First Impressions of 'Home'

We arrived in Cambridge on the afternoon of Saturday 22nd July. It was raining ever so slightly as we left the Train station – a good sign after all this hot weather.

The hostel we were staying at, Sleeperz Hotel (I think both these terms have been used very loosely here!) was just across the car park from the Station – a very handy location when you are carrying far too much luggage.

After settling in our room (or cosy broom closet, as I like to think of it) we headed out to explore the town.

The first thing that surprised me was the carpark at the Railway Station – it was less of a carpark and more of a bike park. There were hundreds and hundreds of bikes – obviously the preferred method of transportation here. I intend to get myself one, as soon as I have accommodation and a job sorted, my only stipulation is that it must have a wicker basket on the front!

As we wandered into town nothing really overwhelmed me with its greatness. It looked pleasant but not spectacular. However, as we got towards the centre of town, we passed a church that looked very impressive – it was huge by NZ standards and had gargoyles on the roof – at the time I was sure that it must be an important landmark. However, now that I’ve been here a few days, something tells me there’s nothing too special about it.

I was impressed with the main street for one reason only: every second shop was either a recruitment an agency or a letting agent – perfect for the week ahead!

After getting a bit further into the city centre, it became clear that this town would be an interesting place to live for the next six months. There were plenty of people on the streets, and there were tonnes of little cobble-stoned lanes to explore.

It was a pretty long day, so after a quick bite to eat at one of the many cafes and restaurants we returned to the broom closet for an attempt at sleep.

Top Ten London

Top Ten London
I have kind of decided that this week in London, instead of trying to knock off as many of my top ten as possible, will be a week to scout out and better formulate a Top Ten London that I can conquer during weekends down from Cambridge. To be honest, the heat is getting to me, yes I'm sorry to moan about hot weather to all you kiwis, but it's true. I really can't face much when it is this hot outside. I am tempted to run a cold bath and just stay there all day.
Anyway, after a bit of research, here is my Top Ten London:

1. Houses of Parliament
2. Shakespeare's Globe
3. Tower of London
4. British Library
5. High Tea at the Ritz
6. A proper exploration of Hyde Park
7. A picnic with food being bought from the Borough Markets and the Harrods Food Section.
8. A West End Musical
9. A meal at Jamie Oliver's restaurant Fifteen
10. A walking tour with London Walks (tossing up between something gory like Jack the Ripper's London and something corny like Harry Potter's London)

I have managed a couple of highlights of London this week - not too much indoors though. There are so many things to see that it's hard to limit a list of must do's to just 10. Here are some of the things I've seen this week: Oxford St, Big Ben and Houses of Parliament (outside only), Borough Markets, Harrods, Buckingham Palace, Greenwich Village, Picadilly Circus, Leicester Square, Covent Garden, All Blacks game in an Antipodean pub, Natural History Museum, and the Diana Memorial at Hyde Park.

London really surprised me - some of what I had expected was true, but there were other things that I had never really thought about that I encountered. Of course before we left I was adamant I could never live in London - too many people. I was right: the pace of life is Hectic, and not for me. However, I also sensed that while it could be a very lonely place for some, it really enhanced the community feeling among those that you knew. It is a place that I look forward to going back to for weekends because there is just so much to see and do. I have no doubt that if you lived there you would be constantly entertained, and while I understand that the cost of living is quite expensive, there is so much to see and do for free. The other thing that I found quite amazing was to actually be in a city that has basically been around since Roman times. There is so much history all around - I think that especially for a Kiwi who has such a short history to draw upon, it was one of the most attractive things about the city. Overall, I must say that I was more than impressed with London, and really can't wait to visit again!

Observations from the Tube

I think my first thoughts heading down into the Tube line were a bit of a conversation with my three-year-old self, which is when my Dad took me to London. Somehow I have a strong association of the Tube lines and magical English lollies and so was expecting a bit of a flashback moment when I headed down to the first Tube Station. Alas, Tube Stations do not smell anything like lollies. Perhaps they never have, however now that I am old enough to start my own “When I was your age…” rantings, the next 3 year old I meet will now be lectured on how when I was their age, the tube stations in London’s were a Willy Wonka-esque paradise – and now look at them.

The other thing that surprised me on the Tube, or ‘The Underground’ as it is more formally known, is that catching the Piccadilly Line into the centre of town, we were not actually underground for a lot of the trip. So I got to catch a fair amount of the surrounding landscape between Heathrow and London’s city centre, and it did not appear as densely populated as I had envisaged. Many of the houses that backed on to the train line had reasonably sized backyards (perhaps as compensation for backing on the railway?!) and we also passed a number of parks. OK, maybe London wasn’t going to be too bad.

When we had to switch lines at Winchester I was overwhelmed. On a Saturday afternoon the train was packed – in a way that an Auckland train during rush hour on Tuesday morning will never be. Where did all of these people come from?

There were so many different types of people, it was really fascinating just to watch them. Behind me two girls were having a good old-fashioned gossip in Spanish; sitting right in front of me there was a girl who after looking in her bag pulled out a 250g tub of cottage cheese and ate the whole lot in maybe a minute flat (was I staring too much – probably), next to her was a couple who had obviously come from a huge shopping trip at Harrods – so many people!!!

I found it a real novelty listening to the English accents. I’m not sure what it was, I kind of felt like I had walked on to the set of a Coronation Street meets Eastenders meets The Bill set.

The other interesting thing was when we had to change lines at Green Park on to the Jubilee line. I had never realised how far underground the tube lines actually were. When we changed lines we had to catch two huge escalators up to the Jubilee Line – that was far enough underground, but then we realised that if you wanted to get to the surface from the Jubilee line you would have to go up another huge escalator – well then it really felts as though we were in the bowels of the earth.

The Longest Day

Let’s hope there aren’t many more days like this in the next few months. We rose early after a fitful night of sleep and got to the airport by about 6.30am local time. Our flight left at 9am and it was 12 ½ hours to London. The flight was actually more enjoyable than the Auckland – Singapore because I didn’t even attempt to sleep. Instead I watched five movies throughout the flight… the only time in my life where this will actually sound like a pleasant option.

Once we landed at Heathrow and walked a million miles through the terminal we managed to get through immigration fairly quickly. I got to use my British Passport for the first time, and was pleasantly surprised at the efficiency of the system.

Once we got through arrivals, Barry’s sister Angela met us (yay!) and guided us expertly through the Tube system for the first time. Apparently our particular destination was pretty easy to get to – the Piccadilly Line to Westminster, switch on to the Jubilee line and get off at Canary Wharf – our final destination. However, in practice, with 1 huge pack and 3 pieces of carry on luggage, it wasn’t the sort of thing I can see myself wanting to do frequently – or, to be honest, ever again.

We got to Canary Wharf about 5.30pm local time and stopped to get a drink at the Slug and Lettuce (what is England without it’s quirky pub names?) At around 6.30 we left the pub and ventured on to Lisa’s house (Lisa is the sister of a friend and the friend of a sister in Bri’s case who we are staying with in London and is graciously putting up with our messy invasion to her flat and endless London, England, Europe questions.) where she fed us, watered us and let us shower. At 9pm the sun was still up high in the sky and showed no sign of backing down so we headed to bed.

Impressions of Singapore

As we were leaving for the airport and heading out into the ‘suburbs’ again I still found it strange not to see houses. After passing countless apartment blocks I wondered if maybe these enhanced the sense of community for people living in them – having to share common spaces – having their kids play in the only green space down at the base of the building. Or do they isolate people? It is hard to tell.

We met a woman on Tuesday at the cooking class whose husband works for an international firm and gets transfers all around the world. They have spent the last six months in Singapore. She mentioned that only 10% of the population live in actual houses!!

…

The humidity was crazy. I understand it is like that all year round… we decided that if you lived in Singapore you could not avoid being skinny – the heat puts you off food and just walking a couple of blocks feels like an extreme workout!

Because of the humidity, smells just hung in the air. Chinatown during mid afternoon was an interesting mix of various food stalls and car fumes – something that I think would take a bit more getting used to.

…

To be honest, I wasn’t really as gastronomically adventurous as I could have been in Singapore. On our final day I did try a pastry with durian filling. Have I mentioned the durians? Locals know these watermelon-sized fruits as the ‘King of Fruit’. I think most westerners would disagree. The skin is spiky and it is a funny greeny-yelllow colour. The smell is the thing that gets you. It is hard to describe. A mixture of onions and tropical fruit and that mouldy sandwich you left at the bottom of your school bag for four weeks (or was that just me!?). I had heard that it was the smell that got you – perhaps if you actually tasted it, you could work through the smell. So I tried this pastry thing. The first bite was bad, it made me want to gag, and then after a couple of chews I thought, hey, maybe this is ok, it seemed to fall into line with other tropical fruit flavours, but no. Finally it hit the back of my throat and it tasted just like it smelt. I’m afraid to say I could only manage one bite and the rest went in the bin.

I tried a couple of other local delicacies but wasn’t really taken with anything. To be honest the heat really got to me and my appetite really wasn’t anywhere it’s normal healthy (ok gluttonous) state.

…

I noticed a few advertisements around for the upcoming National Orange Ribbon Day. What did this mean? It was a day celebrating racial harmony in Singapore. Celebrating the way different cultures lived together in peace and encouraging people from other cultures to interact together and appreciate the differences in each other in the future. How idealistic. From the outside it certainly seemed like a very peaceful place. I guess you can only tell so much from the outside though.

…

Overall, I don’t think I would ever spend more than 3 or 4 days in Singapore – unless of course I had come specifically for the shopping. It was a bit strange – not as clean and orderly as I had envisaged after reading about it, but still it managed to feel like it lacked any real character.

Having now visited, I have updated my original top ten. So, in no particular order:

1. Chilli crab (o.k. being the food obsessive that I am this probably would come number one – it was great, messy and time-consuming, but so tasty.)
2. Singapore Zoo (fantastic for any animal obsessive)
3. Cooking class at At-Sunrice Cooking School (a definite highlight. I guess every food obsessed traveller argues that the best way to learn about a culture is through it’s cuisine. Not sure if I learned a lot about the locals through the cooking class – but I did feel a little bit more involved after learning how to cook local cuisine.)
4. Corn in a cup (yes, I’m a simple girl at heart.)
5. Walking through Chinatown, exploring the various nooks and crannies.
6. The gondola ride from Sentosa Island back to Singapore Island (not technically the highest point, but high enough for me!!)
7. The Esplanade Complex (or ‘The Durian’)
8. Chinatown Heritage Centre (a very interesting insight into one of the main racial groups of Singapore.)
9. Experiencing the MRT (Singapore’s underground rail system – a great example of what Auckland public transport could be but never will be.)
10. seven-storey malls. (OK, I never actually shopped in Singapore, but as a female I must pay homage to any shopping mecca – and Singapore certainly is one.)

Animal Adventure

As nothing in Singapore really opens before 10am, we had another breakfast at McDonalds this morning. I had an iced Jasmine Green Tea (sounded pretty healthy for McDonalds!) and a hash brown (not so healthy). After the nutritious breakfast we began our most ambitious journey on Singapore public transport to date. We started at Chinatown MRT station and had to change lines at the Dooby Ghaut (still having issues with the pronunciation of that one!) station. After travelling out into the ‘burbs we left the MRT and had to catch a bus to Singapore zoo.

The Singapore suburbs are quite strange. I guess because Singapore has such limited space, they build up not out and so the suburbs are full of 10+ storey apartment buildings. We passed a few houses, but even these were all town houses – and attached at some part to other dwellings.

We arrived at the zoo at about 9am, which was really good as there didn’t seem to be anyone else there. It was a drizzly morning – which normally would spell disaster – but we have come to appreciate as it takes an edge off the heat.

The zoo was very interesting. The exhibits are much like those at Auckland zoo – trying to mimic natural habitats as much as possible, however I would say that Singapore zoo is probably three or four times as big and has that many more species within its walls too. At about 2.30 we had made our way around the zoo, and too be honest, we were animal-ed out. We decided to give the Night Safari a miss – perhaps something I can talk Barry into doing with me on the way home.

After returning back to Singapore central we took a well-earned rest from all the walking and spent a couple of hours by the pool.

In the evening we headed down to the Clarke Quay area for dinner. We found a little place by the water front called Hot Stones which sounded like a bit of a novelty. They basically present your meat order to you raw but on a sizzling hot stone for you to cook to your liking. Over dinner we also tried the famous ‘Singapore Sling’. I thought it was pretty tasty – although I tend to like these things sweeter than most, so I would imagine that it probably wouldn’t appeal to the general population (it is flavoured like those fake cherries they put on ice cream sundaes).

The Gourmet Adventure Begins...

If I thought that the heat was ridiculous yesterday, then I was in for a real treat!! We left the hotel early in the morning to make the walk to Fort Canning Park for our gourmet experience. After the 20 minute walk, I was soaked. Not a pleasant way to start the day. The morning spent at the At-Sunrice cooking school was fantastic. We were greeted with a lemongrass ice tea and slathered with lemon grass oil to stop the mosquitoes biting while we went on the Spice Garden walk. McDonald, our guide took us around the garden in the middle of Fort Canning Park introducing us to some new spices and letting us in on secrets regarding the more familiar. After about an hour walking about we then retired to the kitchen to watch the chef, Buay, cook a Northern Beauty Broth (hmmm…) and a pot of sweet and sour prawns. The broth, which contained lotus seeds, ginko nuts and white fungus among other things, was surprisingly tasty – a sweet dessert which also contains beautifying properties. The sweet and sour prawns were great. Buay provided us with a recipe which included a Chinese black vinegar. It was quite different to the pinky-red sauce we are used to seeing in sweet and sour dishes at home.

After sampling what the professional had made, it was then our turn to make our own. We first made Stewed chicken and taro (I wouldn’t recommend this one…) and then a stir-fry of green beans, chicken mince and something the Chinese call ‘olive vegetables’ which is actually preserved olive leaves – and is very tasty. The last thing we made was a steamed fillet of red snapper. It was delicious – steamed with ginger and chilli and finished with a sauce of sesame oil, light soy, salt, sugar and water.

The group consisted of mainly Australian tourists, a couple of Dutch expats now living in Singapore and us two kiwis. After eating our attempts at Chinese cuisine and receiving a few helpful tips from the rest of the group we ventured back to Orchard road, determined to have a look at some of the shops.

The first mall we came to was pretty crazy – it was about 7 stories high and the floor size was pretty similar to back home. I didn’t dare look too closely at the clothes or shoes – knowing I wouldn’t fit either, and truthfully my pack probably couldn’t fit anything else too!

One of the best things about Orchard road, apart from being able to escape the horrendous heat in the gigantic malls was trialling a snack food that we have seen a lot of in the last two days – Corn Cups… yes it does sound odd, and we weary at first. Basically the street side vendors have vege steamers which contain lots and lots of kernels of sweet corn, when you indicate that you would like some, they fill up a cup, throw in some butter and salt, stir it around – and there you go! Yummy.

We took the MRT back to Chinatown to save our poor legs. I was impressed. It costs just over a dollar and is so clearly laid out, clean and quick.

After a little while back at the hotel, recovering from the heat, we ventured out for dinner… the quest was to sample Singapore’s national dish… Chilli Crab!!

We found a little place right beside Singapore River and ordered one chilli crab and one black pepper crab. It may have been the messiest dish I have ever eaten, but I can see why it is Singapore’s national dish – yummy!

After dinner we headed towards the lights at Clarke Quay, a little touristy area with lots of restaurants and bars… and a lot of fun to people watch.

Hello Singapore!

“To awaken quite alone in a strange town is one of the most pleasant sensations in the world. You are surrounded by adventure. You have no idea of what is in store for you, but you will, if you are wise and know the art of travel, let yourself go on the stream of the unknown.”
Freya Stark

The Singapore Airlines flight was not everything I dreamed of. The meals were of course (what did I expect?!) typical airline food – grey chicken, fake potatoes, overcooked beans. Economy leg room seems to be the same no matter what airline you fly. The personalised entertainment system, although the monitor was approximately much smaller than I had envisaged, was quite impressive and did a good job of keeping me entertained through a mostly sleepless flight. After fiddling around with the plethora of games available, I was entertained by Antonio Banderas trying to teach a bunch of inner city delinquents how to dance the tango and then got halfway through ‘Failure to Launch’.

Once we landed in Singapore, and took the 2km trek to get to the arrivals area, everything ran very smoothly… customs took seconds to go through and once we arrived on the other side we had someone meet us and guide us to his van to transfer us to the hotel we were staying at.

I know it sounds like the biggest cliché, but there really is no other way to put it… walking out of the airport and into the Singapore was just like walking into a sauna… it was about 28 degrees and drizzling… is this really what the tropics are like?

Twenty minutes after leaving the airport we arrived in Chinatown and were dropped at our hotel, the Furama City Centre – not bad. We are on the seventh floor and have a nice view towards the harbour… I can’t say whether or not it is a Singapore thing, having not visited here before, but the beds are the hardest I’ve ever encountered – there is no coosh, no bounce, nothing.

Even though neither of us had much sleep on the plane, we decided that the best way of getting adjusted to the new time zone was to stay awake. So after a quick shower and change, at around 8.30am, we went exploring.

We decided to knock something off the top ten list so headed further into Chinatown to visit the Chinatown Heritage Centre. After a little confusion on my part trying to decipher the map, we finally found Pagoda Street – a little pedestrian street in the middle of Chinatown. The Heritage Centre had not yet opened so we explored the street a little, apparently at night it is a big market street – we will have to investigate later in the week. At one end is the Sri Mariamman Temple, originally built in 1823, it is the oldest Hindu temple in Singapore. I have never seen anything quite like it. The entire temple is covered in intricate, rainbow-coloured detail.

The Heritage Centre itself was a really great place to visit to get a feel for the history of the Chinese in Singapore. The centre really concentrates on the mass immigration of the working classes during the 19th century. It is housed in three buildings that were originally shop-houses of this area it was pretty incredible to see what went on. They have recreated the original quarters in part of the centre to see what living conditions were like in the early 20th century. It is mind blowing to see these 2m by 2m little rooms that up to 6 people would share and then think that there would be 10 to 12 of these on a floor and all these people would have to share kitchen and bathroom facilities.

Once we’d finished in Chinatown we headed towards the infamous Orchard road. Fort Canning Park is on the way and we decided to check out the centre that we would be doing the cooking course tomorrow. It was a bit of a hike, but a good walk to get oriented (kind-of).

We didn’t stay on Orchard road but caught the MRT to Raffles Place which is near the waterfront. We left the underground and arrived at ground level to be surrounded by skyscrapers 360 degrees around us.

Crossing Singapore river we happened across another of the top ten – the Asian Civilisations Museum. The outside of the building seemed to be very colonial style architecture. We went inside and spent about an hour wandering around the museum. It had been divided up into the different regions of Asia. We got through South East Asia before having museum overload and leaving (I know – a bit early in the trip to have museum overload!). The exhibits were fantastic, but I think that perhaps two museums on the first day was a bit ambitious!!

We walked to the building the locals call the ‘Durian’ – the Esplanade complex at the waterfront. We didn’t go inside, but had a cold bottle of water outside and admired the architecture.

After crossing back to the other side of Singapore river, we stumbled across the Merlion, which we later found out is Singapore’s top tourist spot. We took a couple of pictures and then made a higgledy-piggledy journey across the CBD and back to our hotel.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

What on earth am I doing??? The plane leaves in around 12 hours, and I’m not quite sure how I’m feeling. Anxious? Nervous? Excited? Sad? Overwhelmed? – Yes!!

Well, there’s no turning back now!!

Here is my top ten list of things to do while in Singapore… will report back once I get there and see if the list changes…

1. Singapore Sling at Raffles Hotel
2. Cooking class at the At-Sunrice Cooking School
3. Singapore Zoo visit
4. A meal at a Hawkers stall (Yes, I am food obsessed)
5. Singapore Night Zoo safari (and a little Animal crazy too)
6. Check out the Asian Civilisations Museum
7. Find the highest point in Singapore (a bit more investigating on that one required)
8. Visit Chinatown Heritage Centre
9. Shopping on Orchard Road (how much can my pack really fit?!?!?!)
10. Not get too homesick (hmmm…)