April 1

Singapore

Not such a good night's sleep so a lie in, instead. Breakfast was dumpling soup at the bar. A whole $4. I must watch the extravagance. The flavours were excellent. There were a few other white faces in evidence. I'm not sure that is a good sign.

The first part of the plan was to take the train to Woodlands, near the end of the causeway to Malaysia. This part worked. The aim of the visit, however, was to buy a short sleeved shirt. This part of the plan failed. Woodlands has a huge Town Hall, with lots of flowers, a temporary tent covered market and a normal mall. None of these sold shirts.
Dumpling soup for breakfast	Woodlands Town Hall

When I first came to Singapore, about fourteen years ago, there were two lines on the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT). There are now five and also some light railways. I went a few stops along the old line (East-West) and changed at Choa Chu Kung to the light rail.

This was great fun. It is, in effect, an automatic, articulated bus, running on rubber tyres on a concrete pathway. The side windows were coated , which made for difficult photography but I grabbed a front seat as soon as one was vacated. This gave me splendid views of the line ahead. It is often said that London Underground would have been like this years ago were it not for the opposition of the Unions.
	The light rail ...
... runs on tyres like a bus ...	... and has no driver to block the view

At Bukit Panjang I returned to the normal MRT but on the Downtown line. This wasn't here two years ago and is now only half completed. It will eventually run all the way to the east coast, near where I was yesterday. At the moment, it only runs as far as Chinatown. Feeling the need of a drink, I decided that Albert Park sounded like a pretty sort of place that would have a café. How wrong can you be!             Right: Bukit Panjang Station

It appeared to be a brand new development, with a bit of grass and a large mall and office block - not fully open - which is linked to the station by a beautifully decorated overpass. Cafes were there none.

	Albert Park
Lots of flats & offices but no cafe	Art on the MRT?

I returned to the station, where I found some small statues. This being Singapore, they must be official decoration. I've never seen anything similar here.

A couple of trains took me to Chinatown - I could have stayed on one and arrived there but changing to another line saved me half a dozen stops. Here it is noisy and bustly. I made straight for the Maxwell Road Hawker Centre, world famous as these places go. In the middle of the lunch hour, it was heaving but I managed to find a space on a table. I put my hat on my chair and left my cold drink on the table while I collected my food. The hat remained, no one tried to occupy my chair but the drink was tidied away. A lesson learned. Official advice is to claim the seat by placing a packet of tissues on the table. The mee goreng that I had purchased was OK. Not brilliant but very cheap.

Lots of amazing architecture	The Sri Mariamman Temple
Chinatown - busy and varied	Maxwell Road Hawker Centre

I walked along the crowded streets, past interesting old buildings and the incredibly ornate Sri Mariamman Temple. I even found a couple of cheap shirts in the  tourist market. I wore them in the evening at the hotel and decided that one was tight, one was very tight and the tighter of the two had mismatched buttons. Never mind. They were cheap!

Once back at the Sidewalk, I had a Tiger which wasn't wildly cold. They must put them out at lunchtime so that they only get really cold by early evening, when they have been in the fridge for several hours. I returned to the hotel for a lie down and discovered that my TV still wasn't working properly.

I rested for a couple of hours, asked nicely at reception, yet again, to have my TV mended and marched outside. There was a little bit of wind, a little bit of cloud and a lot of heat.

Just over the road I encountered what seems to have become an increasing amount of street art. The Art Connector, commissioned by the National Gallery, features a collection of portraits of ordinary Singaporeans. It was commissioned to commemorate the nations 50th anniversary. There are some interesting tourist activities here. With the importance of the river, I should play on this one some time.
Singapore Duck?	The Art Connector

I walked past The Padang, the site of the cricket, rugby and general sports ground, which is gloriously open to all. When I visited the cricket ground in Hong Kong a few weeks ago, it was hidden behind several layers of wire mesh and some locked gates. Photography was difficult and entry absolutely impossible. Here you could walk straight across the square, if you weren't worried about damaging it.
	The Padang
They play cricket ...	... and football
Stamford Road leads onto Raffles Avenue and even more fine new buildings. I finally reached the waterfront and my first full view of The Marina Sands. This has to be one of the world's most outrageous buildings but, in this environment, it looks good.
Marina Bay Sands	Stamford Road

Gluttons Bay is a hawker centre for the slightly upmarket. Lonely Planet said it got full very early on so I arrived at 17.30 and had my pick of tables. By 18.30, when I left, there was still plenty of room. My squid sambal with rice and greens was excellent but, at $20, almost as much as I paid in a proper restaurant last night. It was good.

I sat on the edge of the harbour wall, if you can call it that, and watched the sun going down over the buildings and the water. The temperature had dropped, there was a very slight breeze and it was absolutely wonderful. A caravan provided a coconut ice cream - in a half coconut shell - and also a free plastic cup full of coconut water. All very nice.

I continued taking architectural photos and even found a couple of pianos in an underpass. There are part of a project called "Play it forward" intended to upgrade and decorate old instruments and position them for the public to play before donating them to needy pianists after a few months.

Makan Angin - playing on the waterfront	Play it forward

A war memorial described the ravages caused by the Japanese in WWII. If there are Japanese tourists here, they must find it very difficult.

	The cricket pavilion
Lim Bo Seng Memorial	Back to The Sidewalk

The Sidewalk was busy but I managed to find a table, which I was soon sharing.

The beer was very cold so my assessment may well be correct. I must start drinking later in the day.

I returned to my room to find that my TV was working properly. It only took three days!