Weight Off and Weight On!

Saturday 28 October

When we opened the curtains this morning the sun was reflecting off the building opposite on to our faces – it was going to be another hot day.

Breakfast was a very civilized meal – being shown to a table, with heavy silver cutlery and proper napkins and a vast array of different foods from Chinese soups and dim sum, to Japanese noodles and what looked like blackcurrant jelly, but I am sure it wasn’t, cheese and cold meats to all the ingredients for an English breakfast. Then, of course, there was a range of breads, croissants and cakes. Enough for Colin to partake of several courses – but disaster struck - he couldn’t find any cereals! Instead he chose fruit and yogurt and of course the full English. On going to find the toaster later, he came across the cornflakes – so interrupted his regime for cereal and more yogurt now, before proceeding to the toast and marmalade stage! Then back for more yogurt – it is much easier to have a small breakfast of fruit and croissants.

Our tours with Kumuka finished with breakfast today. It is hard to believe it is only three weeks ago that we were flying from Koh Samui to Bangkok to pick up the first tour – and how difficult it was to get back into traveling mode. Although we have been severely critical of some of the standards of accommodation and travel provided by Kumuka, (and wouldn’t recommend them as a travel company to others) the hotels in Bangkok, Penang, and Singapore were fine, and even the one in Kuala Lumpur was OK, once you got used to the Chinese market directly outside the door. But we have had a great time overall, and experienced so many things we wouldn’t have done on a 5*AA tour – which we will always remember – rafting, tubing, trekking, elephants and cycling, to name but a few of the physical highlights and we have seen different levels of life in each of the countries we have visited. We have also met some wonderful people, from Pok our first tour leader, Jill, Linda and Phil who were with us for the first two weeks and Paul our last guide. And who could forget Donna’s laugh, Mick and Garry’s drinking and smoking binges, and Simone’s craving to be first at everything. Now we had only one more day to see more of Singapore before moving on to Australia.

But our first task was to find the local post office – near where we had breakfast yesterday – to purchase a large cardboard box to send home “stuff” that we had collected or no longer needed, in an effort to lighten our load. The man was very helpful, and we returned to the hotel to sort through our cases one more time. We managed to accumulate 9.4 kgs of items not required for the remainder of our trip, which just about fitted in the box. Back at the post office we used nearly a whole large roll of wide sellotape to try and ensure safe delivery of our belongings back in England. The postage cost S$ 75 – about 25 GBP but was worth every penny.

It was then time to explore – we headed for Boat Quay – and whilst looking at the map to ensure it really was “straight down the road a way”, a Singapore couple stopped to help and suggested we visited Chijmes on the way – an old convent school that has been renovated and turned into a smart bar and restaurant complex, with several very expensive, but intriguing shops to browse. Eventually (when Colin managed to drag me away) we arrived at Boat Quay and took a river cruise up and down the Singapore River to see “the old, the present and the future”. With a booming commentary, we passed the old traders’ godown buildings of Boat Quay and Clarke Quay, that have now all been converted to yet more bars and restaurants. This area is particularly popular at night with tourists. We saw the Fullerton Hotel, once the main post office building of the city – an architectural delight on the waterfront, the Asian Civilisations Museum, that looked like it had once been a very grand house with its own personal quay, and many more amazing structures that have been renovated and refurbished back to their old splendour. The present is represented by towering skyscrapers, making parts of the horizon look like a mini-Manhattan. But as in Berlin, many interesting designs and features had been incorporated in the planning, so they are never boring. The future is represented by buildings like the concert hall and theatre – a huge dome structure covered in diamond shapes that sparkle in the sun, and looks like something from outer space – it is used for education and gives opportunities for new performers as well as the well-established. There is a lot of development still taking place in the city, but it is in keeping with the environment and surroundings.

After the boat trip, we explored the Quays a little more, before walking back to the hotel – pass Hill Street Police Station – an interesting building now painted with different colour windows in each section – a real rainbow. It is situated at the junction of a major crossroads (on Hill Steet), and was originally built in the 1850’s as the first Police Station in Singapore and the jail. It is now part of the Ministry of Arts and houses small theatres for fringe groups, as well as offices. (Was it was the forerunner of Hill Street Police Station in New York?) Next door was another large old pale grey building, housing the local Fire Station. I took some photos which I promised to sent to Alex (by the time we get home he will probably have lost interest in fire engines).

No trip to Singapore would be complete without visiting Raffles Hotel and we had booked to have HighTea at 15.30 this afternoon. It was only a block away to walk. Sir Stamford Raffles founded Singapore as a trading post in 1819, and he left a legacy of economic stability and law abiding citizens, which has been passed down through the generations as Singapore has grown to be one of the world’s most important ports. At the hotel we changed into our best clothes – I wore a dress for the first time since leaving Koh Samui, and we made our way to the `the Bar in the Billiard Room’. The room wasn’t as glitzy as I had expected - I thought it would be like the Ritz in London, but it was a gentleman’s room, with lots of dark wood and button backed seats. We were seated at a table at the edge of the room, so we could see all that was going on. We were one of the early arrivals, but gradually the room filled up. Menus arrived giving the options of two sets of food – “Raffles Set” - three tiers (three plates in a silver holder: first tier - egg and ham sandwiches, chicken pie, a crab croissant, and a bagel with smoked salmon and cream cheese – all of course, mini sizied. Second tier: cakes and pastries - a small cube of moist fruit cake, soft chocolate tartlet, fresh fruit tartlet, strawberry rum-baba and a crisp chocolaty biscuit. Third tier: scones, with strawberry jam, orange marmalade and thick cream. This was my choice. The other option was “Sarkeys Set” – with more Asian flavours. First tier: steamed spring roll, spicy chicken, vegetable samosa and a sweet pastry stuffed with tamarind (often eaten by Indian people as an appetizer). Second tier: slightly different cakes and pastries, including a green and chocolate very thinly striped cake, and a coconut covered mousse with runny chocolate inside, as well as fruit tartlet and mini rum-baba – this time topped with peach. Third tier: scones. About six pages of the menu were devoted. There was an option to have champagne as well – and who could resist a glass of bubbly in a setting like this? All this was served from a huge dark wood bar area in the centre. There were large flower arrangements in dramatic reds and oranges, as well as some very unusual chandeliers. We thoroughly enjoyed our splurge – it cost S$107 including service and tax, less than 40GBP - but a real treat after some of the more basic establishments we have visited this week,

After tea, we wandered through the ground floor of the hotel, much of which is now given over to concessions, such as Tiffany’s, Louis Vuitton, expensive clothes shops and, of course a souvenir shop selling everything with “Raffles” name on it (I bought two fridge magnets and a post card!) It had been fun to look. It was then back to reality at the hotel – change back into our poor man’s gear (just like Cinderella after the ball) and have one last attempt to pack our suitcases. Mine seemed considerably lighter now – but the proof will come at the airport tomorrow. On the way back, we passed through streets already displaying their Christmas decorations – mainly poinsettia designs in garlands across the street and red lanterns from the lamp posts, but there were large blow-up Father Christmas’s and reindeer in the shops, signs for Christmas cards and notices urging you to buy now before the Christmas rush. Oh how pleased I am to be away from all that hype– I am sure I will miss it on Christmas Day, and even during December, but not now before Halloween.

It was now time to hit the town again – and look for some cocktails. The most likely place seemed the Quays, so we wandered in that direction. Many of the waiters and waitresses in the cafes and bars here were dressed for Halloween, with scary white faces and lots of ‘blood’ oozing from “wounds”, although not a pumpkin in sight – really weird. It was only about 19.30, but already the place was buzzing – loads of people doing just the same thing as us. There were a few people doing something different – bunjy jumping – Singapore style. A cage holding three seats, was attached by stretchy leads on each side to two tall “pylons” a short distance away. Those intrepid (barmy) volunteers, were harnessed in their seats (they had to remove glasses and shoes, but there were no head restraints) and then slowly the elastic “wires” were stretched up to the top of the pylons – about 30 - 40 feet. Once they reached the top the organizer flipped a switch and they were jettisoned more than 50 feet into the air, spinning and twirling, as they bounced up and down on the elastic. There was, understandably, a lot of screaming from the cage (more girls than boys seemed to be taking part), and a lot of gasps from the large audience gathered around. As they slowed and came to a stop, they were still suspended 20 feet above the ground, for quite a few minutes to give them time to recover before being winched down to earth. But they seemed quite steady once they stepped out of the chairs. Rather them, not me.

We found a bar and had cocktails, Singapore slings, of course and Blue Balis (a vodka, Malibu, pineapple and watermelon concoction, with lots of fresh mint). Very different but quite pleasant – it was alcohol for goodness sake! Around 21.30 we mooched around both Quays looking for a light bite to eat, and ended up in a Balinese restaurant, selling food that seemed to be a fusion of Thai and Malaysian, with a bit of Chinese and Indian thrown in for good measure. They provided mini poppadums with very hot chilli sauce as an appetizer, and we chose satays and mini barbequed skewers of chicken, beef and prawn with a sweet chilli dip to start, followed by chilli squid, lamb in a red sauce, vegetables in coconut sauce, and Indonesian rice – just a light snack – but the portions were small. The food was tasty but the flavours seemed confused, and didn’t always compliment each other. More cocktails and beers finished the meal off nicely, before a stroll back to the hotel to walk off some of the calories.

We have been amazed here by the lack of traffic problems – it does stack up at traffic lights sometimes - but the lights work in rotation. Many of the roads are very straight, in a



(many main roads are one way, so lights are three way plus pedestrians)

It was nearly midnight by this time, and much too late to write this blog, so I am now writing it on the plane on the way to Australia the following day.

It is hard to believe that we will be leaving Asia tomorrow, having first entered this continent whilst on the Trans-Siberian train at the start of August and traveling on through China, Thailand and Malaysia to get here to Singapore, almost three months later. We will miss the Asian way of life and idiosyncrasies that vary from race to race, but are all based on similar cultures. We have had a really good time and some experiences that we couldn’t possibly imagined and will never forget. I am sure we will be back in Asia – South East Asia anyway - sometime in the near future and I look forward to my return – Tibet, India, Thailand, Singapore – how can I best fit them into one journey? Australia has a lot to live up to.