Singapore Walks - Clarke Quay

Welcome back to part two of The Original Singapore Walks. This time I will show you around the eccentric Clarke Quay Singapore River area. Kevin joined me on this walk which took place on a Saturday evening.

There were only about five people in this tour group, and Kevin was the only guy. One woman was from Chicago, one from Australia and another from Italy. There are many restaurants along both sides of the river, which is called the pedestrian mall. The tour guide said that some of the best chili crab can be found in one of the restaurants here. We took note of that for later. There are seafood restaurants, ethnic restaurants, brew pubs, and lots of night clubs.

The Singapore River used to be very polluted when it was used primarily as a trade route filled with boats transporting goods to warehouses. Some people used to live in tiny spaces under the bridges making their living fishing. One old man in particular was called the Guardian of the River, who lived under one of the bridges for many years. City planners had a vision to change the Clarke Quay river area for good. They cleaned up the river and relocated some tenants to a different area of the city. Historical buildings were restored and moored Chinese junks (tongkang boats) were refurbished into floating restaurants and nightclubs. Now, river taxis such as bumboats, float up and down the river providing relaxing and interesting tours of the Clarke Quay area. Kevin and I have not done this yet, and were told that the best time to ride one is at night.


The building in the background of the picture below is so unusual and unique to Singapore. This is the Marina Bay Sands Hotel. This building complex has a hotel, large shopping mall, skating rink, casino, art/science museum, convention center, grand theatre, and a skypark on the very top of the building which looks like a ship. When I first saw this building I thought it looked like there was a great flood in Singapore and a ship beached itself on the top of three buildings, and then the waters receded to expose the spectacle. That's definitely not the case. This building was designed by a great visionary.


We walked by some intriguing restaurants that Kevin and I will be returning for dinner sometime. Two restaurants in particular that caught our eyes was a Chinese restaurant called Indochine, and a Moroccan lounge called Marrakesh. As a group, we stopped in Marrakesh and had drinks while listening to our tour guide talk about the history and current happenings of the area. I had a Moroccan mint tea on ice that was so refreshing. They normally serve it hot, but I wanted it cold. It's not traditional ordering tea on ice, but I loved it. Kevin had a green drink that I don't remember the name of. It was sweet and very green!
































We stopped into a pewter museum and gallery called Royal Selangor that specializes in handcrafted pewter and tin. Pewter was originally used as currency. People would trade pewter figurines, such as animals in exchange for goods. Later, the figurines were replaced with pewter coins. Pewter was made into coin "trees", and someone would snap off a coin to be used as currency. When all the coins were used up and just the outline of the tree remained, it would be melted down to make more coins. We watched pewtersmithing demonstrations that showed pewter being poured into coin tree shaped molds, and cups being hammered into textured patterns.

At the conclusion of our tour, we took our little souvenir coins that were given to everyone in the group, and headed to one of the restaurants to sample some yummy food that enticed us earlier. I might head back to Royal Selangor sometime soon to try my hand in making my own pewter bowl at the School of Hard Knocks. I can take home a hand made piece of history, plus it would be fun to make a little noise. :-)

Learn Something New Every Day

The most exciting thing that would happen while walking Gracie back home in Greenville would be passing a new construction dumpster to dispose of Gracie's doodie. I never know what I am going to come across while walking Gracie here. I have walked past a prehistoric snail on the side of the road that could carry Gracie away, and watched a bat fly back and forth over my head between trees hunting for insects in a frenzy.

The other day was a little different. I left our apartment building and didn't get very far, and noticed a construction site that caught my attention. There are common wall houses (like duplexes) throughout our neighborhood. Frequently, the owner on one half will do remodeling projects. The nice thing about construction here, is that they put up tarp walls to contain the dust and debris so it does not drift into the neighbor's side or onto the road. While I was taking the picture, I noticed a man on a scooter drive onto the sidewalk toward me. He called out to me and asked if I was Karie. I said yes and thought, "Oh great, what did I do?" He said he had a package for me from Asian Tigers, the company who moved our belongings into our apartment. I was trying to figure out how he found me down the street walking Gracie, who he wanted nothing to do with.

As I was signing for the package, Gracie was trying to approach him in her normal friendly manner. He kept putting his hand out to keep Gracie from coming near him. I pulled her back toward me and he was off and away on his scooter. That is how mail is delivered; someone driving a motor scooter with a blue metal Singpost box on the back.

When I got back to our apartment and walked past the guard, he said that he spotted me down the street and pointed me out to the mail courier. That explains the mysterious identity game. I asked our guard about why some Asian people are very cautious and put their hands out to stop Gracie from coming near them. I thought that maybe they are scared of dogs. He said that these people are Malay, usually from Indonesia and Malaysia who are Muslim. They believe dogs are unclean and do not come near or touch them. If they touch a dog who is wet or has a wet nose, they need to wash their hands many times or even take a shower immediately after contact. Dogs are only used for hunting or guarding property, not pets.

I think Gracie can be unclean too, especially coming back from a walk with dirty paws and a dirty face after sniffing everything she comes in contact with on the ground. But, after cleaning off all the dirt and grime, I still let her touch me and sleep on our bed and sofa. Kevin and I are just dog-loving softies.


















 


After learning this, I am cautious now when I'm out with Gracie. I keep her away from people looking apprehensive and scowling at her. But she always tries to convince passing people how cute she is. Fortunately most people like her and want to pet her. That's a good thing, or Gracie will start getting a complex.

Singapore Walks - Colonial District

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....