A Singapore Sling at Raffles Hotel

It really is a good job that we weren’t suffering from jetlag, an equatorial parkrun is an attack on human equilibrium in more ways than one.

When joining from an English winter there is the obvious challenge of the heat and humidity. Only a week earlier we were taking part in a parky Norfolk event with temperatures not topping 0°, this week we were expecting a high of 30° at a point just after we had been through the finish funnel.

The other downside of a parkrun in these climes is the inhuman start time, 07:00, we arrived in the dark, compared with the slightly more relaxing 09:00 in the UK.

Anyway, more of that later, let’s take a look at the other things we did around the so-called Garden City, a moniker that is richly deserved. It is truly beautiful and if you haven’t been here already it is a must for your bucket list. Of all the cities in the world, I think this one, out of the ones I’ve been to, is the only one in which I believe I could live.

Now what else shall we look at? Ah, before we get onto that I need to explain something of one of my assertions last week. As an under-fire politician might say, let me be clear about this, which usually means a diatribe of absolute garbage is going to come from their mouth, and it will be anything but clear. I, on the other hand, do hereby swear to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God.

As I am sure you picked up from the text, I have issues with Marina Bay Sands Hotel. It is not exactly an issue with the building itself or, for that matter, the hotel, even though I have a phobia of high-rise structures, centred around a preternatural fear of fire and collapse, I am not worried about heights as such. I most certainly wouldn’t want to stay there, even if all the other inns in Singapore were full.

No, it’s not the building, I can’t help but admire the structural engineering element of the design, although I’m not bowled over by the aesthetic, it is the fact that it can be seen from almost everywhere in the city and surrounding area.

To be honest, that isn’t really the main issue either, it is the truckloads of gawping tourists who seem to congregate at each and every point from where it is spotted. They stand captivated by the vision like it is the second coming or some such. Each to their own, I suppose, but if you are going to take in the vista don’t just suddenly stop in the middle of a pedestrian zone or even worse, assemble in what seems like small hundreds and block the way to everyday folk trying to go about their rightful business.

If I had my way, I would either raze the thing to the ground or warn all goggling tourists that they face being tossed from the top deck if they obstruct perfectly innocent passers-by. Perhaps I am being a little harsh, but it does get on my wick a little. Can you tell? Batophobia, by the way, is the irrational fear of tall buildings and, for that matter, high mountains. Strange that, I have never had a second thought about going up a mountain. That’s it, rant over!

Following our successful completion of Bay East Garden parkrun, we opted for a walk back to the hotel, having taken a taxi to get there. Bearing in mind we had in excess of 32,000 steps under our belt, where else would they be, from the day before, we were to add another 25,000 here, we found ourselves to be a tad hungry, me more than Jane.

A great part of Singapore is the street food, and whilst it might be a little too regulated from the purists’ perspective, they are still exceptional value. These Hawker Centres pop up around almost every corner. We both had a huge bowl of noodles with sweet and sour chicken, washed down with a fruit drink, all for around £3.50 each. Don’t hang back, you must give them a go when visiting.

I have about as much interest in Formula One as watching paint dry, in fact I believe I find the latter to be more entertaining, and I know that some numbered among my closest friends will be outraged by this, but I have less interest in cars than pigs-in-blankets have in a turkey dinner.

I have to say, though, it gave me a frisson of excitement to cross a road bridge and find we were looking down on the pitlane garages, if that’s what they are called, of the Grand Prix. We could only imagine the revved-up testosterone that would be leaking out of the doors during the annual event. Just picture it, the glint of shiny bodywork, the sweet smell of burning fuel and the vibrating roar of the engines. Maybe when seen live, it has the edge over paint drying. Now, what about grass growing? Come on, some things just can’t be beaten! How wonderful timing can be sometimes. Congratulations to Lando Norris for winning the Drivers’ World Championship.

It was during this return to our hotel that we encountered crowds of Marina Bay Sands hunters, all blocking the footpaths and not giving a monkey’s. It wasn’t becoming of me, but I deliberately bumped into one or two of them, they were making me a little angry. When I combine anger with hunger and I get hangry, I cannot be held responsible for my actions. I would say sorry to my victims and hold up my white cane, which elicited what felt like heartfelt apologies. Below the surface I was thinking get out of my way you selfish cretin. Once food had been devoured, I reconsidered my actions and reflected that, just maybe, I had been a little over the top. Sorry!

There are two musts for you to look at when you are next in this neck of the woods. First of all, The National Museum of Singapore, brilliantly run by the state’s National Heritage Board. Wow! What an amazing place.

We only scratched the surface, spending all of our time in the basement wandering through an incredibly interactive display, taking us from the Bronze Age right through until Singaporean independence. It was first settled by the Malays although it appears that they came and went and the place was often abandoned.

Then, the Dutch popped in and created a settlement as a part of its East Indies colonies. During the Napoleonic Wars the Dutch found themselves on the wrong side so we took most of their colonies from them. That’ll teach them!

After the conclusion of hostilities at the defining battle of the age, Waterloo, where, despite Abba’s claim in their Eurovision winning song of the same name, Napoleon did not surrender, we and the Dutch started to get along a little better and we returned most of their lands back to them, but we held onto Singapore and, to a lesser extent, Hong Kong, although we really leased the latter from China.

Stamford Raffles, who is widely credited with founding modern Singapore, dug his heels in and refused to hand Sumatra, Java and the like back until they agreed to drive on our side of the road, the left. That is still the case today.

Many of you will be familiar with Raffles Hotel, named in Stamford’s honour, of course, which was our next destination. We enjoyed a rather nice stroll through the academic quarter to this icon among hotels. One day, Marina Bay Sands, you will be able to use the word iconic but, I am afraid, not after just a few years. It’s simply not on!

Well, here we were, on our third trip to Singapore we finally set foot in the hotel synonymous with the island state. Amazing! Yeah, we have been here twice before, but the first time was so long ago I have probably forgotten more than I can remember.

We looked for the famous Long Bar where, in days of yore, you would have found the likes of Noel Coward, Somerset Maugham, Joseph Conrad and Rudyard Kipling propping up the bar. How fantastic would it be today to walk in and find the likes of Bernard Cornwell and J K Rowling knocking back shots.

The queue for the famous bar was a bit on the lengthy side, so just as we were about to call it a day we stumbled across a lovely cocktail bar, The Courtyard, tucked away around the back. How lucky were we? There were no extended lines of people, we simply walked in, enquired if they served up the famous cocktail, to which the answer was, “Yes, without the queues,” and we were shown to our table.

We waited with mounting anticipation, not to say excitement, and weren’t disappointed when the perfect blend of gin, cherry brandy, triple sec, Dom Benedictine, pineapple juice, lime juice, Angostura bitters, Grenadine syrup and, last but not least, soda water was delivered up to us. I have no idea what the last ingredient provides to the recipe or, indeed, whether it is even important.

I’m not usually greatly into cocktails, not having even heard of most of its constituent parts, but I have to say, it was fantastic. It was so delicious that we both had a second and, I think, if it hadn’t been such a trek back to the hotel, we may well have been in for a third and fourth. I have had the Singapore Sling at other bars since but, I guess like Guinness, it is best consumed where it is made.

There were other cocktails on the menu, tempting in their own way, including Sex on the Beach, a gritty little number, and BBC, that appears to have nothing to do with television whatsoever. It is worth a return trip to Singapore on its own.

Before leaving Raffles, I have to say, you would never know you were in the middle of a thoroughly modern and bustling city, it is as if you have wandered into a tranquil oasis, cut off from the everyday hubbub just outside its front door. Truly awesome!
Next time I shall move us on to another return visit, this time to Langkawi.

Find Out More
Bay East Garden parkrun: www.parkrun.com
Raffles Hotel: www.raffles.com
Museum: www.nhb.gov.sg
White Cane Ratings
Museum: very good, easily accessible - 🦯 🦯 🦯 🦯 (4)
Raffles Hotel: good, one or two steps - 🦯 🦯 🦯 (3)

Bay East Garden Parkrun

Parkrun tourism is a major feature of this simple yet effective concept. We were very fortunate to be among the 72 participants who, in the main, turned up to the congregation point below the Sheares Bridge at Gardens by the Bay in the glorious city of Singapore.

The contrast between taking part on a cold winter’s day in Sandringham compared with the tropical air of East Asia is measurable in clothing. Sometimes, back home, I have worn up to five layers, whilst here I had only two, the first of which was to soak up the sweat. My top layer was the fully restored t-shirt, complete with two Ls in “Travelling!” Thanks to V and J Knitwear for rectifying this so quickly, allowing me to wear it with pride today.

We had been fortunate to land in the island state at the beginning of the Chinese New Year celebrations, I think I heard partying goes on for about fifteen days, which makes a unique atmosphere. We have just entered the year of the snake. As we do every year at this time we try and remember which animal sign we belong to. Jane is a Dragon, always makes me laugh. I have no idea why I find it so funny, answers on a postcard please, but I do. Then, after checking the chart, Jane reminds me that I am a Pig.

I already knew that this was a first for Bay East Garden Parkrun as they had never hosted a visually impaired participant before. Every single one of the volunteers and runners were effusive in their welcome for Jane and I and, indeed, all seedlings here, as first-timers are named. We posed for the obligatory photographs with members of the team and my VI Guide for the day, Andreas Wenger.

Andreas is a Swiss national who came over here for a year about fourteen years ago and is still here. Given that the landlocked European country is well renowned for its banking sector and Singapore is one of the main financial hubs in the region, he took me by surprise when he said he looked after a herd of cows; no, not really, only joking, of course he is in banking, what else!

Don’t get me wrong, if there are any Swiss cowherds who might be reading this, if there are they haven’t made themselves known to me, I am aware that your industry is just as important as finance to the Swiss economy, because without you we wouldn’t have all that wonderful cheese and chocolate. Andreas, by the way, is a Goat.

Dawn was still dawning as we set off on the first of the outbound legs, it is a twice out and back course, a bit like Hunstanton except about 30° warmer. I know I claimed in my social media posts that my first Parkrun of January and February were both 32°, the only difference being an F for the former and a C for the latter, but I plead author’s license in my defence.

It was actually a modest 25 under cloudy skies and, I believe, relatively low humidity. As we wended our way, nearly in the shadow of the iconic Marina Bay Sands and the Singapore Flyer, equivalent to the Millennium Eye in London, or whatever it’s called now, it was most noticeable that the lungs were not rasping from cold air.

Given that my legs felt like lead before we even got going, Jane had flogged me mercilessly the day before, 32,000 steps in total, I was pleasantly surprised at how the stiffness abated and, getting into my short stride, began to enjoy it.

Andreas is an incredible runner, he swallows up marathons like most people take in air, is as lean as a racing snake and didn’t seem a bit out of breath. Jane wondered how old he was? I had no idea I forgot to ask to see his ID card. She, therefore, deduced that he is either 36, 48 or 60 in a couple of years. How does she know this? Because he was born in the year of the goat. She reckoned on the middle one. Please forgive her, it is just her little game.

On commencing the final leg, I felt the previous day’s steps catch up with me and had to stop for a little stroll. We got there in the end, and I have the first foreign flag on my profile.
If there is one criticism of the course, from a blind perspective, it is plagued by cyclists. As with nearly all Parkruns, there are some exceptions, the event is run along public rights of way, so we can’t complain. As you know, though, that’s never stopped me and, I must admit, it felt like we had been transported to Cambridge or Amsterdam for the morning. I think this could be easily rectified by the strategic positioning of machine-gun emplacements at either end! I’m surprised nobody else has thought of this.

Nonetheless, we had a great time and the coffee and pineapple tarts at the Kontiki coffee house were more than welcome. It was great to chat to locals and tourists alike about their own Parkrun experiences. It seems like some people collect flags like most of us collect the alphabet.

Thank you to everyone.

White Cane Ratings*
Car Park: n/a, we took a taxi, although there is a car park nearby
Welcome: very good; friendly - 🦯 🦯 🦯 🦯(4)
Atmosphere: very good - 🦯 🦯 🦯 🦯 (4)
Course: good; entirely on hard surface and mainly level, some pesky bikes - 🦯 🦯 🦯(3)
Marshalling: very good - 🦯 🦯 🦯 🦯(4)
*These ratings are how the event suits a blind person, and are my opinion only; they are not scientific. Whatever happens no-one must be put off by me. The best way to learn about something is try it for yourself.