March 31
Singapore
A pretty good night's sleep so I should be able to manage a full day's entertainment. I completed the photo processing that I didn't do last night, organised my belongings for the day and left the hotel at about 08.00. The Sidewalk was doing a good trade, particularly the drinks counter, where there was a long queue for coffee.
I ignored this and ordered a bowl of mee rebus for $3.20. A large bowl of noodles with egg, tofu and a few spring onions in a hot stock appeared. Very nourishing and more than enough for breakfast. I hit the usual problem of a fogged up lens. Why can I never remember this problem from one visit to the next!
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At City Hall Station, the machine told me that my train/bus ticket had expired, a fact confirmed by the lady at the information desk. She directed me to the ticket office, where I actually had to queue for almost ten minutes before another nice lady sold me a new card for $3, transferred the cash off my old one and told me that the new one would last seven years.
I caught the train to Somerset, got out at the right exit but turned the wrong way.. This didn't really matter as I had seven minutes before the Post Office opened at 09.30. There was a small café at the end of Killiney Road, where I sat at the pavement and had a green tea. Whilst it was still hot, there was a gentle breeze which made the open air more inviting than usual.
The Post Office is unusual in that half (or more) of the building has been converted into a café/bar, offering pretty beer taps as a photo opportunity. It also sold stamps, but not cards onto which I could stick them.
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The Tourist Office, on Orchard Road, is in one of the few remaining old buildings and looks great. It was little help, however, having far fewer brochures that my hotel. I did find a food tour that was interesting but was told that I had to book on the WWW. I'm not sure why they bother having such an expensive piece of real estate which offers so little service.
I returned to the MTR through a magnificent tower block, got lost and then found again. The train took me to Pasir Ris at the end of the line, where I disembarked and tried to find the park.
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I accosted a nice lady who started by directing me to the Town Park, round the back of the mall. She then realised that I probably wanted the Beach Park, which was in the direction in which I was heading. I walked about one and a half kilometres, through grass and trees, until I reached the waterfront. There were “paths” marked out with plastic bottles but I have no idea what they were for.
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There was a small beach, lots of flowers and it was quiet. Idyllic! I sat and listened to the waves for a while before retracing my steps and entering the bus interchange
I examined all of the maps which seemed to show that the only bus to Changi Village was from somewhere else.
I did a brief exploration of the mall, failed to find a short sleeved shirt at any price and had a cold drink at an outside stall.
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I returned one stop on the train to Tampines and walked for a few minutes in the intricate network of railings to find the bus to Changi. This wound its way through lots of estates and then the barbed wire of the military and prison area. I disembarked in the middle of Changi Village and marched into the Hawker Centre.
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This is intimidating in that there are so many places to chose from. I wandered aimlessly for ten minutes before ordering a bowl of prawn dumpling soup for $4.50. Combined cost of breakfast and lunch, including a glass of lime juice, was $7.70, just under £4. There were no other white faces present for either meal, which has to prove a point.
There is a famous bar in the Hawker Centre which I sought out. When I asked for a local beer, they offered me Tiger or Heineken. I beat a hasty retreat to the Little Island Brewing Co across the street. They have a strange system whereby you buy a plastic card and help yourself until the money on the card runs out.
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This is similar to the system they have at the Wine Centre on Waiheke Island. It should surprise no one that I couldn't make the system work so had to summon help from a pretty Indian girl. She also had trouble so had to summon help from another chap and I eventually ended up with a couple of glasses of Pale Ale. It was not remarkable but quite drinkable.
The numerous taps on the bar dispensed not only beer but also wine, cider and soft drinks. I can't see the system working on a busy Saturday night in a London pub. An interesting experiment though.
I caught the bus and then the train back to the hotel, a trip of more than an hour. I failed to find a shirt in the shops near the hotel but I did find some post cards.
My TV still wasn't making any noise and an email arrived saying that the cookery classes were off as not enough people were interested. As they only announced them a week ago, that is hardly surprising! Piss ups in breweries spring to mind. I did take up the nice lady's offer of eating at Coriander Leaf, so I asked her to reserve a table for me on Saturday night.
I showered, changed and, at about 6 pm after complaining again about my TV, set off up North Bridge Road, in the direction of Purvis Street, which is wall to wall restaurants.
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The new development of posh shops has been designed to mirror Raffles, on the other side of the road. There is a long covered walkway with old fashioned ceiling fans. Very elegant and all out of my price range. The buildings on Purvis Street are excellent. Beautiful first floor shutters with wonderful colours. I walked the length of the street and settled on Jai Thai, a small and basic Thai restaurant.
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It was busy, always a good sign. My soup, prawns and vegetables all arrived at the same time, normal Thai practice, and were all excellent. Trying not to spill chilli prawn juice down my shirt was difficult. A napkin would have helped.
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I walked back down Beach Street, taking photos of the buildings, particularly their juxtaposition to the cricket ground. An interesting contrast.
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The IT mall produced a look of horror when I asked about a case for my Windows phone. Mr Gates must have upset somebody over here.
The Sidewalk was full but I found a table and a bottle of Tiger that was as cold as I remember from previous years. Yesterday must have been an aberration. As I drank, a large cockroach scuttled across the floor. It, too, must like the food here.