Is he dead???

 I don’t know why it is but our travels have occasionally been interrupted by the inconvenient appearance of a random corpse. In the past our adventuring has been curtailed or delayed by a dead body appearing at an inopportune moment. The last time this occurred was in Kerala, Southern India. We were walking along a little trod path that ran alongside a river and joined two small villages. The reason why we were on this particular path escapes me but unexpectedly we were accosted by a local police officer. He told us that the “body of a dead person” had been found on “our” path and that we would have to wait till he could find someone to remove it. He apologised profusely for our inconvenience and shuffled off to find a box or bag to move the “dead person”. I explained that I was quite familiar with moving corpses and was happy to help him drag it to a less conspicuous spot but he rejected my offer of assistance.  We never did find out any more about the said “dead person”.

This evening we decided to take a stroll around Marina Bay and see the Merlion lit in all its glory. We have never been to the Marina after dark as we are usually settled down in Chinatown. The bars and restaurants that line the old boat quay and harbour front are ridiculously expensive. As most people know I’m not a fan of spending money unless absolutely necessary and  I had no intention of eating or drinking on the marina but had promised Crispy a can of Tizer and a packet of crisps on the steps under the Merlion if she was a good girl.

As we approached the Merlion it was obvious our plans were foiled. The body of a man lay at the foot of the iconic statue surrounded by police and a cordon of that bright plastic sticker tape. It was a nuisance but didn’t stop Crispy getting the required pics of the harbour at night. It did put paid to her picnic though which in hindsight saved me the cost of the pop and snacks.

Anyway enough of that…….

Woke this morning after a great nights sleep. We are fully recovered from the jet lag now and are ready to face the next leg of our journey to New Zealand Tomorrow afternoon. How people fly the 27 hours direct is beyond me. I would rather remove my eyes with a spoon that face the trauma of a direct flight.

Today was culture and history. Crispy’s favourite things.

First stop on the things we haven’t done previously in Singapore was Fort Canning Park. It is a the highest point in Singapore and originally the home of the first British commander in Singapore. Sir Thomas Stanford Bingley Raffles. He built his house here, a flagpole to direct ships into the harbour and eventually a lighthouse. It’s a beautiful park and houses the remains of a fort built later to protect the lighthouse.

It was hot today and dear old Crispy loved the adventure and exercise involved in scaling the hill to the historic landmarks. She’s a big fan of colonial history.

After the Fort at Canning Crispy was getting fractious and hungry. We decided to head to Little India for lunch.  A suburb of Singapore not dissimilar to Chinatown but with a distinct Indian culture. We had never been before and were excited at the prospect. Crispy loves a Dosa. So as soon as we cleared the metro station at little India that was our first priority. We found a little Dosa shop close the the metro in the flower sellers street. 

The food was fantastic and we had a great lunch, the remainder of our time was spent searching and exploring the back streets for a bar to grab a quick beer. The bar we found was close to the main Hindu temple which is preparing for a major Festival. I don’t know what the festival is called but it involves cows. A special marquee had been erected close to the temple and filled with several cows of differing ages and colouring. Most people in Singapore have never seen a real cow so this was a major treat for them.

The cows weren’t happy, hot, bored and obviously missing their home. They are only there for two days before going home so it’s not too bad.

From Little India it was a short metro ride to the Singapore Botanic Gardens. I know this doesn’t sound adrenaline fuelled but it was fantastic. An old abandoned plantation turned into a garden for the city. Acres of beautiful lakes, lawns and unique flora. A huge native rainforest walk and numerous wild animals. roaming free to interact or not as there fancy takes them. It’s not a zoo and the animals are wild. We were hoping to see the smooth otters that live here but it wasn’t to be this time. We were lucky to see several slender squirrels, large monitor lizards and a hornbill feeding her chicks. It is a beautiful place and well worth a visit if your ever at a loose end in Singapore.

The evening was, as mentioned before, spent down by Marina Bay, enjoying a few overpriced drinks over looking the Boat Quay. 

Tomorrow we fly to Auckland and LynNZ. 

(The situation with COVID in India is still unstable but we are not going to make a decision re onward travel till we get to NZ and assess the PCR thing. To be honest we can’t be fussed with restrictions so We are already looking at a journey home via Kuala Lumpur as a very real option. Crispy likes Malaysia)

Bare and Crispy signing off, Chinatown, Singapore