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Published: June 13th 2015
Nick: Based on our travels so far, it think it's fair to say that Bali was up there alongside Brazil and Costa Rica for the hottest destination award. I also have to admit that I didn't quite believe Tom and Jen when they told us Singapore was even hotter; evidently they were right. We arrived in Singapore Airport on our flight from Bali at around half past eight on Tuesday evening, managing to get through immigration and collect our bags in quick fashion, and courtesy of the very clean and efficient rail system it was not long before we were exiting the subway station in Chinatown. Having remained within the cool confines of an air-conditioned environment from the plane all the way through to the subway station, it was only as we ascended the steps to street level that we experienced the first wave of hot, humid air. Negotiating the narrow streets, decoratively lit up with Chinese lanterns and, despite the time of night, packed with people perusing the many stalls selling everything from Christmas baubles to rubber chickens, we quickly found our hotel. Not having had any dinner, we rapidly dumped our bags and headed back out to find a
place to eat.
Like many places in Singapore, Chinatown has plenty of Hawker stalls selling cheap eats, and these come highly recommended. Due to the time of night, most of the hawker stands in Chinatown were closing up, but there were plenty of restaurants still plying their trade, so we picked one with reasonable enough looking prices and sat down. Taking our regular approach, we ordered a few bits and pieces to share between us, and ended up with a spread of stir-fried beef noodles, some delicious mixed greens (choi sum, I think) with chilli and soy, and a few pork dumplings. The big meal and the lateness of the hour predictably took its toll at the end of a long day of travelling, and so we went straight back to our hotel and to bed.
We woke early on Wednesday morning and were keen to get out and about exploring. As ever, a few practicalities first needed to be addressed. We booked our flight to Phnom Penh in Cambodia, leaving on Saturday afternoon, and - after a fair bit of searching around - found and used a coin-operated laundry to get our stocks of clean clobber back
up to where it should be. By the time we'd finished, it was mid-morning and our stomachs were protesting; with no brekkie served at the hotel we would have to fend for ourselves for the next few days. Our local wanderings hadn't turned up anything obvious for brekkie in the immediate vicinity, so we randomly picked a Chinese place that seemed to be very popular with the locals. It seemed that many people were eating a type of rice porridge for breakfast, so we thought we'd give that a whirl, each choosing the 'mixed porridge', the associated picture indicating that this would come with a few bits and pieces in it - presumably the typical chicken, pork, etc. at $10s (i.e. 10 Singapore dollars, or around five pounds) for both it was certainly a cheap enough brekkie. Whilst we waited, the local couple next to us received their own healthy and nutritious start to the day: a gelatinous, wobbling plate of chickens' feet, YUM!
Perhaps we should have taken this as a cue that our own breakfast would be a touch, shall we say, 'challenging', but we did not realise this until the bowls of mixed porridge turned up.
Now, both of us like to consider ourselves reasonably open-minded when it comes to food and willing to try new things, but there is no other way of putting it than to say the mixed porridge was utterly rank. Okay, maybe that's unfair - clearly there were lots of people who were enjoying it, but both of us were seriously struggling to get it down and keep it down! The 'porridge' is basically white rice which has been cooked and cooked and cooked until it has been rendered into a glutinous - can I say snotty? - mass. Stirring the bowl to see what treasures lay within turned over a red area of blood, which my stirrings proceeded to distribute throughout the bowl. Picking out the meat offerings with my chopsticks, nothing was what it appeared; things that I'd supposed to be chicken turned out to be...well, I have no idea, frankly, but they tasted rough. Then there were the tubey bits, which looked like, and probably were, arteries. Disheartened (no pun intended) I decided to munch on the large piece of squid that I'd been saving, only to find out it was my sworn enemy, liver. Eventually, we managed
to get about half a bowl each down us before calling it a day.
With plenty to do in Singapore, and both of us keen to fit as much of it in as we could after all that lazy beach time, we got cracking. First stop was the botanic gardens, which we spent a good couple of hours ambling through, taking our time and walking very slowly due to the mounting heat. It was a very nice park with a lake in the middle and a good couple of kilometres or so from end to end. By the time we'd walked the length of it under the midday sun we were roasting hot and grateful for the air-conditioning of the bus that we took back toward the city centre. Spotting the infamous 'Raffles' hotel out the window as we approached the central business district, we jumped off the bus and wandered over to take a look.
Unsure if they'd let us in wearing out flip-flops, we chanced a visit into the 'Long Bar', the part of the hotel in which the Singapore Sling cocktail was invented. Happily, the waitress at the door didn't seem to be objecting to
how we were dressed and so, following in the footsteps of surely every other tourist to visit Singapore, we pulled up a stool at the bar and ordered two Singapore Slings. Being what I believe is known to those in the game as a 'posh hotel', things are understandably a bit pricier at Raffles. Add to that the tourist demand for the Singapore Sling experience, and the cost of a pair of drinks goes through the roof; I'm sorry to say that we parted with thirty five quid for our own round of two! Having said that, I can confidently say that it was the best Singapore Sling I'd ever had by some margin, absolutely beautiful, and I've had a few since it is my favourite cocktail (because I am a Big Girl). The blow was also softened by the big sacks of monkey nuts positioned along the bar which were - gasp - free for the punters. We did our best to recoup our investment by eating handfuls of them, compensating for the horrors of the breakfast that went earlier, and best of all we could simply throw the shells on the floor. We built up quite a pile.
Much as we tried to cherish our drinks and make them last, inevitably they were soon gone and it was time to press on; at those prices, we weren't tempted by another round!
We were close to Marina Bay and so we wandered down to take a look. The view was mightily impressive, with gleaming tall skyscrapers across the water on one side, and on the other my personal favourite: three broad towers topped with a boat that lays across the top of all three. The cluster of tall modern buildings alongside older colonial structures and viewed across a busy harbour bay was redolent of Sydney (although, we concurred, it was not quite as good as Sydney - nowhere is that we've seen). We strolled along one side of the harbour, savouring the view, but it was approaching three p.m. or so and the handfuls of monkey nuts were wearing off; we were getting hungry again. Our trusty ebook told us that the 'Gluttons Bay' Hawker Centre was nearby so we made a beeline for it; sadly, it was closed until later on so we'd have to try elsewhere. Fortunately, another such centre, the 'Singapore Food Trail' wasn't far
away either and they did seem to be open. As with breakfast, we were perhaps a bit hasty in our decision making, driven by growling stomachs, and ended up with a plate of assorted fried bits and pieces: crab in batter, spicy chicken pieces and some sort of fried fish lollipop. Don't get me wrong - it was really good, and came with a couple of spicy sauces, but we realised in hindsight that it was perhaps a bit greasy and, well, mucky! Nevermind, it did the trick and a cold beer soon washed the grease away!
Footsore from a day of wandering around, we agreed to get back to our digs to cool down and shower before getting our for the evening. There was, however, one more stop to make beforehand: the 'Company of Cats' cafe. We'd spotted this little place earlier on, whilst ambling aimlessly in search of a laundrette, and decided it sounded like a fun place to spend some time. Basically, it was essentially a large living room, complete with sofas and chairs, in which you could have a good cup of tea or coffee and enjoy the company of eleven feline friends. We ordered
a drink each and made our way in. There were plenty of cat toys and suchlike to play with the moggies, although it is only fair to say that the place had some good house rules to prevent enthusiastic punters from bothering the cats (don't bother a cat if it's sleeping, don't feed them or pick them up, etc.). The mogs themselves were all rescue cats, and although they were clearly well looked after and had lovely glossy coats, the odd torn ear and docked tail suggested a rougher past. By and large they were all pretty shy (or perhaps sick and tired of grinning humans trying to play with them...), but nonetheless we spent a good forty-five minutes or so chilling out with them. When a member of staff came in to give them their dinner, they sprung into life, mind you!
Time was up at the cat cafe, and it was a short walk back to our hotel. Ironically, despite the hotel being the most expensive we'd stumped up for on our travels so far (although the cheapest that could find anywhere reasonably central), it was actually a bit grotty. The air-conditioning system had filled the room
with a cloying, musty smell that suggested it was overdue a good servicing, and there was a pervasive dampness to the room that left everything feeling, well, damp. With no good reason to hang around, we were soon showered, changed and back out in the streets. The 'just-showered' lasted about ten seconds once outside, the air seeming to only get more humid as the day wears on. We walked down toward Marina Bay, taking a few pictures of the impressive city lights as night fell. Walking along the waterside, we made our way to the 'Gardens by the Bay'. These public gardens include some unusual tall, fluted mushroom type structures which are lit up at night in constantly changing colours, we arrived in time to catch the end of a light show accompanied by music , which was a sight to behold, before having a little wander about the gardens. After a cold drink to cool down, we made our way to another Hawker Centre to grab some dinner. Time had once again got the better of us, and it
was approaching half past nine; some of the better places were already closing up. In light of our previous experiences, we decided not to panic and go for the nearest available stall but to have a wander around to be a bit more selective. Our good faith paid off when we stumbled across a huge and varied food centre, most of which was still open and serving. The choice was mouthwatering, with stalls selling Chinese, Korean, Indian, Vietnamese, and all sorts of food - even Costa Rican, and 'Western' (which frankly looked a bit ropey). In fact, I even spotted a stall boasting of 'pig organ' soups, which brought back unwelcome memories of breakfast. In the end we went for some Korean food, a katzu chicken and rice dish and a kim chi rice which was definitely the star if the show. Once again, stuffed and satisfied, footsore and weary, it was back to the mulchy hotel and bed.
Thursday morning, and it was a more promising start than the previous day: there would be no chores to do first, and definitely no rice porridge! Instead, we struck out for the same Hawker Centre as the night before to
find ourselves something a bit tasty for brekkie. It must be said, after all of the egg-and-toast breakfasts we'd had on our travels so far, it was great to be starting the day with something a bit different. Intending on getting a nice hot bowl of Pho, the Vietnamese noodle soup, we arrived to find that stall in particular was not yet open. Instead, we ended up with a Singapore Laksa (mouthwatering, spicy, excellent) and a prawn noodle soup (ditto, minus the spiciness), which we shared between ourselves after decorating both with plenty of chopped spring onions and squeezes of fresh lime. The food was accompanied by fresh fruit juices, Sarah going for an apple and celery combo, whilst I had a banana and dragonfruit - which is a bit like a giant kiwi fruit, with white flesh and a garish pink skin...so not at all like a kiwi fruit then! But they taste similar. One of the best breakfasts we've had so far, I reckon. Singapore, one of the foodie capitals of the world, was not failing to deliver on its promise!
Fasts duly broken, we were back out into another searing day to make our way down
to nearby Clarke Quay. We had a general wander about, it was all very picturesque if a little deserted at that time of day - perhaps wiser folk were hiding from the heat...from there, we made our way toward 'Little India', located not too far from Chinatown. En-route, we passed Fort Canning Park, yet another beautiful expanse of well-tended lawns and tress, pagodas and benches in the city, and we spent half an hour or so admiring the place. Our journey also took us through the old colonial district, where the architecture changed from shiny modern skyscraper into squat-and-broad grandiose government buildings, complete with distinguished columns. All very attractive and clean. Eventually we arrived in Little India (having cheated and taken a tube for the last bit, if only to bathe in the a/c and hide from the sun for a few minutes). Having spent the morning walking up an appetite, it was now time for lunch and we found ourselves in yet another food centre. Indian vendors were surprisingly absent, considering the location, and so we ended up continuing our culinary tour of Southeast Asia and chose a Thai place; we shared between us a papaya salad and a
bowl of Tom Kha Gai (a sweet and sour tasting coconut milk soup with oodles of lemongrass, kafir lime leaves, chilli and pieces of chicken). The fiery reputation of Thai food was upheld in some style, the salad in particular being eye-wateringly - although both dishes were very yummy. All that, plus a little side dish of rice and a can of lemon iced tea, for about four quid - absolutely great value, hence the reason we keep coming back to these street food centres.
After lunch, we made our way back to the tube station, with a short diversion via a barber shop - which was located through a door at the back of a place selling laptops (obviously) - for a quick haircut and beard trim. Back in the early afternoon heat, a wee bit jaded from all the walking, heat and food we both agreed that a tactical retreat to the hotel was in order for some R and R...and that is exactly where we currently are. The plan for this evening is to get back down to an area near Clarke Quay known as Boat Quay, which has its own complement of bars, restaurants and
so on. No doubt we will end up in yet another of the numerous Hawker Centres for dinner, finding ourselves something new and exciting to feast on...further details will surely follow, assuming that I can reach the keyboard over my stomach!
Saturday 13th June: A bit of an update here, as we didn't get around to uploading and publishing the above blurb just yet. Picking up where we left off, we decided to throw financial caution to the wind on Thursday evening and go out for a few drinks in the city centre. We made our way back down to Boat Quay, and had a couple of small beers at one of the many bars overlooking the river. Drinking in Singapore is by no means easy on the wallet - alcohol is reportedly very heavily taxed here - and so we made sure to take advantage of those bars which were offering 'happy hour' bargains to try and reign the price in a bit. There were also plenty of nice-looking restaurants in the area, very tempting but with correspondingly high price tags to match and so we we elected once again to dine on the cheap in the Hawker
Centre. Having made our way there, we decided to take a break from the usual flavours and got a mix of Indian foods; a chicken tikka masala with rice and a vegetarian samosa-ey thing. Not exactly puritanical, but it tasted brilliant and as usual was a bargain at five quid or so - seemingly everything in the Hawker Market can be bought in portions big enough for two for five quid! On the way back to our hotel, we passed a snazzy looking wine bar and in keeping with our big-spending evening stopped in for a couple of glasses - a real treat as wine is generally very pricy in SE Asia.
Friday morning duly arrived, and following our financial indulgences of the previous day the plan was to save a few pennies. Sarah had been doing a bit of research and had come up with a good area for walking, a National Park located on an island just off the mainland. After grabbing brekkie at the Hawker Market (eggs and toast for Sarah, more kim chi rice for me) we boarded a bus that would take us outside of the city centre and back towards the coastal area
near the airport, to a village called Changi. Once there, we jumped aboard one of the many 'bum boats' (sounds rude - isn't) which are basically little ferries that run people across the straits from the mainland to Pulau Ubin Island (which means 'Granite Island'); there's no fixed schedule, the boats just leave when there are twelve people ready to make the crossing, and costs only five dollars each return. Thankfully there was a ready stream of people wanting to visit the island and so we didn't have to wait long before leaving. Very shortly, we were on the other side of the straits and disembarking. Unlike the previous days, there was no sign of the sun and the grey skies looked ominous, although as ever it remained very warm and humid; it was certainly a relief not to be out walking under the blazing sun all day.
There were plenty of places renting out bikes near the ferry port, and whilst everyone else seemed to be using two wheels to get around the island, we decided to stretch things out a bit longer and use our own two feet instead. As soon as we set off for our
target destination, a point located to the east of the island some three kilometres away, and loud rumble of thunder rolled across the sky. Having been operating in 'city mode' - i.e. taking the casual view that each day needs no planning or foresight as you're never far from food, water, shelter etc. - we'd not done a very good job of preparing for our walk...we had managed to pick up some water by the ferry port, but lacked anything in the way of rain protection. Ah well, at least it wasn't cold, and our luck seemed to hold out as the thunder portended nothing more than a bit of a drizzle. We walked for around an hour or so, initially passing through thick green forest that was reminiscent of our jungle walks in Costa Rica, before this gave way to areas of mangrove as we neared the shore once again. On the way, we spotted a wild pig complete with cute little piglet, snuffling around in the forest. We'd read about these, as well as some sort of wild chicken that can fly, although I regret to say we didn't see any of those!
We reached our destination,
a lookout point across the mudflats and an historic holiday residence for some old colonial governor or suchlike (a white-walled, black-beamed Tudor building that looked well out of place in the surrounding tropical greenery) and wandered to the end of the adjoining jetty for a token look about before pressing on. On the way out of the building area, we spotted more wild pigs, this time including a long-suffering mum with trio of piglets attached, happily suckling away. The walk back took us a slightly different route, passing along a boardwalk that wound around the mangrove trees and over the mudflats. Around halfway back, the rain seemed to realise that it hadn't been doing its job properly and started to come down in earnest, getting us both thoroughly wet by the time we'd reached the ferry port. We were grateful to hide inside the boat and take refuge, and once we'd reached the other side we scuttled straight into the nearby food centre for some late lunch. Having dined on rice and noodles for the last few days we were both craving something from home, or at the least something a bit more 'western'...in fact, our technique for taking our
minds off the rain as we'd walked back had been to play 'what are we going to eat when we get back to England', cue fantasies of pies and potatoes, cold meats and cheeses! In the end we had to settle for a 'shawarma', a kind of chicken kebabey thing in a wrap; it was fine, nothing special but as were cold, wet and very hungry, it tasted all the better for that!
We made our way back to the hotel in time for early evening, and gladly changed into drier clothes. In preparation for our onward travels the next day, it was down to the laundry in Chinatown to spend a couple of hours washing/drying our clothes - and boy did they need it after three sticky days pounding the streets and three nights festering in the humid, damp hotel room! By the time clothes were washed, dried and safely stowed away it was time once again for some grub. We found ourselves a new Hawker Centre, this one located nice and close to our hotel, and had our final dinner in Singapore - each of us going for different variations on a theme of noodles, soup, dumpling,
choi cum and a bit of meat. We both agreed it was tasty enough, although certainly not the best we'd had since being here...perhaps we are getting spoiled! After dinner we stopped into a local bar for a quick drink, but it was fairly loud and hectic with Friday night revellers, including some serious caterwauling, sorry, I mean karaoke. It wasn't really what we were after so we drank up and sloped off for an early night instead.
After a good long sleep, this morning has mainly involved packing our bags and getting going, although we did find a good breakfast: eggs benedict with bacon for me, and an interesting creation called a 'cloud egg' with ham for Sarah - basically, this was a cooked egg in which the white has been whipped, a bit like a meringue. Sounds clever and looks good, but we both concurred: a fried egg it ain't. Anyway, that was that, and as I write this it is early afternoon and we are currently flying toward Phnom Penh in Cambodia. We're looking forward to continuing our food odyssey there, although if we want to be truly adventurous then our dishes may go a bit
more insectile, serpentine or even arachnid...er, well, we'll see!
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Jean Adams
non-member comment
Yummy
Fod sounds........interesting, well mostly. Your breakfast sounded districtly a bad start to the day idea. Loved the porcine description. Dare I say it but reminiscent of your dear sister at the moment, with the infant Joseph attached at every opportunity it seems. Having a wonderful time here in Vancouver ( weather actually glorious both Boston and here). Looking forward to your next missives. You are both ace reporters, and we are really enjoying your blogs. Lots of love. M & D. XXXXXX