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| This one's for you, Mr President!!! |
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| At Orchard Road |
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| At Orchard Road |
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| At Orchard Road |
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| At Cathay Cinema |
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| Richard posing as an abandoned baby! |
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| Christmas lights at Cathedral of the Good Shepherd |
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| The man and his buddy |
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| Marina Bay Sands |
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| Gardens by the Bay |
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| Helppppp!!! |
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| The Singapore Eye |
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| 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!
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| Part 1 : The guys happily drowning their beers while waiting for Claudine and VT |
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| Part 2 : Claudine and VT finally arrived despite the heavy downpour |
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| 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!!!
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| 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.
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| Capitol Kempinski Hotel, beautifully restored from 2 colonial buildings ie Capitol building n Stamford house, recently opened its doors in October 2018 |
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| 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!
