Blogs from Tiong Bahru, Singapore, Asia

Sunday, 11th April 2021 This was a weekend of discovery for me in Tiong Bahru, one of Singapore's most iconic neighborhoods dating back from the colonial era. I chose to stay at the D Hotel to take advantage of the off-peak promotional rates of SGD70 nett. This is a new-built cutesy building that looked like a nest from afar. Judging from the spacious room that I stayed in, it was definitely worth more than the price that I paid. In terms of food, both Tiong Bahru Pau and Tiong Bahru Bakery were literally minutes away. I spent the most part of my day strolling through the beautiful neighbourhood while trying to locate the oldest SIT Block 55 that was built in 1936 during the art-deco craze. There were also other eating opportunities at Ah Chiang's Porridge ... read more

Singapore is Asia but better. It’s a well-oiled, sophisticated business unit, ready to extract every last Singaporean cent you exchange, but also full of free tourist treasures like wandering around admiring the amazing variety of architecture from colonial shop-houses to the futuristic Marina Bay Sands hotel complex. And it’s the perfect stop over to the UK – four or five movies away from Auckland and you’re immersed in tropical heat from the chill of a NZ winter. The reason backpackers avoided it in the early years of its reinvention by Lee Kwan Yew - harsh rules about eating, drinking, smoking, chewing gum etc – is what makes Singapore such a beautiful place for baby boomers to visit. It’s clean, nearly litter free (unless you go to the ‘beaches’) safe and unthreatening. And you gotta admire their ... read more

On our first full day in Singapore we decided to explore the local area around our hotel (Tiong Bahru), visit the Botanical Gardens and then finish the day in Little India. Wangz Hotel staff are exceedingly friendly and over breakfast we were welcomed by Sylvia, the hotel PR rep who told us about the local attractions. Some years ago I bought Hazel an Alaskan gold nugget Seiko watch. It was old when bought and had never worked well. We thought that we might find a Seiko repair watchmaker in Singapore. A search of the internet showed that there was such a place in one of the streets near to the hotel and armed with a steetmap on my I-pod, we headed off to the watchmaker. When we eventually found the place after asking around, it was ... read more

So I made it to Singapore in one piece. Flew Des Moines to Denver, Denver to Tokyo, Tokyo to Singapore. Had a long and very boring layover in Denver because the Tokyo flight was delayed three hours. The only problem was my layover in Tokyo was only two hours. I was convinced there was no way I was going to catch my flight to Singapore but lucky for me I wasn't the only one who was going to Singapore so they held the plane an extra hour. Singapore Changi airport was impressive from what little I saw. Spotlessly clean with easy to read signs everywhere. Very efficient. Quick cab ride later and I'm at my hostel. From what I've seen of the city it's clean, quiet, and organized. I have to keep reminding myself to look ... read more