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Published: March 4th 2014
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Clarke Quay
A central location and makes a great place to explore Singapore from. Just make sure you know where the happy hours are - a two for one makes it about UK prices! The flight from Bali into Singapore’s Kranji Airport went smoothly and our bags were the first off the conveyer belt – there’s a first time for everything! Our Chinese taxi driver merrily chatted away to us throughout the entire twenty minute ride into town although I couldn’t understand a single word he said. I didn’t want to appear rude so resorted to strategically nodding or laughing as I thought appropriate – he seemed happy enough.
Soon, we arrived at the Merchant Court Swiss Hotel (www.swissotel.com/singapore-merchantcourt) located in the bustling heart of Clarke Quay, the popular leisure area built high up around the Singapore River. We’ve stayed at this hotel before as its location is great – not too sure about the concierge though. When we first checked in, we asked if the tap water was drinkable and the gentleman helping us looked really offended. “Of course, yes, 100%, most definitely!!”. It was only when we’d thanked him and started to walk off he shouted after us “Just make sure you boil it very thoroughly first!!” ………………we drank bottled water throughout our stay.
Singapore is a fascinating place whose development really started in 1819 when Sir Stamford Raffles (who lends
A Modern, Vibrant City
Singapore just gets bigger, brasher and more affluent. The locals don't notice this though as their noses are stuck to their smartphones. his name to the world famous hotel) set it up as a trading post of the East India Company The British obtained sovereignty over the island in 1824 until, after being occupied by the Japanese during World War II, it declared independence from the United Kingdom in 1963. Since then, Singapore has developed rapidly and is recognised as one of the four Asian Tiger economies (Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea being the others). It has the fourth biggest financial centre in the world and is one of the top 5 busiest ports.
Although a very modern city packed with incredible skyscrapers and hundreds of expensive shopping malls which we never go in (seen one, you’ve seen them mall……………geddit? ;-), Singapore has its own unique way of doing things and is never, ever dull. It’s almost like collection of small countries merged into one entity – Chinatown, Little India, Arab Town to name but a few and it can be quite confusing to find your way around. No problem for us though as we’re a team that includes the legend that is Map Girl!! Angela can be a bit like Rainman when we arrive in a new place (“Must
The Legend That Is Map Girl
Happy as she'd just managed to get hold of a map of Singapore.
You should have seen her 10 minutes before this photo was taken........ get a map! Must get a map!”) but, once she gets one, she calms down and makes sure we never get lost.
She navigated us to the beautiful and historic Chinatown for a meal last night which was fantastic but you do have to pick your dishes very carefully. We aren’t in the least fussy eaters but the vast majority of dishes on the menu require stronger stomachs than ours I’m afraid – anyone for Szechuan fish head stew, pig organ soup or live bull frog porridge? Thought not!!
Most times we ate at the bustling, brilliant hawker markets which are made up of lots of little stalls each selling their own speciality dishes. They are always packed, the food’s delicious and they’re great fun as the big round tables are shared freely with whoever you can squeeze on with. We had our first dish sharing with a doey eyed young Singaporean couple and, by the time we were leaving, were crushed in between three generations of a Chinese family who insisted we sampled everything they had bought.
It’s at these hawker markets I like to play one of my favourite tricks on Angela. She goes off
Be Careful In Chinatown
Unless, of course, you fancy a bowl of live bullfrog porridge. to buy barbecued satay sticks (which are sold in 10’s) from a nearby stall while I stay at the outdoor table keeping an eye on our drinks. When she comes back, I say “wow, look at that!” and point up at a skyscraper behind her. Whilst she’s looking at it, I quickly eat one satay and hide the stick. I only get a couple of seconds to do this as she can’t be distracted from food for too long and it’s at this point I ask if she’s certain we actually got the full 10 satays. Obviously, there’s only nine now and I love to just sit back in my chair laughing whilst watching her stomp off to take issue with the stall holder and demanding her full entitlement. Childish? Definitely! Cruel? Possibly. Something I’m going to do again? Without a shadow of a doubt!!
We’ve been to Singapore a few before and have noticed this time that, along with it getting more and more expensive, there’s been a worrying development technology wise. It’s a very crowded place and the people here have never been the most spatially aware or directionally savvy. They are forever standing on your toes,
Gluttons Bay Hawker Market
Fabulous food, atmosphere and fun. Also a great place for a satay related prank. walking into you, blocking the pavements etc. The bad news is now they all own smart phones and spend every waking hour staring at them with the screen two inches in front of their face. This means a steep increase in pavement collisions and it’s incredible to watch groups of friends have complete three course meals together without ever speaking to one another. The entire time they’ll be fiddling with their phones doing who knows what. Probably texting each other to say how good their noodles are – unbelievable!!
Whilst getting things off my chest, it also seems that the moment the Singaporeans step onto an escalator their legs are miraculously rendered completely useless - they just drift along, tweeting until they reach the top and totally oblivious to the chaos they’re causing behind. Other quirks of the inhabitants are that many wear Michael Jackson type face masks indoors (?), have umbrellas up when it’s not raining and we’ve witnessed countless folk sleeping whilst standing up on the MRT (the equivalent of the tube out here).
We had a great few days exploring the island using our 2 day MRT passes which proved good value at £8 each.
It Wouldn't Be Singapore.........
.......without a visit to Kranji races. For all the use the form book was, it might as well have been in Chinese!! The MRT is reflective of the rest of Singapore in that it is spotlessly clean, very efficient and ultra-modern. Zero graffiti, litter or discarded chewing gum on the streets here (you risk getting 20 lashes or worse if you break the law) and there’s no doubting this is an extremely affluent place that continues to grow at a pace.
Time now to jump on the Singapore – Kuala Lumpur Express coach and head across the long bridge over the Straits of Johor to Malaysia.
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Marts
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Jealous
You sound as if everything is on track and you are having a brilliant time. I am so envious and wish I could be with you for some of your experience. Just watch the airports you just may catch a glimpse of me.