Category Archives: Singapore

The last day of our short stay in Singapore – we are catch the 21:05 flight to New Zealand via Brisbane. We start the day in Chinatown. Emerging from the MRT station into Pagoda Street we are immediately assaulted by the vivid red of the Chinese New Year decorations and a street lined with souvenir stalls occasionally interspersed with electronics shops. But just round the corner is the beautiful entrance to the Mariamman Hindu Temple and a few steps further on we enter the Jamae Chulia Mosque. Donning a cover-up gown thoughtfully provided to ensure the modesty of visitors, we wander round this very simple and unadorned mosque. On the way out are detained by an American convert who is very loquacious and rather too intense in his advocacy of Islam. We eventually extract ourselves from his well-meaning if knowledgeable conversation and have lunch in a local food court. We have enough time to take the MRT to Raffles Place in the heart of the financial district to tour the historical Civic District , walk along the Singapore River and take in the grandeur of the British colonial architecture of the Asian Civilization Museum, The Arts House at the Old Parliament, the Old Supreme Court, the magnificent Fullerton Hotel and the evocative Raffles Hotel where a Singapore Sling can be enjoyed for a mere S$23 (£11.50 at the current Sterling exchange rate). All of which sit alongside the modern and contemporary skyscrapers.

Late afternoon we head off to the airport only half-an-hour on the MRT. After check-in we have a couple of hours to kill in the airport. Unusually, security checks take place at the gate and it’s not possible to take duty free or even water in hand luggage. The airport is a huge shopping mall and there is hardly any seating for travellers unless they want to spend money in the over-priced cafes and restaurants. It could be hell here if flights are delayed but fortunately we board on time and take off is only 15 minutes late. Next stop Brisbane.

Continue reading →

We are on a mission! We have two full days in Singapore and we want to see as much of this vibrant and attractive city as possible. We are a short walk from the Mass Transit station which is clean, modern and efficient and makes the London tube look very second-rate. All tickets are issued as robust plasic cards for which S$1 is charged as a deposit which can be redeemed when inserted into one of the ticket machines on arriving at your destination. It’s possible to purchase a Singpore Visitors day pass at selected stations – not very convenient because it means paying for your first journey at the single ticket price – for $8 per day plus a S$10 refundable deposit which works out cheaper on 5 or more journeys. So we opt for one of these and our first stop is Orchard Road.

Orchard Road is the main shopping district and here there is shopping mall after shopping mall. In fact in Singapore there are at least 75 major shopping malls so if you have the money, can afford the prices this is shop-til-you-drop heaven. The swankiest malls are on Orchard Road and this area is super modern, high rise – this is the prosperous, westernised face of south-east Asia and unlike Beijing, there people shopping in these designer malls.

Next stop is Little India, and a stroll down Serangoon Road with its shops selling handicrafts, jsmine garlands, colourful silk saris, Indian jewellery and henna tatoos. This couldn’t be more different with its colourful, two-story shop houses of reminiscent of Penang but without it’s vivacity. In fact it seems relatively quiet in this historic quarter. We find an Indian cafe and and have a blow-out meal – great food but a very different experience from the one in Penang; this is more sophisticated and we have cutlery! But the food is good. After a stroll around the streets we make our way to Clarke Quay on the Singapore river to indulge in a Singapore Sling. Clarke Quay is Singapores equivalent of Covent Garden and St Katherine’s Dock rolled into one. This used to be the hub of a once busy port, now re-invented as the place to go for a night out. This intimate river-side setting is lined with bars and restaurants, housed in original wharf buildings and humming with a mix of locals, expats and tourists. We stop at a bar for our Singapore Sling and then take a stroll along the attractive riverside walk, passing an almost never-ending string of smart eateries and watering holes.

This is a surprisingly attractive city – an beguiling mix of the ultra-modern high-rise, the colonial past and the cultural heritage borne of ethnic diversity. Indian, Chinese, Malay, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhism, Christian all meld together here to create a intriguing fusion of cultures. The people are a delight, so polite and helpful and the ambience is laid back and there is an unhurried pace of life.

Continue reading →

As ever on train journeys we have a fitful night’s sleep but wake at 7.45am – to discover that the train had engine trouble overnight and has been delayed by three hours and will not arrive in Kuala Lumpur until 8.45am – 15 minutes after our connecting train to Singapore is due to leave. The carriage steward is very helpful and immediately rings the stationmaster in Kuala Lumpur. It’s no problem, the train to Singapore will be held until we arrive! What service! And we’ve had te benefit of three hours extra sleep and no hanging around for hours on Kuala Lumpur station. One of the few occasions when a delay turns out to be a blessing. As it turns out, the train arrive just before 8.30am and we are able to walk across the platform and join our connecting train which leaves on time.

The journey down to Singapore is long and tedious and we have to disembark with all our luggage to go through passport control and customs at the border with Singapore. Interestingly among the things that can’t be taken into Singapore is chewing gum – apparently it is illegal – and medicine. We declare the former, but not the latter, and are allowed to take it through anyway. We are the last through the formalities and the border officials seem to be more interested in ushering us back on the train.

It is hot and humid when we arrive at Singapore station on the south of the island and we have no Singapore dollars. Fortunately there is a money exchange in the station (no cash machine) so we change some dollar travellers cheques. The exchange rate for dollars is a 33% more than for Sterling, so we will be using more of what remains of dwindling stash of dollars we bought in the UK when the exchange rate was just under $2 to the £.

We are staying at Hotel 81 Palace in the red light district of Singapore city and the streets around here are lined with prostitutes – among them the usual skimpily dressed girls in short skirts, but also he-shes (or lady boys) and working girls in saris – .whose demure dress seems somewhat out of place. It’s a lively, buzzing area and the streets are full of busy neighbourhood cafes and food malls all of which seem to be patronised mainly by men (I wonder why?) and we have a reasonable meal and a couple of beers.

Continue reading →