm and it was a very humid 22c.

We had booked into a hostel called Sleepy Sams in Kampong Glam, the muslim quarter. The hostel reception closes early so we were given the door pin code by Email and told to let ourselves in! Our 'private' room was at one end of a dormitory and so we had to walk through the dorm where people were sleeping. You couldn't swing a cat in our room as there was just enough space for the bed and that was about it! The walls were paper thin and the doors had open slats so you could hear absolutely everything. Unsurprisingly it didn't feel too private! Some of the other 'private' rooms didn't even have walls that went right up to the ceiling and in one of these rooms was a family with 2 young kids! They too helped to keep us awake the whole night with one coughing and the other crying! Jen even had to have a word with the mother on the 2nd night as the kids were still running around the outside dorm making lots of noise after 11pm! Our hostel was also located practically next door to the biggest mosque in Singapore so were awoken daily by the call to prayer at 4:50am! (We also heard it at 12:50pm and 6:50pm - daily!) 'Sleepy' Sams - we think not! Despite all this, the hostel was on a lovely pedestrianised street in a good area, within walking distance of the centre.

We hadn't quite realised we were going to be in Singapore in the rainy season so spent a bit of time dodging monsoon rainstorms! We were happy though as we found great food courts (or Hawker Centres as they're called) and coffee shops to shelter in! The food in the hawker centres is extremely cheap and there is a fantastic variety of tasty food to choose from (Thai, Chinese, Malaysian, Indian, Korean, Japanese and Western!). We had really good stir fry dishes, curries, flaky filled flatbreads called Murtabak often filled with chicken or mutton and cooked in a mild curry sauce (with an extra bowl of curry sauce to dip the bread in). Gordon tried one of the dessert specialities called Cendol which consists of coconut milk, noodles with green food colouring (!), palm sugar, red beans, glutinous rice, grass jelly, creamed corn, and shaved ice!! It looked weird but tasted really nice!! Jen loved the fruit smoothies and the slush drinks too!

We enjoyed walking around Clarke Quay and Boat Quay - two nice areas with trendy bars and restaurants. We passed the Merlion statue which spouts water into the Marina Bay. It seems to draw huge crowds but GG couldn't quite see the attraction! The Esplanade Theatre is nearby where we took in a free jazz show in the evening and walked out of a bar as it was far too expensive!! (The only place to get cheap drinks are the hawker centres). The city with all it's skyscrapers, colonial buildings and bridges looks stunning lit up at night.

Singapore has a ridicolously high number of shopping malls, especially along Orchard Road, which would take Jen a week to explore thoroughly! Lots of the malls are open till 10pm every night of the week and some cafes and restaurants are open 24 hours! For once Gordon didn't mind going into shops as the cool air-conditioned buildings were a welcome break from the heat (up to 35c) and humidity. While we were there the Christmas lights were switched on. They were really spectacular - the best Christmas lights we've seen anywhere! In some of the older shopping centres there are discos and karaoke bars which are really busy even on a Sunday afternoon.

During our time in Singapore Jen had to put up with extremely painful mozi bites on her wrist which errupted into big blisters and theywere really gruesome!

We wish we'd stayed longer than 4 days as there was quite a bit more we'd liked to have seen, e.g. the Botanic Gardens, Sentosa Island, the Night Zoo, Little India and the Singapore Flyer (a big wheel).

Next stop - Melaka, Malaysia!

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Comments

[Jan]

At last
At last I place on your travels that I have actually been to. I can actually relate to the things you are talking about although I didn't have Cendol, not as brave as Gordon. Glad to hear that you have some heat. It is currently -5 and snowing here. Bet you are sad that you are missing it. Take care of each other and see you soon Jan

[Sylvia]

Hello!
Singapore sounds absolutely great! Pity about Sleepless Sams though. I think the lack of sleep must have affected you Jennifer, judging from the photos of you and the statues. ( I admire the very arty one of Gordon and Merlion though!) t sounds like Paradise - the variety of food and the cheapness. I'll take your word for it that Cendol is delicious! The Christmas lights look good although not a patch on St Andrews! Looking forward to seeing you soon. You'll love it here. There'll be no problem concerning heart and humidity or even HEAT and humidity. That I can promise. Make sure you bring an umbrella. Lots of love Aunt S xx