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HE SAID... Waking refreshed is a great way to start a holiday. We had a late arrival into
Singapore the night before (we didn’t get to the
The Quincy until 11.30pm). However, the hotel was fantastic, so it didn’t matter in the least. After a very lazy breakfast we showered and jumped on a bus to see the city bustling through its daily routine. We drank hot chai tea from a plastic bag in Little India (which was sensational), strolled along the river with fighter jets thundering overhead, wandered through the temples and back streets of Chinatown, avoided the jewellery madness at Qualitas and tested our cameras on the orchids in the Botanical Gardens. We then headed back to the hotel and lunched on
char kway teow and
hokkien mee. The food was fiery and sensational (Ren asked for extra spice, and the tiny red chillies nearly knocked our heads off)!
Unfortunately, a work project needed to be completed, so we had to spend the rest of the afternoon in the hotel room writing a report due in mid-June. With free cocktails on offer between 6 and 8pm, we headed down for a pre-dinner drink before walking the streets in the
balmy evening heat. Singapore is a clean and calm city. I’m not sure if this is a misguided perception on my part, but it doesn’t seem to have the hardness and energy of cities like Hanoi and Bangkok. Not that this is a bad thing – it was great to be able to cross the road without fear of death by a thousand motorcycles. After exploring the labyrinth of underground food halls in Orchard Street, we wandered back to the hotel and dined on
seafood sambal and
mee goreng. Once again, it was fiery and sensational.
I decided to start the next day with a swim in the infinity pool on the 12th floor. It was my first experience of an infinity pool, and it was fantastic. The view of Singapore was exceptional, and at one end of the bottom of the pool there was a section that was completely clear, so it felt like swimming in mid-air. Looking down, I could see people walking to work. I didn’t want to leave, but eventually my eyes succumbed to the chlorine. I’d forgotten to take my room keycard with me, so I couldn’t access any floors on the lift. There
was only one option – I had to catch the lift to the lobby and get a new keycard from reception. It would have been OK, but an incredibly efficient cleaning lady decided to mop the water dripping from my board shorts. The job had to be done, so as I stood waiting for my new card, she mopped the floor around my feet. I’m not sure what everyone having breakfast were thinking, but I was so relieved to get my keycard.
After a quick shower we headed down to breakfast. Fresh fruit and yoghurt, dahl and roti, coffee and croissants – fabulous! We headed back to the room to pack and prepare. We were meeting a friend for lunch and flying out to London at 11pm, so we had the whole day ahead of us to embrace Singapore.
We walked to
Taste Paradise on the top level of Ion Orchard and met MaryAnn with her tiny baby daughter Amelie. We lunched on Dim Sum and enjoyed an ever flowing pot of jasmine tea. It was fantastic food, although I need to learn how to eat steamed custard buns without the custard ending up all over the table
in front of me. The waitress needed to cover the mess with a napkin. We said goodbye to MaryAnn and Amelie and walked back to the hotel. It was a humid afternoon, so we changed into our air-travel fatigues and caught a taxi to Changi Airport.
We checked in, found a comfortable sport near our departure gate and settled in to finish the report we’d been working on. Hunger set in at 8.30pm, so we picked a selection of sushi from
Sakae Sushi and spread the food out over a spare seat between us. It was incredibly fresh and surprisingly good. This had been a long day, and we had a long flight ahead of us. We loved the atmosphere of Singapore, and we could easily return for a longer, relaxing break. However, Turkey was always on our mind, and we were another step closer to this new culture that is promising so much.
SHE SAID... After all the countless hours we have spent transiting through
Singapore’s Changi Airport over the years, it is odd to think that this is the first time we walked through customs and immigration and out into Singapore-land. It was a
late night arrival and as we had expected, we were extremely tired. So we were very glad for the very efficient airport processes and the seamless airport pick up service. It was 29 degrees and very humid when we landed at 10:30pm.
It is usually normal for both of us to turn into on-the-go energiser bunnies for the first few days in any new place...but for these two days we have both embraced lazy lounging around, partly through the necessity of Andrew having a few hours of work to complete. And it is quite fortunate that we have picked a funky little hotel which fits our needs exactly. 😊
We are staying at
The Quincy, a superb little boutique hotel on a quiet street off Orchard Road. We had ‘ummed and arred’ about staying here because it’s a full-board hotel (inclusive of all meals, all non-alcoholic drinks, a complimentary mini bar and alcoholic drinks/cocktails in the evening). We also didn’t want to miss out on the street and hawker food that Singapore is famous for. In the end, brilliant customer service and a superb deal won out. And now that we’re here, the gorgeously designed spaces, sigh-inducing room, beautiful
fittings, marshmallow soft cotton sheets and lovely skyline view have all confirmed that we made the right choice.
The driver from the airport was a retired law enforcement agent who used to work with the Australian Federal Police and had been to Australia many times. He was genuinely surprised to meet two Australians who hadn’t been to Singapore yet. He was full of information of what we may like to do in this city he was so proud of. He suggested a few ‘must-do’ eateries that he loved, and I’ve filed these for future trips (because I knew we wouldn’t get around to it this time).
I cannot speak highly enough of the
The Quincy. The staff are exceptionally efficient and just the right balance of helpful and friendly. This is in stark contrast to the usually over-staffed and hovering service in most Asian hotels. We got an added bonus of an upgrade to a corner suite - a nice welcome when arriving late and tired after an eight hour flight. I had a midnight bubble bath with a cup of earl grey tea before falling asleep watching the gorgeous cityscape lit up by a lightning storm. Much happiness.
😄
Even though we were quite tired on our first day, we felt we should make an effort to get our bearings and so we did a brief tour of the island. Little India was more touristy than I expected but the authentic takeaway chai in a plastic bag with a straw was delicious; the Marina Bay area was impressive but bland; the financial district was also impressive but bland; Chinatown was gorgeous and will definitely draw us back for further exploration; the main administrative area was filled with beautiful colonial buildings; the Merlion (Singapore’s mascot) was visited and the obligatory photo was taken; and by the time we visited the National Orchid Gardens I was seriously over it. However, even in my overtired state I could still acknowledge that the small selection of orchids we saw (of their 200+ species collection) was stunningly beautiful. We then hurried back to our hotel for some comforting air conditioning. Andrew had to work in the afternoon and I had planned on going shopping, but curling up in bed with a book and taking in the gorgeous view seemed more sensible. Later on after a few early evening drinks, we went out
into the night heat and humidity to explore Orchard Road’s after-dark entertainment – and I thought Hong Kong was a shopping mecca. I think I need to come here for a shopping trip with the girls!
I have to admit that I’ve been unfair to Singapore all these years. There is more to it than the clinical streets and bland brand shopping malls I had pictured. Typically the architecture is mostly ultra-modern, and like most Asian metropolises, the high rise reigns supreme here. However, there is also a collection of very interesting old colonial architecture, as well as old world Chinese and Malay designs. The city is sparkling clean and doesn’t smell like any typical Asian city (thanks to an invisible army of imported labour), but I think it’s a massive shame that all signs of living breathing street culture have been scrubbed off the landscape.
Singapore has a similar multicultural population to Malaysia, but it seems more palpable here – probably because it’s concentrated in a smaller space. There are old mosques with gilded domes around the corner from heavily perfumed jasmine garlands in front of ornate Hindu temples that were within metres of bundles of incense
sticks in antique Chinese Buddhist temples. This cultural medley was also hard to miss at meal times. Not only is there a wide array of cuisine choices available at every meal, but the quality and quantity of food stalls, cafes and restaurants here is astounding. The Singaporeans are really spoilt for food choices! On our first day there, we had an Asian flavoured English breakfast at the hotel, Malay and Chinese inspired dishes of
hokkien mee and
char kway teow for lunch, and
sambal seafood and
mee goreng for dinner. We ate at the hotel on the first day, and even though the hotel kitchen was staffed with local chefs, the clientele were predominantly western, so we asked for the meals to be served spicy. The waiter smiled knowingly and when the meals came to the table, I could smell the powerful chilli hit even before we saw the chopped up little scud missiles! I’ve had better
hokkien mee, but the other three dishes where the best I’ve had – just unbelievably delicious. The
kaya toast (a pandan flavoured coconut custard eaten with toast) was a definite breakfast highlight for me. Desserts were a disappointment for the most part, but
I had a fabulous experience of longan fruit with longan jelly in an almond soup that I know I’m going to dream of for a long time to come.
Andrew started the next morning with an early morning swim in the hotel’s infinity pool on level 12. It was such a cool space that I wished we’d thought to take our drinks to the couches up there last night. I then went back to our room with the access keycard completely forgetting that Andrew still needed to get back down to our room! I was very excited to try
dahl curry and roti for breakfast – it was interesting, but we both made sure to side step the little chillies innocently floating in the gravy.
We managed to get a late check-out and had a relaxing morning and afternoon. We caught up for a late lunch with our friend MaryAnn and her gorgeous new bubby Amelie who had moved here recently from Melbourne. Dim Sum at Ion Orchard’s
Taste Paradise was a fabulous pick by MaryAnn – the
Shanghai dumplings and the
fried carrot cake (a savoury dish of white daikon stir fried with eggs and vegetables) were
especially delicious.
Singapore should be my dream Asian city with its ultra clean streets and highly regulated hawker centres and food halls which are extremely organised and freakily spotless. I love the health inspector’s hygiene rankings which are mandatorily displayed on each stall. I should have been over the moon; but to be honest I missed the din, colour and organic-ness of street food in other Asian cities. Admittedly the food is mind-blowingly fantastic regardless of the setting.
The two days in Singapore having flown by very quickly, we are now heading to the airport for our long late night flight to London. I think we have found a stopover for future European trips, and I think we’ll be designing our next stop in Singapore around trying out as many hawker markets as possible. This is a great city for piggies! 😊
I sign off very much buoyed by our indulgent stopover and excited at the thought of seeing my favourite sister soon. Love you all long time!
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The Travel Camel
Shane Dallas
The joys of Singapore
Glad that you have finally discovered Singapore outside of Changi Airport; the wonderful food and comfortable environment is a perfect place to ease into and out of travels to more challenging or distant destinations.