Singapore: Michelle Comes to Visit!

Howdy all!

Two weeks ago my peaceful stay in Singapore was interrupted by the arrival of Michelle! She stayed here for one week - from the 24th Jan to the 28th. For most of the week Michie managed to be tired, sleep ridiculously small amounts, and read! We still managed to do a fair amount however, visiting the Night Safari, Orchard Rd, Chinatown, the Asian Civilisations Museum and the Botanic Gardens. Oh, and of course Raffles!

The problem lay with jetlag. Michelle woke up around 3am most mornings, after only a few hours sleep, whereas I woke up at 9 or 10. This meant that by the time Uni was over for me for the day, Michelle was dead tired, and very little could be done.

Despite all that, I forced Michie out to Chinatown for satays at Smith St on her first night. I think that a visit to Singapore so close to Chinese New Year without seeing Chinatown is criminal, so it just had to be done. That and I hadn't had satays in a few weeks and was beginning to feel cravings

Mmm.....satays.....mmmm....peanut sauce. Ok, stop!

We ended Monday night at Orchard Rd, walking along almost all of it (from Dhoby Ghaut to beyond Somerset MRTs) just as all the shops were closing. It was strange, seeing so many people still out and about at 10pm on a Monday night. Just one of the many subtle differences between Sydney and Singapore. Also, had a really nice mixed fruit juice...almost as nice as at the awful restaurant in Langkawi.

Tuesday daytime I had class (that's right, I'm at uni here - a fact that seems so easy to forget!), and so I left Michie to her own devices. This turned out to be a great idea, and Michie spent most of the morning at the Botanic Gardens (kudos to Michelle for making her own way there on public transport!!), which I have yet to visit. I've heard its amazing though, and I'm particularly looking forward to the new Orchid Garden, with all the 'VIP' orchids.

Tuesday night brought the Night Safari with John and a friend of his from the States. Having done the NS before, I found it quite predictable, but still awesome. It's a completely seperate part of the Singapore Zoo, and houses all the nocturnal animals. There is a road-train (like Darling Harbour) that takes you around the complex, complete with amazingly cheesy commentary ("I wonder what creatures will be staring back at us"). Unfortunately we missed the recycling show. Damn, I really wanted to see that. Not. Being a night safari, none of my photos came out (again), so I can't really show you anything special from it, suffice to say that it is pretty much a must-do in Singapore now as far as the tourist trail goes.

Wednesday Michelle came to visit me (again using public transport! yay!) at Uni, and got to see a bit of NUS and PGP where I live. I will leave it to her to describe it, as you've heard enough from me already.

Thursday saw us visit the Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM) at Empress Place - known as ACM2. Of all the museums I have been to (aside from those in the UK, its unfair to compare with those - they have far more money and time to build up impressive collections), this takes the cake. The building, once government offices, was gutted and rebuilt during the 1990s to make room for a new musuem. It was decided a new ACM would be created, to supplement the one already existing in Armenian Place. Whilst that ACM deals with Peranakan culture and history (native Singaporeans/Malays), ACM2 has a much broader focus, encompassing all SE and South Asian cultures and races - incl. the many religions, races, histories, and arts the region includes. As I said to Michelle, it is pretty much my Migration and Diaspora in SE Asia class in a museum. I love it there - so peaceful, and there is so much information. It's quite easy to lose track of time, as we did!

We finished the week on Friday afternoon with a spot of tiffin at Raffles Hotel with Sharmila, one of Michelle's online friends from Singapore, currently studying at UNSW. This is the life! We arrived slightly late, so we had our entrée (so to speak) at the Long Bar - Singapore Slings and peanuts under those fans! Raffles is very old-school, and embellishes it. It knows it, and flaunts it no end. Even the shops in the Raffles Arcade are exclusive - Tiffany, Hermes, Louis Vitton.

Raffles Hotel in Singapore is an institution. It has been around since the Colonial period, and remains one of the few 'old' hotels in the world. In a city dominated by skyscrapers and fast-paced living, Raffles stands alone as a low-rise hotel, with afternoon tea, and greenery. It is like stepping into a totally different city. It is another of the 'must-do's in Singapore - have a Singapore Sling at Raffles.

After the Sling, which by all accounts was very nice, we headed downstairs to the Tiffin Room for some High Tea. This is no ordinary afternoon tea - full hot, cold, Asian and Western crudetes and desert are available. It's very nice, and very refreshing after 4 weeks of noodles and rice. Don't get me wrong, I love cheap Asian food - I wish Sydney had more of it - but every so often you just crave a 5-star meal. One where waiters refill your water, hand you your napkin, and hold out your chair. It's worth the price just for that! I miss being on holiday with my family!!! Hehehe!

To end the week, we rushed back to Michie's hostel in Outram Park, and then on to the airport. We made it - just!