Asia Isles and Coasts of Africa — Jim Winslett

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Lego - The East Wing

Lego - The East Wing

Lego - The East Wing

Asia Isles and Coasts of Africa

Days 1-2: Getting there

Day 2: Singapore

I’m just going to start with this: I freaking LOVE this city.

But hang on, let’s catch up first. When last we left off, we were getting on a plane in Bangkok headed for Singapore. We were on Thai Airlines, which is very nice and very purple. Breakfast was waffles with candied fruit and coconut sauce. Delish!

I also said in the previous post that Singapore Changi Airport would need its own post. We even got our flights changed so that we’d have more time to spend there before heading to the hotel.

Here’s what we saw last time we flew out of Singapore:

Unfortunately, the Rain Vortex was down for maintenance today and tomorrow. Not really a big deal, since we’ve seen it, but I feel sorry for folks who will miss it and don’t have an opportunity to return. Even without the water, the garden space around it is still pretty.

The building is donut-shaped and the gardens and Rain Vortex are in the centre. Around the outside are five storeys of shops, restaurants, boutiques, and things to do (such as a hedge maze, a canopy walk, a flight simulator, etc). They offer a baggage storage service so you don’t have to drag all your luggage around with you, but the sticker shock for that is real: $65 to hold five bags. No, really. “Singapore is expensive” will be a recurring theme, trust me.

Rob and I poked into a few of the shops, but the prices were insane. We opted to sit down and have a bevvie. Now I know that Canada has more coffee shops per capita than any other country, but Singapore has to be in second place. The difference is that these are almost all one-offs, where Canada’s are mostly Timmies. Anyway, we sat down and I had a latte and Rob got a strawberry lemonade, both of them rather small in size, and it was $20. After a bit of discussion, we decided to get a cab to the hotel, even though we’d be early for checkin. It took quite some time to figure out how to get to the cab stand, but at least the scenery was nice while we wandered.

Now, the easiest thing for us to have done would’ve been for us to book the same hotel that Viking is using for cruise guests. They fly people in the day before, put them in a hotel, take them all to the ship the next day. And we usually fly in a few days in advance to get over jet lag before the fun starts and I went to book the three extra nights in the hotel Viking is using. Um… it’s more than $400/night. AW HALE NAW, ain’t hap’nin.
So I went online and found a little boutique hotel at a fraction of the cost and HOW CUTE IS THIS?

The hotel opened in 2004, but the building is circa 1868. It’s funky and fun and even though it’s a bit cramped, I love it.

There were two things that had to be taken care of right away:
Firstly, I had packed my Nikon camera in my checked bag. However, you can’t put the rechargeable batteries in checked luggage, so I took those out of the camera bag to put in my carry-on… and left them sitting on the table in Calgary. Had my camera, but no batteries. There was no way I was going to be without my good camera on this trip. Luckily, the hotel is right in the middle of everything, so a quick google-fu and I located a Nikon store in a mall just a 20min walk away.
Secondly, I brought EU style power outlet adapters… and Singapore uses UK style plugs. Le sigh. Ah well, I was going to walk to the mall anyway.

Even with jet lag, flight fatigue, overcast skies and a bit of rain (it’s supposed to rain the whole time we’re here), I was pretty pumped on my walk to the mall. Firstly, our hotel is just a few steps from Chinatown (see pic above) which means lots of close-by poking around in shops and restaurants and stuff. Then I noticed that my favourite kopi house is just a few steps farther.

I’ll explain kopi tomorrow, or whatever day I get over there. Anyway, Singapore is one of my favourite cities. And like Copenhagen, which is my #1 favourite city, Singapore has a fascinating juxtaposition of old and new. I love contrast and Singapore’s architecture has it in spades.

Singapore’s nickname, The Garden City, is even a contrast. I mean… which is it, a garden or a city? It’s both. Even the buildings have made way for greenery in the most unlikely of ways.

Luckily, the mall was easy to find. I just went to the end of the street the hotel was on, turned right, and kept walking until I saw the Supreme Court building, then the mall was across the street from that. I know you’re thinking, “but what if you missed the Supreme Court building?”
Well, that’s hard to do, because it’s right after you cross the river… and it looks like a flying saucer.

Singaporeans (and visitors) love to shop, although I don’t know how anyone can afford it. Regardless, there are shopping centres and malls and high streets all over the city. The one with the Nikon store even had a bike path through the middle of it.

Got my camera battery and a power outlet adapter and now we’re all set. I had forgotten how it felt to be in a hot and humid climate (33C / 92F), but by the end of my walk, I was wiped out. I’m sure the 22 hours on a plane plus 10 or so hours of layovers had nothing to do with it. Either way, I had a nice shower and enjoyed the A/C while I typed this out. We had intended to have dinner at Lau Pa Sat, our favourite food court, but that will have to wait until tomorrow. We’re staying close by tonight.
First, we tried the rooftop bar/restaurant at the hotel, but it’s outdoors and a bit loud, so we went around the corner to a hawker centre. Hawker culture is a Singaporean thing, it’s kinda like a mall food court with a bunch of stalls and common area seating.

I’ll be honest, we were both too tired and too jet-lagged to have an enjoyable meal in a place this crowded tonight. We’ll probably head over to Lau Pa Sat tomorrow, anyway, so we opted to walk around the block and see if anything else looked promising. We found one… just two doors down from the hotel. The BFF Cafe and Bar is a tiny little place with a limited menu and a host dog named Dogo.

If you can’t read their motto on the sign, it says “It is good to be silent together and it is better to laugh together, but it is even better to drink together.”
We got a couple of G&Ts, which were delicious, then had a healthy and nutritious dinner of popcorn chicken and French fries. Those were good, too, and Dogo kept everyone company.

Now we’re both fed and exhausted. I’m betting that sleep comes quickly tonight.

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