{"id":2540,"date":"2019-08-01T19:39:39","date_gmt":"2019-08-01T11:39:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hinchy.org\/travels\/?p=2540"},"modified":"2019-08-01T19:39:47","modified_gmt":"2019-08-01T11:39:47","slug":"singapore-27-31-july-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hinchy.org\/travels\/singapore-27-31-july-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"Singapore 27-31 July 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The stark differences between Singapore and Bangkok struck\nus as soon as we exited the aircraft and entered the incredible world of Changi\nAirport efficiency. The Immigration lines were a fraction of the length of\nthose in Thailand, the processing twice the speed and the signage clear and\ninformative. The only small inconvenience we experienced was that our MRT cards\nhad expired and we had to purchase new ones. One was so old that we could not\nretrieve the $13 credit on it but the other was replaced and the credit\ntransferred. Then it was away on the MRT with a change of trains to the\nDowntown line at Expo and an easy 30 minute ride to the riverside area and the\nRobertson Quay Hotel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Robertson Quay Hotel is superbly located right next to\nthe Singapore River and surrounded by wonderful eateries and incredible\nambience. It is quiet by day except for the steady stream of fitness types\njogging along the river paths and vibrant at night. What would have once been a\nsmelly, busy and somewhat shady part of the old colonial city is now one of the\nchic places to be seen. Unfortunately, the prices reflect that and grabbing a\nbeer and a snack can hit the hip pocket quite hard. The hotel itself is very\nmoderately priced by Singapore standards in a city where anything around $100 a\nnight is a bargain. It is basic, lacking in glitz and glamour but clean, does a\nvery basic but edible breakfast and even has a small comfortable pool.\nStrangely, the foyer is the least glamorous part of the hotel, with the actual\nrooms presenting better than the public face of the place. It\u2019s usually the\nother way around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Around the Robertson Quay Hotel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By the time we had checked in and stowed out luggage, it was\naround 8:30pm and too late to move too far away so we explored around, settling\non a great bar that had affordable beer and an exciting range of tapas dishes.\nWe were already missing the luxury of endless food and drink at the M Club in\nBangkok.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the next three days, we re-acquainted ourselves with\nour favourite eateries. We have not visited Singapore since 2010 and had heard\ntales of how the place is now too pricey as a holiday destination. We actually\ndid not find this to be the case, but then we know where to look. What has\nchanged in the last twenty years is the lifestyle of many Singaporeans, whose\nincreased income and improved living conditions has produced great change\nacross the city. The riverside area is a prime example, full of eateries\nselling Italian, Spanish, Mexican, Japanese and Korean foods, rather than the\ntraditional Hokkien and Nonya foods of the past. The old choice between a Tiger\nor a Carlsberg beer has now morphed into a bewildering array of craft beers\nwith prices to match ($12 pints are the norm). Wine, once a rarity, is now\neverywhere, although a deep wallet is needed with a tiny glass of the cheapest\nred running at $8 to $10.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, once away from the riverside, marina or downtown\nareas and back to the more traditional food stall concept the prices drop away\nto what they were twenty years ago. We visited the very touristy Newton Circus\nwhere prices have always been $1 to $2 dearer per dish than the more local\nplaces but things were still affordable, with many dishes available for $4 and\na large 700ml Tiger Beer selling at $7.50. It is fun to watch the hawkers\npounce on first time tourists with the outrageously expensive seafood menus\nwith a bit of pressure selling soon making the bill mount. More savvy visitors\nwill look around to see which stalls have the longest lines of locals, because\nthat is where the good food is. We basically came back to Singapore just to\nsample some local favourite dishes that somehow are never as good if cooked\nelsewhere in the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our favourite, Murtabak, is a genuine Straits special and\none stall at Newton Circus produces the best. It is a pancake filled with\ncabbage and mutton then fried and chopped into slices. It is served with a\nwonderful curry sauce for dipping. Delicious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We also savour the Singapore Oyster Omelette, not a real omelette\nin the French sense but fresh oysters fried quickly with a mixture of beaten\negg and flour. It takes on a light but partly crusty texture with the plump\noysters dotted throughout. It\u2019s hard to beat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another favourite is Carrot Cake, not a real cake in the\nusual sense and neither does it contain carrot in the usual sense. The \u201ccarrot\u201d\nis actually a white yam and it is diced and fried up in a similar mixture to\nthe oyster omelette. The yam is soft and fluffy if done well. It is a wonderful\nflavour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Food stalls, Murtabak and even the Fremantle Seafood Market (very up market)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We also ate at the old People\u2019s Park in China Town where\nseveral floors of food stalls in the old tradition still exist. Inside the\ncomplex can be hot and steamy at times with enough spices and cooking aromas to\novercome the hardiest of western senses but when things are quieter or near the\noutside of the complex things are easier to handle. Here, most dishes will be\nhad for $3 or $4. The range is not quite as big as in some places with Hokkien\ndishes predominating but it is the place to get lots of good cheap BBQ duck.\nChristine finds in very hard to go past duck while I feel the same about\nwontons and the broad flat rice noodles used in Hor Fun or Kwaey Teow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because we had to take some time off from eating, we did a\ncouple of excursions. Just down the road a bit from our hotel was the Fort\nCanning area, once a British fortress and barracks but now a beautiful nature\npark spread across a 50m high hill. Fortunately, a series of escalators keeps\nthe climb to the top civilized. It is worth the walk to take in the magnificent\ntrees that grow on the slopes of the hill, splendid tropical species adorned\nwith all manner of staghorn and bird\u2019s nest ferns. The hill is thought to be\nthe ancient site of a palace dating from around the 14th<\/sup> Century\nwhen a kingdom called Singapura was prominent. We visited an archaeological\nsite where a dig has exposed some old walls and layers of pottery shards. We\nalso toured a spice garden where an impressive range of Asian spices are\ngrowing. It was a really worthwhile place to explore. It was interesting to\nnote the lack of trees on the photographs and lithographs of Fort Canning in\nthe old days. I guess there is not much point in having a fortress full of guns\nbut surrounded by forest so cutting down all the trees makes some kind of\nsense. All the wonderful towering giants we admired must have dated from after\nthe time of the hill being used as a fortress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Fort Canning Park<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

At the base of Fort Canning is the Singapore National\nMuseum, which we last visited over twenty years ago. These days, it is a modern\nand captivating display of the history of the island nation, each era being\nbeautifully represented with a mixture of old artifacts, photographs and\nhi-tech electronic displays. It is well worth a couple of hours. One section\nwas dedicated to the tribulations suffered by the locals during the Japanese\noccupation, a part of history that is often overshadowed by the story of the\ninterned allied soldiers. The Chinese Singaporeans in particular suffered\nterribly at the hands of the invaders with more than 5000 being executed. It\nwas a bit of an eye-opener.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every time we visit Singapore it has changed, always for the\nbetter. For those who bemoan the lack of markets stuffed full of pirated goods\nand stores packed full of cheap electronic goods remember that the life of the\naverage Singaporean has improved enormously in the last three decades. While\nextreme wealth is very much in evidence, it is also clear that the growth in\nwealth has been shared to a much greater extent than some SE Asian countries.\nThe population is relatively stable but with an ageing profile, leading to a\nshortage of local labour. The nation relies on importing labour to maintain\nutilities and growth. The Singaporeans seem to have found a marvellous balance\nbetween modern growth and first class facilities while maintaining a strong\nsense of the past and their heritage. It is clean, safe and still very\naffordable. Most importantly, everything seems to work and work well. People\nobey laws and behave well towards each other. We love it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The stark differences between Singapore and Bangkok struck us as soon as we exited the aircraft and entered the incredible world of Changi Airport efficiency. The Immigration lines were a fraction of the length of those in Thailand, the processing twice the speed and the signage clear and informative. The only small inconvenience we experienced […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":2542,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[262,4],"tags":[92],"class_list":["post-2540","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia","category-holidays","tag-singapore","post-preview"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hinchy.org\/travels\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Singapore-River.jpg?fit=4004%2C1404&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8sUAc-EY","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hinchy.org\/travels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2540","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hinchy.org\/travels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hinchy.org\/travels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hinchy.org\/travels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hinchy.org\/travels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2540"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/hinchy.org\/travels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2540\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2543,"href":"https:\/\/hinchy.org\/travels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2540\/revisions\/2543"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hinchy.org\/travels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2542"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hinchy.org\/travels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2540"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hinchy.org\/travels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2540"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hinchy.org\/travels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2540"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}