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Published: March 11th 2010
Wooo - here we are in the fast lane of Singapore, and boy oh boy what can we say?! Firstly, I’d naively expected it to be very similar to Hong Kong, where the Chinese knock down any building more than a few years old and build a taller skyscraper. The only exceptions seem to be a clock tower and the Peninsular Hotel (yes, I know there are others and that I’m exaggerating slightly here).
Our hotel overlooks Clarke Quay which is a complex of old riverfront houses and warehouses that have had a makeover and turned into a very trendy bar area. Looking around there seems to be green space and trees and lots of flowers. There are some stunning buildings as well - the one that has most caught my attention is 3 separate wavy shaped buildings with a huge ship built on top (apparently it will be an hotel and casino) - it really is spectacular!
With not much time, and a mobile phone to pick up tomorrow (John left in the room in Cameron Highlands and we’ve been trying to get it back ever since), we consulted maps and planned how best to spend our short
time on the Island.
Our first stop was Little India, just 2 stops on the MRT (mass rapid transit) (I think!) (or underground). You probably don’t want to know how long it took us to find an ATM that would give us money (I constantly panic that my card will get swallowed) so that we could buy our tickets! Little India is a jumble of mainly two-storey ‘shophouses’ (to use the local word), painted vibrant colours, with shops selling all sorts of good things. We spent a while wandering, visited a temple and then stopped at a curry house for a little taste of home. A bit more wandering, stopping at an internet cafe to check where the phone would be tomorrow, and then back to the hotel. Yes, you’re probably wondering why the internet cafe. One of John’s beefs is the cost of internet access whenever we stay in more expensive hotels. Backpackers hostels all give free access, our hotel in Singapore was charging approx £15 per day!! (Cue for some frantic emailing when we get to the airport and have access to free wifi !)
However, the glory of the more upmarket hotel is that the
pool didn’t close until 10pm, so when we returned from our wanderings at 8.30 limp and damp, we could go and frolic in the cool water, bubble in the Jacuzzi and admire the night scene unravelling on Clarke Quay.
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Maureen Staines
non-member comment
Shophouse Quilt
Don't know whether to marvel most at the beautiful shophouse that looked like a quilt with its fancy border - or the 'all day available' fish head curry. Fancy being able to have one of those AT ANY TIME OF THE DAY? And I see that you are now in Australia! Is this the Valerie that I used to chat to at Kesgrave School on Thursday evenings? Will you still recognise me? And vice versa! All honour to you and John. It all sounds wonderful.