May 6-20th. 2016
Friday 6th.
A big thank you to our son Ben who drove us to the station before he went to work.
We flew with the Singapore Airlines budget airline Scoot and were pleasantly surprised by the brand new and very comfortable Boeing Dreamliner.
The soft tropical night wrapped around us as we arrived in Singapore and took a taxi to Libby and Eric’s condo in Serangoon and let ourselves in. A bit later we walked down to their local hawker stall and met them for dinner after they finished work. Lots of hugs and kisses and how great it was to see them and to be back in Asia eating wonderfully tasty and inexpensive food .
Saturday 7th
Lib and Eric were working so left us to our own devices.We walked past fresh flowers for sale at the corner store for Mothers Day and then went to Marina Bay on the super efficient MRT. Not only is the underground efficient,spotless and speedy, but it is also beautifully decorated with colourful tiles and mosaics. There aren’t any garbage bins either. It’s take your rubbish with you.
We walked over the very beautiful, double helix footbridge, designed by an Australian firm, to the Marina Bay Sands shopping complex. The tornado fountain was in operation so we gazed, mesmerised, as it filled and then emptied into the pool below in the centre of a restaurant area!
Following Libby’s directions we took the lift to the . 57th floor. There we had a cool ale at C’est La Vie Bar which overlooked the amazing infinity pool (for the use of hotel patrons only)!
From that height the huge amount of land reclamation was obvious and the the city below appeared in miniature. The two climate controlled domes (The Flower Dome and The Cloud Dome) are on the left
Sunday 8th May.
We set out early for The Gardens By The Sea and were surprised by how much the Super Trees had grown since our last visit. They towered overhead as we approached the impressive domes with their controlled climates.
The first one we entered was the Flower Dome featuring a spectacular display of tulips and crowded with visitors.The first thing I noticed after the amazing colour, was the number of striking sculptures.
We took particular notice of the stone plants with their clever camouflage and the colourful cacti in the dry area of the Flower Dome and enjoyed the English garden where nursery- rhyme characters were hiding in the foliage.
I was particularly impressed with the family sculptural group which was so creative.
The nearby Cloud Dome with its cool high- altitude forest is a damp experience due to frequent misting. The viewer walks on a metal ramp spiralling upwards to the roof of the dome passing close enough to touch and view rare and beautiful plants beside, above and below.
The day was very hot as we walked along to Satays By The Bay for a delicious lunch of satays, murtaba and sugarcane juice.
After our big day out we joined our hosts, Peter and other colleagues for dinner at Little Vietnam in Paya Lebar.
Monday 9th May.
The scheduled Monday walk was in The Chinese Gardens. We met the other walkers at Boon Lay MRT and managed to finish the walk before the heavens opened and we scampered for home.
In the afternoon Libby and I had a swim while the boys cooked the lamb dinner(we had lugged the leg of lamb all the way from Australia) with 40 cloves which Eric had read about. We enjoyed the food immensely and had a great night.
Tuesday 10th May
A short walk from the condo was Prata King on Paya Lebar, where we ate a delicious Indian breakfast of roti and murtaba. Well fortified we then did two legs of The Great Race. This needs explanation!
The great race is a tradition of Morris Allan College which is essentially a treasure hunt. Libby and Eric planned the route it would take and printed the directions for each team. The winning team had to follow directions accurately, fill in details on the form and be the first to finish in order to claim the prize.
We did several legs of the race to check the accuracy of the instructions and loved the back streets and interesting places we discovered as a result, many of them well away from the usual tourist routes.
That afternoon we met Libby and Eric and Robert at Sque in Clarke Quay, drank cider and then checked out the nearby handbag shop. Back home we feasted on roast veg soup laced with leftover garlic. Delicious!!
Wednesday 11th may.
This was a momentous day - Libby and Eric’s 37th wedding anniversary. Congratulations to a well-matched and delightful couple we are proud to call good friends!
Libby and I had a morning swim while the more energetic men walked to Japanese cemetery.
Thursday 12th May
The workers went to work while we went to Kallang Wave Stadium hoping to buy golf shirts but to no avail. We were really impressed with the stadium and the running track outside which seemed available to anyone. The water fun park,( although closed because of the weather), looked like a child’s dream come true. Out on the bay a dragon boat crew was training hard.
The metro station was very impressive with a very long escalator and athletics related sculpture.
From there we went to Kampong Glam and bought bamboo socks ( $2 a pair) and t-shirts for Glenn in Haji Lane after Robert had told us of the specials there.
We ate murtaba (again) at Zam Zams where we waited out a torrential downpour. After a while it eased but we still got wet despite a very handy cheap umbrella!
For dinner we met Libby and Eric at their local hawker stalls and ate the delicious claypot chicken which I’m determined to cook when we get home.
Botanical Gardens.
Friday 13th
In the morning we went to see the Annie Leibovitz Women: New Portraits exhibition at Tanjong Pagar Railway Station. The impressive building was the main passenger station for passengers traveling between Singapore and Malaysia for 79 years but has only recently been open to the public again. The entrance is striking and features towering statues named Agriculture, Commerce, Transport and Industry, representing four sectors of the Malayan colonial economy. Inside the soaring main hall are six murals made from rubber tiles depicting economic activities such as tin-mining and rubber production.The scale of the interior space physically overwhelmed the small exhibition but not the powerful images.
After the exhibition we went to look at nearby street murals and then had lunch before the workers needed to leave.
Saturday 14th
A lazy day at home while I tried to shake a tummy bug and then a light meal at KOVAN.
Sunday 15th.
Another day at home for me while Glenn walked another leg of the Great Race. Despite Libby and Eric’s thorough research some art works which they had included were not to be found. Back to the drawing board!
That night Peter came to help with the re-working of Mr Bojangles, a special birthday song (called JOJOBangles) for Joe’s bday dinner which I missed due to a gastric bug.
Monday 16
The walk today was from Paya Lebar to Katong through the very interesting Joo Chiat district which has many beautiful buildings and Peranakan shops.
We started with a circuit of the Geylang Serai Market, and I wish I could bottle the sounds, sights, smells and industry of the people and reproduce it here. Wonderful fresh food like these bananas which are actually Plantains!
We walked slowly, with much stopping and chattering, admiring the unique pre-war architecture. Most of the colourful two-storey shophouses and terraces, with their ornate facades, intricate motifs and ceramic tiles, have been lovingly renovated.
Lib and Eric were particularly happy to find Chiang Pow Joss-Paper Trading open so we could see the colourful funerary products spilling out onto the sidewalk. There were, all the material trappings of a good life replicated in paper and stripped bamboo, ready to accompany the deceased person to the next life. Inside the shop were bicycles, cars and planes and entire miniature houses in bright colours. Fascinating!
That night Eric and Glenn celebrated Jo’s birthday with other colleagues, at Blu Jazz in Bugis but Libby and I stayed home nursing our ailments. We dined on poached egg on toast, settled our stomachs with a nice glass of red and talked and talked. The boys were very late home and I worried that Eric had led Glenn astray, trolling through the underbelly of Singapore. Not so!! They had gone to visit the wine fairy in her three-storey cellar at Park View Square.
Tuesday 17
After a slow start we went to the Art Science Museum at Marina Bay Sands to see the Van Cleef and Arpels Exhibition which explored the relationship between the science of gems and the art of fine jewellery. The collection included more than 450 pieces of jewellery along with more than 250 gems and minerals from the French Natural History Museum. The pieces have adorned the necklines of Elizabeth Taylor, Princess Grace, Princess Faiza of Egypt, the wives of Indian Maharajas and the Duchess of Windsor to name just a few. Ohhh!… did we drool over those precious gems!!
We walked back along the promenade admiring the structures above us and the patterns of light and shade they created against the sky and on the pavement.
We had a cool drink, admired the waterlillies and enjoyed the evening breeze off the water.
Then we took a train to Ang Mo Kio and a taxi to the Zoo. We had bought online tickets for the 7:30 pm start and were surprised by the crowd shuffling slowly towards the entrance, many people carrying hot, tired children.
Eventually we were on the tram moving quietly on rubber tyres through the warm darkness, very close to nocturnal animals which seemed unaware of our presence. Midway through we got off and walked through enclosures with lapwings and fruit bats, past lions and leopards. At the end we collapsed into a (cheap) taxi and went home.
Wednesday 18
My visit to the zoo last night which included hasty visits to all the loos, at least once, prompted me to go to Libby’s doctor this morning. I joined the queue and waited at least an hour, had a swift consultation and was soon walking home. The experience was interesting because the medication was dispensed on the premises and the entire cost was $S35 which I thought very inexpensive especially as I was a ‘foreigner’.
Back home the aroma of beef rendang wafted through the house … and beyond.. and I taught Lib our terrific 2-handed Australian Rummy card game which we play a lot in the caravan and at airports waiting for flights. We compared the differing rules we use for mahjong: dad taught me three handed navy rules while Lib plays the 13 tile Cantonese game… a four handed game which is probably more social.
Lib and Eric back at work today so we took ourselves off the the URA centre and looked at a diorama of the city and lots of architecture students’ models and some interesting furniture.
We trolled through some of the backstreets of Chinatown and into a big department store but it was hot and we were very weary. I think the fast pace had just caught up with us!
Glenn took me to see the wine fairy at Park View Square and we sat in the cool, massive interior and ordered a cold beer. The sheer size and opulence of the bar was amazing and the spectacle of the wine fairy being hoisted ten storeys high up the face of the vertical wine cellar, then selecting the desired bottle before descending, beggars belief!!
We made it home just before the workers and sat down to a delicious, fragrant rendang.
Thursday 19
The boys went shopping again in the morning of our last day together. Glenn came home with new joggers and Eric with shorts. Lib and I played cards and she beat me at my own game!!
We decided we needed to re-visit the legendary Raffles before our departure so off we went on the train to City Hall and found ourselves in the Long Bar. The boys had beers, Libby a gin and tonic and I had a Singapore Sling for the first time. We ate the small delicious peanuts out of a hessian bag and threw the shells on the floor as tradition demands.
The Singapore Sling was created in 1915 at Raffles Singapore by bartender Ngiam Tong Boon. At this time etiquette dictated that ladies could not consume alcohol in public so the talented Ngiam created a cocktail that looked like fruit juice. He cleverly masked the clear alcohol in pink to add a feminine touch and lead people to believe it was a socially acceptable punch for ladies!
I can personally vouch for for its suitability. At $S35 each, one was enough.
We had a quick lunch together in the Marketplace under Raffles city and Lib and Eric went to work. We poked around for a while and then headed home to pack. We joined Peter, Lib and Eric for our last meal together at the local hawker across the road, and then called a taxi and left for the airport for our 1.45am flight home.
Libby and Eric were once again the most generous and loving friends and we treasure them.
I also have to thank you Libby for giving me permission to take great chunks of your blog and make it my own after I managed to wipe the entire tale of our visit off my ipad with one obliterating swipe of the screen!
