28-May-2023
You'll notice we're not pushing the boundaries here... We're staying urban. We're not heading out to the wilder bits of Singapore (don't be misled by stereotypes -- there are plenty of hiking trails here, including lots we've not done). The reason we're keeping our endeavours modest is partly that we're enjoying revisiting familiar places after a gap of five years, and partly that -- having packed for three months in cold or cool climes -- we're not particularly geared up for the tropical countryside.
But urban walking has a lot to offer here. On two consecutive days, we have circled around Kampong Glam, a settlement dating back to the 1820s, when the land was set aside for Sultan Hussain Mohammed Shah. Its Malay/Arab character sits interestingly alongside its trendy bars and burgeoning arts scene.
Yesterday we headed that way via Ya Kun Kaya Toast and Kallang Riverside Park, a really awesome urban resource:
In almost every post on Singapore in my previous blog, summarized here, I mention Ya Kun Kaya Toast, whose breakfast combo can be found in plenty of other places, but is rarely -- in our view -- done as well. I notice we've never photographed the key components... So here are the soft-boiled eggs, before their anointing with soy sauce and black pepper
And here is the crispy toast, generously sandwiched with butter and kaya
Kallang Riverside Park
By the time we reached Kampong Glam, the air was hot, and the trippers had arrived in droves. So we took a few photos, had coffee and cake in a nice cool cafe, and resolved to come back in the early hours of today:
Murals and other wall decorations are BIG in this area. The more the merrier, I say...
It's also a prettily coloured area, easy on the eye
A very pleasant little cafe
At which point, we turned towards the water again, and finally caught the metro home from Bayfront:
Today, we set off before dawn for some more views of Kampong Glam:
Hard night...
We had already started for Kallang, our next objective, but the drizzle that had persisted since we arrived suddenly transformed itself into a full-blown thunderstorm, sending us scuttling back to the shelter of Kampong Glam's five-foot ways. So we brought forward the hour for second breakfast, and then skulked around under cover until such times as the rain had eased.
And finally, we're off again, heading towards the former Kallang Airport. You can't see much now, but for Amelia Earhart, who stopped over in 1937 (the year the airport opened), it was "an aviation miracle of the East":
Then...
Now...
Not rainy now, but HOT. Sooooo HOT. I know we've perhaps de-acclimatized during our three months away, and -- as I said -- we don't entirely have the right kit. Nevertheless, we can distinguish hot from HOT, and today was HOT. Since we arrived in Singapore, I'm guessing it has been a bit above the norm every day. I've taken to having iced lattes, and I hardly ever feel the need for iced drinks...
Today's coffee venue was Geylang Drip City:
You can tell from the name of the cafe that we've reached Geylang by now:
The Foo Hai Ch'an Monastery
The Sri Sivan Temple
Note the shady walkways... Here, if there isn't a sheltering MRT overpass, they will often build you a pavement cover. Way to go...
Utterly flaked out by now, we Grabbed home...
Tomorrow is Day 100... The odyssey is nearly over...