Meyricke Serjeantson

March 22

Singapore

An easy start to the day. Noodles and fish at The Sidewalk, a discussion at reception over the deposit for my room - I gave then my credit card for the full amount - and I caught the train from City Hall. Outside, it was dry, humid and not particularly hot. There was quite a lot of cloud.   Right: Breakfast

I caught the train for about 40 minutes until I arrived at Bukit Panjang, where I found a map which guided me to the start of the rail corridor.

Bukit Panjang - concrete jungle	The walk starts here
Turning into a lovely day	Construction work over ...
... and alongside the trail	Back onto the path

The trail's surface was a mix of dried mud and tarmac and there was lots of foliage alongside. In case of disasters, there were lots of walkers and cyclists and the main road - Bukit Timah Road - with lots of buses and shops ran alongside.

At intervals, the path went off piste and reverted to the pavement to avoid construction work.

This almost made me miss the Hillview Bridge, but a set of modern bridges took me back to the rail corridor in time to cross the old one.

A network of new bridges	Hillview Bridge
Hillview Bridge	Tea in the Toast Box

This led me to the Toast Box, where I had another iced tea, just like my last visit to the same cafe.

Back on the trail, I immediately encountered a very smart information centre, shelter and toilet block. For some reason, I neglected to take photos although the centre was smart enough to merit recording.

I set off again and soon encountered a sign about what to do with wild animals and then, an actual live wild animal. The small monkey started to head for the trees as I approached but I may just have caught it in the foliage.

I missed the monkey but got this	A strange sight - an English looking shop

The surrounding suburbs were becoming increasingly posh and I even found a very English looking shop.

Bukit Timah station has been restored, it has a similar information centre and toilet block to Hillview and the old offices have been converted into a small cafe, where I had an ice cream. They didn't serve iced tea.

	After a rest, I continued on my way. There were some large lizards basking in the sun but no more monkeys. The trail seemed to enter wilder territory, with more trees and fewer buildings. There were fewer walkers but more cyclists. After another three quarters of an hour, a huge development appeared on the skyline, soon accompanied by a signpost for Buona Vista MRT station. I followed the sign and soon found the train.
Bukit Timah Station
More trees and more bikes	Buona Vista on the skyline

This proved to be a mixed blessing. The air conditioning was good but the train was very full and there was nowhere to sit. After four hours of walking, about ten kilometres including stops, I needed a seat! When I arrived in February, it was still a requirement to wear masks on all public transport. While I was in New Zealand, the law changed and masks were no longer compulsory. About 20% of people still did - many wore masks before covid - and I followed suit. It seemed to be polite and Singapore is a polite place.

Once back at City Hall, I debated the relative merits of a shower and a beer. Not surprisingly, the latter won out and I stopped at The Sidewalk for lunch. The beer was good as were the beans, prawns and fried egg from my favourite food stall. I then returned to the hotel for a shower and a change.

Unfortunately, my room hadn't been made up so I knew I couldn't have a long lie down. I withdrew to the foyer and, whilst there, decided to see if there were any tables at National Kitchen this evening. There was space at 19.00 so I booked it. If I had known this would happen, I would have had a smaller lunch.

Alongside the Padang	The Padang
Singapore Cricket Club	Fun photography

I knew I needed more exercise so I walked down to the Parliament area and took photos of the Padang - the grass was closed for maintenance. A sign outside the Cricket Club announced that souvenirs were available inside, so I entered and bought a tie for Jerry's Birthday.

I sat and looked at the river, played photography with the giant silver balls and tried to chill. The frequent rolling thunder suggested that I should return to the hotel, which I did. Still no room service but a man with a trolley was approaching my door so I returned downstairs and wrote my diary. The thunder still hadn't brought any rain.

At a quarter to seven, I left the hotel to make the five minute walk to the National Gallery. I remembered where to find the restaurant and presented myself at the door. I was met with a blast of sound from a packed dining room. My table was waiting and I sat and was given a menu.

The problem was that I couldn't hear the staff over the noise. Several large parties were there, shouting across the tables at each other. I managed in the end, ordered a salad and a main course prawn curry, then had to change as they had run out of my chosen salad. I settled for a gado gado, to accompany the curry and a coconut ice cream and jelly mix. All was washed down with a McGuigan Chardonnay. It was all very good but the noise took the edge off it.
	National Kitchen
Gado gado	Coconut icecream

I retired home to bed.