February 3 - 4

Bourne End to Singapore

I slept well for half the night, then woke up and dozed until dawn. I finally got up about fifteen minutes before either alarm was due to go off. I prepared both the house and myself and left the front door a couple of minutes early. The village was quiet and not particularly chilly. I made it safely to the station, chatted to Tony in the ticket office and another passenger and awaited the train.

Both this and the other two I was to catch arrived on schedule, resulting in my arriving at Heathrow on the dot of 08.00. The walk from the station to check-in is long but I completed both it and the formalities in 20 minutes.     Right: Bourne End Station at a busy time

I then had a hold up as my bag was held in error by the security guys. They had spotted a bag containing liquid. Unfortunately, it belonged to the lady who passed through the x-ray area before me. She took her liquids onto the plane and I was made to hang around for ten minutes!

It was another long walk to the Singapore Airlines lounge but I made it, sat in a comfy chair, had some chicken sambal and rested. All in all, it had been an uneventful morning so far and I had a couple of hours to kill.

Last year I looked through the window of the lounge onto a large hole in the ground. This year, I looked through the window and there had not been a lot of progress. I'm sure it will be impressive when it's finished.

Not a lot of progress in a year	Singapore style flowers in the lounge

I left the lounge and walked downstairs and a short way along a corridor to the gate, arriving just as they announced the commencement of boarding. I managed to confuse myself and nearly went along the wrong corridor but located the correct plane and the correct seat. The A380 was much smarter than the one I travelled in last year.

We pushed back about a minute late but took a while to become airborne. I was dozing by this stage so missed take off completely. After an hour, the traditional satay arrived, accompanied by a reasonable Chablis. This being a new plane, I was allowed free wi fi, which worked well. The world is a changing place.

Scallops with Wairau River Sauvignon Blanc were more than acceptable and were accompanied by Fleetwood Mac's first album on the sound system.

The Hainanese pork with a Henschke Shiraz was also excellent. Singapore Airline's food has improved considerably.

I probably managed a couple of hours' sleep and rested for the remainder of the night. The flight was smooth throughout. The breakfast noodles were excellent and should give me the strength to fight my way into the city on the train.

We landed an hour early, mainly because of a very strong tail wind for much of the journey. It took a while to disembark but then it was high speed action all the way through Immigration, baggage collection and customs, about 30 minutes from touchdown.

I found a train almost immediately and was soon staggering the three hundred metres along North Bridge Road from City Hall station to the Peninsula/Excelsior. It was warm, probably high 20's and humid.

There was a queue at the hotel reception but, when I reached the front, the lady not only made me swear that I was healthy but also took my temperature. I must have passed the test as she gave me a complimentary check-in. Why I didn't have a temperature after the walk in the sun with a heavy bag whilst wearing a jacket, I will never know.

I found the room, had a shower and then realised that housekeeping had forgotten to supply the towels. They always have fluffy dressing gowns here, which I never use. This time, I did, and was dry in no time. There was also the traditional problem of a malfunctioning TV. I visited the concierge, a charming lady, gave her my tale of woe and she promised to rectify matters. My experience of the hotel is that it might take a couple of days for this to happen but you never know.

Next stop was The Sidewalk for a tea and something to eat whilst I took my morning pills. I've never had the sandwiches here but they looked like a solution to the pill taking problem. In future, I will stick to the noodles!

For many years, I spent lots of time shopping in the Funan IT Mall, next to the hotel. It was a wonderful source of all things electronic. Three years ago, they pulled it down and I have watched a new building emerge on the site. Unfortunately, this one seems to specialise in "lifestyle" for "yoofs". There is a climbing wall in the basement, a cycle path running through the middle of the ground floor and lots of clothes shops. No use to me.
Funan Mall	Mountain climbing in Singapore

I returned to City Hall station and went two stops to Somerset and the Post Office. I love the building and it is a very convenient place in which to find stamps. The hard part will be finding the post cards to stick them on. On the main road is the beautiful Tourist Office. Unfortunately, as ever, they had no information about anything much. As I have often said before, this is an area where Singapore fails to promote itself. The Tourist Offices in Hong Kong are much better. The HSBC machine, however, another 20 metres up the road, sold me the cash that I wanted. The entrance to the station is in a small mall, which had wonderful decorations for The Year of the Rat. They were definitely the sweetest rats I had ever seen!
	The Year of the Rat
Killiney Road Post Office	Isn't she sweet

I resumed my train ride and travelled for nearly thee quarters of an hour to Woodlands, one of the larger suburban centres. I bought some polo shirts here last year and, after a lot of wandering, I found the Hush Puppy shop and bought a couple more. They are quite good quality but more expensive than the more basic ones I normally buy in the UK. We are definitely becoming the poor relations. Most of the other shops had polo shirts at Harrod's prices.

I stopped for an iced tea and a much needed rest.

I returned the way I had come and alighted in the huge mall behind City Hall station to visit the one shop where I knew post cards would be available. They were, not at a cheap price, and I bought eight of them.

St Andrews Cathedral	New Year decorations

I walked back to the hotel, photographing the Cathedral and some of the New Year decorations as I went.

Lunch was at The Sidewalk, a very hot laksa, to which I added more pickled chillies. It tasted excellent but did nothing to wake me up. Succumbing to the inevitable, I passed by the decorations under the hotel, returned to my room, now with towels and a working TV, and slept for a couple of hours. Right: The Sidewalk
Who said pandas were rare?	Laksa with extra chillies

I emerged from my bed after 5 pm, still feeling horrible, watched TV for a while, washed some clothes and went round the corner for the first ice cold Tiger of the trip.

The big news story was, of course, coronavirus. I am used to seeing a few people in Singapore wearing masks. Today, there were possibly a few more. I was "studied" at the airport as I left the plane, probably through some sort of heat sensitive camera, but no one made me walk through a thermometer. I had to sign a declaration at the hotel that I hadn't been to China and wasn't ill. As I said earlier, I also had my temperature taken.

The TV News mentioned a few events that had been cancelled but, so far, it hasn't impacted on my holiday. Time will tell!

How prophetic this comment was, given that my trip had to be cut short and I was nearly stranded on the other side of the world.

	The Central Fire Station
	I finished my beer, stood on the newly revamped walkway across Hill Street and took photos of the ornate Fire Station. I went into the new mall and found no more of interest than on my first visit. The shops opposite were of more interest and I found some shirts that I could consider on my next visit. Left: First Tiger of the trip

It being 18.30, I returned to The Sidewalk and ordered what turned out to be a large quantity of food. The mix of beef, greens and soup was excellent and, as far as I could judge, reasonably healthy.

We watched the TV News in The Sidewalk	Soup, beef & greens

I returned to the hotel for a very early night.