Soulla in Singapore

Soulla does Asia

Like so many people my age, I have friends scattered around the world. One of my closest friends, is in Singapore for a few months so I and one of our friends who has recently moved back home decided to jump at the opportunity to visit. And so begun my first trip to Asia.

Sentosa

As soon as we arived, my friend got us to put our sundresses on and whisked us off to Sentosa. Sentosa which translates to peace and tranquility in Malay was once known as Pulau Blakang Mati (which in Malay means the "Island Death from Behind". The change in name reflects the change in the island's character quite accurately. Whereas it used to be a military base it is now a green haven packed with luxury hotels and beautiful beach bars. Alcohol and coconut water at one of Sentosa's beach bars was the perfect welcome to Singapore!


Fried Carrot Cake

On our first night we had dinner on the Singapore River. Right opposite us was the  57 floor Marina Bay Sands hotel which is made up of three really tall buildings on the top of which there is a top floor sitting on all three buildings which is shaped like a ship. We sat outside on the river bank enjoying the beautiful views of the tall lit buildings and had chinese food including one of our favourite dishes of the trip called Fried Carrot Cake with oysters. The Carrot cake had nothing to do with carrot cake as we know it and I am not even sure that it had any carrot in it either. From recent researh in wikipedia I have found out that it is made of rice flour and radish. Mixed with oysters and fried in egg. It may sound weird but it was really tasty!

After a huge meal we walked along the river where my friends (who are much more adventurous than I am foodwise and maybe lifewise as well but that's a different subject) insisted we try ice-cream in sliced bread which is a Singapore delicacy! And so we did. Sweetcorn flavoured ice cream no less!! The embankment was great to walk along and reminded me a bit of the London embankment other than the fact that the weather was warm which made our walk much more pleasant. We encountered the Singapore Lion and the Cavanagh bridge and I was impressed by the amounts of people walking aimlessly around at midnight on a Sunday. People just sitting around and drinking coffee reminded me that we were not in London after all. I was already relaxed!

Little India

Three of the most picteresque areas in Singapore are Little India,  Arab Street and China Town each reflecting a segment of Singapore's population. Little India stole my heart, with its Hindu temple and its many little shops selling everything from coconuts to bracelets to kids watches.  We snuck around as if on a treasure hunt each of us trying to find the most exciting buy! I think my friend the shopaholic won the competition by buying flower garlands outside the temple which were meant to be used as offerings by the worshippers but which she will be hanging in her house as lucky charms!

The malls, the bars and the restaurants

According to my friend who lives there, Singaporeans love to eat, drink and shop. In Singapore you can do each of these in style. The malls are enormous and uber modern! The bars are on rooftops with amazing views and beautiful people sipping their cocktails having not one worry in the world and the restaurants make really tasty food! My friend who was having us over made sure we got a range of experiences, she took us to dinner at a hawker which is like a canteen where the food is cheap but very tasty and at the rooftop of the Marina Bay Sands hotel where its not that cheap but still very tasty! Singapore is not very big but I do feel that you get so many options, you get the city vibe and the beach bar, the very modern malls on orchard street but also the traditional Little India and the narrow streets around Arab street. The modern rooftop bars but also the very traditional bar at the Raffles hotel where you can feel like colonialism never ended by munching on whole shelled peanuts. 

For me the highlight of the trip was probably spending time with my girl friends who I do not get to see as much now we have *grown up*.  Then again having them scattered around does help in exploring the world. We only stayed for 4 days but I felt that I was 10 years younger by the time we were boarding our plane. We were off to Dubai where the next friend was waiting..but I will save that for my next post!