Shufling around Singapore
Trip Start
Mar 29, 2006
1
3
232
Trip End
Feb 28, 2007
Singapore,
Singapore
Friday, March 31, 2006
Toast and jam for breakfast. Chocolate biscuits too...homemade by Zany. I'm sure that is not how to spell her Filipino name but phonetically it's the best I can do. I have to think 'crazy' to remind me of her name. She is not a slave by any means. She has her own room here as do all the apartments in this part of town. She has full board and she is paid a wage. For that she does all the household chores including the meals and being a nanny to V & J.
Entertainment this morning was mostly provided by the children. But they cannot just rush out in to a garden. There is one but it is 14 floors below and way out of sight. There is a pool and a set of swings and slides but the kids have to be accompanied. They are prisoners. Let out into the exercise yard at certain times! Today is a school holiday which makes it a trifle harder to keep them entertained inside...locked in, as it were. There is a security system on the lift that only allows you up with a swipe card. There is no fresh air. Not that you would want the humid air of Singapore wafting around your apartment but it all becomes rather claustrophobic. I am sure I could not live like this especially with two kids. At least it is a fair sized apartment. It is spread over two floors connected by a circular staircase.
I read a book with V...Teddy's Secret. I don't know why I typed that title in. It had to be the most unforgettable children's book ever. But then I am not a five year old.
The decision was made to go out and play but at a kids playground about ten minutes away along the bay. V particularly liked this place because of the trampoline/bungy jump apparatus. But when we arrived it was closed. All the rides were closed as well as the trampoline. Probably because, although these two kids were on holiday, the public schools were not...at least not for another week. Not only was the play area closed but also the restaurant that E. had chosen for lunch. The only option was to eat at McDonalds much to E's distress. His argument being that the kids would leave more than they ate and he was right. I had a clean plate! It was air-conditioned, it was clean, the kids were given balloons and it had a novelty drive-in for roller skaters...a roll-in maybe?
I decided to walk back along the foreshore. I knew it would be a long way but I needed some exercise. I stood for a while on the edge of the bay looking out at a pale green sea where between me and it was a narrow strip of sand stretching far into the distance. Nobody was on the beach or in the water but there were a few people under the trees on the park. Out in the bay there were many ships at anchor of many sizes and shapes...oil tankers and modern cruise ships included.
It was a long walk and I was pooped by the time I got back to the apartment. I wandered around the back streets not quite knowing where I was but watching the horizon to see if I could recognize our tower block. Meyer Road was a mixture of high rise and private homes and all looked very expensive. I passed the Chinese embassy with replicas of the Xian warriors in the gardens.
The pool was very welcome after my walk. We were forced to exit the water by the onset of thunderstorms which seem to arrive at this hour most days so I'm told. Very spectacular. Especially from the 14th floor. But not much rain.
The kids had an early meal. Cooked and served to by Zany who was then informed that she was baby sitter for the night while we went out. S. had a pre-arranged night out with some girl friends so E was going to take us into town for a cheap meal.
He drove the three of us into the city and parked right in the middle of the CBD...a fluke really. We walked across the street into what looked like an old covered market place which had been converted into an indoor and outdoor eatery. All a bit confusing at first because there were pimps...which term I use in the nicest possible way...guiding us to tables and flourishing menus in front of our face. I left it all to Anne and E. They ordered some warm beer and three plates of food...kebabs mostly. Very tasty. It seemed a lot at first but with my help(?) we cleaned up the plates. It was not so cheap I might add. Something in the region of $45.
We walked along Raffles Quay on the water's edge until we reached the Singapore river where they have positioned the Merlion [A statue with a lion's head and a fish tale. The symbol of Singapore...boring stuff...look it up]. It was busy as with restaurants and bars lining the waterfront. Their version of Darling Harbour. Around the Merlion was a troupe of line (not lion) dancers. Accompanied by some live pop music this group of energetic individuals boot scooted across the promenade to the delight of the passers by. Very entertaining. The atmosphere is one of contentedness. The people are strolling and smiling. No aggression here. Mostly young people like in all Asian cities. [I sometimes wonder if, like in Logan's Run, all the oldies are put down when they reach a certain age because they are mostly invisible in Southeast Asia.]
We walked across the well lit bridge and headed towards the Opera House or National Theatre. A wonderful complex consisting of two domes which from the sky look like two giant fly's eyes or a pair of microphones lying on their side. In other words the roofs had a mesh like look from a distance. At night it looked quite spectacular under the spotlights. We were unable to go into the theatres themselves so wandered through the foyer which was decorated in polished timber walls, marble floors and huge glass panels. [A far cry from the grubby concrete and cement finish to the insides of the Sydney Opera House] There was a shopping mall with eateries and the rear of the complex opened out onto a vast patio on the river front.
We walked back across the bridge to the car. I was absolutely exhausted. It had been a day of hiking for me. My feet were sore, my shoulders were aching and my hip was playing up. Other than that I could have continued for hours...not! We arrived at the apartment about midnight and needless to say I crashed and slept solidly till next morning when...
