Singapore Sling
I went out last night to a bar called "Harry's" down by the financial district and it was very nice. So nice in fact that I don't recall getting back. I did meet up with an acquaintance there which was good but then my memory gets patchy. I remember sitting next to a couple of British ex-pats who were being chatted up by a rather glamorous
looking lady. They kept mentioning their wives, which was depressing. But I cheered myself up imagining what they'd say if they found out that she was a man. Not a bad looking bloke if she was, I'd say.
I awoke this morning to find that I had showered and trimmed by fingernails last night. I don't know how i did this. Normal people pick up mystery bruises and bumps when they've been out on the sauce. I get my haircut, do some DIY, and re-pack my bag.
Reeling home last night across town was straightforward. Singapore is not a big place, about half the size of London, and the City Centre is compact. It's also incredibly safe. There appears to be an unnerving respect for the law and for each other here which i have never experienced outside of tiny communities before. For example, I could stagger home last night without even being approached once by anyone. I could leave my wallet on the bar with cash in it while I went for a wee and nobody would pilfer it. Not recommended that you take too many chances like this though.
It's clean, efficient, well run. The public transport system here is ultra-sleek and extremely cheap. It's as if their government actually spends money on things that are useful. I tell you, this democracy thing might just work out after all.
I stepped off the 'plane here last week and began to steel myself for the ordeal of getting out of the airport. It went something like this:
08:05 - Exited plane and walked into Terminal. Used the moving walkways, which is always fun.
08:07 - Reached an empty immigration hall. A smiling official occupied every desk. This normally intimidates me but the nice lady in the uniform offered me a sweet. Really.
08:07 - Stamped passport and I walk 100 yards to baggage retrieval.
08:09 - My bag appears magically from the hole.
08:12 - I get in the taxi. This is strange. I'm in Asia and I didn't have to dodge 100+ taxi drivers, haggle over small change, and it's metered! I must still be asleep in Heathrow or something.
That was it; efficient, clean, and courteous all the way. Much more of this and I'll have nothing to moan about.
I'm fortunate enough to know people here already so I've caught up with them and been shown about a little. If I was alone here I would probably have difficulty in filling up more than a few days as there's not a lot to see here as a tourist. This place is really a hub for commerce and travel, hence its income is pretty high and they can afford to keep it to this high standard. There's probably more to it than that as I've barely scratched the surface.
For added colonial opulence I decided that one evening I'd got to the bar at Raffles Hotel, home of the Singapore Sling cocktail (it says here). I had nothing else to do so I went there by myself.
A uniformed man advised me that the lobby had a strict dress code in which Jesus-sandals did not feature. "Will you be joining us for a drink tonight, sir?" he asked. "You're not even going to offer to buy me dinner first?" I replied. He showed me to the bar through the peasants' entrance out the back. I was not allowed IN the bar, but was shown by another smiling waiter to the 3rd class lounge out the back in an attractive courtyard. Here one can smell the honeysuckle, and relax listening to soft tones of Cole Porter mingle with the water fountain and the 8-lanes of traffic just behind the wall. Hell, it wasn't that bad and I've been to plenty worse places (Bar 38 in CW comes to mind).
I ordered my Singapore Sling. I'm not a lover of cocktails. I think that they're wanky and overpriced but I wanted to give this a try. Maybe I'll discover a taste for them? Not this one. I don't know what the hell they put in it but it tasted like Vimto and Red Bull mixed. I instantly ordered a beer. "You want it now?" the permanently startled waitress asked (she had done something that women sometimes do to their eyebrows where they trim them into a surprised look). "Not now, when I've finished this please, I need something to
take the taste away," and then gave my best tinkly laugh.
As i sat and endured the cocktail and traffic noise I looked around me. Very colonial, this pile. It was built in the early 20th century by the Brits ("What have the British ever done for us!?", etc.) and is named after Stanley Raffles, the military man who founded the port of Singapore and turned it from an obscure fishing village into a major port and trade hub. He's immortalised in place names all over the city and in the Colonial District down by the old harbour. I was pondering when a man in a Manchester united shirt walked into the bar. They let him in because he was wearing proper shoes. I should come here again naked, but with shoes on and see what they do. Call the police probably. Man U though; that’s embarrassing.
I enjoyed the rest of my evening there but would like to go back armed with shoes and a credit card. It was rather pricey.
The following day I took a look around the Colonial District which is all very nice and redeveloped. The whole of that area is well developed and the old dock areas have been redeveloped, like the Docklands all over England. The British administrative buildings have been turned into theatres, arts centres, and museums and there's a nice peaceful ambiance around there. Further North is the Padang, which is a Rugby field and cricket pitch. I was lucky enough to see a game in progress at the time. Singapore CC's second XI I think. I took a couple of pictures of this, with the cricket in progress in the foreground and the cathedral and old Parliament house rising up in the background. Trees everywhere in this city so all is very green and lush. If it wasn't so clean this could be Kent. Such a civilised place, I thought.
I'm here for another couple of days and will probably travel to the East of the island to check it out. Getting there will be simplicity itself, which is slightly disheartening. I moan about the little trials you go through in other Asian cities, like in India, but they make the experience for me. Must not complain though as I'll be back there soon enough.
looking lady. They kept mentioning their wives, which was depressing. But I cheered myself up imagining what they'd say if they found out that she was a man. Not a bad looking bloke if she was, I'd say.
I awoke this morning to find that I had showered and trimmed by fingernails last night. I don't know how i did this. Normal people pick up mystery bruises and bumps when they've been out on the sauce. I get my haircut, do some DIY, and re-pack my bag.
Reeling home last night across town was straightforward. Singapore is not a big place, about half the size of London, and the City Centre is compact. It's also incredibly safe. There appears to be an unnerving respect for the law and for each other here which i have never experienced outside of tiny communities before. For example, I could stagger home last night without even being approached once by anyone. I could leave my wallet on the bar with cash in it while I went for a wee and nobody would pilfer it. Not recommended that you take too many chances like this though.
It's clean, efficient, well run. The public transport system here is ultra-sleek and extremely cheap. It's as if their government actually spends money on things that are useful. I tell you, this democracy thing might just work out after all.
I stepped off the 'plane here last week and began to steel myself for the ordeal of getting out of the airport. It went something like this:
08:05 - Exited plane and walked into Terminal. Used the moving walkways, which is always fun.
08:07 - Reached an empty immigration hall. A smiling official occupied every desk. This normally intimidates me but the nice lady in the uniform offered me a sweet. Really.
08:07 - Stamped passport and I walk 100 yards to baggage retrieval.
08:09 - My bag appears magically from the hole.
08:12 - I get in the taxi. This is strange. I'm in Asia and I didn't have to dodge 100+ taxi drivers, haggle over small change, and it's metered! I must still be asleep in Heathrow or something.
That was it; efficient, clean, and courteous all the way. Much more of this and I'll have nothing to moan about.
I'm fortunate enough to know people here already so I've caught up with them and been shown about a little. If I was alone here I would probably have difficulty in filling up more than a few days as there's not a lot to see here as a tourist. This place is really a hub for commerce and travel, hence its income is pretty high and they can afford to keep it to this high standard. There's probably more to it than that as I've barely scratched the surface.
For added colonial opulence I decided that one evening I'd got to the bar at Raffles Hotel, home of the Singapore Sling cocktail (it says here). I had nothing else to do so I went there by myself.
A uniformed man advised me that the lobby had a strict dress code in which Jesus-sandals did not feature. "Will you be joining us for a drink tonight, sir?" he asked. "You're not even going to offer to buy me dinner first?" I replied. He showed me to the bar through the peasants' entrance out the back. I was not allowed IN the bar, but was shown by another smiling waiter to the 3rd class lounge out the back in an attractive courtyard. Here one can smell the honeysuckle, and relax listening to soft tones of Cole Porter mingle with the water fountain and the 8-lanes of traffic just behind the wall. Hell, it wasn't that bad and I've been to plenty worse places (Bar 38 in CW comes to mind).
I ordered my Singapore Sling. I'm not a lover of cocktails. I think that they're wanky and overpriced but I wanted to give this a try. Maybe I'll discover a taste for them? Not this one. I don't know what the hell they put in it but it tasted like Vimto and Red Bull mixed. I instantly ordered a beer. "You want it now?" the permanently startled waitress asked (she had done something that women sometimes do to their eyebrows where they trim them into a surprised look). "Not now, when I've finished this please, I need something to
take the taste away," and then gave my best tinkly laugh.
As i sat and endured the cocktail and traffic noise I looked around me. Very colonial, this pile. It was built in the early 20th century by the Brits ("What have the British ever done for us!?", etc.) and is named after Stanley Raffles, the military man who founded the port of Singapore and turned it from an obscure fishing village into a major port and trade hub. He's immortalised in place names all over the city and in the Colonial District down by the old harbour. I was pondering when a man in a Manchester united shirt walked into the bar. They let him in because he was wearing proper shoes. I should come here again naked, but with shoes on and see what they do. Call the police probably. Man U though; that’s embarrassing.
I enjoyed the rest of my evening there but would like to go back armed with shoes and a credit card. It was rather pricey.
The following day I took a look around the Colonial District which is all very nice and redeveloped. The whole of that area is well developed and the old dock areas have been redeveloped, like the Docklands all over England. The British administrative buildings have been turned into theatres, arts centres, and museums and there's a nice peaceful ambiance around there. Further North is the Padang, which is a Rugby field and cricket pitch. I was lucky enough to see a game in progress at the time. Singapore CC's second XI I think. I took a couple of pictures of this, with the cricket in progress in the foreground and the cathedral and old Parliament house rising up in the background. Trees everywhere in this city so all is very green and lush. If it wasn't so clean this could be Kent. Such a civilised place, I thought.
I'm here for another couple of days and will probably travel to the East of the island to check it out. Getting there will be simplicity itself, which is slightly disheartening. I moan about the little trials you go through in other Asian cities, like in India, but they make the experience for me. Must not complain though as I'll be back there soon enough.