Singapore via public transit: Chinatown, Little India, Orchard Road, Night Safari - May 11, 2011

Though this trip had a "laid back, do-whatever" mentality, Karen and I still managed to plan a full itinerary today as we were to buy a one-day "tourist pass" that allowed unlimited rides on the MRT and buses.  Must get the best use of it!

We haunted our favorite eating grounds, Raffles City, and went to a well-known franchise called Ya Kun for some traditional kaya toast, and it was to die for:  imagine thin, crustless bread toasted to a melt-in-your-mouth perfection, spread with a thin layer of kaya (made of eggs, sugar, coconut milk) and pats of butter.  The set menu we ordered also included two soft-boiled (they really mean soft!) eggs served on a plate as well as a cup of tasty milk tea.  For those of you who are not into eating jiggly egg whites, there probably was an option to get a hard-boiled egg, as we were specifically asked if we wanted soft-boiled, even though it was listed plainly on the set menu.  We slurped ours with a dusting of salt and white pepper; I also observed patrons adding a dash of soy sauce.

After breakfast, we headed to the City Hall MRT station to buy the tourist pass.  A one-day pass cost S$8 plus a S$10 deposit, refunded when returning the card back to the ticket office.   Our first stop was to Chinatown, which involved transferring to a different line.  Some of the streets were lined with outdoor markets selling everything from souvenirs to statues.  It was such a hot and muggy day that Karen and I stopped at a drink vendor for some $1 juice before doing any shopping.  We ended up purchasing some clothing for gifts as well as ourselves (which we ended up wearing some the next day).  There was also a "food street" but it wasn't to open until later in the afternoon.  There were many interesting buildings in Chinatown, including a temple and pagoda.  I also saw a vendor selling "ice cream sandwiches", literally.  You choose what flavor you want, and the ice cream is served on a piece of bread.  I didn't take a picture of it but a fellow foodie's page describes it here.  I was not yet hungry to try it, but I had seen the concept on one of those Travel Channel shows.

vendor stalls in Chinatown

the old and the new

pagoda

paper lanterns blowing in the wind

Around lunch time, we hopped onto the MRT towards Little India.  Little India was a bit more crowded than Chinatown.  We visited one of the hawker centers, but most of the offerings were Chinese food!  We also walked through a "wet market" where produce, meat and fish were sold.

I was in search of fish head curry as I had seen it on Bizarre Foods and it sounded really delicious.  This search took us all over Little India, as most of the restaurants offered only vegetarian food.  We were lucky to finally stumble upon the Banana Leaf Apolo restaurant in the Little India Arcade. (turned out it was a branch rather than the main restaurant, but it seems reviews aren't fond of the main restaurant anyway)   And it had air conditioning!  We ordered the small fish head curry (medium and large were also available), along with some fresh buttered naan.  Our "plates" were banana leaves; the server ladled two kinds of vegetable "mush" (one eggplant-based and one cabbage-based) and a big helping of regular rice (not basmati) on it.  "Chips" (which I believe was papadum) were also served in a basket.  We were also given a fork and spoon as we were not used to eating with our hands, and a wet wipe for cleaning later on.

what a feast!  I got a glass of honeydew juice

before

after

The fish head curry was soooooo nom-nom.  I hadn't expected it to be that good, but it was.  I even ate more rice than usual as I wanted to lap up the curry sauce.  When we got the bill, I was annoyed that we had to pay S$1 for each wet wipe!  I suppose that we didn't open the wet wipes, we wouldn't have gotten charged; $1 isn't a lot but no one told us about it.

We hopped back onto the MRT and made an obligatory stop at Orchard Road, where top branded stores are located.  Karen and I figured we'd just take a picture to show that we were there, and browse one of the stores and leave.  Well, we did take a picture:

Turned out there'd be another LV store one block away...and a Prada two blocks later.  Is there enough business for such stores so close to each other?

Karen and I entered a store called Tangs to browse at prices, but we ended up buying!  There was a display of lovely jewelry made by Chomel, and we couldn't resist, even though we normally don't buy jewelry.  The pieces were well-made and reasonably priced.  Plus, if you spend more than $100 in combined purchases for the day at a participating store, they'll do the paperwork for you to receive a GST refund at the airport.  That would be a 7% savings.

After cleaning out the jewelry display of their best pieces, we got back on the MRT and stopped at Newton.  The concierge at our hotel had recommended the Newton Food Center.  We were in search of some exotic eats.  The vendors are very aggressive here and want you to sit at their stalls to eat.  We made sure to walk a full circle before deciding where to eat.

Karen and I decided to try some BBQ stingray along with our favorite sambal leaves and some fresh clams.  We also got some watermelon juice and sugar cane juice.  The stingray meat was similar to fish, but the bones were laid out as if eating a fin, which makes sense, as a stingray is more fin-like than fish.  The sauce on top was really good.

Afterwards, it was time to head to the Singapore Zoo's Night Safari.  The zoo brochures told us to get off at the Ang Mo Kio MRT stop and take the 138 bus to the zoo.  Even though it was a Wednesday, there was a long line to get on the bus.

The journey took us about an hour.  As it was night time, the temperature dropped a bit due to the disappearance of the sun, but the air was still thick with humidity.  It cost S$32 to get into the Night Safari.  We went to see the "Creatures of the Night" show.  It was a typical animal tricks show, however, the biggest surprise was after a volunteer was called up to play with an animal, the host informed the audience that the creature had "gone missing" and animal handlers needed to search the seating area.  The handlers went up a few rows into the audience not far from where we were sitting and unlocked a wooden panel on the floor but didn't "find anything".  They passed our section and proceeded to open the wooden panel on the other side of us and then people started shrieking!  A thick, 12 foot long python was being pulled out from its hiding place!  Karen was glad that they didn't hide it in the panel under our feet since snakes aren't her favorite animals.  It took five handlers to get the snake out onto the stage.  The volunteer didn't look so excited anymore, haha.  He totally looked like Sanjaya Malakar from American Idol.

a wolf

a bobcat I think

python taken out of the audience (I caught Karen's iPhone mid-snap!)

Sanjaya look-alike braving the python

otters can recycle!

After the show, we got on the tram which took us on the "night safari" to see animals such as elephants, deer, hippopotamus, rhinoceros, etc.  Our enjoyment of the safari was interrupted constantly by a family seated in the car behind us talking loudly, with one of their kids standing up, leaning out and screaming at all the animals, despite the tram guide's instructions to "stay quiet and remain seated with your arms and legs inside the vehicle".  At one point, the tram halted in the lion's section, with commentary to follow and suddenly people started exiting the tram!  The tram guide seemed to be in shock and asked everyone to get back in.  Apparently the people thought it was time to get off and walk around, as there was an official stop in the middle of the 40 minute ride.  Seriously, you want to get off where there are lions roaming around?  When the "official stop" arrived, Karen and I decided not to get off.  We were pretty tired from the day's activities and it was so dark that you couldn't really see anything nor take any good pictures.  We left the zoo once the tram ride was over, and took the bus back to the MRT hub, the MRT to City Hall, then walked back to the hotel, completely exhausted.  Tomorrow will be at a more leisurely pace, visiting Sentosa Island and finding more good eats...

Singapore revisited: Food, sightseeing on foot, more food - May 8-10, 2011

Back to Singapore on Mother's Day!  Sheri dropped me off at the international terminal at SFO and I checked in without any issue.  Karen was flying in from SMF; I decided to surprise her at the gate mostly because the security line in the international terminal was so long that it was better to take a walkway to the domestic terminal and go through the short United priority security line.  A walkway exists on the air-side of the terminal that connects domestic and international, so getting back wasn't a problem.  I met Karen and we headed back to the international gates for some quick refreshment at the Red Carpet Club before boarding our flight.  When Karen presented her boarding pass to be scanned, a beep came from the machine...uh oh.  The gate agent said that she no longer had the seat that was assigned.  What?!  I had called United when we booked the tickets to seat Karen next to me, as I am allowed one companion to sit next to me in Economy Plus (or exit row in this case).  Karen's boarding pass had the correct seat number on it.  The gate agent didn't have a good explanation for the issue and just said she was off-loaded, and proceeded to find another seat for her, which was an exit row aisle on the other side of the plane.  I suspected that an air marshal had taken her seat.  On board, I asked the "air marshal" (he looked like a deer hunter) if he had preferred a window, to see if he'd swap for Karen's aisle, and he said that he did and that he had requested to be moved there.  Turned out there wasn't really a window at that seat, and he complained to the flight attendant if there was another window seat available...ugh!  However, sweet-talking Karen got the gentleman next to her to swap seats with me as he didn't care window or aisle as long as it was an exit row seat.  Karen saved the day!

Karen will open the door, and I will push everyone out of the plane

The food on board was not like the ANA bento boxes on my previous trip.  I don't even remember what we were served (besides a pre-packaged chocolate brownie...I always remember chocolate).  The plane didn't have modern in-flight entertainment so we were subjected to all the programming playing at the same time, selecting one channel to watch, with the programming to restart after the last channel finished before you could watch something different.  At least everyone had their own individual screen to watch versus a big screen up front.  I was trying to watch a movie (The Dilemma?) but my audio was screwed up and I'd hear a different movie.  I went to the back galley to complain (hoping to get an "inconvenience certificate" for $150 off my next flight) but the flight attendant ended up kicking a Japanese-speaking man out of the aisle seat in the bulkhead middle section next to us so I could use that screen to finish the movie.  She said that he was not in his assigned seat (one seat next door), so she could move him.  Poor guy, he was already all tucked in his blankets.  I felt bad that he had to move, but I couldn't not finish watching the movie after I had complained!  Once the movie was over, I tapped the guy on the arm and gestured that he could move back.  I wasn't sure if he understood me or not, maybe he was afraid he'd get kicked out of it again.

We arrived in Tokyo Narita late so no time to enjoy the ANA lounge and had to immediately board the next flight.  Karen retained her original exit row assignment so that was good.  Again, this plane had the prehistoric entertainment system, so most of the time I was reading my book (Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer) as I had already watched most of the movies.  We arrived in Singapore around 11:30pm on May 9th, a bit earlier than scheduled.  After clearing immigration, I saw that the airport information desk was open, but decided to get our bags first before getting an account for internet access, but that was a big mistake.  Baggage claim didn't have an information desk (I was in a different terminal than last time) and it was already past midnight by that time.  I hoped that our hotel would have some sort of free internet access.

We took a taxi to our home for the week, the Conrad Centennial Singapore.  The price for the Intercontinental on Hotwire was more expensive this week, and couldn't beat a direct booking on the Conrad website for this hotel.  It'd be exciting to stay at a new hotel anyway, to experience a different part of town.  The front desk agent asked if we wanted to add breakfast to the room...no thank you!  The hotel did offer free internet access, but only an hour a day (or so they claimed).  When you logged in, it would give an option for a free 15-minute package or paid packages of 30 minutes and above increments.  I wasn't sure if the internet would cut off after 15 minutes or if it would continued to charge, but we were very careful to stick to the 15 minutes and log off.

twin beds already turned down for the night

large marble bathroom

Acca Kappa bath products and assorted vanity items

refreshment station

pillow menu and teddy bear to keep

welcome fruit plate (not exotic fruits though, but maybe for Singapore...)

The next day, we were on the prowl for food.  I had read that there was a decent food court at Marina Square near our hotel, but the customer service lady at the mall said that it was under renovation!  She recommended to try Suntec Convention Center, so we headed there.  There was a "Food Republic" food court there and we settled on a brunch of oyster omelette, "carrot cake" (not the dessert, but made of daikon radish), and fresh fruit, washed down with dragonfruit-mango juice.  The oyster omelette wasn't the one we were expecting, and we learned that we should've ordered the "fried oyster omelette".  It was still tasty anyway.

"carrot" cake

an oyster omelette (not the right one)

papaya and honeydew

We then walked around the malls and connecting underground passages, and couldn't resist getting dessert, even though we were so full from brunch.  It was like "shave ice" only I had no idea how they got the ice to look like fabric.  Plus, it didn't melt right away either.  The ice was watermelon-flavored, with pieces of watermelon and lychees scattered all around.  Very light and refreshing.

We surfaced and walked over to the Raffles Hotel for some pictures, passing by the War Memorial Park and St. Andrew's Cathedral.

War Memorial

front of the Raffles Hotel

I already got this picture last trip, but was playing with the sepia option

inside of St. Andrew's Cathedral

Our walking tour led us across a pretty bridge over to the Merlion.  The Merlion is the mascot of Singapore and instead of finding the regal Merlion gushing water out of its mouth into the river, an artist built a temporary "Merlion Hotel" around it containing one room; a tourist attraction by day, and an actual hotel room by night! (completely sold out)  This was done for this year's Singapore Biennale, celebrating contemporary art.

Singapore decorates its bridges

Merlion "cub" just outside the actual Merlion

the Merlion is now inside a hotel room, for a month

We walked over to Boat Quay and Clarke Quay, two entertainment areas containing pubs, clubs and restaurants along the waterfront.  It was early afternoon so the area was not rocking yet.  Hosts standing in front of restaurants kept trying to round us into their eateries, but we weren't ready yet to dine.  All sorts of food was available, including the famous chili crab and black pepper crab.

Boat Quay

pubs at Boat Quay

Clarke Quay

kids like to play in the fountains here

Karen and I had been walking in the hot, humid weather for a while, and we were looking for some relief.  The Fort Canning Park was nearby so we checked that out.  It is a huge expanse of green in the middle of the city, similar to Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, or Central Park in New York City.  This used to be an actual fort, so there are some remains of it.  Lots of walkways for jogging, and plenty of stairs to climb.

who needs a Stairmaster?

remains of the Fort Gate

We descended from Fort Canning and found ourselves right next to the Peranakan Museum, so we went in to learn about their history and culture (and take advantage of their A/C).  Peranakan is a term to describe descendants from early Chinese traders who decided to settle in Singapore and marry local women.  There was a special exhibit of the traditional dress for women, which is a sarong bottom with a kebaya on top.  A modern version of it is worn by the Singapore Airlines flight attendants.  (I almost bought one for Halloween but I didn't know my numerical size in Asia and there were no fitting rooms)  It was getting to dinner time; we expended many calories walking around in the heat so we deserved a nice meal.  Karen and I headed to Raffles City to have dinner at a restaurant we passed by earlier called Grandma's.  We ordered chicken rice along with some vegetables and a fish in "Assam gravy".  The Assam gravy ended up being a sour soup, which was surprising to us and wasn't very tasty.  The vegetables were delicious, and the chicken was really good.

chicken rice, sambal potato leaves, sambal okra, fish in Assam gravy, chicken soup

We were so tired from the day's excursion that we fell asleep at 9pm!  (though the jet lag probably contributed)  Tomorrow, we hit Chinatown, Little India, and find a really good hawker center for some delectable eats before heading to the Night Safari!

I'm goin' solo, so-looooo - first mileage run to Singapore - May 3-8, 2011

I had little over one full day of rest after the Big Island trip before embarking on my journey to Singapore.  I decided last minute to go there when I read on the FlyerTalk boards that flying a back-to-back trip to Singapore (SIN) on a single ticket would save some money and make a 34,000 mile dent in this year's mileage accrual.  I wanted to maintain my Premier Executive status for next year as I planned to do more air travel, so I figured since I was on sabbatical, why not do the mileage run and make it a mini-vacation?   I was not concerned about going solo as Singapore was a very modern city, with strict laws to keep it clean and reduce crime, plus it offered easy public transportation and cheap taxis.  English was an official language as well as Chinese, so I wouldn't have a problem getting around.  Also, the number one attraction for me was the food.  :)  Singapore's "hawker food centers" are the best...those of you who have watched Anthony Bourdain or Andrew Zimmern's Singapore episodes on the Travel Channel know what I'm talking about.  Originally the plan was to do the back-to-back trip, each trip staying two full days.  But when I mentioned this crazy mileage run to my friend Karen, I couldn't believe it, but she thought it would be fun to join me on the second Singapore run...yay!  (plus, she got blessing from her loving supportive husband Paul :) )  Thus, I replanned the second trip to be a full four days so that she and I could do some sightseeing and eat the city up!

But first thing's first, travel solo to Singapore.  As I was flying by myself and wasn't on an upgradeable fare, I decided to forego the exit row seats on United and fly 3 of 4 flights on All Nippon Airways (ANA) to experience Japanese airline service.  It wasn't a bad experience.  I was at the head of the Star Alliance Gold (or *Gold) check-in line when the First Class counter agent waved me over since she was available.  By having *Gold status (due to my having Premier Executive status on United), a "Priority" tag is put on luggage to help it come out faster on the carousels (60% of the time it works), but I happened to get one that said "First Class" (since that was all she probably was stocked with), though I didn't know until I was at the baggage carousel in Singapore.  While everyone was waiting for their bags, a few bags came out first...the ones tagged First Class. :)  *Gold status was also helpful on ANA flights, as they begin the boarding process with First Class, Business, and *Gold at the same time.   I was fortunate to have the entire 3-seat row to myself going to Tokyo Narita, and 2-seat row to myself from Narita to Singapore...not a 180 degree seat, but next best thing.  The food was pretty good and there was individual on-demand in-flight entertainment so I caught up on a ton of movies.  (The King's Speech, Tangled, The Princess and the Frog, The Green Hornet, The Tourist, Love and Other Impossible Pursuits)  The flight attendants were all cheerful, friendly, and walked around offering water, tea and juice on trays frequently during the flight.  I also had 40 minutes to spare during my layover in Narita to enjoy the Star Alliance Lounge.

bento meals are so much better than United

even had premium ice cream for dessert!

the lounge at Narita offered a nice spread of snacks

self-service drinks (beer on the bottom)

love fresh fruit!

wines available too

toilets with bidets (it does feel much "cleaner")

individual entertainment screens

By the time I got to Singapore, it was close to midnight on May 4th.  I withdrew Singapore dollars from ATMs located after the immigration/customs exit, bought a snack to break a large bill, and joined the taxi queue to get a ride to the hotel, which cost S$25 (extra surcharge for taxi rides after midnight :( ).  A cheaper way to get to town would have been to take the local subway or "MRT" for S$2.00, but it shuts down at midnight.  Due to the late hour, I also missed out on the opportunity to get an account for free internet access at various public areas in the city, as they were issued by airport information counters, which were open from 6am to midnight.  That was why I hardly had any Facebook updates since I was too cheap to buy the outrageously priced internet at the hotel.

I got a decent rate on Hotwire for the Intercontinental Singapore, located in the Bugis area, thanks to knowing the mystery 5-star Central area hotel on betterbidding.com.  Due to the weak U.S. dollar, the price wasn't as good as it used to be in the previous year, but I still saved money from booking direct.  The front desk agent informed me that my "travel agent" booked me at a rate that didn't include breakfast, and asked if I'd like to add breakfast and internet access for S$90?  I politely declined and said that I'd find breakfast outside the hotel.  As she escorted me to the elevators, she mentioned that I could find food just outside the glass doors near the elevator that open into a mall.  I'm sure that was where all the employees went to dine.

bed already turned down for the night, slippers unwrapped

nice spacious bathroom, even the bathtub had a curtain.  shower was at other corner

option to spray off in the tub, a jar of bath salts was provided

Elemis spa toiletries along with vanity items like toothbrushes, q-tips, ponytail holder, etc.

complimentary refreshments

a pillow menu!  but I was happy with the existing ones

complimentary welcome fruit plate and Fiji water

I took a much needed shower after over 24 hours of travel and collapsed into the plush linens.  I slept until noon the next day, had the plate of fruit for lunch (love that dragonfruit!) and went to the mall next door to window shop and pick up some grub at a hawker center.  In Singapore, people drive on the "queen's side" (left-hand side) so I often bumped into approaching people as I tended to stay to the right while they veered left...eventually I got the hang of veering left.  The escalators were also confusing as most people would stand to the left, but signage may say "Please stand to the right".  Despite the fact that Singapore is located 85 miles north of the equator, most of the girls are pale-skinned, probably due to the popularity of bleaching/whitening cosmetics as well as the abundance of indoor malls and underground passages to escape from the sun's rays.  As I just came from Hawaii, I was definitely in contrast to these ladies.  Also, a lot of them were very thin, despite the easy access to cheap good food.  I was glad many of the fashions were not my style (very feminine, with ruffles, flowers and pastels) as I'd probably have to buy "extra large".  Do they throw up after every meal?  Even with shoes, the largest size they offered was a U.S. 9...which I would have to buy as half-sizes were non-existent, so too bad if you're size 9.5 and above.  I went into BHG department store in Bugis Junction, browsing at jewelry, and a saleslady tried to sell me a chain link bracelet marked down 30%, but when she put it on my wrist, it was so tight that it couldn't even slide.  She was a bit embarrassed when I commented on how "large" I was, hehe.  I ended up taking home the best items that fit me, or rather my stomach:  edibles that I found at the nearby food center:  some baked goods, a couple of pieces of fresh sliced papaya, and a container filled with chicken rice.  The quality wasn't so great, so not picture-worthy.

dragonfruit

passion fruit

view outside the hotel room, with the Marina Bay Sands in the distance

The next day, I woke up late again and headed to the nearby mall again for convenience, selecting "bah kut teh" (pork rib soup) for brunch.  There wasn't a lot of rib bones in it.  It tasted like soup that my mom makes at home to accompany dinner.

I took a hot and steamy walk out to the famous Raffles Hotel.  It was one of the most expensive hotels to book in Singapore. (even more so than the Four Seasons)  The hotel consisted of about 100 rooms, so it was pretty intimate.  I couldn't get into the hotel lobby as there were signs standing in front of entrances that said "Residents Only" and there were more staff than guests walking around, and given the level of service, I'm sure they knew who was staying there.  The grounds were really nice and the hotel's architecture is reminiscent of times past.  The "Raffles Shop" offered overpriced Raffles-branded souvenirs and edibles; it was a great place to duck from the heat.

big fountain

grassy area, maybe used for events or weddings

lots of lush foliage everywhere

On the way back to the hotel, I couldn't resist going into McDonald's and buying "Seaweed Shaker Fries".  Being that I am a fan of potato chips that are coated with delicious powdery seasoning (my favorite as of today is the Lay's Kettle Cooked Sharp Cheddar, followed closely by Safeway brand Snack Artist Cheesy chips), I had to get these.  I had thought the fries would be served already coated, but they leave the dirty work to the customer.   You get a paper bag, a regular serving of large fries, and a seasoning packet.  You put the fries into the bag, dump the contents of the packet inside, shake to coat, then dump it back into the fry container if you wish.  It was very popular as I heard bags being shaked all over the restaurant.  It tasted good, though the seaweed flavor had a touch more sweetness than I would've wanted.  I think McDonald's should introduce this in the U.S., but with different seasoning packets like cheese or chipotle, as I don't think Americans would go for seaweed flavor.

My two days in Singapore quickly came to an end, with another 24 hours' travel ahead of me.  My flight was at 8am on Saturday, but I decided to leave before 5am just in case there were issues.  I'm glad I did...the taxi driver asked what terminal I was in, but I didn't know and told him I was flying ANA.  He didn't know what ANA was, so I said "All Nippon", and he checked a cheatsheet hidden under his car visor which I couldn't see.  He couldn't locate the airline, so he defaulted to Terminal 1 for "all other airlines".  When I entered the terminal, it did not look familiar at all, and I had to find a directory to get my bearings.  Turned out that ANA was departing from Terminal 2, and fortunately there was a "skytrain" that went to Terminal 2 and it had just started operation at 5am.  I made my way there, checked in with no issues, and enjoyed the ANA lounge at the airport - the spread included fish congee and accompaniments, nasi lemak and accompaniments, sambal vegetables, Western breakfast items, baked goods, steamed meat buns, and fresh fruit.

The flight from Singapore to Narita was on ANA, then Narita to San Francisco was on United.  What a big difference between the two airlines.  I went to the United Red Carpet Club in Narita and there was hardly any snacks available, just some Chex mix and yogurt-covered peanuts.  I made a mental note to go to the ANA lounge when I came through here again a week later with Karen.  On the United flight, the food was almost inedible.  I had forgotten to ask for a special meal...I had read on FlyerTalk that the Hindu meals were pretty good.  The flight arrived in San Francisco around 10:45am (still Saturday!) and I made it through customs without a hitch despite my short trip to Singapore (always buy something and declare it on the form!  $0 declarations raise eyebrows), with the officer asking me if I brought any meat.  My cousin Sheri arrived at the airport just as I was exiting the terminal...perfect timing!  We had dim sum at Koi Palace with Sheri's parents and brother, Aunt Valerie, and my cousin Gwen...it was good to see them.  Afterwards, we all checked out Gwen's new place in the Glen Park area.  I crashed at Sheri's for the night...I was pretty tired as I didn't get much sleep on the last flight.  Tomorrow, I get to travel 24 hours again to Singapore with Karen...nuts!!!