I was out on the streets of the old town by 8 AM. None of the shops were open so early, and I had the streets to myself. The old town is small enough to cross in 20 minutes, and it only took me two crossings to figure out how to orient myself. I spent most of my time on and around Arab street, where I saw one sari store after another. They were advertising outfits for as little as $50. The storefronts were the same narrow and deep two-story shops that I saw in Little India. This district had more plazas and parks than Little India, and in the morning before people were out and about, it was peaceful.
By 11 I was ready to pick up Hing at the airport. I bought an all day Metro pass for $8 (plus a $10 deposit for the metro card!) and hopped on the train. Once again, I was surprised by the lack of crowds, even for a Saturday. On the was to the airport I finally saw residential districts with tile-roofed townhomes instead of 20-story apartments. The arport itself was recently ranked #1 in the world, and judging by how many services it hosts (free internet, XBox, showers), I am not surprised.
In the three hours we had in town before we had to get back to the airport, Hing and I had two culinary objectives - Chili Crab, and a Singapore Sling. We found Chili Crab in a food court behind a McDonalds, and were lucky to get the last live crab they had. I saw the crab live and pinching, and 20 minutes later it was the freshest crab I had ever eaten. The same food court had a shop that specialized in fruit drinks, including Rose juice!, and it was delicious. The chili could overwhelm the crab, and when the crab is that fresh, there is really no need to embellish it with chili.
The Long Bar at the Raffles Hotel is where the Singapore Sling was invented. The Singapore Sling is a mix of gin, grenadine, brandy, and pineapple. It doesn't taste like alcohol at all, and so goes down real easy. The bar itself was nice, but nothing too special. We paid $18 for our Slings. The Hotel as a whole was nice because it had a lot of patios, gazebos, and other little places to discover. I think part of its lure is its history.
By 11 I was ready to pick up Hing at the airport. I bought an all day Metro pass for $8 (plus a $10 deposit for the metro card!) and hopped on the train. Once again, I was surprised by the lack of crowds, even for a Saturday. On the was to the airport I finally saw residential districts with tile-roofed townhomes instead of 20-story apartments. The arport itself was recently ranked #1 in the world, and judging by how many services it hosts (free internet, XBox, showers), I am not surprised.
In the three hours we had in town before we had to get back to the airport, Hing and I had two culinary objectives - Chili Crab, and a Singapore Sling. We found Chili Crab in a food court behind a McDonalds, and were lucky to get the last live crab they had. I saw the crab live and pinching, and 20 minutes later it was the freshest crab I had ever eaten. The same food court had a shop that specialized in fruit drinks, including Rose juice!, and it was delicious. The chili could overwhelm the crab, and when the crab is that fresh, there is really no need to embellish it with chili.
The Long Bar at the Raffles Hotel is where the Singapore Sling was invented. The Singapore Sling is a mix of gin, grenadine, brandy, and pineapple. It doesn't taste like alcohol at all, and so goes down real easy. The bar itself was nice, but nothing too special. We paid $18 for our Slings. The Hotel as a whole was nice because it had a lot of patios, gazebos, and other little places to discover. I think part of its lure is its history.
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