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Published: November 8th 2007
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Thursday 1/11/07: We’ve reached the first stop on our big trip: Singapore. To get here, we had to persuade Champers that our luggage didn’t have room for her and persuade the air hostesses on Singapore Airlines that we didn’t have room for more food in our bellies. The view from the aircraft was amazing with reds across Australia , greens and blues over the water, whites and volcanic browns on the Indonesian islands before we touched down at Changi airport. After battling through the shock of the humidity and a misleading tourist map, we checked in at The Betel Box Backpackers Hostel, a very comfortable hostel located on Joo Chiat Road, Joo Chiat (a heritage district about halfway between the airport and the CBD). We stretched our legs, found some bread and fruit to eat, then the lack of sleep and 3 hour time difference caught up with Michael who slept until late the next morning.
Friday 2/11/07: A great start to the day - green bread for breakfast! (Pandan bread - very nice with strawberry jam). We caught the bus into town and checked out the legendary Raffles Hotel, named after Singapore’s colonial founder. We walked down Orchard Road,
Singapore’s premier shopping strip, indulging in some window shopping. Michael’s Singaporean friend Nigel came into town to meet us for lunch at an eatery that has been serving great Hainanese chicken, rice and pork dishes for more than 40 years. As the monsoon threatened with some heavy drops and thunder, we gambled with a river cruise on a bumboat. The very enthusiastic captain took our photos in front of the major landmarks: the Read Bridge, the Merlion, and the Esplanade.
The Merlion was the most popular of the tourist attractions with many people on land and on water competing for the best angle (here’s Michael’s best effort). After relaxing for 45 minutes on the boat, we walked past Raffles’s statue to the Asian Civilisations Museum. As recommended by several people, it really is excellent. The museum displays artefacts depicting the history of people in Asia, with the notable exclusion of Japan - in the famous words of Basil Fawlty “don’t mention the war!”. The special exhibition on the spread of Buddhism was a highlight.
The evening was taken up with a walking tour by Tony, the owner of the hostel. Strolling around the local district, we learnt about
its history, customs, architecture, conservation efforts in the area and, most of all, about the food. Like so many aspects of Singapore, the dishes reflected the mix of immigration and traditions. From freshly made Popiah (spring rolls) at a third generation establishment, to Eurasian (the Irish stew was the best, with the shepard’s pie a close second, followed by chicken curry on toast!), and finished off with a selection of iced desserts. A few firsts: durian (a fruit banned from most hotels that tastes better than it smells, but not enough to warrant a repeat), iced cream corn (was I really that hungry at the end of the night?).
Saturday 3/11/07 After a late breakfast which included the addition of Coconut Jam (a gift from Nigel) to our Pandan Bread, we caught a lovely air-conditioned bus to the Changi Chapel and Museum. The sadness and suffering of the people in the prison came through very strongly from the exhibits, but this was tempered by the strength, hope, courage and compassion shown not just by the military and civilian prisoners, but by local people who risked much to help the prisoners. Just down the road from the chapel is the
jetty from which we took another bumboat to Pulau Ubin. Once on the island, we haggled with a local to hire a couple of bicycles to explore the island including a trip to the far side of the island, where apparently the snorkelling was good. Ha! Believe the locals, not the guide book: the water was most uninviting. So instead of a refreshing dip, we cycled back in the heat to the ferry, and the comfort of an air-conditioned bus to take us back to the hostel. A quick snack of steamed chicken bun and baked pork bun, then nothing active (i.e. sleep and blog writing) for the rest of the afternoon. As we were venturing out for dinner to experiment with some more of the local flavours, we were met by Tony who led us to his favourite hawker stall. The locally preferred dining experience is at hawker markets, large under-cover eating areas with many food stalls competing for your business. Our dinner of roast duck, pork, cucumber, rice and various chilli sauces was simply delicious - Michael passed on the shrimp chilli paste!
Sunday 4/11/07: A morning expedition to Sim Lim Square, a six storey shopping complex
dedicated to all things electronic, was very exciting with spruikers left and right trying to lure you into their store, handing you wads of pamphlets and offering you a free taxi to your hotel if you buy from them. We continued our (window) shopping tour of the city with a stroll through the Little India district. The highlights were the Little India Arcade selling everything from fresh produce and spices to jewellery and souvenirs and Michael being flirted with by the local ‘lady-men’. Our lunch of Chicken Biriyani (curry chicken with saffron rice) at Tekka Market gave us the energy to head back to the river and explore the trendy Clarke Quay bar and restaurant district. The bars each have their own distinctive theme - the clinic stood out most. The modern architecture also stood out, especially when viewed from the wrong angle. Over to the Esplanade theatre by the river to meet Nigel, his girlfriend Louise and their friends for dinner at a nearby hawker market. Many firsts in this meal: chilli stingray, oyster pancake, sugarcane juice and drinking from a coconut. After dinner we enjoyed a lovely evening stroll along the riverbank admiring the city lights.
Monday
5/11/07: Our morning was spent chasing foreign currency in the Joo Chiat & Paya Lebar district - note for future not to try to exchange currency outside of the CBD & always keep spare local cash for transport! - we ended up paying a hefty commission at a local bank. Once we had money for the train we headed back to the city to Fatty’s Restaurant for lunch where we feasted on roast duck noodles, salted fish rice, bbq pork, greens in oyster sauce and spring rolls. Fatty’s is a favourite among pilots, and Michael’s brother had recommended a meal there. According to the news clippings on the walls, Fatty smuggled food to the Changi prisoners during WW2, some of whom had been his customers before the invasion. Many returned after the war to thank him for his actions. There’s no way any of today’s customers will leave the restaurant looking like the Changi survivors - great food. A train ride to Ang Mo Kio and then a long bus ride took us to the Singapore Zoo where Michael felt right at home with the orang-utans. The elephant show was definitely one of the main attractions as well as the
seals, polar bear and the hippos. A bus back to Ang Mo Kio for dinner of Hokkein Mee (noodles with prawns - not for Michael of course) and dumpling soup was followed by another bus back to the zoo for the Night Safari. A tram takes you around the night zoo in the dark to show all the nocturnal animals and then drops you off so you can walk designated trails to see more animal exhibits. Michael was fascinated by the bat exhibit where you walk through the bat enclosure and they fly freely around you. On the way back to the hostel at around 11pm we realised that Singaporeans keep very different hours to Sydneysiders. The trains and the city were still packed with people at 11pm on a Monday night, in comparison Sydney would be a ghost town at that time.
Tuesday 6/11/07: A lazy day packing up at the hostel and getting ready to head off to Kuala Lumpur. We went back for lunch at one of the stops from Tony’s food tour where we enjoyed a generous helping of Popiah. We caught the train to the airport and enjoyed a painless exit from Changi airport,
flying with Singapore airlines to KL.
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