I'm going a bit off the beaten track with this one... not really emigration info, but for all my lovely friends back home, thought I should post an update on my travels. There are a few useful bits of info squished in for anyone who wants to find them!
Visiting Singapore isn't a new experience for me... I've been here for work as well as stopping over on previous trips to Australia. That's one of the reasons I chose it. I could have done Hong Kong, which I'd love to visit or had a beach break somewhere new on any number of islands, but any of these options would have necessitated me getting out and doing things, rather than relaxing doing nothing! In Singapore I've seen the main sights (and some off the beaten track too), so there's no excuse not to just chill out and take it easy (anyone who knows me well knows that's a contradiction in terms!!).
I arrived to a big queue at immigration and just like in the supermarket, I seemed to be in the slowest moving one! Eventually I changed lanes and moved marginally faster towards my goal. The immigration officer was lovely, wishing me a belated birthday and proving that she did actually notice something on my passport! The upside of waiting so long for immigration is that my bags were already on the carousel when I reached the other side. I then had to trudge all 3 of them to the other end of the terminal to leave the big one in left luggage (just S$15 for 2.5 days), before heading off to the MRT (metro).
I've always kept my EZ Link Card, the equivalent of London's Oyster card and I was certainly pleased today as there was a long queue for tickets at the machines which I breezed past, topped up at the manned help desk and was on the train in seconds! It was a straight trip in to City Hall, where my hotel (Swisshotel The Stamford) sits above the MRT as part of the Raffles Place shopping complex. I checked in and got a room on the 54th floor (the higher the better as this is one of the tallest hotels in Asia and provides fantastic views... on a clear day!).
After emptying my bags, I headed out for a look around... there is so much building work going on in Singapore that you need to get your bearings each time you come here as your surroundings will most definitely have changed! I ended up on the waterfront by the Esplanade Theatres and had some lovely food in the outdoor hawker centre there, watching the evening light show over Marina Bay. It's amazing to think the whole Marina Bay development wasn't here the first time I came to Singapore in 2007 and the land hadn't even been reclaimed. Now it houses the massive 3-tower hotel, an even bigger shopping centre, an arts & science museum and more!
I got an early night - in bed around 10pm - and didn't wake until 9am... my recipe for overcoming jet lag! I had a long, leisurely breakfast in Cafe Swiss then headed to the gym for a short workout, before taking up a sun lounger by the pool, where I stayed, enjoying a light lunch for calamari & lemon aioli, until I was rudely interrupted by a tropical storm around 4pm! The sky was amazing, becoming blacker by the minute, long before the rain arrived. But once it did, I headed inside to the steam room, jacuzzi & bubble lounge! What is a bubble lounge, you may ask... well, it's like a jacuzzi, but is a shallow pool which is shaped so you can comfortably lay down in it and the bubbles from the jets all around your body wash over you... amazing sensation & definitely better than a jacuzzi!
After catching up on the news, I headed out for an evening stroll, this time wandering round Chimes, a converted chapel and grounds which houses a variety of eating places all lit by candlelight... beautiful for an evening meal. I took a look round Raffles hotel, but decided I'd eat there tomorrow night as I'd have lots of time before my midnight flight, so instead headed again for the waterfront, where I indulged in my favourite Chicken Satay from the hawker centre. I then headed out to Marina Bay to see what was going on there now all the building work was complete. The shopping centre is massive and is now full of shops, which is an improvement on my last visit in September 2011. The big bowl structure on the waterfront houses an arts & science museum, whilst a floating glass structure, connected to the wharf by a bridge is a massive Louis Vuitton shop! Only in Singapore will you find shopping experiences like this... it's no wonder the big fashion houses love this city!!
When my legs had done enough walking, I returned to the hotel and whisked up to City Space on the 70th floor to indulge in a champagne cocktail (The Butterfly) whilst enjoying the view across the city and listening to a live jazz pianist and vocalist.
My final day in Singapore consisted of waking late (9.30am, so maybe not quite over the jet lag, or more likely my hectic pre-emigration week!), breakfast at Coffee Club, then ironing my semi-wet jeans & other bits and pieces I'd washed out before stuffing everything into my suitcase to ensure I checked out by 12 noon! I then walked up to Bugis
Junction and took a look round the shopping centre, before relaxing in Toast Box with some Kaya Toast (the best snack in Singapore!) and kopi (hot, dark, sweet coffee). The weather today is extremely hot and humid, but I still decided to brave the outdoors to walk on to Little India, which I've always meant to visit but never have! I'm so pleased I did... it really feels like a taste of what I imagine India is really like - colourful, noisy, teeming with
life, everything smelling of rich spices or tangy incense. You really wouldn't believe you're in Singapore here. Singaporeans are generally very law-abiding citizens, so you see them waiting patiently at traffic lights for the little green man, even when no cars are in sight. In Little India, it's a different world with people dodging in between cars, trucks and vans all hooting their horns and swerving manically to avoid whatever's in front of them! The fabric shops are havens of beautiful fine fabrics, so soft you must barely feel them over your skin. Gold costume jewellery abounds and every other store sells cut price bangles by the wrist-full! I wandered around a myriad of little streets and finally started heading back to the MRT as the sky became dark... another tropical storm on it's way. I didn't quite make it before a few big fat drops of rain started to fall, but luckily I was walking along streets with covered terraces each side to take shelter. It turned out to be not a moment too soon... after 30 seconds of blobs of rain, the heavens opened and a downpour twice as heavy as yesterday started. The thunder was overhead and sounded like 10 tonne bombs going off and within a minute, the street had become a swelling river! I've seen better lightning shows in Malaysia, but I've never experienced thunder or rain like this before. For 10 minutes life stops, everyone takes shelter and it feels as if the storm is going to last forever. Then as quickly as it started, it's over. The rain eases to a few light drops, the water drains from the street and life carries on.
Back at Little India MRT station, I decided to take the train to Harbourfront where I used to work when I was out here. I visited my favourite hawker market (Food Republic) and picked up some Tu Tu... little steamed coconut cakes which got their name because of the noise the traditional Chinese steaming pot made when cooking them! My plan was to eat them sat out on the rooftop garden, but either another storm had started or the one I'd experienced in Little India had made its way down here, because the rain was falling once again! So I stayed in Food Republic (much emptier at this time of day than during the lunchtime rush!) and savoured my little cakes.
It's not only buildings that keep going up in Singapore. Since I visited in 2011, it's also got a new MRT line that goes right the way round the central part of Singapore, bringing together outlying areas such as the Botanic Gardens (previously not serviced by MRT), Marina Bay and the Singapore Flyer, among others. I decided to take the long route back to City Hall to check it out... most of the MRT lines are overground, so it's a good way to see things, especially when it's raining! However, having gone several stops, I realised that this additional line has all been built underground! So much for the views!! Instead I sat on an end seat where I could prop myself against the side of the carriage and took a well-earned doze!
I travelled all the way to Bayfront where I got out and followed the signs towards the Bay Gardens. What I found astounded me... a huge area of gardens behind the Marina Sands Bay hotel, stretching as far as the eye can see! I wonder whether planning permission was granted for the resort on the back of them agreeing to create a massive new green space in the city to rival the Botanic Gardens? The structures I'd seen from the previous night when I was over by the Singapore Flyer are actually in the garden... 2 glass flower domes and amazing metal 'tree' structures with plants growing vertically up the side of them and a walkway weaving above the gardens, two thirds of the way up the 'trees'! The gardens underneath are all themed - Chinese, Malay, Indian, etc and there are lakes and waterways running through them too. These gardens are a destination in their own right and although I had time to briefly wander through, they'll be top of my list when I next return to Singapore.
I headed back across the footbridge to Esplanade and on to Swisshotel and Raffles, where I dined in their courtyard, amongst the greenery with live jazz music as an accompaniment. The restaurant is now Italian and does exceptionally good pizza and Italian wine... all very reasonably priced and not much more expensive than a standard Singaporean restaurant without the music and idyllic setting. Wine, pizza & gelato cost S$50 + tax. The service here is impeccable and they even provide you with magazines if you are dining alone - very thoughtful, but with the subdued green lighting it's a bit difficult to do any more than look at the pictures!!
I eventually had to tear myself away from the colonial days of Singapore and return to the hotel to collect my bags, shower & change (always make sure you ask about facilities - this place has a hospitality room for you to freshen up!) and head back to the airport.
As a follow-up on the double baggage allowance... don't believe a word they tell you in London. I had to fight for my double allowance here and they classified it as 40kg (mine was nearly 44kg), not the 48kg they quoted in London! In the end I produced all the email correspondence with Singapore Airlines, plus my visa grant notice & they let it go through. After ruining my holiday mood, the lovely immigration officer wished me another belated happy birthday and left me with a warm fuzzy feeling for the Singaporeans! Next stop Sydney!
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