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Published: March 24th 2011
Singapore has finally arrived!! Time to see some familiar faces, time to kickback in a snazzy hotel, time to enjoy some flash meals and, above all, time to walk down some CLEAN streets - no sewage, not even chewing gum to turn our tired noses up at!! India was a truly wild experience (and no regrets) but, phew...its good to be back in civilization!
After hopping on and off three planes from Mumbai (and squeezing in a snooze in Kuala Lumpur) we touched down in Changi Airport. We were both by this point really excited to see our parents - my mum and dad would be arriving later that evening and Claires expert powers of persuasion meant her dad had already touched down in Singapore after booking a late deal. After hopping on the completely spotless Metro into town (London, Paris, Rome, Berlin etc take note!) we arrived at our flash hotel for the next four nights. Honestly couldn't keep it together when we got into the room and spotted the widescreen TV, bathrobes and minibar!
Later that day we caught up with our parents and headed down to Clarke Quay (one of Singapores snazziest nightspots) where we were
treated to a few celabratory beers and some Indonesion cuisine. We were all really delighted to see each other after three months apart - who would have thought a few months ago (when we said our goodbyes at a snowy Waverly station) that the five of us would be enjoying the bright lights of Singapore together?!
The next few days were mainly spent sightseeing - and always started off with us making the most of our massive complimentary breakfast each morning! Museums, art galleries, bus tours, shopping and general wondering around made the days fly by. We were all blown away by how green, clean and modern the whole city was. All the designer shops, cafe culture and soaring sky scrapers seemed more South Manhattan than South Asia! Not that the city seems to have lost its Eastern roots - its just really cool how one minute you can be walking through the bustling streets of China Town and next you are on top of a massive sky scraper with a huge boat plonked on top of it - see the photos for proof!
On our second night in Singapore night we decided to get back to our
backpacker routes and the five of us headed to Singapores famed Hawkers Market on Smith Street - the concept being a long line of benches that run parallel to various street stalls selling all types of Asian cuisine. A particular thumbs up for the tasty chicken satay! And a thumbs down for the Vietnaamese restaurant that kept my old man waiting for over half an hour only to give him the completely wrong food. Maybe not everyone in Singapore speaks such immaculate English!
We spent the following day doing some more sightseeing - The Quays, Little India and Chinatown were now well mapped out. That afternoon Claire and her dad went to explore Singapore past at a nearby museum whilst the rest of us hit Orchard Road for a bite of lunch and some shopping! That night we all met up with Tina, Kate and Paul who had just jetsetted in that day. We had a drink at Clarke Quay before heading back to the hawkers market for some cheap grub. Several tequilas (and even some imported Strongbows) later we were dancing the night away with the locals in one of Singapores grandest nightclubs - minus the rents unfortunately!
The following moring all that partying came back to haunt us when we were up bright and breezy for a trek through the rainforests of Bukit timah National Park. We were absolutely gutted - the place was like spending three hours on the travalator - just just hill after hill! No wonder that night it was time for a Singapore Sling from the famous Raffles hotel. By this point we were hugely relieved to be sauntering around Singapore with our parents because this city ain't cheap!
The next day was my parents last in Singapore so after an action packed day of coffee drinking and brownie munching we went out for some dinner and drinks before saying our goodbyes. Was kind of weird saying cheerio in such a distant place - especially knowing my parents are off back home - somewhere that seems so long ago for the two of us!
The next few days were an action packed mix of strolling the streets, cable carring across the city and even (in my case) taking a dip on a beach out at Sentosa Island - a very strange experience with huge container ships sitting just offshore! Claire
even found time to try her hand at some pewtering! We also got pretty adventurous with the local food - me and Mike trying the famed (but incredibly smelly) Durian fruit one afternoon. Yuk - this stuff smells so bad it is banned on the underground! And if our stomachs hadn't already had enough we even tried a local delicacy dessert at the hawker market - a scrumptious mix of crushed ice, dates, food colourings, chocolalate sauce and, wait for it, creamed sweetcorn!
On our last night we toasted the week with some more Tiger beers and some amazing Spanish Tapas down at Clarke Quay. It has been a really fantastic break - great to see the parents and we couldn't have picked a better destination. Since leaving me and Claire have said this is the first city on our entire trip we could really see ourselves living in.
So what else can we say? Well I suppose a big thank you to our parents for funding such a fantastic week of fun!
Next stop Oz!
James and Claire x
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Donkers Big Trip
Mark Donkin
Great Blog
Loved reading about your adventures. Nice to see you doing lots of trips and not just chilling on the beach. Your blog has given me plenty of ideas for my up coming trip. Cheers