Making a splash in Singapore
Welcome back! We had a very busy few days when we returned from the European leg of our 'World Tour', emptying the van, catching up with a few friends and trying to streamline and decant our belongings into two ruckacks for leg two: Asia.
We have just spent the last week in Singapore and it has been monumentally brilliant. For a start, Singapore is just a wonderful city to be in. We arrived
midweek and spent a couple of days exploring the city like bewildered kids, pointing and cooing at every futuristic high-rise, colonial hotel or tatty little street market we came across. Singapore just does everything so well, whether it's the clean, efficient MRT system (like the tube, only better) or the spotless streets, cheap hawker markets and food stalls. We spent a lot 
of time sampling some of the exotic fare from the latter. I managed to pluck up the courage to eat a black 'Century Egg' but drew the line at 'Pig's 
Stomach Soup' and one horrific offering called simply 'Extra Big Intestine'.
Then it was Grand Prix weekend and I could barely contatin myself. The whole event is like
a glitzy carnival and the fact it was a night race made it all the more glamorous. It's like a posh festival with stalls and beer tents, slightly inflated prices and an array of dancers, drummers and other entertainers wanderng around. In between the various support races and qualifying sessions they had a very impressive music programme too, including Craig Charles-a-like Shaggy, the 
legend that is Rick Astley and Colombian bum-wiggler Shakira. It was during the Shakira gig that Claire suddenly told me to 'wait there' while she disappeared into the crowd. A few minutes later she reappeared with Hanna and Tom, two really good friends from London. They were on a stopover on their way to Indonesia and it was an amazing surprise. An afternoon of drinking meant that I was a little bit confused by the whole situation for a while - literally stunned - but it was so great to see them.
After the gig and the qualifying session on the Saturday we managed to blag our way into the Singapore Cricket Club and up to the roof terrace overlooking the 'Singapore Sling' chicane to rub shoulders with the sort of rich people who wear peppermint green shorts with pink Hackett shirts. Unfortunately the party there was winding down so we didn't stay long. Undeterred, our next stop was the Boathouse Bar at The Fullerton, an infamously swish hotel, and again we
managed to blag our way into a party on their roof terrace. We drank and danced with the 'in-crowd' while overlooking an amazing view of the track below. The four of us had a great night and got stuck right in (we may have accidentally pinched someone's bottle of Champagne) and Tom even had a go at accompanying the DJ on bongos.
The next day was race day and we once again met up with Hanna and Tom. The Grand
Prix was brilliant, the post race fireworks were spectacular and afterwards we ran onto the track, giddy with excitement. We all then went to rock out to Linkin Park who were playing the main stage. We hung around after the gig and tried to get back into the Cricket Club but this time they were having none of it. We then, somehow, ended up on the race track again and instead of throwing us out, we talked the security guards into taking pictures of us - Singapor
eans are just so friendly! We headed to Boat Quay for a late dinner (it was about 1am by now) and found a fish restaurant by the harbour. It was then that the heavens decided to open and a minor monsoon ensued. We sheltered under the awnings for a night with the restaurant owner, drinking beer while he and a waitress taught us how to fold napkins and then showed us some card tricks. Bizarre but educational! We left around 5am.
Our last day together was spent at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel which is an unbelievabl
y extravagant three-towered building with a sort of space-age cruise ship balanced on top. It's like a futuristic version of Noah's Ark atop Mount Ararat. It is also very posh. We had complimentary champagne as we checked in, listening to a string quartet and gazing at the Dali sculpture in the foyer. And when I say foyer, I am belittling the gargantuan atrium that houses two restaurants, two bars and various boutiques
selling clothing and jewellery that no human should ever be able to afford. We felt a little out of our league. Up on the 57th floor, on board that space-age cruise ship, is a nightclub, another couple of bars, a restaurant, a vertigo-inducing observation dec
k and a 150m long infinity pool overlooking the city. It is truly spectacular but slightly surreal to be bobbing around 200m up in the sky. Probably not the sort of place where they'd appreciate us 'penguin-sliding' across the loungers into the pool. I blame the cocktails.
We have just spent the last week in Singapore and it has been monumentally brilliant. For a start, Singapore is just a wonderful city to be in. We arrived
midweek and spent a couple of days exploring the city like bewildered kids, pointing and cooing at every futuristic high-rise, colonial hotel or tatty little street market we came across. Singapore just does everything so well, whether it's the clean, efficient MRT system (like the tube, only better) or the spotless streets, cheap hawker markets and food stalls. We spent a lot 
of time sampling some of the exotic fare from the latter. I managed to pluck up the courage to eat a black 'Century Egg' but drew the line at 'Pig's 
Stomach Soup' and one horrific offering called simply 'Extra Big Intestine'. Then it was Grand Prix weekend and I could barely contatin myself. The whole event is like
a glitzy carnival and the fact it was a night race made it all the more glamorous. It's like a posh festival with stalls and beer tents, slightly inflated prices and an array of dancers, drummers and other entertainers wanderng around. In between the various support races and qualifying sessions they had a very impressive music programme too, including Craig Charles-a-like Shaggy, the 
legend that is Rick Astley and Colombian bum-wiggler Shakira. It was during the Shakira gig that Claire suddenly told me to 'wait there' while she disappeared into the crowd. A few minutes later she reappeared with Hanna and Tom, two really good friends from London. They were on a stopover on their way to Indonesia and it was an amazing surprise. An afternoon of drinking meant that I was a little bit confused by the whole situation for a while - literally stunned - but it was so great to see them.
After the gig and the qualifying session on the Saturday we managed to blag our way into the Singapore Cricket Club and up to the roof terrace overlooking the 'Singapore Sling' chicane to rub shoulders with the sort of rich people who wear peppermint green shorts with pink Hackett shirts. Unfortunately the party there was winding down so we didn't stay long. Undeterred, our next stop was the Boathouse Bar at The Fullerton, an infamously swish hotel, and again we
managed to blag our way into a party on their roof terrace. We drank and danced with the 'in-crowd' while overlooking an amazing view of the track below. The four of us had a great night and got stuck right in (we may have accidentally pinched someone's bottle of Champagne) and Tom even had a go at accompanying the DJ on bongos.The next day was race day and we once again met up with Hanna and Tom. The Grand
Prix was brilliant, the post race fireworks were spectacular and afterwards we ran onto the track, giddy with excitement. We all then went to rock out to Linkin Park who were playing the main stage. We hung around after the gig and tried to get back into the Cricket Club but this time they were having none of it. We then, somehow, ended up on the race track again and instead of throwing us out, we talked the security guards into taking pictures of us - Singapor
eans are just so friendly! We headed to Boat Quay for a late dinner (it was about 1am by now) and found a fish restaurant by the harbour. It was then that the heavens decided to open and a minor monsoon ensued. We sheltered under the awnings for a night with the restaurant owner, drinking beer while he and a waitress taught us how to fold napkins and then showed us some card tricks. Bizarre but educational! We left around 5am. Our last day together was spent at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel which is an unbelievabl
y extravagant three-towered building with a sort of space-age cruise ship balanced on top. It's like a futuristic version of Noah's Ark atop Mount Ararat. It is also very posh. We had complimentary champagne as we checked in, listening to a string quartet and gazing at the Dali sculpture in the foyer. And when I say foyer, I am belittling the gargantuan atrium that houses two restaurants, two bars and various boutiques
selling clothing and jewellery that no human should ever be able to afford. We felt a little out of our league. Up on the 57th floor, on board that space-age cruise ship, is a nightclub, another couple of bars, a restaurant, a vertigo-inducing observation dec
k and a 150m long infinity pool overlooking the city. It is truly spectacular but slightly surreal to be bobbing around 200m up in the sky. Probably not the sort of place where they'd appreciate us 'penguin-sliding' across the loungers into the pool. I blame the cocktails.
Sounds like a great trip. Hope the rest is just as great
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