Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Singapore
After a long flight I safely arrived in Singapore to be greeted by Kate and Les. That was when it got exciting!
Kate and Les's apartment is super close to the station and in no time I was sat on the sofa with a cup of tea in my hand! There home in Singapore is awesome, it's lovely and spacious with a balcony and a huge swimming pool shared by the complex (although there was rarely anyone else in at the same time). After a nice catchup it was off to sleep. The next day we chilled out in the flat to start as it was hammering down with rain outside! Then we took the MRT (train) from right outside the apartments to Tampines and had a coffee. Kate and Les were invited to a BBQ that evening, we assumed it was canceled as it had been raining all day but we found out that it was still on and the rain stopped. We headed down to east coast road where the beach lines the path and pre built BBQ's and tables. It was a really lovely evening with food, booze and good chats.
The next day Kate and I took a trip to Pulau Ubin. Kate had never been there before so it was nice for us both to experience it for the first time. The Island was easy to get to. We caught the bus from right outside the apartments to Changi. The ferry terminal was right next to the bus stop, we were lucky when we got there as you can only get the bumboat when there are 10 people ready to go, we walked to the stop and made up the numbers so we could hop right on! It was only a short trip over to the Island and by the time we docked it was only 30mins since we left the apartment at Tanah Merah! I couldn't believe that being so close to Singapore we could be in such a different environment. No tall skyscrapers, just lots of lush jungle trees and a few stalls at the dock. We hired a bike each and with a basic (rather inaccurate) map, a wave in a general direction and a sharp nod when we asked if it was hilly from the man at the bike stall we were on our way!
The island was beautiful and full of the sound of the cicada. The bikes were great, not want I was executing at all, proper mountain bikes with good suspension lots of gears and working breaks (an essential). It was my first full day time outside in the humid heat and being on bikes, cycling up and down dirt tracks it was perfect when we would come across lakes filled with Lilly's, wetlands, mangrove swamps filled with crabs, lobsters and fish so we could stop and take it all in (and cool down!). We ate our sandwiches Kate had made out on a pier looking out to Singapore with a nice breeze away from the insects and animals. We were lucky enough to come a cross the wild boar that live wild on the island and literally minutes after chatting about the fact that we might not see any monkeys that day there they were just on the side of the track and climbing and swinging in the trees!
The whole day was amazing and a real treat, not what I expected to to whilst in Singapore at all!
Once back at the apartment it was straight in the pool to cool down :)
On Tuesday Kate and I had a nice relaxed morning, well I did Kate went to the gym whilst I had a little swim but mainly lay by the pool and read my book! Then we headed into the city centre to meet Les for lunch. We also met up with Laura who is from the UK but knows Kate and Les from when they lived in Jakarta as her husband Paul works there. Paul had some business to do in Singapore so Laura came to meet us. We had a nice lunch and coffee, Les went back to work and then we made out way to the Marina Bay Sans hotel where we took the elevator all the way to the top and were greeted by the most amazing view of Singapore. It was so exciting seeing where out seats were for the F1 that weekend and the preparation the city was doing to corner of the roads for the race! We were only allowed access to the top if we went to the bar . . . so we just had to have a Singapore Sling . . . It felt wrong if we didn't ;)
That evening we went out for dinner to celebrate Andy's birthday. Andy works with Les and his son and friend were also visiting for the Grand Prix so we had a nice big table and son really yummy cury! Then we headed to 'The Dog and Bone' Kate and Les's local haunt and had some beverages and I tries my hand at darts . . . I managed to win . . . Gin fluke!
Wednesday was another relaxed morning then we went to meet Andy and Les for lunch with Laura, Josh and Ricky (Andy's son and friend). Then we said bye to Les and Andy as they had to get back to work. We took the MRT to Chinatown which was fab, loads of little quirky stalls selling 'tat' (as Kate puts it) the best were the Chinese medicine places that had weird jars of pickled snakes and frogs . . . Ummmm. There was an amazing Buddhist temple that we walked in which was beautiful filled with colour and gold. We were lucky enough to line in there when the monks came and started chanting and playing their instruments.
That evening Les, Kate and I went to dinner with Laura, Paul and Penny. Penny is a friend of K&L's from when they lived in Poland and She and her partner now work and live in Cambodia. Unfortunately Penny had to be medi-vacked to Singapore as she had a bad eye and needed some good medical treatment. The dinner was delicious. We ate at a place called Noti's an Italian restaurant in China town :) The food was delicious!
On Thursday we went to meet Laura for a coffee before she caught the plane back to Jakarta with Paul. Then Kate and I went to see the Botanic Gardens. The gardens were stunning. The gardens are massive! We first walked by a lake and were looking at the black swans when we suddenly realised that we were standing right in front of turtles!!
Walking round the gardens was lovely especially the orchid section! It was extremely hot day! So it was nice to return back to the air conditioned apartment then dip in the pool! Kate and les did a BBQ that night on their roof terrace Les's niece Ange and her husband Rich came over. Abby and Jesus also came which was great too see hem again after staying with them when I last came to Singapore in February. It was a lovely evening watching the sun go down over Singapore with good company, food and wine!
Friday lunch Kate took me to changi city point food hall where she introduced me to laksa which is a Singaporean dish you pick out vegetables and meats that you want and put them in your bowl then you hand it to the cook, they chop it all up into small pieces and boil it in a broth. You then have a choice of noodles or rice and wether you want the broth or curry sauce with it, we chose curry sauce. It was really tasty! It was the first night of the Grand Prix and we headed there on the MRT when Les got home.
The moment I heard the cars on their first practice lap I was grinning from ear to ear! The noise and atmosphere was immense! Ear plugs were a must! Our seats were fab, on the permanent marina bay stand looking out to the marina bay sans hotel and the city skyline over the water. In between the first and second practice we went to the esplanade stage to see Laura Mvula. She is one of my faverouite artists at the moment so I was super excited! We managed to get there a bit early and get front row seats just meters away from the stage! She was brilliant, a fantastic performer and sounded better live run recorded! Kate, Les and the crowd (and obviously me) loved her. So much so that there were two power cuts when she was on stage but everyone got up and clapped and carried on singing until she could play again. By this time the sun was set and the second practice was even more exciting as the track was all lit up. It was nuts how fast the cars were going.
On Sunsay we met Penny with her partner Alison and their two boys for lunch. We went to a cool Swiss chain restaurant called Marche which had a fun system where you are given a card on entry and every time you get a drink or food from the various stalls they swipe it and you pay on the way out. It was yummy :)
We then headed back to the track (via a coffee stop) to see the third practice and qualifying. Both were super exciting and you could tell the tension to the race was rising! After qualifying we went over to the pedang stage to watch The Killers, they were amazing, started with 'Mr Brightside' which is my favourite song, we managed to find some concrete blocks to stand on so we had a great view and I was singing on the top of my voice!
We met Abby and Jesus for lunch on Sunday. Then after making a yummy apple crumble (and eating it of course!) we headed back to the race track! The race was amazing. We found out that we could listen to the commentary through headphones so we could keep up with the race. The race seemed predictable at first but then there was a crash right on the corner by our stand, the safety car came out then the race was an exciting mayhem! When it finished the fireworks that exploded were ridiculously awesome right in front if us. We went to watch the Rihanna gig which was good although not as good as the other row nights which was handy as we left early and got the MRT home fine with not too much queuing!
We were up in good time on Monday to get to the Zoo! It was a fair old way but Kate and I managed to navigate our way on a rain an three busses. The zoo was an an amazing location, based in the natural foliage and trees giving the whole place an amazing feel. My favourites were the monkeys as they designed the ropes and swings so that they could roam out if their enclosure and above the footpath. I first realised this when I looked up and saw an orangutan swinging right above me!! We packed that evening ready for Kate and I to go to Krabi then had a nice dinner in with Les. Singapore was fab especially as I could walk this time round! It was brilliant seeing Kate and Les in their home in Singapore, great company and awesome times. A perfect way to start the adventure!
- comments