Singapore Christmas Lights (7 December 2018) : Get Me to the Church on Time!!!

This one's for you, Mr President!!!

At Orchard Road

At Orchard Road

At Orchard Road

At Cathay Cinema

Richard posing as an abandoned baby! 

Christmas lights at Cathedral of the Good Shepherd 

The man and his buddy

Marina Bay Sands

Gardens by the Bay

Helppppp!!! 

The Singapore Eye

Marina Barrage

After our recent We Love Bali BWT trip, some of us had a second opportunity to meet up again. This time the venue is in Singapore and what better ways to see the Christmas lights at Orchard Road than to ride our Bromptons!

Part 1 : The guys happily drowning their beers while waiting for Claudine and VT

Part 2 : Claudine and VT finally arrived despite the heavy downpour

Part 3 : Tommy waiting to be picked up

Agreeing to a night ride, we all donned our post event t-shirts and congregated at Maplewoods condominium despite the sporadic heavy rain all along the AYE and BKE. Thankfully, the rain teetered to a light drizzle not long after VT and Claudine arrived, allowing us to roll out as planned.

Despite the covered shelter all along the PCN which ran parallel to Bukit Timah Road; Tony, Yen and Richard 2 were drenched NOT from rain BUT from perspiration. The trio had started as early as 5.30 pm, combusted over bowls of soup kambing before attempting to put the fire down with a few bottles of Erdinger at Richard’s.

As safe as the PCN can be, it was not an easy ride! It felt almost like riding on trails. There’s the poles to dodge, junctions to slow down and hopping from one section of the pavement to the next requires some technical skills.

Watch out!!!  Avoid the young man on e-scooter!!!

Hey!!! Smokers had spilled off the bus stop to loiter on the PCN!!!

Snails….Snails and more snails!!!

Trash cans!!!

Parked cars!!!

Fallen Mo-Bikes??? Best citizenship award should be conferred to Yen and Richard 2 for moving one of them away from the side walk!

Surviving the 6 km stretch of PCN, we arrived safely at Raffles Town Club only to see the lion’s eye staring back at us. Tommy, who had also donned the post event jersey with the Barong Mask design was waiting for us right at the entrance! Not as fearful as the Barong may look, the lion like creature in Balinese mythology is revered as the king of spirits and leader of the good.

Whisking Tommy under our wings, we headed for Orchard Road. Traffic was heavy initially...

Whenever possible, we tried using the sidewalks. Closer to the city, the sidewalks were not as plush with no overhead shelters. Sometimes, they were narrow whilst other times, they made way for constructions.

Passing the Botanical Gardens, temperatures dropped tremendously. Traffic was not as heavy in this area. However, vehicles began to build up again as we close in on the shopping districts.

At one point, we were shortly separated when the lights turned red. Attempting to break the law, Tony had the nose of the cars screaming after him!!! Well, as Richard puts it, there are no brakes on an aeroplane!

It was easy to tell when we finally arrived at Orchard Road.

Retails after retails.

Bright lights.

Throngs of people.

Looks like Disney is sponsoring this year’s Christmas decorations as we saw massacred rats hung all across the road!!! Pied Piper will never get a job on this Island!!!

Dog poop

Leaving the tsunami of people, we took a short breather at Singapore’s old Cathay Cinema from 1939. As it is appropriately The Year of the Dog, we couldn’t help but take a group photo with the mascot, the poop included for good luck!

Just around the corner, is Rochor Original Beancurd shop. Dishing out this local dessert since 1960, it draws a sizeable crowd when we were there. Strangely, tables and chairs are allowed along the five foot ways despite the Island’s clean image.

Smacking our lips after a good chug on the tasty soya milk, courtesy of Richard, we moved on to CHJIMES. Once a convent and a school, it had gone through many phases in history since its inception in 1854. Curious over their bars and restaurants inside, we were metaphorically smacked on our bottom and booted out by the stuffy security guard. As we were all in a good mood, we left without picking a fight.

Travelling on Bras Basah Road, one would have wondered how many wet bras had lined the clothes line to earn its name today. Unfortunately, the name was not derived from such Guinness World Record attempts! Translated from the malay words of Beras Basah or wet rice, it was said that rice brought in by boats and left to dry on the river banks often gets wet during high tides. Today, the river is mostly covered up!

Nearby is The Cathedral of the Good Shepperd. Drawn by the illuminated angels decorating the garden, we went in for a closer look and were entertained by a church choir belting out Christmas carols!

Spiritually charged, it was time to reboot ourselves with Tsui Wah’s wantan mee noodles and Hong Kong milk tea. Heading for their outlet at  Clark Quay, we detoured to call on the President but he was not home! Disappointed that Tony had not reminded him on our visit, we had to leave the Istana and dined without him.

Capitol Kempinski Hotel, beautifully restored from 2 colonial buildings ie Capitol building n Stamford house, recently opened its doors in October 2018

Central Fire Station on Hill street. This more than 100 years old building also houses a museum

After the much coveted noodles, Richard 2 escaped to join the throngs of party goers on the Night Owl bus, heading for home. It was a wise move as our ride to Marina Bay Sands, Gardens by the Bay and Marina Barrage extended to the wee hours of the night. Dropping Tommy off at 3 am, the rest of us returned to Maplewoods before calling it a night.

Strangely though, VT and Claudine never made it home until the rooster crows. After dropping Tony off, they joined the "great holiday escape" queue at the CIQ, arriving home too late to turn off their alarm clock which rings at 6 am, every morning without fail !!!

EPILOGUE : Tommy managed to get to church on time. Thank goodness it wasn’t his own wedding for the “hang over’ was clearly written all over his face!