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Published: December 10th 2008
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Polly:
We had another awesome flight courtesy of Qantas. I'm actually starting to really look forward to them - the little hot towels, unlimited free drinks, and gourmet dinners. The last comment is deadly serious, the plane meals this trip have been top! On this flight we had a green salad with a separate vinagrette pot (no yucky white gloop), chicken in a mushroom sauce with sweet potato mash and tender green beans, yoghurt, and CRACKER BARREL cheese. Oh, how I miss cheese.
We also had those little personal TVs with films, music, games etc. Way too much fun for a 5 hour flight. I was quite disappointed when we landed. If only all transport was this luxurious.
When we got to Changi Airport we found some computers with free internet in the transit area so went to get a heads-up on Singapore. Whilst we were fairly clued up about our first few destinations, planning has gone somewhat by the wayside recently. It's actually quite fun just "winging it", though we haven't yet turned to the dice.
We went on to www.wotif.com - the best last minute accomodation website for hotels, and found a couple of good deals.
After comparing the cost against some of the dorm beds on hostelworld.com & hostelbookers.com we decided to get a hotel, as it wasn't that much more for the 2 of us. We booked online at the Fragrance Emerald Hotel in Geylang for 3 nights, costing about 32GBP a night per room.
To get to the hotel, and also most of the way around the city during our stay, we used the MRT (or Mass Rapid Transit), Singapore's underground network. The fares are about 30p and the thing is spotlessly clean and super-efficient.
The room in our hotel was also clean, had an en-suite, TV, hairdryer & air-con so we were more than happy. It was in the red light district, and there were young working girls lined up on chairs opposite the hotel, but really not a problem.
We went out to get some dinner and got pulled into the first place by a very bossy chinese woman. Her English was minimal & our Chinese non-existent so we ordered using pictures and a few basic words, but weren't really sure what we were going to get or how much it would cost. We had a spicy chicken/chilli/noodle
Aboard the MRT
Using the EZLink card dish which was good apart from the crushed chicken bones. The Tiger Beer was warm but after lots of gesticulation she provided us with an ice bucket. We were then unlucky enough to be talked at for what seemed like an age by a racist Welsh bus driver from Bridgend - just our luck.
The next morning we did a self-guided walking tour around Kampong Glam. We started at the Malaysian Heritage Museum, but were then halted by an almighty thunder storm/monsoon. The rain was a welcome break from the hot & sticky heat, but 10 seconds out from under cover and you were wet through. We ran in and out of shelter when the rain eased a bit and did most of the tour including a mosque, indian cloth markets & eateries. Most of the resaurants were Malaysian, but we actually went to an Indonesian where we shared a Nasi Goreng - Enak!
Due to the northeast monsoon, the weather is fairly unsettled at the moment and the heavens have a tendency to open at any moment. These rain storms are interspersed with sunny periods, where a lot of the surface water evaporates making it fairly sticky.
After our morning in the humid heat we needed a lie down back at the hotel. We fell asleep at about 4pm, woke up at 10pm, stayed awake for a few hours then slept for the whole night. Tough life this travelling lark!
The next day we wandered some more in the sweltering heat of downtown Singapore, then took refuge in the air-conditioned pods of the Singapore Flyer (like the London Eye). The views were pretty impressive; skyscraper after skyscaper - each trying to out-do the next; the Singapore Grand Prix starting grid; the many ships waiting to dock off the coast; and the construction of yet more bloody shopping malls. Everything was done to such a huge scale, you felt quite small...
Actually, you feel both small & big in Singapore. I don't consider myself a giant, but at times I was huge compared to some of the locals, and at 6ft Ross had a proper bird's eye view. I did see a dwarf, but then I wasn't sure if he was. Lots of funny things making me laugh, but being the racially sensitive soul that I am I won't go on.
That night we went
to a "resort" called Sentosa to see a sound & light show called "Sounds of the Sea", put together by the guy who did Beijing's Olympic ceremony. The show itself was pretty cool, with thunder & lightning adding to the experience. Sentosa on the other hand was a hideous tourist trap with crowds, stupidly overprized food and drink, and ropes and signs telling you where you could & couldn't walk, at what speed, and in which direction. Well, practically.
Singapore is weird like that, everything has to be in order - even if it's not really needed. You feel a bit like you want to do something naughty or make a stupid loud noise, just to break free from the rigidity of the place.
On our last day we went for lunch at Jumbo's (as per Dad's recommendation) for chilli crab. We were both crab virgins so were a bit apprehensive about the taste and how to actually eat it. After wrestling with the mighty beast and using nutcrackers and sharp implements, we had extracted all the meat out of the legs and were covered in a yummy chilli gravy. Good experience! We then very nearly made it
to the Red Dot Design Museum but got waylaid blogging in a coffee shop with free wireless.
That evening we got a 5-hour bus to Melaka in Malaysia, not overly sad to be leaving Singapore behind...
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