A small packet of paper tissues sat at an empty seat on a table of four in a busy Hawker Centre in downtown Singapore.
This multi-kiosk eating emporium was at the heart of the bustling business district with suited and booted jostling with tourists in shorts and casual gear. The hankies sat there for a considerable time, and nobody slipped into the seat.
Eventually, the owner of the tissues arrived, carrying a tray with several well-stacked bowls of mouth-watering food.
We were informed by reader Peter Dunlop that the process of “reserving” a seat/table is called, in Singlish, to CHOP and the practice called Chope is, apparently, subject to debate in Singapore.
However, his Hawker Centre was in an area where international banks predominate, but can you imagine trying to leave a packet of tissues at an empty seat in a busy restaurant in the UK while you collect your food?
Singapore has rules and people stick to them. No eating or drinking, for example, on the underground or on buses.
We popped into the Hawker Centre on our way to the CapitaSpring Sky Garden in the Raffles Place area, note the name, more later. The rooftop garden provides 360-degree views of the city from the 51st floor.
It is free to visit weekdays and, if you do, do not miss the garden area between the 17th and 20th floors. There are areas for meetings, yoga, exercise and even an auditorium. It is a stunning addition and the attraction offers vantage points for photography.
Despite the skyscrapers, the city boasts impressive open spaces at Gardens by the Bay – it has its own underground station – punctuated by glass bio-domes, high-tech “supertrees” and contemporary sculptures across 101 hectares of reclaimed land.
It cost 1billion Singapore dollars to create and the area is free to roam. You pay to enter the Flower Dome which, incidentally, holds the Guinness World Record for the largest glass greenhouse equivalent to seven Olympic-sized swimming pools.
Cloud Forest, which is adjacent, houses one of the world’s tallest indoor waterfalls and a mountain clad with plants from around the planet. Impressive.
If you bring the kids dont miss the Children’s Garden featuring a water-play area (changing areas and shower facilities), tree house and an adventure playground. Allow plenty of time for your visit and be aware that otters or lizards may appear in front of you or at your feet. Don’t go near.
You can enter at one MRT (underground) station and exit from another. By the way, don’t get spooked when the MRT (air conditioned by the way) arrives. There is no driver. It works.
Our exit was via the Bayfront station in the shadow of the much photographed Marina Bay Sands Hotel (pictured), that’s the one with the Skypark and its infinity pool on top of three 55-storey blocks.
Cost to build? A cool 5.6 billion American dollars and the complex includes a casino, theatre, exhibition hall, shopping mall, and museum, plus a glitzy shopping centre which Mrs D considered was the best she had ever seen, anywhere, and she knows how to shop.
It is packed with top brands and boasts a moat with boat rides. One restaurant has a fully-automated waiter used by staff to clean up dirty dishes. Spooky.
Sentosa is much visited and it is home to Universal Studios, Singapore. While the theme park is small, it does offer an array of rides and interactive shows plus restaurants and shops.
Adjacent is one of the world’s largest acquariums and this is jaw-dropping in its concept and delivery. More than 100,000 marine animals are housed here and a feature is a 36m-wide and 8.3m-high glass viewing panel.
It is absolutely stunning and ideal for adults and children, but you have to fight your way through selfie-pole enthusiasts and mobile phone wielding fellow guess to view some of the smaller exhibits.
Both attractions are reached via a short monorail ride. Stay on and you reach a beach area with beautiful sand and warm seas. The monorail departs from the Harbour Front Mall, incidentally. If you want to shop until you drop, and have the funds to do so, then this could be one of the places for you.
You can, of course, get out of town to a boomerang-shaped small island called Paulu Ubin, a bumboat (correct term) ride from Changi Point Ferry Terminal, near Changi Village, adjacent to the airport. Health and safety is questionable getting on and off the boat at the harbour but the ten-minute journey costs 4$ per person each way.
There are more bike-hire shops than restaurants here and there are a handful, no more, of shops selling snacks, a temple, and campsite plus an interesting herb garden. Hiring a bike is the best way to see the island, around 20 minutes from the port to one end and BBQs are popular.
Tourists are popular with insects so take a repellent. I did but still got bitten on 12 occasions in a two-hour stay. Ouch.
Back on shore, many tourists look to internationally-famous Orchard Road for their retail therapy. The shopping mecca is packed with exclusive brand names.
Milestones in the development of the street started in 1958 when the first department store opened. Apparently, C K Tang based their building on the Imperial Palace in Beijing and the Singapore store was rebuilt in 1982. The distinctive green-tiled roof and red collonades remain.
Don’t mss the ION Orchard Mall. This is for high-end fashionistas but don’t forget to treat yourself to a street-vendor ice cream wafer, motor bike with dispensing sidecar.
You can plump for the normal wafer to house your cooling ice cream housed but you can opt for the filling to be between green and pink coloured sliced bread. Yes, bread. There was a queue of more than 20, standing in baking heat, to get one. I opted for the conventional kind.
Venturing into the suburbs in search of something different is worthwhile. We did and ended up finding distinctive shophouses, two-storey buildings featuring a blend of Chinese, Malay and European architecture.
Key locations include Katong, an affluent area, and head for Joo Chiat Road. A Sri Lankan temple is in nearby Celon Street.
Traveling around is easy. Use the six MRT lines which cross-cross the island, or the equally affordable bus service.
Taxis are around and you can bike share or walk, but always carry a small umbrella. When the heavens open water pours down. Luckily, we were near a café when a sudden heavy shower kicked-off. We watched the rain refreshed by a pint on Tooheys, an Aussie beer, not to the taste of everyone, but suited to the warm climate.
On a rainy day try the museum which has a 19th-century exterior but the National Museum of Singapore uses cutting-edge multimedia to journey through Singapore’s colourful past.
If particular interest was the clean-up of the Singapore River to what it is today, a bustling area packed with restaurants and bars and surrounded by offices and shops.
Cambridge-educated Lee Khan Yew, the country’s first Prime Minister, is lauded here as being instrumental in the development of Singapore’s economy and public housing system as well as promoting the regeneration of the river.
Interactive features, popular with youngsters, include a rowing simulator and snapshots of life here during the last 100 years are graphically illustrated in another.
You could, of course, walk to Raffles Hotel. World famous and pristine. Many make the trip but beware there can be a queue for the Long Bar where a Singapore sling will set you back. Roughly 40 dollars Singapore (58 pence a Singapore dollar) plus service charge. There is a line for a tip.
A cheaper – much cheaper – option is to head for either Little India, Chinatown or the Asian quarter. The Asian was our favourite.
The distinctive smell of Chinese cooking and the excited chatter of locals excited us as we walked out of Maxwell underground station.
But, before making or way to the Hawker foodstalls, our eye was assailed by brightly-coloured hanging baskets on the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple.
Built in 2007, this imposing, Tang-style Chinese temple is home to what is reputedly the left canine tooth of the Buddah. It was apparently discovered in a collapsed Buddhist replica structure in Myanmar.
The relic has pride of place inside a 320kg, solid-gold stupa in an ornate room and the reverence shown is all-consuming. Do not pass this by. It is stunning and respectful attire is required. An added bonus is that the temple visit is fee.
Back outside and the streets were packed. Meander your way past varied array of shops selling everything from ornaments to ladies underwear and up a short flight of steps – there is disabled access – and into a dimly lit area.
Tables are filled with early locals tucking into a vast selection of food, piping hot bowls of broth, chicken rice and golden parcels of crusty curry puff, a speciality.
Do not misled by the surroundings, more transport cafe than five-star, but the Hawker culture here is central to the culinary DNA of the area.
Older owners are departing Hawker centes, but new proprietors are taking over and producing a new twist to traditional meals. What’s more the prices are very reasonable. An experience and Michelin stars have been awarded to some outlets.
Don’t miss the open air BBQ area in Satay Street, the largest open air satay street in Singapore. It is a must-see. At 5pm on a Saturday there was nobody there. At 7pm you could not get a seat, locals and tourists off all ages, and the BBQ prawn and beef was superb. Beer is 11$ (Singapore) a pint.
Singapore is an experience. This is a vibrant, 21st-century location with a population of 6 million and is worth using as a stopover to Australia and a gateway to other parts of Asia as it borders Malaysia and Indonesia, but be prepared for the heat and high humidity. It can get to you.
Oh, before I forget. Once I arrived in Singapore I sent an email to the tourism authority saying I was a travel writer and requesting information. The reply? An A1 message saying they could not compute that.
Then I asked for a contact number to phone. Once again A1 could not compute. Technology is great, if it works. It didn’t in this case.
STUNNING SKYLINE: The business district in downtown Singapore. Picture Nigel Duncan
HIGH RISE: The garden area 20 flghts up in the business district. Picture Nigel Duncan
LUNCHTIME: One of the busy Hawker centres downtown. Note the hankie on the empty table. Picture Nigel Duncan
