And so, after 170 days, our adventure has drawn to an end and it’s time to make the long journey back from Bangkok (where the average daytime temperature has been in the mid-thirties over recent days) to London (where it currently struggles to hit 10 degrees!).
On the outward journey, we over-nighted in Singapore. Homeward bound, we had an early morning flight to Singapore and then an almost 12-hour layover before joining a 23:15 overnight flight to London.
Months ago, when considering whether such a long layover made any sense at all, I discovered that Singapore airport really is geared up as an international transfer hub. Literally thousands of passengers have a similar layover each day, and so many services and facilities are provided specifically to make their time in Singapore more enjoyable. There is even a free bus tour available only to transfer passengers that you can take directly from the airport with all of your luggage taken care of while you’re away exploring the city.
The free tour had seemed to make sense when I looked into it back in September, but after spending 6 days here just a few weeks ago, we realised that anything we’d see on that tour was likely to be old news. So a new plan was going to be required.
Luckily, our layover at Singapore airport was so long that we had enough time to travel downtown independently and explore a couple of attractions we’d not visited earlier in the year. The fact that a Very Early Check-In desk is provided meant we were able to check in our bags 8 hours before our BA flight was due to depart, and then hop on the train with just our hand luggage to take care of.
Our first port of call was The Singapore City Gallery at the Urban Redevelopment Authority building downtown. When I was planning our Singapore itinerary last year, it would never have occurred to me to visit an attraction such as this, as I knew little about Singapore and wouldn’t have necessarily expected too much from a museum about it. But we absolutely loved our time here back in February, with equal parts awe and fascination at what is – undoubtedly – one of the worlds most spectacular cities.
So now a visit to the Singapore City Gallery really did seem interesting… and we weren’t disappointed.
Not surprisingly, the gallery provides a more-or-less chronological history of Singapore, but the emphasis is very much on the post-independence period after the Brits moved on / were kicked out, and the (mostly) Muslim indigenous population set about fixing the many ills of the city at the time. It was chaotic, it was dirty, and it was overcrowded… two decades later they had a hugely ambitious regeneration plan and were already beginning to deliver on it.
A significant part of the gallery explains the significance of the role played by the organisation now known as the Urban Redevelopment Authority (whose building the gallery is housed in), and the Master Plan which they are responsible for:
The Master Plan (MP) is the statutory land use plan which guides Singapore’s development in the medium term over the next 10 to 15 years. It is reviewed every five years and translates the broad long-term strategies of the Concept Plan into detailed plans to guide the development of land and property. The Master Plan shows the permissible land use and density for developments in Singapore.
We both found the whole thing really fascinating. It’s like Milton Keynes, but on a much greater scale over a much longer period of time, with a far more challenging starting point, much loftier ambitions and an infinitely more impressive result!
At the end of the gallery is the Central Area Model, a 1:400 scale model of downtown Singapore. Though this is one of the oldest exhibits in the gallery, it still looks very impressive. As each new building in the Singapore skyline is commissioned, its designers are required (or at least strongly encouraged) to provide a scale model for inclusion here.
After leaving the gallery, we headed over to Raffles, Singapore’s most iconic hotel, and the birthplace of the Singapore Sling cocktail. Unfortunately, during our visit the famous Long Bar was closed for renovation, but cocktails were instead being served in the Bar and Billiard Room.
Here, peanuts are served, and it is traditional to throw the shells onto the floor. Not quite the spit and sawdust of a traditional British boozer… but some sort of equivalent, anyway.
Nor surprisingly, the cocktail menu features many variations on the Singapore Sling. I chose what was described as the original recipe, while Kit opted for a more modern take on this. Both were excellent, although for me, the original recipe is still the best.
The hour we spent at Raffles was the perfect way to wrap up our time in Singapore, and indeed our 3 months of travel. The next time we’re in town, we look forward to staying here are Raffles and spending an hour (or three) in the renovated Long Bar.
