Day #1
Inefficiency at its best:
So, I began my first morning with the authentic Singaporean flavours of Brunetti’s. The restaurant is only a couple months old and managed by the same guy who used to manage Brunetti’s on Lygon Street in Melbourne. Allegedly Singapore doesn’t do a decent breakfast, so this is how I was introduced to food here.
We walked along Orchard Road, in and out of different malls, you could pretty much spend all day underground, surrounded by shops without ever seeing daylight.
Today would be my first experience trying to buy something here. My first attempt was with a prepaid SIM card, so I could at least have some mobile internet. Standing in line, for a good 15 minutes watching the person in front seemingly go through an unseemly amount of bureaucracy. Slowest retail in the world.
The inefficiency seems out of place in some ways at retail, because the city is so clean, at times you’ll see someone cleaning a sign, two people cleaning a wall, more people mowing lawns with whipper snippers – there are no lawn mowers here.
Having turned up to SIngapore during the Chinese New Year holidays, it is relatively quiet, and being out before 11am, you could easily be mistaken that Singapore is a very quiet place.
No rules:
In the afternoon, we bought a ferry ticket to travel 5 minutes up the river to the MerLion (Singapore’s Mascot), when the first ferry came along, they told us they weren’t going to the MerLion. Dad argued with them for a few minute, then they decided they were. So we got on, and basically got a free full tour, as they went the long way to the MerLion. Win!
We ended up having lunch down a side street after getting off the ferry, in some dodgy back alley. This was the food I’d been hanging out for. There were a few places to choose from, but ended deciding on a Thai place. Possibly chose the hottest place in Singapore, unlike everywhere else we’d gone, there was no air conditioning here. I had some pad thai, and it was very tasty, I also had my first lime juice experience. Everywhere seems to sell it. In Australia, the number of limes you’d need to create it would probably cost you $400.
Today was my first test of heights for a long time, as we went up the top of Marina Bay Sands, 57 stories up. I held up quite well, thankfully, because SIngapore seems to be built to scare the shit out of people with a fear of heights. THe view of the city was absolutely fantastic. You can pretty much see everything from that height.
At night, we went to a thing for the new year festivals called River Hongbao, on The Float @ Marina Bay, a bit floating platform where things happen. There were a bunch of festivity things going on, with food stalls. We tried something with no name, which eventually found out was “vegetarian noodles” – that could mean anything. It was good tho. Also has some won-ton type dumplings.
Finished the night drinking at a bar in an ex-monastery called Chijmes, Alcohol is very expensive in Singapore. Typically seems to be around $16 for spirits and $13 for beer.
