Hills and waves

Today we set off early to Dempsey Hill. This is an old British Army base and when they pulled out in 1971 the Singaporean Army took it over but they have moved out as well and now it is a trendy cafe and antique area that's popular with expats and ladies-who-lunch.

T and I had arranged to meet a former work contact of mine who now lives in Singapore. We had a pretty good breakfast and chat. Followed by a walk around looking at the shops.

After Dempsey Hill we took a cab to the Henderson Waves bridge. This is on the western side of the city which we hadn't really been to before. The bridge links 2 large hills and gives good views over the City and Sentosa Island.

The bridge itself is a fantastic design and the parks were beautifully kept. T and I had to shelter from one of Singapore's thunderstorms and it drizzled a bit for most of the afternoon but in a way it was good as it kept the other tourists away and we had most of the walks to ourselves.

There were warning signs about how to deal with any wild monkeys we come across as they could be carrying rabies but luckily we weren't attacked.

After a walk across the bridge and around Mt Faber we took a cab to Chinatown again. We stopped off for lunch at one of the street vendors and had the best chicken satay ever. Singapore has some odd liquor laws, you can get a beer just about anywhere, so T and I had satays washed down with a couple of Tiger Beers.

We wandered around Chinatown and then hopped on the bus and went across to Little India. There are lots of Indians in Singapore and this is their home turf. Really interesting to walk around. Talk about an assault on the senses, you had Indian rock music blasting out with the smell of every spice known to man and an absolute riot of different coloured buildings, clothes, and shops. A real chaotic mix but a great place to just walk around.

After hanging out there for a while we made a pit stop back to the hotel and then hopped on the bus again to go to Boat Quay which is on the Singapore River and is a trendy place to eat. As something different we ate Italian but we could have had any type of cuisine known to man.

After a dinner of pasta and gelato we wandered up the river a bit before cutting across to the Digital Life shopping mall where you are meant to be able to by any technical thing you could want. It was OK but the prices are pretty much on par with what you'll pay in Sydney.

We then walked back to the Hotel for an obligatory Singapore Sling - really liking those things - before bed.Read more