Old Friends

Singapore

It is 39 years since I first arrived in Singapore and 12 years since we were last here and there have, of course, been lots of changes – not least that the Island is physically larger by about 1/3^rd due to land reclamation and that the population has grown at least 3-fold.

The roads and transport systems all work well but everywhere was extremely busy – we managed to use the buses, the MRT and a few taxis during our stay and never seemed to be delayed at all – even in peak times.

Thankfully some things are still recognisable and we spent a few hours on Monday wandering through the Botanic Gardens which was as pleasant and peaceful as I remember. Wonderful orchid gardens although a little surprised to see some of the people they have honoured in the VIP collection - Bertie Aherne??

As a complete contrast, we then dropped into Chinatown. It was only 10 days before the Lunar New Year so there was a hint of chaos about the place. Luckily the Heritage Centre was an oasis of calm – and well worth a visit.

We finished the day with Chilli Crab, Black pepper Crayfish and Stingray Sambal in the Hawker centre at Bukit Merah - just as good as ever – probably another of Bernie's favourites.  

Jade

A weekend is enough

Peaceful Monday morning after a busy weekend. The social round in Singapore seems just as lively as ever.

Friday was a quiet night on Boat Quay - frozen Margaritas, a few beers, Mexican food, some live music and great people watching - even made it home at a reasonable hour.
Spent Saturday looking at tech shops but didn't find any real deals - will have to look again on the way home.

Dinner at Forlino with Jeanette, Debbie, Susan and Rupert. A tremendous meal with some excellent wines and very good service from our waiter Frankie. We had lots of fun catching up, hard to believe it is nearly 7 years since we last saw Rupert yet it felt like it was last week.

We finished up as usual in a trendy bar - Kinki  - over-looking Marina Bay - interesting place and even more interesting people - I shared the lift with three young ladies who appeared to have taken a drink or two and were totally oblivious to my presence as they discussed - in detail - the physical attributes of one of their male friends. Slightly later to bed but still standing up.

Then - just to finish up - a champagne brunch with free flow Veuve Cliquot followed by an afternoon by the pool at the W hotel on Sentosa before we headed home to watch the Sunday Premier League games.

The high life

Our arrival at Singapore was just as stress-free as our departure from Shannon - 25 minutes from landing to getting into a taxi on the way to meet Jinty and Debs.

Transiting Heathrow and departing from terminal 5 - for the first time - was a slightly different experience. More like a giant shopping mall than an airport terminal - luckily the BA lounge and a glass of champagne provided sufficient distraction.

No problems on the flight - except that the stewardess on Linda's side - a Scot, naturally - poured larger measures that the Singaporean on my side. Slightly odd facing backwards for take-off and landing - but still managed to sleep for most of the flight.

Our plan for a quiet night in - to recover from the journey - ended up in Holland Village for a few beers and a great meal in IndoChine followed by a nightcap or two. No problem getting to sleep.

Leisurely start to day one - made it to the Crossroads bar at Scotts Road - where we met for our first date - by midday and then strolled along Orchard Road to the Chatterbox at the Mandarin for Chicken Rice. Food was as good as I remember but the building has been completely redeveloped - not quite the same!

After a quick look around the shops we decided to head home for a siesta and a swim to prepare for Friday night on Boat Quay.

There's nothing like a deadline!

There are a number of pre-holiday tasks that can only be done in the days or hours before you leave – my particular favourite was always to start packing as the taxi arrived for the trip to the airport – a definite adrenalin rush!

However, there are a couple of tasks which we discussed last year while we were in South Africa which had still not made it to the top of the list. Suddenly, at about 9.00pm yesterday – less than 18 hours before we leave – and 10 months since we got home from the last trip – we realised that the our plan to make some changes our wills was still outstanding.

Still, we managed to get it all sorted before we left and even found some friendly neighbours to witness the changes. Hope to catch up on my sleep on the 13 hour flight to Singapore tonight.

Linda was berating me for leaving everything to the last minute but we were still ready and waiting 10 minutes before the taxi arrived.

The journey to Shannon with June – our local taxi driver – is always amusing and informative – she manages to drive and talk non-stop for 45 minutes.. Over the last few years, we have learned more about her life and family than is really necessary and today was no exception. From her opinion of the local Garda – who appear to concentrate on harassing taxi drivers rather than tackling the aggressive youths outside the local pub – to her opinion of Italian food on her holy week trip to Rome – she ate biscuits for 4 days because she doesnt like pasta and will not eat cheese!

It is always a joy to travel from Shannon – 10 minutes from dropping off outside to sitting in the Bar with a pint of Guinness (and that includes the time to pour the pint!). We were invited to use the fast track through security but it seemed pointless since we were the only people there.

It's that time again

If its January, then its time to pack the laying hens and ducks off to their temporary homes, dust off the Samsonite and dig out the swimmers*.
Each year we try to reduce the amount of stuff that we take on our trip - reckon that we could get away with hand baggage only this year if it wasn't for the security restrictions on liquids etc. It seems that Linda's lotions and unguents only come in industrial size packages which exceed the 100ml max allowance.
We depart from Shannon on Wednesday with a connection in London for Singapore (where it all began!) and a few nights with Jinty and Debs. Hope to catch up with Susan and Rupert while we are there and there are a few old favourites on the list:- Champagne brunch, Chilli Crabs, Hainanese Chicken Rice, the Botanic Gardens and perhaps a bottle or two of Anchor beer.
From there we head on to Fremantle and a joint Burn's Night / Australia Day celebration with Kirsty followed by a little gentle sightseeing, a winery or two on Margaret River and some great white shark dodging on the WA beaches.
Then we head north for a couple of weeks island-hopping on the Andaman Sea coast of Thailand - snorkelling, kayaking and laying in the shade with a cool Singha beer.
So - watch this space - while we hope that the journey will be peaceful and uneventful, there are bound to be some stories to tell!!

* swimmers - as usual ( it happens every year) I dug out my speedos and tried to hide them in the bag - but Linda's eagle eye spotted them and substituted the surf shorts instead - probably for the best - would be embarrassing to be arrested for indecent exposure.