![\"Night](\"http:\/\/mayl.id.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Night-Zoo-Fire-Breathers.jpg\" "\\"Night")
Night Zoo Fire Breathers<\/p><\/div>\n
After this we had a half-hearted look around some of their numerous gift and souvenir shops but nothing screamed \u2018buy me, buy me\u2019 and we decided to call it a day so that we would not be caught in a mad squeeze for the last bus.\u00a0 We successfully navigated the bus, the train, and all the escalators up and down, followed by the walk back to hotel.\u00a0 Ten o\u2019clock at night and the trains and buses were all chokka block full.\u00a0 Amazing!\u00a0 And along the bus route in the dark we could see eateries by the hundred, all with plenty of people in attendance and we began to wonder if these apartments came equipped with kitchens!<\/p>\n
Once safely home we enjoyed a nice cuppa or beer in our room and watched some more golf until 11pm when we called it a day.<\/p>\n
SATURDAY 17th<\/sup> July<\/strong> Today we had decided to go to Little India so borrowed a hotel umbrella from the valets once more and set off down Clemencau Avenue.\u00a0 David didn\u2019t want to share the umbrella so I had it all to myself.\u00a0 A couple of times I had the feeling I’d hit him with it as we walked along but there was no sign as I glanced at him so I said nothing to start with.\u00a0 Then I said \u201cI wasn\u2019t sure if I\u2019ve been hitting you with the umbrella?\u201d and he said \u201cNo, no, that\u2019s fine, you\u2019ve hit me so often I\u2019ve got nice hard calluses so you can do it again if you like!\u201d\u00a0 Idiot!<\/p>\n We walked through Istana Park, through the underpass and to the right on Orchard Road meaning to turn left onto Selegie but somehow missed the street sign and turned 2 streets later instead, thinking there would still be things of interest here.\u00a0 Nope \u2013 not really, so we took a left and went along Middle Road and back to Selegie without further ado and into the edges of Little India.<\/p>\n There were some major road works happening and we stood, mystified, at what was going on.\u00a0 Before long a friendly Indian man came and spoke to us and explained that the workmen were covering the river over \u2013 with wood panels at this stage \u2013 and would be laying a new road over the top of these so that they could dig up the original road.\u00a0 David says it was something to do with the MRT, though I missed that part.\u00a0 And eventually, maybe 4 years down the track they \u2018may move the road back again\u2019.\u00a0 The guy was fascinated that we were Aussies and asked us a few questions and we compared notes on weather, population, number of taxis per capita and a few other things as he now walked along beside us for a way.\u00a0 We eventually bade our farewells and continued to look in the shops along the way.<\/p>\n The pathways were once again not only narrow but laden with shop wares as well \u2013 often down to single file in only one direction and with even more random steps along the way.\u00a0 I suddenly noticed a shop that sold silk by the metre so we went in as I wanted to buy some for a belly dancing veil.\u00a0 We looked at quite a range but I chose some nice blue silk and asked for 2.5 metres and then we warded off his attempts to sell us more.\u00a0 He had a particular desire to sell me a thicker, off-white silk to make a jacket with!\u00a0 There were some really beautiful saris in there as well but we kept eyes front for fear he would try to sell me some of those as well.<\/p>\n Further down the road I made the mistake of allowing one other shop-keeper to engage me in conversation and she was intent on selling me a table cloth.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t like to tell her we don\u2019t have a table but managed to turn her attention to some bangles that I had liked the look of (and as an added bonus they were back out at the entrance to the shop rather than the cavernous depths where she\u2019d lured me to see the table cloths hehehe).\u00a0 After much ado in choosing colours and discussing wrist sizes for small children of the non-Indian persuasion we came away with gifts we were happy with and slowly, as we walked along further, the rain cleared.<\/p>\n We\u2019d been told to look out for Mastafa Shopping Centre, proudly known as the shopping centre that was open 24\/7.\u00a0 We found one entrance and there was a guard at the door with a stack of bags around him and said to each other \u201cSurely you don\u2019t have to leave your bag at the door?\u201d\u00a0 We walked across a road to another entrance and there was a guard here also \u2013 this one smiled and was approachable so we asked him.\u00a0 I was allowed my handbag \u2013 or we wouldn\u2019t have gone in!!!\u00a0 David had to have his small calico bag sealed tightly shut with a plastic bag tie and in we went.<\/p>\n It was a large supermarket!\u00a0 Rows and rows of cotton buds, shampoos, soaps\u2026 and absolutely packed with people and trolleys.\u00a0 We were a bit confused but found some stairs thinking this would get us out of this shop and into the shopping centre but upstairs was exactly the same.\u00a0 Well, we\u2019d moved on to food stuffs but it was still a supermarket! \u00a0I had someone behind me pushing a trolley into my legs so reached my arm around to hold the umbrella protectively across my rear end and that, thankfully, gave sufficient clues to the offender to cease and desist.<\/p>\n We noticed some loos so headed in that direction and I can tell you that I came out with big eyes!\u00a0 The first trap was a small step down as you crossed the threshold.\u00a0 Then there were 2 cubicles and one held just a hole in the floor with 2 foot plates, one either side, a la Francais of old.\u00a0 The other, I\u2019m pleased to report, had a \u2018real toilet\u2019, but the whole room was really small and dirty.\u00a0 The tap needed leaning on constantly to get any water out of it so you could only wash one hand at a time and there was no soap.\u00a0 I managed to lean one elbow on the tap and bend my forearm in half so that I could use both hands under the water LOL\u00a0 After that we exited stage left from the building as fast as our legs would carry us!<\/p>\n We chose a different route out, Jalan Besir, which contained the strangest collection of shops including a tiny tyre workshop which absolutely stunk, and a few hardware shops which looked really small to those of us accustomed to Bunnings!\u00a0 David said that the air inside tyres can often smell bad so we forgive the poor things and I felt sorry for them working there! \u00a0We turned onto Weld Street which became Arab Street, again passing along narrow footpaths full to bursting point with hundreds of large crates full of dried prawns and other mysteries until we came to another shopping centre and went in there for a look.\u00a0 This one seemed to be aimed at Muslim clientele and the dress shops sold the full head-to-toe garments, some of them beautifully decorated.\u00a0 There was nowhere we fancied eating or drinking \u2013 in fact it was probably the smallest centre we\u2019d seen and only had one or two options and those were of the \u2018pie or dried-up sandwich\u2019 type so we kept walking.<\/p>\n We quickly reached the Malay quarter which again seemed to have many Muslim people walking around and we got the impression we were a little out of place.\u00a0 The footpath was decidedly worse for produce spilling out from shops, making it difficult to navigate, and the number of random steps and slopes in it increased.\u00a0 We really did feel as if we were in the back of nowhere and continued on around the edge streets to head for Raffles Hotel.\u00a0 Suddenly, the footpath was boarded off for building and we had to walk in the road for quite some distance.<\/p>\n Finally we were back in the parts that were dressed up for tourists but still didn\u2019t fancy any of the eateries so kept on walking and at last here was Raffles Hotel \u2013 on Beach Road.\u00a0 As it indeed used to be when Raffles was built but now, due to land reclamation, it\u2019s another 500 metres to the beach!<\/p>\n I was just about to take a photo of David standing in front of the hotel when a<\/p>\n David and May outside Raffles Hotel<\/p><\/div>\n passerby asked if we\u2019d like him to get a picture of both of us so we said \u2018yes please!\u2019.\u00a0 David whispered \u201cThat\u2019s the last we\u2019ll see of our camera!\u201d\u00a0 Naughty boy!\u00a0 The kind man took 2 photos and returned the camera LOL.\u00a0 But he had not aimed as centrally to the hotel as I would have done, thereby getting the name in, so for the end result we could have been standing anywhere!\u00a0 I decided to take another photo when we came back out but, to jump ahead, we went out the back way so have no picture saying we\u2019re at the Raffles at all.<\/p>\n We went to the valet who looked a bit confused, and I asked if it was alright to look around.\u00a0 He looked us up and down, and I can understand why, this was the scruffiest we dressed for the whole holiday, and waved to his right saying we had to go down the garden path to the back ROFL\u00a0 Yet more designer-named shops were there!\u00a0 How many of each must there be in Singapore?<\/p>\n In the courtyard was a bar with menus so at last we decided to have lunch.\u00a0 It was<\/p>\n Raffles Hotel Courtyard<\/p><\/div>\n about 2pm I believe by now and we had walked quite a long way so we were pretty hungry!\u00a0 David ordered a paella which arrived with a crab claw stuck in the top for decoration and I ordered a chicken curry which arrived looking a lot like a sandwich assortment which the girl hastily removed once I told her and my curry arrived fairly quickly.\u00a0 There had been nothing vegetarian and appealing on the menu but the meal was very nice when it did come out.\u00a0 It had skin and bones which normally would turn my stomach but it was very tender and I picked most of the meat out easily and left the rest.\u00a0 I even had pappadums \u2013 yummmmm!<\/p>\n Next page\/…<\/a><\/p>\n Please feel free to leave a comment in the fields below before leaving this page. Email addresses will not be used in any way, nor displayed for anyone to see.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The night safari\u2019s cheap (ha ha) meal consisted of fish and chips for me and a chicken burger with literally 3 chips for David.\u00a0 I had 2 pieces of fish and heaps of chips so gave him a lot of … Continue reading
\nWe were seated for breakfast at a large, round table outside as the inside was full.\u00a0 It was drizzling, but we chose seats next to the window, well under the shelter of the wide eaves and looking out at the view.\u00a0 After a while we were joined by a group consisting of 3 generations of Asian females.\u00a0 We smiled a greeting and they looked straight through us so it then became rather uncomfortable with nowhere to look except through the hostiles to the view as David and I were seated next to each other.\u00a0 We tried a couple of times to be social but they just did not want to know.\u00a0 Even if they couldn\u2019t speak English it still doesn\u2019t hurt to smile and we couldn\u2019t wait to finish our breakfast and escape.<\/p>\n![\"David](\"http:\/\/mayl.id.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/David-and-May-outside-Raffles-Hotel.jpg\" "\\"David")
![\"Raffles](\"http:\/\/mayl.id.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Raffles-Hotel-Courtyard.jpg\" "\\"Raffles")