The flight path program on the plane showed we had arrived but it was lying – we spent the best part of 40 minutes circling outlying islands in Malaysia and Singapore before we eventually touched down at Changi airport around 5pm. We had already decided to catch a taxi – for less than $20 after a long flight with all of our luggage, why wouldn’t you. Out taxi driver, who it turned out had been to Australia and a lot of other places was quite chatty and provided a running commentary about everything we passed and where we should go. I had arranged to meet a friend who was in Singapore that evening so we delayed their arrival at our hotel so we had a chance to shower and relax. As it turned out they went to the wrong hotel – same chain, just the wrong location. Ours was next to the River, rather near Raffles and only a short stroll to Chinatown.

We wandered along the waterfront looking for a restaurant that would satisfy everyone. I was really keen for some of the infamous Singapore crab but finding a restaurant here that catered to vegetarians, carnivores and seafood eaters was a challenge. We settled on a Mexican restaurant and while the food was fine- I had crab burritos and chili lime skewers, the prices were high end but the food wasn’t. Probably a hall mark of the tourist centric riverfront. Nevertheless, we had a great evening regaled by tales of our companions’ trip to Malaysia. We turned in quite early in the evening and I slept like a log.

The next morning I woke to an energized Dan who had been up for hours, strolling through downtown Singapore and around the marina taking photos. He was keen for a swim. As was I, although I did need to wakeup first. After a quiet dip, as everyone else in the hotel was probably asleep or at breakfast at 8am, we showered and contacted our dinner companions to see if they wanted to meet us for runny eggs and coconut jam toast for breakfast. We had sensibly decided the previous evening to extend our checkout until late afternoon so we could shower before heading to the airport.

After enjoying our favourite new breakfast treat, which I had with incredibly strong tea this time instead of incredibly strong coffee, we bought a jar of coconut jam to bring home. The proprietor sensibly advised us to pack the jar in our checked luggage. A lesson we had learnt only too well after trying to take a bottle of pomegranate juice out of Turkey in our hand luggage. Liquid or semi-liquid foods are still liquids and need to be dumped at the security screening point.

After breakfast we headed back to Chinatown to find the cluster of collectible and vintage stores we discovered a month ago on our whirlwind tour of Singapore. This time the two collectible stores were open and Dan had a fun time browsing. One of them was almost all anime statues and the like, including some of the almost pornographic female characters. I find it quite curious that most of the female amine characters have EE or F sized boobs. Not even Wonder Woman’s boobs are that big. Much to my chagrin, the vintage store was closed. Apparently the owner may or may not have been turning up to open later in the day. Disappointingly, there were some quite interesting jewelry pieces in the window. Asian vintage stores tend to have some interesting and unusual pieces once you wade through the glitz and gilt. Especially Hong Kong and Singapore where there was plenty of British cash splashing around in the 20s and 30s when some of the most exquisite jewels were fashioned. Of course the social influence of colonialism is a whole different story.

After Dan was done with the collectible stores, we wandered through Chinatown market, looking at the wares. Conscious of how overloaded my pack already was, I only bought one thing – a silk printed scarf which wouldn’t have tipped the scales. We then headed to a new hotel in downtown that we had all been impressed by. The building structure itself looked like it was built from layers of corrugated cardboard. It was like a green oasis with hanging gardens spilling over the structure. The only distracting part was the brightly coloured pods hanging off the building every so often – they served a purpose in providing a more private and shady outdoor area for guests but it was the colours (clearly included to reference the gelato row houses of nearby china town that jarred with the muted tones of the rest of the building. Our companions had previously visited and found that members of the public could travel to the open shared leisure area of the hotel about 10 floors up. Beautiful gardens, the pods that featured cushions and acted much like a Bedouin tent or meditation space and fresh breezes all meant a cooler relaxed space with less of the stifling humidity on the ground. The hotel’s infinity pool was also on this level but was only open to guests.

Despite the fact we had only had breakfast about two hours before, we decided we wanted to have lunch at a hawker centre just once more before we left. Our companions had challenged themselves to spend more than $10 at the centre and they struggled. Yes – food in the centres is that cheap, as long as you don’t buy alcohol. Even with Dan’s ravenous appetite and want to try as many different foods as possible, he struggled to spend $15. I had a combination that included hoi sin pork, veges, noodles, soup, a couple of extremely refreshing lime and cucumber drinks.

After lunch we headed back to the hotel. I had initially planned to do two extra things – go shopping for fabric in Arab Street and go to Raffles. We had already decided against Raffles as we were tired, hot, sweaty and dirty and had also heard from a couple of sources that it hadn’t really held its former glory as much as you would expect. I also decided it was way too hot to go to Arab Street. I already have a pile of fabric at home and besides we need to have a reason to come back to Singapore.

Instead I took the much more appealing option of lazing about on the pool deck (well floating in the pool as lazing around on the pool deck isn’t really my style – it’s hot and this is a bikini body that is definitely best hidden by refracted waves of water (and covered in something more extensive than a bikini). Dan didn’t last long, heading back upstairs for a snooze after his incredibly active morning. I swanned about for another hour or two and then it was time to pack up and head to the airport.

Yet another helpful taxi driver – this one spent some time discussing with us the laws and possibilities of home ownership in Singapore. First only citizens can buy property. Secondly, all the land is leasehold. Thirdly, there is a sort of ballot system not the free for all we have. This seems to be good in that not all the property can be purchased by investors but it also means a lengthy wait to be able to purchase property as well. Everything in Singapore is apartments but unlike some of its neighbours Singapore doesn’t pack them in like sardines, retaining a strict garden city state approach to building.

When we arrived at the airport the leaving procedure was a little more arduous with plenty of queues. The importance of retaining your immigration card stub was brought into focus. The young girl ahead of us had seemingly misplaced hers and the immigration officials were ready to take her away for an interview. We eventually arrived at our holy grail destination. As we were travelling home on a Qantas flight (despite the fact it was codeshare) we were able to enter an international lounge in another country. The new Qantas lounge in Singapore is pretty swish and the food selections were wonderful – local noodle dishes, pasta, salads and some delectable desserts as well. We didn’t have too much time but we took advantage of the free spread and chilled out before our flight to Sydney. The pilot managed to land us quite early and the flow through Customs and immigration was incredibly quick. Of course what that meant was that we were ready to fly home about four hours before the flight I had booked for us. And these days Qantas pretty strictly enforces the rule that you can’t change flights if you booked the cheap ass fare. And yep you guessed it that’s the one I booked and the hosties was intractable (despite the fact there was more than likely a half empty plane heading back to Canberra on Sunday morning in the first week of January. Eventually after struggling to stay awake in the Qantas lounge we made it home without incident and drifted in and out of sleep just moments later. Another holiday sadly over. All that’s left to do now – pay off the credit card and plan the next one… maybe Asia I think….

Christmas themed activities – 24 War museums and model shops – 3 Design experiences – 3

When we rose, we decided that the best most relaxing thing to do was invest in extending our check out until we left for the airport. It was raining and muggy in Singapore and we were sure we would desperately need a shower before getting on the plane. In the end it was a very good decision. Dan had suggested getting some pastries in the metro station for breakfast. He had spied some Portuguese tarts the nights before. I had an altogether better idea. I had read about this infamous little café in Chinatown that served eggs the local way – runny with coconut jam toast and lashings of pepper and soy. It’s called Ya Kum Kaya Toast. When we came out of the metro station, it really felt like we were in Singapore. Chinatown here is a curious mix of colonial buildings and red lanterns, painted almost South American or Mediterranean style in pastels. The cobblestoned street is lined with all manner of shops from Chinese trinkets and electronic stores to tailors. From here we wandered through the streets to find our breakfast destination which was quick, cheap and the local delicacy was done brilliantly. It was obvious by the helpful staff and explanations that the place attracts a lot of tourists but it still remains a distinctively simple Asian coffee house. We got to choose a standard set or French toast set off the menu. We chose the standard – $4 including the coffee. The coffee is thick, sweet with just enough milk to make it a chocolate colour. It sounds horrible but actually tastes pretty good. The toast – four slices without crusts, is sandwiched together with butter and coconut jam between. It I s served with two runny eggs in a saucer, to which you add soy and pepper and use the toast like soldiers to dip in the egg. You can buy the jam, which we intend to do on our return to Singapore.

After breakfast, we decided to walk from China town to the River via the centre of town. There are some wonderfully modern buildings in Singapore and while the ethos of the place is on heavy regulation, it doesn’t seem to stifle the creativity in architecture. If we were in any doubt which part of the world we were in, we needed only to look at the curbs. I am yet to visit an Asian country that doesn’t have black and white curbs around median strips. There were also Christmas trees and decorations everywhere.

After making our way to the waterfront, we walked through what was clearly the tourist waterfront restaurant area. You know the kind – menus that explain everything, hawkers out the front telling you why their overpriced restaurant that serves local food adapted for bland Western pallets and with a 200 per cent markup – is the best. It is curious to me that you only ever seem to find hawkers out the front of these kinds of restaurants, everywhere in the world. A hawker really is a good reason to avoid a restaurant.

From here, we wandered through the colonial part of town. First up was St Andrews cathedral, a typical colonial building that looked just like a cathedral in the UK or Australia, except that like most colonial buildings throughout south East Asia and the Pacific, it was whitewashed. From here we walked a few more blocks until we arrived at the holy grail of colonial Singapore – Raffles Hotel. Resplendent in the same whitewashed façade, with (as you’d imagine) wide verandahs and cane furniture all shrouded in lush tropical gardens. December is a bad time because the hotel rates in Singapore are crippling but it would be good to return one day and stay at Raffles just for the experience.  So important is Raffles to the history of Singapore that everywhere you look there is some kind of reference. Raffles Arcade, Raffles Circle – the Metro station is even called Raffles Place. In stark contrast just across the street a local hall was undergoing refurbishment as part of a modern apartment complex designed by French designer Philippe Starck.

From here we headed north towards one of Singapore’s infamous cultural hubs – Arab St, We knew we were heading in the right direction when we heard the call to prayer, so familiar to us from our travels through Turkey. The most exquisite part of Arab Street was the rows of fabric stores selling the most beautiful silks and cottons. The silk road of yesteryear from Asia through to Turkey has not disappeared. Along with our jar of coconut jam, I think our return visit may result in some fabric making the journey home to add to my ever growing pile. Might be time to get back into that particular hobby with gusto. Otherwise I will have to call myself a fabric collector rather than a sewer in the same way Dan has become a model kit collector rather than a modeler. My collection though does fit on one shelf in a wardrobe at this point… We wandered west, crossing another estuary of the Singapore River and almost immediately the smells of India filled the air. There were loads of tiny little eateries along the roads – the kind of place you could probably get a whole meal for under $10, eat it in 15 minutes and be ushered out the door. We were looking for something different though. Somewhere we could relax for a while in an air conditioned restaurant and dry off. We found one soon enough and Dan started ordering. What we ended up with was a feast we couldn’t finish but it was exquisite – samosas, fried paneer, chicken tikka, butter chicken, dhal and of course naan. Dan washed his down with a beer and I had a mango Lassi.  After lunch we walked through the local market full of fruit and vegetables, halal meats and, of course, fish mongers. Lots and lots of fish mongers and continued our stroll through Little India. We watched tourists passing on what can only be described as modern rickshaw bikes, and musing at the colourful building, including what is described as Singapore’s most colourful building. No whitewash in this part of town.

Done with walking, we hopped the MRT to Tiong Bahru, an art deco enclave of Singapore that is fast becoming a hipster hangout. It had all the trappings – designer bicycles, revered coffee houses and quirky bookshops. What interested us though was the architecture – a 1930s housing estate built around the idea of communal spaces. Art deco but built around a bauhausian philosophy, it was exquisite. And preserved. And given a new lease with private owners. There are some government housing estates around Canberra that would benefit from such treatment. Instead of the preferred method which is to demolish them and replace them with greater density housing designed by builders for maximum profit.

It was then time to visit the modern retail hub of Singapore – Marina Bay. Big, glitzy and reminiscent of Dubai. We wandered about the Marina Bay Mall with its fabulous views and water sculpture and completely twee Venetian style gondolas through the centre. It was basically a luxe mall with all the same shops as the larger Dubai Mall. And tea cafes that looked like a cup might cost a week’s salary. It was also the entrance to the Gardens by the Bay, which we were too tired for. We caught the metro back to the hotel to chill out before our flight.

After a restful packing exercise and some chilling time, we caught a cab back to the airport and checked in within minutes. Unfortunately that meant we had a long wait and as our next flight was Finnair, no Qantas Club. We wandered around what was a pretty non-descript terminal and arrived at our gate in order to go through security screening. We got a window this time and although we were travelling at night, the view of the lights over Delhi was nothing less than spectacular. The food on the Finnair flight wasn’t as good as the new Qantas menu but it was OK. Beef stew and potatoes for dinner with a chocolate jaffa cake. Breakfast was a slab of what I imagine was scrambled eggs if it were lighter and fluffier, a chicken sausage and potato cake. It came (predictably for a Scandinavian airline, with yoghurt. If I had a gripe about the flight it would be that there wasn’t enough water. I am sure if you asked Dan, he would mention the lack of newer choices on the entertainment system.