Holiday with Mum - Singapore

We arrive in Singapore by train from Kuala Lumpur. Singapore is an island, a country and a capital city.  Our local guide is very knowledgeable and she shared a lot of information about her country with us. Here are some of the facts that I found interesting. English is the first language for communication and 76% of the population is Chinese, with Malaysians, Indonesians, Indians and other groups making up the rest of the numbers. It gained its independence in 1965. She tells us that Singapore is the world’s busiest port in terms of the tonnage passing through. Water is in short supply so there is an agreement between Malaysia and Singapore that untreated water comes into Singapore from Malaysia by pipe-line; Singapore treats it and some treated water goes back to Malaysia. There is conscription into national service Singapore. All men are conscripted at the age of 18 for a two year period. For women this is not compulsory and only about 2% of young women choose this option. The country has the death penalty by hanging for drugs, with 1991 having the most hangings, with 11 taking place. So far this year there have been no hangings. Singapore is very tough on illegal immigration and those caught are caned and imprisoned.  To be a single mother is taboo and teenage pregnancy is very rare. There is no social support from the government in these cases.

Singapore is clean and organised and is similar in some ways to Hong Kong Island and also the waterfront in Shanghai. It has old colonial buildings, old town houses, a China Town, Little India and masses of new high rise offices, hotels and malls and everything looks as if it was built yesterday. Like in Hong Kong, land is at a premium and they are reclaiming land. The temperature is the hottest we have experienced so far on this trip – it’s well into the 30s and the humidity is high.

Our sightseeing takes us down to the river first of all – to Merlion Park. The Merlion is a mythical beast which symbolises Singapore, it has the head of a lion and the body of a fish. The name of Singapore means ‘lion city’, after some dude from history saw a lion here and the fish tail is a reminder of the origins of the settlement as a fishing village.

Singapore River

Merlion Statue

Mum at the waterfront

This crazy building is the latest hotel to be built. It is on reclaimed land and appears to have a huge ship across the top of the 3 towers of the hotel.

Marina Bay Sands Hotel

Old town houses

We then go and visit the botanical gardens which contains a stunning orchid garden. I have never seen or imagined so many varieties of orchid. There is one named after Princess Diana, which is a beautiful creamy white one and one for Margaret Thatcher, which is a bit of scraggy old stick!

Orchids

Me and Mum in the orchid garden

This evening is the last night of the holiday and we go with the group for a final meal at Clarke Quay. This is the area by the river where the ships docked and cargoes were loaded and unloaded. Nowadays the port has been moved to the west of the island and Clarke Quay has been re-invented as a lively area of bars and restaurants housed in the refurbished original warehouses.

Clarke Quay at night

We then go to Raffles Hotel for a visit to the Long Bar, where the famous Singapore Sling was invented. Raffles hotel originally stood on the seafront and now stands at least ½ a mile from the sea. Nowadays only the hotel residents are allowed to enter the front door of the hotel.

Raffles Hotel

Me, Mum and Singapore Slings

The recipe is :

30ml gin; 15ml cherry liqueur; 120ml pineapple juice; 15ml lime juice; 7.5ml cointreau; 7.5ml Benedictine; 10ml grenadine; a dash of angostura bitters and garnish with a slice of pineapple and a cherry. Great!

Thanks Mum for a fab holiday.

Next stop Bali.