February 6/7

Bourne End to Singapore

Neither alarm clock was necessary as I was awake long before they were due to sound. I did, however, have a good night's sleep before then so should be OK for the day. Outside, it was warm and dry, with just a few puddles remaining from last night's drizzle. I walked through a very quiet village, chatted to Tony at the station and awaited the train, which arrived on time.
	Very quiet in Bourne End

The first train arrived on time	And again at Maidenhead

Maidenhead Station was very busy with people catching the expresses into London. I waited 15 minutes for the slow stopper - very punctual - reached Hayes and waited for another 15 minutes there for the Heathrow Connect.

I reached the airport on time at 08.00, walked for about 15 minutes to the check-in and was through both there and security in another 15 minutes. The latter wasn't a simple process as I set off all of the alarms but was finally allowed through.

It was another 15 minute walk, up and down several escalators, to the Silver Kris Lounge. They fed me a bacon sandwich and a good coffee and provided a window through which I could watch the huge hole that was being dug outside.   Right: A very big hole

Boarding was smooth and easy - the Business cabin was only about half full - and I was soon in my new-style Singapore Airlines pod. It seemed to be diagonal, which suits me as I do sleep in the "foetal" position. Time will tell if it is actually comfortable. There was excellent storage around the seat for my phone, camera, book etc so the new design seems to work.

The doors closed one minute late and we pushed back about four minutes late. Not bad at all. There were a few spots of rain on the window but, otherwise, the weather was dull, still and unmemorable.

We became airborne about 15 minutes after take off time and set sail for Singapore.

The food and wine were good. The service was excellent and the bed was comfortable, although a trifle hard. I probably only had a couple of hours sleep but I rested a lot.

When breakfast arrived, I ordered the noodles and the hostess was delighted as she had just sold the last poached eggs. The noodles were good.

The flight was completely uneventful, with a minimum of turbulence. We made good time and were scheduled to arrive 30 minutes early. We landed, taxied for a few minutes and I made my way through Immigration in about 20 minutes. It took another ten for my bag to arrive and I was in the real world about 30 minutes after touchdown. Left: Calm skies outside

I stopped to connect to the wi fi, read some emails, nothing important, and to adjust my packing a little. I then made my way to the train station.

Luckily, the carriage wasn't too crowded, so I dragged my case aboard and then repeated the process when we reached Tanah Merah, the main line station. 20 minutes later I was at City Hall, from where I staggered down North Bridge Road to the hotel. It is only 400 yards but I am getting old!

The hotel was expecting me but my room wouldn't be ready until lunchtime. I did another re-pack, left two bags with the concierge, and wandered round the corner to The Sidewalk.

The Sidewalk	Spruced up inside

There have been changes there. The number of tables has increased but at the expense of some of the stalls. The beer and tea stall is still there but the place where I have breakfasted for the last few years, isn't. I had a tea and a rest and wrote my diary.

Round the back of the café used to be the Funan IT Mall. This was demolished a couple of years ago and is still under reconstruction.  I took the train one stop to Doby Ghaut, where I failed to find the HSBC. I did find the Post Office, bought some stamps and sought directions. The nice lady directed me to a large Mall, where, after a few false starts, I located the bank. The staff were very helpful and leant me a computer so that I could check if I had told the people in the UK that I was overseas. I hadn't. I entered the first three weeks of my itinerary into the WWW, which should prevent the fraud department from becoming too excited. The rest can wait until I'm in New Zealand.       Left: The new mall takes shape

I took a few photos of Istana Park, always lots of flowers, and then visited the Tourist Office. They gave me some help which should enable me to plan the next few days.

	Istana Park
Istana Park	Lunch at The Sidewalk

It was hot, not really a surprise, but I was beginning to feel rather tired. I caught the train back to City Hall and searched the local shops for post cards. I found none! There must be some somewhere. I did find some insect repellent which the lady at the Tourist Office wisely suggested would be useful at the wetland reserve.

By 11.45 my stomach suggested that breakfast had been six hours before, so I had my first meal at The Sidewalk.

I don't think it was as good as the stall that I used to frequent but, at £3 for a big plate, one shouldn't complain. I also had a cold, sugar free, iced tea. I will save my daily beer for later.

The quest for post cards took me to the National Gallery and then the Cathedral Bookshop, both without success. I finally achieved my aim in a posh stationers in a posh mall. This had lots, even if they were almost all of Marina Bay.

The hotel let me have my room at about 13.00, so I washed and had a long rest. I also had a shave, although this process revealed that, not for the first time, I had forgotten the handle of my razor. I will have to buy a new one.

More chaos at the Funan Mall	Bonfire or artwork?

After resting for a couple of hours, I walked out into the heat, passed the chaos that is the Funan Building construction, and sat on a bench by the river watching the boats.

The front of the Asian Civilizations Museum sported something that could have been a Guy Fawkes bonfire, could have been a collapsed scaffolding and could have been a way out artwork. I didn't have the energy to look for a label so studied the lovely stainless steel balls, instead.

By now, I was very tired and rather flaky, definitely a case of jet lag. I looked at a few more buildings in the Colonial Quarter and walked to The Sidewalk for the first cold Tiger of the trip. The building has been re-decorated as part of the alterations and now sports a large ceiling fan. At 16.00, after only an hour outside, I returned to the hotel feeling exhausted. Left: The first Tiger of the trip

I went to sleep and woke feeling worse than when I started. Dinner called, however, so I set off up the road to Purvis Street. This being the end of the Chinese New Year, many of my usual haunts were closed, so I walked back a block to Seah Street, opposite the still under re-construction Raffles. There, I ate Hainanese chicken rice on the pavement. OK but not exciting. I returned to the hotel and tried to sleep.