Another day sightseeing in Singapore

In view of my delicate disposition I decided to stay in last night and have a quiet food and alcohol free evening. I would have watched TV but there is only one plug working in the room!

I didn't get much sleep, despite the earplugs, I thought I was in a 70's disco.
Finally I did drop off and was up early feeling much much better.

During my sleepless night I had planned out my agenda for the day so at 10am I was on the road again.

The main areas of Singapore are a hub of activity at the moment, due to the F1 which hits town on the 24th so everyone is busy getting ready. The Singapore Grand Prix is similar to Monaco in that the race is not held on a race track but the normal roads. Huge stands are being erected everywhere.

Maybe in was being a little oversensitive but I got the distinct impression that everyone was keeping out of my way as I headed to my first stop at City Hall and St. Andrews Cathedral. This severe haircut may come handy! While Singapore is a very safe city some of the other places I will be visiting have a bit of a reputation for street crime. If I look hard with this new haircut they may well have second thoughts.

My first stop of the morning was St Andrews Cathedral.

Designed by George Coleman; erected on a site selected by Sir Stamford Raffles himself; named for the patron saint of Scotland, St. Andrew; and primarily funded by Singapore's Scottish community, the first St. Andrew's was the colonials' Anglican Church.

Completed toward the end of the 1830s, its tower and spire were added several years later to accord the edifice more stature. By 1852, because of massive damage sustained from lightning strikes, the cathedral was deemed unsafe and torn down. The cathedral that now stands on the site was completed in 1860. Of English Gothic Revival design, the cathedral is one of the few standing churches of this style in the region.




St Andrews Cathedral

I had intended to also visit Chijmes which these days is an elegant walled complex of shops, restaurants and bars. It was once the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus founded by a French Jesuit priest in 1854 and run by nuns. Unfortunately, being relatively early on Sunday morning it was closed. So back on the MRT and Boat Quay.
The last time in was in Singapore this was a fairly run down area, it used to be the centre of Singapore's commercial activities, now it is a trendy riverside strip of restored shophouses converted into bars and restaurants.



Boat Quay

Again, being so early there was little evidence of the usual hustle and bustle.

At the end of the strip is a bridge that takes you over the Singapore river to Raffles landing, the place that Sir Stamford Raffles first set foot on Singapore soil.




Statue of Sir Stamford Raffles.

The whole area has undergone significant redevelopment in the last 20 years. I can recall having my first taste of Chinese 'street food' in 1991 just around the corner from the statue. This area now houses trendy restaurants.


The area that 20 years ago housed Chinese street food markets.




The Fullerton Hotel

Singapore or Singa Pura is Sanskrit for "lion city" to celebrate that the ' Merlion' guards the city at the entrance of the Singapore river. Since the redevelopment they have been moved about 120 yards so they still sit at the mouth of the river. There are in fact two, a marble 'cub' and then a large 8 metre high ' Merlion' facing the Singapore river.







A gentleman by the name of Fraser Brunner came up with the design in 1964 for the Singapore Tourism Board. It looks just like you would expect it to, a cross between a Lion's head and a Mermaid's body (Fish). It appears on souvenirs that have been approved by the Tourism Board. There are only 5 'official' Merlion statues in Singapore.

What is interesting is the story behind the design. Mr. Brunner based the design on the story of how Singapore was founded.

Singapore was founded by a Malay Prince by the name of Sang Nila Utama. He wanted to find somewhere to build a new City and set out to have a look at some islands off the coast of Sumatra. While hunting deer on one of the islands, he saw a neighboring island that had beaches "like white cloth". He was told that the island was called Temasek. He decided to go there, during the trip a bad storm blew up and the ship took on water and began to sink. They were forced to throw many things overboard. Still the ship took on water. The Prince finally threw his heavy crown overboard and the storm passed. After making it safely to the island, he went inland to do some hunting and saw a strange creature with a red body, black head and white breast. It moved with great speed and grace. He was told that it was a Lion. (though later studies of the area show that Lions were never present there and what he saw was probably a Tiger) He felt it was a very good omen and decided to build his city there. He called the city Singapura, which he ruled over for close to 50 years.




Statues of traders at Clarke Quay

It was a blisteringly hot day. After all that walking I felt a rad hungry so headed over to China Town for a spot of lunch and maybe a beer. I was sticking to simple rice dishes until I was sure that my Asian tummy was settled. The Olde Cuban is a Chinese fish restaurant in the centre of China Town. I had eaten there before and settled on a plate of Malay Rice and a beer.

Checking e-mail on my iPhone I had a message saying, 'we have some exciting news about your lottery ticket'. Jackpot winner ? As I was opening the lottery website to check my account I had already decided that I was going to check in to Raffles for my last night in Singapore. Hmmm, not with £10!
So I made do with another beer and spent the rest on a T Shirt as I left China Town.

The speciality of the Olde Cuban is crab, chilli crab especially, in the centre of the dining area are a number of metal cages stacked on one another and these are full of live crabs. A punter will order crab, pick one out, it is weighed and then cooked.

I wasn't sat far from this cage of living crabs. This one chap picked his dinner, a huge specimen, this was picked out of the cage and put on the weighing scales, at which point to decided, fuck this, and made a dash for freedom 'leaping' off the scales and on to the floor, scuttling under a large table of Japanese diners. I've never seen anyone move as quickly. Very amusing, The crabs quest for freedom was short-lived, scooped up by a petit Chinese waitress it was escorted to the kitchen and that rock pool in the sky.





Chilli crab before.....



Chilli crab after........


After the late lunch and beers I headed Little India, a wander around the market.
While making my way back I came across this interesting sign....



Oh... OK, i'll wait till I find the bathroom.......

I was back at the hotel by 4.30. Having had an exhausting day and it being really hot I had small nap. I was woken at 6.00 with renditions Pink songs from a live singer In the bar across the road. Very good she was too...

My friends Jason and Fiona had emailed me yesterday to them, I did try last night but couldn't get in touch. I tried again and got through so spent 30 mins chatting to both of them and Katie- which was nice

After a late lunch I was not that hungry so had a wander around Little India. Sunday evening must be shopping night as all the streets were packed with people buying their Fruit and Veg.

I was in bed by 11.30.

Tomorrow is my last day, need to check out at 12.00 and don't need to be at the station till 10.00 for the overnight train to KL.


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Location:Madras St,,Singapore