We flew into Singapore with Tiger Airways. We soon found out why the flight was so cheap, I've seen more legroom on a city bus, but it got us there. A lady in front of us on the jetway had a baby on her shoulder - we asked her if it counted as carry-on, and made a few cracks with them about "becoming unsettled in the overhead compartments during the flight" and so on. The guy next to me spoke about some crazy 9/11 conspiracy theories and how the Queen had killed Diana. I smiled and nodded.

31st August Arriving into Singapore at 3am may not have been the best idea but we coped with it ok, and got up at about noon the next day with no problems. The air conditioning in the room had actually made it too cold if anything, but it was better than the intense heat in Singapore, which I hope I'll adapt to next year! We walked to Parkview Square, the Batman Building as I've grown to call it thanks to Michelle. The Sultan Mosque was as imposing as I remember, but the heat was a bit much for both of us, so we left that part of town and headed to Esplanade. On the way I pointed out the Asian Civilisations Museum, where the wedding reception would be the following day, and we saw a young girl sliding down the concrete slopes of the Singapore River flyover by Esplanade, soon joined by her whole family, having an excellent time. Elissa and I sat on the steps by the outdoor stage and listened to a soundcheck for a later show, and just watched the world go by - something we should have done more of, if we'd had more time. Later on we caught some bands there too - Daphne was very impressive, and the two guys who did a Pink Floyd song were a favourite of Elissa's.

1st September - Wedding Day. We left the hotel at 9am, nervous we'd be late for the 10am service. We grabbed breakfast at a cafe a few blocks across Rochor Road, and were a bit concerned about our choice when we realised everyone in there was, well, white. I always gauge a place on whether the locals eat there, but this was a pleasant surprise. The tea was good, and we both had filling breakfasts, even if each was a heart attack waiting to happen. Bacon, egg, maple syrup and pancakes, mmmm.... I should have used the butter they provided too!

St Teresa's Church was a beautiful white building, and lots of guests were already waiting there when we arrived, including several (Wilson, Lauren, Larry) who I hadn't seen in 5 years! Father John O'Leary, our old chaplain at university presided, and the service was really touching - not least the moment when Michelle lost her lines for a few seconds, so Alec mouthed them to her as they gazed at each other.

Elissa and I wandered down Orchard Road for lunch, and nearly picked up some Dr Seuss books in a bookshop there. I reacquainted myself with Kopi Ping, the cold coffee flavoured with condensed milk which seems to be something of a Singapore delicacy. We spent most of the afternoon napping, still recovering from the flight.

The reception was beautiful. The view from the verandah was stunning, the Singapore skyline pressed up close, a bar below playing live jazz. Inside the speeches were wry - Mr Quah's line about the usual Singapore proposal being the guy saying "Dear, you know our incomes are now above the tax threshold....". James Molloy Jr's remark about Alec wearing tights as a young lad... Alec and Michelle both had a few words to say about how happy they were too, and I think everyone there is sure they'll be just as happy now as they've been these last few years. I was proud to be there to see it.

2nd September Most of the morning was spent recovering from the last few days, but we spent a great afternoon in the block by the hotel shopping for trinkets. Elissa bought a mushroom that flashes when your phone rings, and I went hunting for DVDs in Suntec City. After we'd got through most of Madagascar (Thank you, giant freaks!) we hit the road for our evening of Karaoke with the newly weds. I killed my throat with "Master of Puppets" (yay for Rock Karaoke!), Alec pulled out an excellent "Whole Again", Michelle wowed us with "Loser", "The Real Slim Shady" and "Man in the Mirror" and Elissa belted out "Since you've been gone" (I felt very proud). Getting home at 2am probably didn't help two already very tired travellers, but we had no deadlines to meet the next day.

3rd September After a late start, we made it to Sentosa and the Underwater World by 3pm. Sadly there were no cuttlefish, but the rays, angelfish and crabs made up for it. The highlight of Sentosa for me though was the Dolphin Lagoon. The show was unashamedly entertaining, unlike most other shows I've seen where they tend to overemphasise the good treatment of the animals. The music was astoundingly melodramatic - when Sanjay, a random audience member from India was being kissed by the dolphin it could have been music from the film of a Mills and Boon novel, and when the formation jumping was going on, I half expected Harrison Ford to drop from a helicopter. If it had been a drier day, I'd have paid the $15 to get a photo with the dolphins (who were, by all indications, extremely well looked after, in case I appeared glib about that above). A quick go on the luge and we took the cable car back to the mainland, and grabbed a quick dinner in a hawker centre.

4th September I can't tell you how relieved we both were that the flight was at a more reasonable time. We arrived into Perth at 9pm, slightly ahead of schedule, and Elissa and I raced each other in the customs queues. Amazingly, as a non-Australian entering Australia, I won! Aside from a telling off about bringing in some sweets without declaring them, everything went smoothly, and we drifted back into Perth, exhausted but pleased to have done everything we had planned to in Singapore.

Labels: Meeting people on public transport, My music, Singapore, Travel

You may have noticed I've been a bit quiet on here recently. I'm actually out of Sydney and around various bits of Australia at the moment, doing travelling for real, rather than the home away from home I had in Sydney. It's proving both challenging and rewarding so far, and I'm very excited about the 6 day tour to Alice I have booked for Wednesday, and the prospect of the National Parks around Darwin. I'll be back in Sydney and writing about James Morrison at the Basement, Alec and Michelle's wedding and Elissa and my trip to Singapore, and all of the WA and NT stuff, from 4th October, so if you're checking back more than once a month, probably best not to bother til then.... Thanks for reading!

Labels: Australia, Jazz, Singapore, Travel

The below is an email I received from Alec, who was my host in Singapore. For people not from Singapore, Kopi Ping is a local type of iced coffee made with condensed sweetened milk that I developed a liking for when I was in town:

...I glanced at one of the local tabloids a few days ago and a rather sensational headline caught my eye. It read:
Kopi Ping Molester
Apparently police are looking for some chap who likes to offer free kopi pings to taxi drivers. You see the kopi pings are drugged and while the poor taxi driver is out cold, this reprehensible chap enjoys himself by having a sly grope.
I was a little concerned because the dates of the reported crimes overlapped with your stay in Singapore. I also noticed that the suspect was described as 'disheveled'.

Now, I'm not pointing any fingers. I'll just say that it might be better to stay where you are until September. Australia doesn't have an extradition treaty with Singapore.

Labels: Australia, Singapore, Travel

Checking my pockets at Changi Airport in Singapore I saw I had $4.40 left in change. An iced coffee was exactly $4.40 and exactly what I needed. I ordered one, but for reasons unknown to me or the guy serving me the bill came up as $4.60. He said "Look, don't worry about it if you haven't got it", but I searched and lo and behold, 20c appeared from nowhere and I paid the bill properly. "That's very lucky" said the man behind the counter.

Eight hours later when te plane suddenly banked to the left and an announcement said we were off to Melbourne to refuel while the fog cleared from Sydney, I didn't feel that lucky. Plus the iced coffee wasn't even half as good as a $2 Kopi Peng from a hawker stall. Anyway, we ended up landing in Melbourne about half an hour after I should have been through customs in Sydney, and sitting on the tarmac refuelling. While I was there I chatted to the lady next to me who turned out to be Australian, but from East Timor stock. Not for the first time, I felt embarassed at my complete ignorance of South East Asian politics, but she explained the general events leading up to the formation of the world's youngest nation. Her grandparents fled from Timor to Darwin by boat, while her mother was at university in Portugal. They've lived in Australia ever since, but her parents still want to go back, once everything is settled down. As Chris knows of the former Soviet nations in Central Asia, these things always take a while to settle, and there's an election coming up. I have my fingers crossed, and again, I hope to learn more about South East Asian politics, both for my own pride and because it's fascinating stuff. And maybe the coffee guy was right, I am lucky.

Labels: Australia, Meeting people on public transport, Singapore, Travel

• I didn't go to Raffles Hotel. I saw it but didn't go in. Everyone here said Singapore Slings taste pretty ropey anyway, and I didn't really want to celebrate a British conquest that a) we probably shouldn't have had in the first place and b) that we lost because we pointed the guns the wrong way. They've done better without us, the nation is thriving, and in terms of economic development, is probably giving the rest of South East Asia something to aim for.
  
• Alright, I might try a cocktail at Raffles in September - I did say I would.
  
• Sir Stamford Raffles seems to be held in high esteem round here - I'm still trying to figure out why. Perhaps visiting the hotel would have helped?
  
• Chicken rice is pretty tasty, despite the seemingly bland concept.
• The McDonalds McSpicy (their attempt at making their food local to Singapore) is just a slightly hotter KFC Zinger Burger.
• Eating Chicken Rice and a McSpicy meal in one lunchtime is not a good idea in a tropical climate.
  

Labels: Singapore, Travel

So getting up this morning was a challenge, but lunch in Toh Payoh was well and truly worth it. We had lots of delicious Chinese food, but most importantly, I spent time with Hsien-li and Rebecca and Derek, pictured left with me. I hadn't met Derek before, but he was very good conversation and company, as it later transpired. Hsien-li and Rebecca had to go and work that afternoon (as seems to be the norm in Singapore) and so I said my goodbyes - I'm looking forward to seeing them again in September - and wandered off with Derek. He was a great tour guide, taking me down Orchard Road (the shopping area I hadn't seen yet) and then to Little India. We wandered round here for a while, spotting lots of gold stores and singer sewing machines actually being used! Then we headed to a large square in the Arab Quarter and aside from hearing the Muezzin calling the Muslims to prayer from the Sultan Mosque, I saw a collection of stuff on sale on the street - everything from cine cameras to DVDs, from porn to mobile phones, and an old-style wooden sailing ship that I really hope I can buy when I get back here.

We then headed to Geylang, a notorious part of town for the sex industry, but also a great place to get Malaysian food, apparently. Derek pointed out some hotels that charge by the hour and various bars where one might expect to meet some of the friendlier locals. We stopped for fruit too, some tiny bananas and some small citrus-looking things with pale grey insides. I can't remember what they were but they were delicious! We also stopped for barbecued Chinese-style pork and I picked up a gift for my hosts.

Then we headed to the National Stadium, where he showed me the riverfront and a view of the city, and I took a few photos. He drove me back into town and dropped me at Esplanade, having taken me round parts of the city I never would have seen otherwise. I look forward to thanking him with a beer or two at the wedding in September!

From Esplanade I made my way to Swissotel in the Raffles City complex. I was told the bar on 70th floor had a smart-casual dresscode and I wasn't allowed to take photos from there unless I bought a drink. I went up, took photos while dressed casual-casual and no one seemed to want to offer me a drink, so I came back down again. Here's an upstairs photo of Esplanade, fast becoming one of my favourite places.

Then I headed back there to see a few bands playing and sound-checking outdoors, and met Alec and Michelle for Femi Kuti, his first Singapore gig in a decade or more's career. The man played a storm, the crowd loved it and showed their appreciation by spending most of the show on their feet and dancing(an uncommon practice in an all-seater venue in Singapore), the band were energetic and lively and good fun, and there was some excellent horn improv at the end. I won't say Femi Kuti is my new favourite act, but he's got enough about him for at least one good show, and I'll definitely see him again if folks are going.

My hosts and I had dinner in the nearby hawker centre (after glimpsing more free performances bringing Mosaic to a close) and headed home. I'm spending tomorrow in the flat relaxing and packing, so that's the end of the Singapore story so far. I'm looking forward to my next visit though, and I'm hoping to catch Mosaic 2008 when I return from Australia!

Labels: Singapore, Travel

Saturday was St Patrick's Day, Michelle's birthday and therefore time to party on both counts. We had a gathering here at Alec's place for Michelle, and a fair few Newman people came along. I hadn't seen Hsien-li, Dave and Avril in about two years, Inez and Rebecca in about 5 (except lunch with Rebecca on Thursday of course) and so it was wonderful to catch up with folks. Tessa and Arthur were along too, who I've met before - it was a regular reunion. Dave and Avril's daughter made the party too, she's a beautiful child and her parents seem completely delighted, as they should be.

Later, the party involved Alec and Michelle giving a swing dancing demonstration (photos on Flickr) and Dave and Alec did some Irish dancing for us. Then conversation turned to mixing drinks for the karaoke that evening. We emptied out some coke and filled up with rum, and laced some green tea with vodka, though later forgot the bottles and spent a fortune on beer instead...

The karaoke was pretty intense. We started with So Young by Suede, and I ended up doing Rock and Roll by Led Zep and Back in Black, pretty early on. We were then joined by the others (just four of us there to start with) and two cardboard air hostesses, which was fun. Michelle showed off her harmonies and her friend (whose name I forget) did a cracking Alanis Morissette. Don sang an excellent Brett Anderson impersonation.

The karaoke and drinking continued until 4am, when we headed home. I had arranged a lunch at 1 the following day, so slept as soon as I could. I wasn't really ready for the 11am alarm this morning, that's all I'll say.

And I'm very disappointed by the rugby scores.

Labels: Singapore, Travel

Yesterday I visited Singapore Zoo, for a couple of hours. I woke up at 1.30pm, realising I'd missed the best part of the day, and frantically rushed around grabbing bags, phoning people and getting organised for that evening. I jumped in a taxi after a very quick lunch and headed out of town. Taxi drivers are as opinionated in Singapore as they are in the rest of the world, and I learned a lot about this country in the journey out to the zoo and back - opinions on freedoms, traffic, smoking, drinking, the weather, anything they could come up with. All very friendly of course, though I was told that being European might have something to do with that.

When I got into the zoo, one of the first really striking enclosures held some of these - white tigers. I've always been into tigers, but I don't think I've seen white ones before. The rest of the photos are on my Flickr account (I keep meaning to put a link in the sidebar, should be one there soon), but the general impression of the zoo was that it was extremely well laid out and spacious, informative and affordable. Both taxi drivers said I should try the Night Safari. Next time I'm in Singapore perhaps.

In the evening I met Alec and Michelle for dinner in the Arab Street area. I got there early and so went to see The Sultan Mosque, a beautiful building designed by the chap who designed Raffles Hotel. Sadly I couldn't go in as it was a Friday, but the outside was gorgeous enough. The photo on the right shows the mosque, the DHL balloon and a building called Parkview Place, or something similar, which really belongs in a Batman film. We went to look at this at the end of the evening, and a waitress was suspended from the ceiling, grabbing wine from an enormous wine rack, a jazz band was playing on a balcony, everything was gilded or coated in something that looked expensive, if tasteless. I'm looking forward to popping in for a drink next time I'm in town.

Labels: Singapore, Travel

Today I visited the CBD, and started the day with a Kopi Ping (iced coffee, very nice) and some duck and rice. I strolled along the coast, past the Merlion and Esplanade, then up to Raffles Hotel. Sadly I was wearing sandals so I didn't bother trying to get in. Singapore Slings taste like mouthwash anyway, my guidebook says. I headed back to the Asian Civilisation museum, in search of entertainment in air-conditioned buildings. Inside were relics of early Singapore, thousands of years ago. A thriving port, and a far cry from the fishing village that Sir Stamford Raffles discovered. Also, there were galleries of artifacts and descriptions of cultures and religions from China to Arabia. A special exhibition talked of a long-lost civilisation in Central China, discovered again in 1986.

I met Alec and Rebecca for lunch, which was lovely - I haven't seen Rebecca in nigh on 7 years, though she hasn't changed. We ate Japanese food and chatted, then Alec and Rebecca headed back to work. Rebecca recommended I head to Little India, which I did. I took in this temple to the left, and a hawker centre with a distinctive odour. Then I jumped back on the MRT and hit Chinatown.

In Chinatown I found myself constantly accosted by tailors, trying to sell me shirts. I don't know what they were saying, I think the shirt I'm in is nice! Stalls offered Chinese lanterns, incense, wind chimes, food, drinks, CDs of Chinese music. I wandered in and out of some smaller alleyways in hunt of some nice photos and a cold drink.

I stumbled upon a couple of temples. The one to the right, under construction, a Buddhist temple and a mosque, all beautifully presented and open to the public. I had to get back to Esplanade for the gig that evening, so I moved on quickly, and walked back towards the CBD.

Some people have described Singapore as sterile, soulless. I haven't found this to be true. It's a thriving, vibrant city, full of life and a myriad of cultures. I'm looking forward to seeing what tomorrow brings - I'm off to the zoo, and some primary rainforest they've put aside for the tourists.

Labels: Singapore, Travel

I was told by both people I went with, independently and together, what excellent acoustics the Esplanade complex (picture right) has. Presumably this applies to all the parts of it, but the concert hall was definitely sounding pretty good this evening. We arrived to be informed that we were moved from the circle to the second row in the stalls. "Excellent" we thought, "$150 seats for $60 a piece". Sadly the nearly-front-row seats just meant we wouldn't be able to see Chick and Gaty's hands, and the aforementioned acoustics (some of the best in the world) meant we weren't gaining anything even on the "worst" seats in terms of sound quality. We moved to the dress circle in the interval, helped by the friendly staff.

I have never seen someone play the vibraphone before, but something tells me I won' see it played like that again. Gary Burton had some spectacular solos, improvisations over complex and innovative (well done Chick) chord progressions in a variety of styles from flamenco and tango to chinstrokey jazz and just good fun bluesy jazz, and didn't break a sweat (thanks in part to air-conditioning, I can tell you). Chick, as Michelle said, made some very challenging piano playing look effortless. The sound they made got a bit tired for me halfway through, though the hardcore fans cheered every piece at start and finished and applauded every exceptional solo (all of them actually, even though good grammar probably doesn't allow that). But some life was injected into it at the end - one piece involved percussion introduction (both performers tapping the piano) and another started with the audience clicking their fingers. The last number involved both performers on the vibraphone (Chick unsurprisingly competent - if it's laid out a bit like a keyboard, he can play it), and had the crowd cheering from the start. A standing ovation for a duo who hadn't recorded an album for 13 years, from an audience crying out for the next one, at a venue I'm looking forward to visiting again on Sunday.

Labels: Gigs, Jazz, Singapore, Travel