killerhales

Well, we've made it to Singapore, it's 6am here and I'm on the wi-fi in the Holiday Inn on Cavenagh Road.

We ended up with 96 kg of luggage (for 3 of us) versus the 69kg allowed. We were very lucky to be flying with BA out of Sydney, as they only charge on a per bag basis, rather than a per kilo basis like Qantas. Saved us the order of $1000!

We will check out First Luggage to ship our heaviest bag which weighed in at 25 kg!

I'll try to remember to put our flight to London on the flight tracker, its a Singapore Airlines flight at around 12.50 I think.

Mummy in the foothills

I can't imagine having to fly so far to get home, it sounds like my worst nightmare. I hate the 24 hrs door to door from here.

Englishmum

I know exactly where the HI is located as I've lived in Singapore (twice). How long are you in transit for? If you can, do try and go up to the rooftop of the Marina Bay Sands (that strange looking hotel and casino complex which looks like it has a huge ship across the top of it!). The views are amazing - especially if you go there at about 6.30pm as it suddenly turns dark at 7pm (no twilight there as you're pretty much on the equator) and see the city lights come on as day turns into night. Sadly I never got to go for a dip in the rooftop infinity pool....

Enjoy your SQ flight back to the UK

killerhales

Thanks Englishmum, we're here until Noon on Wednesday. We went to the top of Marina Sands last time we were here, but not at the time you suggest.

I've just done the classic touristy thing and ordered 3 shirts and a pair of trousers from "Ron Tailor" near the hotel.

Rather like the planet in the Hitch-hikers Guide To The Galaxy, where you have to leave part of your body behind if you put on weight during your stay (to ensure the mass of the planet remains constant), we have agreed that anything we buy in the next three days has to be balanced by disposing of the equivalent weight (so I have just dumped a pair of old trousers!)

Want to recommend a good place for chilli crab? Jumbo seems to be well regarded.

Englishmum

I'm currently in New Jersey and half a day behind SG time (13 hours) so it's possible you've already eaten some chili crab by the time you read this.....however, if you haven't:

Chili Crab - Recommend 2 places to try:

"Long Beach Seafood Restaurant" - they have a few branches, I'm only familiar with the one on the East Coast

http://www.longbeachseafood.com.sg/

http://www.travbuddy.com/Long-Beach-...aurant-v480793 (reviews)

and "No Signboard" - there is more than one branch but best bet is the one on the East Coast or the one in Geylang (haven't been there, however Geylang is commonly known as the colourful 'red light' district:

http://nosignboardseafood.com/

http://www.travbuddy.com/No-Signboard-v194556 (reviews)

If you are in the Malay/Arab Muslim area (it's not far from your hotel), I highly recommend that you go and eat at Zam Zam's. They do the wonderful Murtabak - a kind of doughy flat bread with various fillings, made freshly while you wait. I liked the sardine murtabak and the chicken with curry sauce....you can see it being made as you stand outside the front window. It's across the street from the huge mosque with the golden dome (worth a visit, they do tours for tourists and provide 'cover ups' if necessary). I used to take visitors on a trip there and they always enjoyed it.

http://www.travbuddy.com/Zam-Zam-v480631

Now for something completely different: to really get out of the tourist trap, I highly recommend a trip to the little island of Pulau Ubin. It's an old rustic island with a couple of little hamlets with the old Malay-style attap houses, there are roadside stalls to get drinks and fresh coconut water out of a huge coconut. In the village adjacent to the jetty there are some coffee shops/cafes where you can eat, otherwise you can eat back at Changi village where there is a large wet market and hawker centre near the ferry terminal, plus numerous cafes on the main road.

It's a really pretty place - and you have to take a bum-boat to get to the island (which is fun to experience - we even used to take our own bikes on the bum-boats!). You get off the boat and rent bicycles for a few hours at the various cycle hire shops next to the jetty. There is also a stand where you can get free maps of Pulau Ubin. The isla You can just walk too, but won't see as much of the island. It is traffic free with the exception of about half a dozen ancient cars/trucks for transporting food. The local houses have generators for their electricity. Take sunscreen and insect repellent (yes I know it's the rainy season but it doesn't rain all day and usually in late afternoon approx 4pm...so go early in the day!). You will get hot and sweaty but the nearest thing Singapore has to open countryside as opposed to highly manicured gardens.

Pulau Ubin is pretty much unknown to tourists.....because it's not a money making enterprise where tourists can be fleeced! Plan to spend half a day there at least, if possible. You get the bum-boats from the Changi Village ferry terminal....they go approx every 10-15 minutes and you just wait for the next one to go out. See links below on how to get there:

We've had really enjoyable trips and some of our best times in Singapore on Pulau Ubin.....we've seen the huge hornbills (birds), snakes, a wild pig, chickens running around the village, a roadside temple, an old English style house, now a small sealife museum approached by a boardwalk nature trail.

http://www.wildsingapore.com/ubin/index.html

http://www.pulauubin.com.sg/

You may also wish to combine this trip with a visit to the Changi Prison Chapel Museum (take a taxi as it is a couple of miles away from Changi village, so a good place to go after a trip to Pulau Ubin. Get the taxi driver to agree to come back and get you after a couple of hours, or the nice reception staff at the museum will call a taxi for you). It comemmorates all the British, Aussie and Kiwi POW's (men, women and children) who were treated so appallingly by the Japanese when Singapore was occupied in WWII. It portrays their daily lives in the prison camp, plus accounts on how the locals suffered too, with many artefacts to see. It's quite moving and thought provoking.

http://www.changimuseum.com/Home.aspx

Enjoy your Singapore stopover!

killerhales

Thanks for the tips; we'll file them for our next stopover.

We went to Jumbo on Clarke Quay for chilli crab: it was marvellous!

Off to the night zoo tonight.

On the excess baggage front I managed to get a 29.5 kg suitcase on to Singapore Airlines cargo, which is still very expensive but half the price of excess baggage!