So, Alan is working. He heads off to the office or to meetings first thing in the morning and returns at the end of the day during which time I am left to my own devices. And, I'm pleased to report, I'm enjoying it. Of course it would be more fun if there were two of us discovering the sights together but that cannot be and I am just lucky to have this opportunity to explore...with or without a companion and I am determined to get the most out of it. Each morning I have found a place for a spot of breakfast and sit with my guide book and decide what to do with my day. So far I have been really lucky with the weather and by that I mean it has hardly rained. Until today in fact...as I sit here and type I am listening to the torrential rain, crashing of thunder and of course every so often the flashes of lightning make me jump as they light up the room.
Today is Day 3 of my solitary explorations in this city and finally I decided that it would be sensible and beneficial to take a break between 12-2pm when the sun is directly overhead and the heat of the day can be totally oppressive. I headed for the MRT station at City Hall and welcomed the over-cool coolness of the air conditioned Mall which leads to the underground train system here. Having made the decision to head back to the hotel to escape the sun I was somewhat surprised to be welcomed by puddles and grey clouds when I re-surfaced at Orchard Road. Then again not so surprised...I've been lucky after all so far this week and this was proven once more as just as I was stepping inside the hotel lobby, the heavens opened and down came the rain...
I've tried to balance my experiences and sightseeing so that I get a true flavour of Singapore but also do the stuff that interests me. On Tuesday, my first day, I decided to get to grips with the MRT system..having experienced the MTR (how confusing do they have to make it) in HK and learning how wonderful it is..how clean, efficient and safe, I suspected Singapore would be similar and thankfully I was right. Very organised and clean and even cheaper than taxis. Having navigated my first journey successfully, I made my way to the Art Museum, as according to my guide book they have free entry between 12-2pm on a weekday. Woohoo - free stuff and an escape from the midday heat! Upon entering this beautiful white building, very calm and cool with it's white walls inside and out, I soon discovered perhaps why it might be free at this time. It seems I was not alone. I counted at least 2 school parties doing the rounds. At first it appeared quite cute as I walked into one gallery and observed some young girls sitting on the floor, sketching...then the boys made their entrance and the silence was history. Stampede is the word that springs to mind. From that point on I did a pretty good job at dodging them...and it was a good experience. It was actually interesting to watch them...their excitement and energy. I emerged into the heat once more after my bit of culture for the day and took a walk in Fort Canning Park...a place steeped in history and thankfully plenty of shade from some huge trees. The noises coming from the trees was quite unnerving though...no idea what was in them but they were very loud!
Finally, my legs became weary from all the walking. Did I mention that I got a bit lost and couldn't find Fort Canning Park for what seemed like ages? I was about to give up and change direction when of course, I stumbled upon it. Having found it, of course I had to do it justice and take a decent walk around. By the time I was done I was desperately in need of a late lunch and preferably an air conditioned mall. I found both...and then I found some shopping to do...well, it's Singapore...it's hard to resist the lure and the sales are on :-)
Yesterday I decided to head for China Town. I was a bit apprehensive..just a bit..strange really having just moved to Hong Kong...but off I went, open to the experience ahead and I have to say, it was great fun. Firstly, MUCH less crowded than the streets and market stalls of Hong Kong and they smelled much better too (if I haven't mentioned it before, Hong Kong really stinks at times..a mixture of the heat and all the unusual food smells I think). So I strolled, again, in the tropical heat...through the market stalls and shops, trying to browse without getting pounced on by over-keen market vendors (I'm really not "into" bartering and bargaining) with christmas music being played in the background...yes really...O Come O Ye Faithful, in particular, seemed to be very popular. Quite a bizarre experience :-)
Once more, I seemed to get slightly lost wandering the narrow streets but thankfully you can't go too wrong, it's really not that big and I finally found the temple I had been looking for. The Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum. Wow. I've been in a few buddhist temples recently having visited the Land of the Medicine Buddha for some yoga training and of course being in this part of the world, you do stumble upon such things quite easily but this has to be my most inspiring so far. It was immaculate and the energy of the place seemed calmer, purer than others I'd been in. With so many tourists pouring in I found it amazing that there was this sense of calm within these walls. I spent some time in there and also visited the free (yes that was mentioned in the guide book too) museum upstairs which housed the story of Buddha and displayed some wonderful relics. That was definitely the spiritual high of my day. Quite a place.
Last night, Alan and I did what all good tourists do in Singapore. That's right, we went to The Long Bar at Raffles Hotel and had a Singapore Sling, ate peanuts and threw the shells on the floor :-) When in Singapore..... it simply has to be done. We arrived by taxi and pulled up at the front of the prestigious Raffles Hotel...a truly spectacular sight. All floodlit and of course the christmas decorations are already up but that only adds to the splendour of the place. Not sure the pennies would stretch to dinner at Raffles given that we could not even bring ourselves to have that second cocktail in The Long Bar, so we moved on to a wonderful italian restaurant called Oso and enjoyed an extremely impressive meal there, complete without outdoor dining on the balcony. Quite a memory.
Today I was on a mission to "find" the Esplanade. This had been on my list for Tuesday but after the "losing" of Fort Canning Park I didn't quite make it, so this morning I returned to the Raffles complex and popped in to the Ah Tengs Bakery for a rather good coffee and danish, which made up for the disappointing atmosphere and the rather rude sound of drilling which I found particularly amusing, given that I was so glad to escape that very sound this week in our apartment back in HK....and from there made my way to The Esplanade on foot, via the War Memorial Park where once again I met up with a school party. I'm amazed how often children both here and in Hong Kong get outside for their lessons!
Thankfully everything was well signposted and I made it safely via the underpasses, escalators, bridges...and finally emerged by the river and finally got my shots of the opera house and the Merlion. Unfortunately I am struggling with photo downloading this week but at some point I will post some photos too. It was touristy here but again not too crowded and I managed to find a Starbucks under a cool shady bridge where I was able to indulge in a refreshing iced cappuccino whilst listening to jazz and take a moment to review the morning's photographs. Nice.
Finally, that brings me up to date. The rain has stopped. Next I should pick out a place for us to eat this evening and get our reservation made for Little India tomorrow night, before we fly out to Sydney at midnight!
No comments:
Post a Comment