The days of high heels are gone, at least when I’m walking all over the city. When I plan on walking somewhere, I have to think of comfortable shoes that can get completely soaked in the monsoons without getting destroyed. It has been raining hard almost every day now, so Kevin and I have to be prepared with good shoes and plenty of umbrellas. While Kevin is hard at work, I am galavanting around on foot with groups of strangers learning about the history and highlights of the city. This is part one of a series of walking tours that I started with The Original Singapore Walks, a tour company providing informative walking tours for tourists and other people wanting to learn the lay of the land. Let the journey begin....
We're walking...we're walking...and we're stopping.....at the Colonial District (The Time of Empire).
I rode the MRT and found my way to the meeting place where everyone gathers to start the tour. There were about 13 people in the group led by a local Singaporean woman who I met at a church Kevin and I visited. She invited me to join her Monday Colonial walk which she was so enthusiastic about. Some people I met were an Australian woman working here for six months, a Brazilian woman on holiday, and an airline pilot from the UK who was in between flights. We were all an interesting bunch.
The tour started at St. Andrews Cathedral. This stunning cathedral is over 150 years old and survived two lightening strikes in 1852 causing it to be shut down for repairs. In 1942, the cathedral was used as an emergency hospital before the fall of Singapore to the Japanese. The sanctuary was emptied to house the casualties that resulted from frequent air raids.
Next, we visited the Supreme Court and enjoyed a bird's eye view on the top floor over looking the Singapore River in the Central Business District, where Kevin works. This is the area where Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles originally landed and became the founder of modern Singapore in 1819, which then became a British settlement.
There are still strong British influences in Singapore, such as the steering wheel on the right side of the car and driving on the left side of the road. Some words and phrases also take a little getting used to:Pram - baby carriage/stroller
Trolley - shopping cart
Alight - exit from cab, train, etc.
Take away - to go (food)
Lift - elevator
Boot - car trunk
Mum - Mom
Petrol - gas
Queue - line of people
Shattered - exhausted
"Please mind the platform gap" - watch your step getting on and off the MRT
(This one is not to be taken lightly. I saw a little boy step into the train gap and got his foot stuck in it. His Mom quickly yanked his foot out before the doors closed. Scary!)
I watched the storm clouds quickly roll in and sock it to us good! It poured for about 20 minutes while we were walking outside. Of course. I was glad I had my umbrella. We visited two more churches, one of them was the Armenian Apostolic Church of St. Gregory the Illuminator. I would not enjoy being the church Secretary...."Thank you for calling the Armenian Apostolic Church of St. Gregory the Illuninator this is Karie how can I help you?" OK, seriously now. It was built in 1835 and is the oldest Christian place of worship in Singapore. There is a very small number of Armenians left in Singapore. I don't remember what our tour guide told us, but I think there are less than 30 Armenians living here. The church has been a national monument since 1973.
We finished our tour at the Raffles Hotel. The now famous Singapore Sling was created by a bartender working at the Long Bar in the Raffles Hotel around 1915. It was a cocktail intended for ladies who didn't consume a man's drink. The Raffles is a luxurious hotel with gardens, shops, indoor and outdoor dining and afternoon tea.
My feet are tired, so stay tuned for part two of the Original Singapore Walks....
