Woke up to my last day in Singapore on the first day of the year.
I didn't really have much of a plan and made a slow start, packing up all of my things for almost the last time. I checked my bags, checked out and went into Chinatown.
I wandered up the Ann Siang Hill and over to the Thian Hock Keng Temple. This is an old temple built in the Chinese southern style - which means no nails. it was really beautiful but the Budda Relic Temple is still my favorite.
I'd gone by the Sri Mariamman Temple yesterday, but wasn't up for going in, so I went back today. You have to take your shoes off and yesterday the racks were full. Today, the racks were full and shoes were lined up around the block! I still didn't go in.
Instead, I went to the oldest coffee shop in Chinatown and had iced coffee and kaya toast - their specialities. The coffee was incredibly thick and sweet, which is usually not my thing, but I liked it. The toast is hard to explain. It said soft on the inside, crispy on the outside and it was - it was ladden with butter and some sort of fruit butter, but I couldn't tell you what fruit. It was fantastic.
After my late breakfast, I went to find the metro to head to the Peranakan museum. I'd used taxi's the day before because I was in a dress and heels, but today I slummed it. As you can imagine, their metro is pristine.
Peranakan's are people that are descended from an ethnic Chinese father and a Malay, Indonesian or Indian mother. Those Chinese got around!
The culture is all about combining the two and the musuem was fairly amazing. The whole first floor was interviews with Peranakan's who were asked what it means to be Peranakan - although all their answers were slightly different; it was about good food, family and tradition - whatever that tradition might be.
I ate in the cafe associated with the museum and had Laksa, which turned out to be Peranakan ramen. The gal was surprised when I order it. The noodles were perfect and the broth was not clear - different from last night. I'd guess is had coconut milk in it and lots of chili - it was awesome.
After the musuem, I metroed over to the Singapore Flyer - its the tallest Ferris wheel in the world at 165 meters. I got right on, and it is the very best way to see the city and how it is also connected to the water.
As I was headed back from the flyer, I saw this lady with a black bag with a familiar squiggle on it, and I thought OMG! there is a Sephora here. So I got out my blackberry and googled it and sure enough it's the second largest Sephora - like anywhere - so I hailed a cab. After a long wander through Sephora with several try ons and subsequent clean ups, I had what I needed, which turned out to be a fairly small pile for me and really only the things you can't get in the UK.
I took the metro back to Chinatown because I had a few important things left to do. After pushing shoving my way through the subway, I arrived in Chinatown, and it was packed. So, I picked a plastic seat and order my chili crab - a Singapore delicacy and a must have.
I'd had chili crab with Gill when we were in New York at a place called the Fatty Crab. This was just as good, but not better - the sauce was thicker. I'd brought a stockpile of napkins, and it turned out I needed each one.
After that, I wandered down a couple of booths and ordered crispy honey fried baby squid - I couldn't finish it, but it was awfully good.
By this time, I needed to collect my luggage and roll myself to the airport, and this time, my transportation really was just a ride to the airport.
