Glen had a conference to attend in Singapore in October so that seemed like as good an opportunity as any to spend a few days there. Better yet, our friend Simon came over from Melbourne for it as well.

We’ve been to Singapore a few times before so it meant the pressure was off to ‘DO EVERYTHING’ and could instead pick a couple of fun things to do, while taking it a bit easier.

We arrived on Friday night at a reasonable time (flights from Perth to Singapore are mostly at odd hours but we got the 2pm flight which got us in at a comfortable 7:30pm). We caught a taxi to our hotel, The Fullerton, and checked in, grabbed some food, and then I headed out to meet my friend Reuben for a few drinks at Tantric, one of the gay bars in Singapore. A few drinks turned into a few hours and I got back much later than I’d intended but I was on holiday so…

National Gallery

Because I didn’t get out of bed until very late, that meant most of the day was gone by the time I did surface. Glen had gone off to the conference, so I went to the gym then had some lunch at one of the restaurants near the hotel. I sat next to a couple from Dongara, of all the places, and saw three otters swimming in the river.

I walked around to the other side of the river, which has the parliament and the national gallery. The national gallery is a new building, incorporating the art gallery and the supreme court. It’s a monolithic construction that is very beautiful but absolutely confusing to get around. I found it one of the most frustrating buildings I’ve ever been into. It also took me forever to find any art, and the lifts were painfully slow. When I did find some art, I was a bit over it by then. I went to the very top floor, took photos of the rotunda (my favourite bit) and then got the hell out of there. 

Gardens by the Bay

Later in the afternoon I went to meet Simon and Shaun at Gardens by the Bay. I went to this last time but it’s an impressive attraction so was keen to see it again. The walk there wasn’t too bad – it’s humid but not atrocious. I arrived, met the guys and we went into the Flower Dome, while Glen walked over from the hotel to join us for the Cloud Forest.

The Flower Dome wasn’t as…in bloom…as the last time I was there, plus it was absolutely HEAVING with people. Being a Saturday, I’m not sure why I would have expected it not to be. We got through it pretty quickly as the flow of people keeps you moving, and then made good time to meet Glen.

The Cloud Forest was equally was busy with a 20-minute wait for the elevator inside to take you to the top. For some reason though, as we got closer to the main structure, the guides took us and about ten other people out of the line and used a separate elevator, bypassing the 20-minute queue. Not sure why but we were happy as.

From there it was a leisurely walk down to the bottom. It’s a beautiful sight to behold with its waterfall and mist and lush greenery. Get rid of the people and it would be all the better 😛

We went for dinner PS Cafe, a trendy spot which had nice food, and then in the evening went out to Tantric and Taboo for more drinks and dancing. It was another late night.

Southern Ridges and Henderson Waves

Sunday was another late start to the day. My main thing for this trip was to check out Southern Ridges, a 9km walk through rainforest on treetop footpaths. Glen, Simon and I took the MRT to what we thought was a good place to start. It wasn’t exactly where we probably should have begun but it turned out to be a good place as there was a treetop walk that we did.

We then back-tracked a bit and cut through HortPark, another fabulous garden with educational elements throughout, and then continued on, over an archway bridge and along kilometres of suspended walkway through thick lush forest. It was wonderful. 

Less wonderful for Glen as I’d said it would be a 30-minute walk, and it was more like a 2-hour hike. Still, it was worth the visit. We then reached Henderson Waves, another walkway, and because the sun was setting, it was starting to be strategically lit. We continued through darkening forest to Mt Faber. We intended to catch the cable car down to the Harbourfront MRT station but it would cost $22 (it continues onto Sentosa and you can’t pay any less) so we called a cab and got driven home. Much more convenient for our weary legs.

Universal Studios

Glen was keen to visit Universal Studios ever since I mentioned it. Unfortunately there was no Harry Potter World but we still made the effort to go in the afternoon, after conference (Glen) and gym (Simon and I). We also had lunch with all the other nearby office workers.

We paid our lot of money at Universal Studios, splurging on the express pass because queues. We bypassed the super fast and scary roller coasters near the start, saving them for later, and did the Transformers Ride (Glen got queasy on this, which happened the time he went on it in Orlando. Luckily no gastro this time), then the Mummy, and then the Lost World/Jurassic Park water ride. The sign said we’d get wet. It did not lie. I think, because we were the heavier three out of our nine-person tub, we got the full impact of the water. We were drenched – shirt, shorts, underwear, socks and shoes. Not exactly what you want to happen so soon after arriving. On the plus side, a lot of it dried and it was cooling (don’t think about the quality of the water).

We zoomed through the younger side of things – Shrek, Madagascar – and did a few rides, and then finished up with Cylon and Human (Battlestar Galactica themed rides) and screamed our lungs out a bit…and then we were done. Thank god for the express pass because some of those queues were an hour long otherwise. We were done within three and a half hours and thankful for it.

In the evening we went out for dinner at Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck Restaurant and had Peking duck, duck fried rice, fish and veggies. Oh, and soup. A lot of food but all delicious (even if the fish did take about twenty minutes to come out). We waddled out, looked at a few stores, and then caught the MRT home for a reasonably early night for a change.

Pulau Ubin

Glen was conscientious on Tuesday and went to the conference while Simon and I headed off to Pulau Ubin, a little island off the coast of Singapore which has escaped the development of the rest of the island. We took a half-hour taxi ride out towards Changi to catch a little bumboat across the water. The boat ride cost $3 each way and you have to wait for 12 passengers to show up before they’ll take you across (or you pay the full $36 and you can go whenever you want). We waited about ten or fifteen minutes until the 12 people accumulated and off we went.

A short boat ride across a still channel and we arrived on Pulau Ubin. We hired some squeaky old bikes for $8 each and set off. We could have walked but we wanted to get to the wetlands which was 3.3km away and we’d have to walk that back as well. Better to ride. In the end it was an even better choice because it meant we could get away from the monkeys faster.

We cycled along bitumen through regrowth rainforest, thankfully cool enough in this humid climate. The trees were stunning and it was a relaxing and adventurous thing to do, and something I wouldn’t normally associate with Singapore. Being a Tuesday it was also very quiet with hardly any people around…heaven!

We took the track towards the wetlands, dismounting at places, especially where the monkeys were. One was sitting on the railing, being pretty chill. Babies played in the leaf litter. We took our photos and kept back a couple of metres. But then one of them decided to have a bit of a go.

Now, these monkeys aren’t very big but they have teeth and they’re faster than me. They might also have rabies. All this started to go through my head as this probably adolescent primate started to squawk at us and feint. We hissed back and stamped our feet but it wasn’t running away. 

And then it was getting closer to our bikes.

Despite wanting to run in terror, I figured I needed to stand my ground and show some dominance. Hissing was obviously too low-key and I had to stop stepping back so I stamped my feet at him and barked like a big dog. That seemed to do the trick. He retreated a few metres, giving us enough time to get on our bikes and cycle away. We lived to fight another day.

We cycled to the mangroves and went on the boardwalk through them and out over the coast. Beautiful views across the water. We saw a smallish monitor lizard come out of the water and find a spot to sun itself. There was also plenty of interpretation about the plants and the environment. It was also very hot when we weren’t undercover. 

After the boardwalk, we got back on our bikes and cycled back towards the ferry, taking a detour towards the old quarries which are now filled with water and surrounded by forest. Along the way, Simon startled an incredibly big monitor lizard on the side of the road. (Think juvenile Komodo Dragon size) It had the same startled expression on its face as we did. We then saw a bunch of wild pigs in the vegetation beside the road, and then, cycling back to the ferry through Butterfly Hill, finally saw a hornbill picking fruit from off one of the trees. Score!

We handed back our bikes and went to the jetty to wait for 12 people to show up but the boat driver let us go when there were only six of us. Another score! We think it might have had to do with the big storm rolling in. We heard the thunder while we were cycling and were keen to avoid it. Luckily we did.

Back on Singapore, the whole excursion took us about 2.5 hours which was pretty good and ample time to see what we wanted to see. We went for lunch in Changi Village Hawker Market and had $5 chicken rice, which was very good. Then it was a taxi back to the Fullerton. The heavens opened and the rain crashed down. It was a bit scary because at times we couldn’t see out the window. Back to the Fullerton for a bit of a relax before dinner at Odette in the evening.

Odette

I booked dinner for the three of us at Odette on the recommendation of some friends. It was conveniently located at the National Gallery which was a five minute walk from our hotel. Less convenient was me not knowing which end of the gallery it was in and the damn building being impossibly big to navigate. I’d prophetically asked how Glen’s new shoes made his feet feel on the walk to the building, thereby invoking some malevolence and cursing him with sore feet for the extra 200 or so metres we had to walk. (We also had to walk further at the end because I decided to go the long way.)

Dinner was fancy, and more expensive than I’d expected which was bad enough for the two of us but was a less than happy surprise for three. However, we didn’t pick up and run, but stayed for the 8 course (plus the in between bits) and had some wine. 

The food was delicious and not too adventurous, although I was very thankful I’d given Glen’s dietary restriction (food dislikes rather than allergies) beforehand as there were a few in them. There was also uni which didn’t taste like uni but is another one I’m going to have to add to Glen’s no list. (I thought it was actually quite tasty and didn’t at all taste like the bottom of the ocean. Seriously.)

There were a few seafood courses, with the main meat dish being pigeon which I subbed for john dory. I ended up eating half of Glen’s pigeon anyway. (Perhaps another for the list.) Dessert was a white pokemon looking lemon meringue tart with a basil sorbet centre – delish. I also really liked the petit fours, the pomegranate ice lolly thing was a favourite. 

Glen and Simon were full about four or five dishes in; not sure why as the meals weren’t that big. I was quite happily stuffing my face all the way to the end, and polished off a few of Glen’s unfinished courses. I thought it was a good dining experience, very subdued atmosphere but we had a good view of the kitchen and had photos with chef and sous chef at the end. 

It was scores above our experience at Jann a few years ago, and I’m glad we got to experience it. We were home by about 10:30 or so and fell into bed. Glen was leaving early-early-is the next morning to go back to Perth while I caught an early afternoon flight to Taipei for part two of our Asian getaway.