2006 - Singapore - Day 2

Saturday. I had good sleep. Near my hotel, there were many churches, four in our street, all Christian, two of them Catholic. I went for a morning mass. In the church some 40 people. After the mass, I returned to hotel to have breakfast. Choice of food - hard boiled eggs, rice with vegetables, cooked beans, something between a pancake and bread, some white jelly. I ate a bit of everything and walked to the city.

First stop - Raffles Hotel. There is a small museum where I could read how Mr Gavin shot a tiger which hid under the billiard table. There were also comments of famous guests who stayed in the hotel - Rudyard Kipling, Somerset Maugham. Joseph Conrad said: Raffles is airy like a birdcage. Typical Conrad - always a bit ambiguous.

Then a boat ride on the river. Rain forced us few times to hide in the cabin. When there was no rain we could see Singapore landmark - Merlion, and also many bridges and interesting buildings.

Rain stopped just in time for a visit to Little India. Well, that's how I imagined India. Later I walked through old China - it was more interesting for me.

I extended my room till 7 pm to have a place to rest before my departure. After all these walks I decided to have some rest. I woke up in total darkness. Panic! Panic! I missed my plane!

False alarm. I forgot that there were no windows in my room. Still lots of time for evening meal and friendly talk with hotel manager. Then to the airport, Austrian Airlines took off to Vienna.

2006 - Singapore - Day 1

I stayed in Hotel Oxford. Good location, nice service, some surprize was that my room had no windows. I got up early and went for a morning walk. I feel good! It was warm and humid. Body covered with a thin layer of sweat. I felt well oiled, breathing was so easy, It felt like my lungs gained some capacity.

The ground was elastic, green, green, green around me.

Started from Orchard Road. Thousands of shops as promised. Well, I did not need anything but according to the advice, I had some tiffin here and there.

I tried underground. Clean, safe, well organised. This what you expect here.

Lunch time I spent on Sentosa Island. Nice tropical surrounding.

In the evening, I visited the Arts Centre...

... there was a concert - The Spirit of the Romantics.

- You are embarrassing us, Sir - it was a waiter in cafeteria. I had my business suit on. He was probably right, there were only 7 people in suits in the concert hall. I felt in right place.

In the program: Slavonic Dances by Dvorak, Tchaikovsky's 4th Symphony - how proper, the music of Poland's neighbour countries. And Saint Saens' piano concerto in the middle. The soloist was Ms Di Wu. What a physical performance! She played with the whole body. Triple S - Saint Saens Sensualised!

Enough for the first day. On my return to the hotel, I felt the heat. The sun has gone, it looked dark and cool, but concrete buildings radiated with heat accumulated during the day. Bad, senseless heat.

2006 - departure

Mid August 2006. Plane's name was Mozart. This is what Austrians sell best.

Next to me sits a young lady, very talkative. No wonder, she is an editor in a company publishing school textbooks.

She studied creative writing, so the conversations moves to literature. She knows Australian writers:

- Peter Carey. Oooo, I have to read some of his books!

- Tim Winton! I started reading his Dirt music...

What about Joseph Conrad?

- I read The heart of Darkness.. I mean, I almost finished.

Her knowledge of Singapore is better.

It is a great place for shopping. And for eating. Have a walk in Orchard Road, see the shops and have a bite of something here and there. Oh, and do not miss Little India!

Interesting. In many cities, Chinatown is the attraction. But in Singapore it is Little India. So what is an attraction in New Delhi?