Singapore Slings and Skyhigh Ocean Liners

Singapore is amazing. Everyone said that it is but sometimes you have to experience it before you agree. We arrived at about 4pm and were shuttled to the hotel. From the first sight of the city it was possible to see how clean and green the place was. No signs of litter or graffiti, and trees and plants everywhere, even on rooftops. This was also another experience of the efficiency of the organisation of Brian Tefler, our Travel counsellor, who had skillfully taken our random thoughts and woven them into what is becoming a holiday that exceeds expectations. Park Hotel seemed big to us (although in comparision to some of the others in Singapore it is not.) However it is extremely efficient, comfortable and the staff are very friendly. Whilst checking in we were given complimentary lemon drinks which really hit the spot. Having changed we headed toward Clarke Quay, a very touristy area but teeming with bars and restaurants. We chose well and settled down to a delicious meal, although Dave's idea of medium hot and theirs were some distance apart. Be warned, they like their chillis! Having eaten, it wasn't long before bed and the relief of lying down to sleep instead of trying to sleep sitting up in the plane. Breakfast next morning had some choices that I have never seen on a menu including Teriyaki Chicken and Olive Rice. I made the choice of porridge only to discover that it was made with rice I mixed some Kaya with it which seemed to be a sweet fruity puree, although confusingly I also tried a Kaya Pau which seemed to be a rice dumpling with meat in it. Our touristy choices for the day included the Singapore Flyer, like the London Eye only bigger and an excellent way to get an overview of the city including parts of the Grand Prix circuit, and a visit to the observation deck of the Marine Bay Hotel. This is a huge hotel of three towers with what looks like an Ocean Liner parked on top. Add in the trees growing all over it and it reminded me of the Disc World out of a Terry Pratchett novel. Then we headed for Raffles Hotel where of course we had to have a Singapore Sling each. The Long Bar where we were sitting had bamboo fans wafting back and forth from the ceiling, electrically operated these days and looked just as you would expect a bar from the British Empire to look. We were given a large wooden box of roasted monkey nuts and you were expected to drop the shells onto the floors, a very difficult idea to get into. After a nap to sleep off the rather strong Singapore Slings, we headed into China Town for the evening and discovered a fabulous bustling market type place, even the shops seemed like market stalls and you could find virtually anything that you can think of, and some things that you probably wouldn't want to. I could happily have spent a lot of time and money there but fortunately we were running out of Singapore dollars, so I made do with a fan. We also had a nice meal at a quarter of the cost of last nights. Both were good experiences in their own ways. Apparently part of the reason that Singapore is so clean and tidy is because there are fines for things such as chewing gum, graffiti and even not flushing the toilet! On the one hand that could seem rather 'big Brotherish' and restrictive but actually it seems to have given the city and the people the freedom of knowing that the same standard of behaviour is expected and demanded from all. Certainly I would feel quite safe walking around by myself.

In theory it should be able to put these pictures into the text but at present I am happy to get them onto the blog! The connections have not been brilliant so far