Oct 25-Nov 5
Hi All,
We pick up the Singapore story on Day 3:
The next day we did the Zoo. We picked this day as we thought it would have the best weather and we got it right….yippee!! November is a transitional month for SG weather…..from more rainy to less rainy but November can be one of the wettest months and we can attest to that…..it has rained almost everyday since we have been in the area, almost 2 weeks now……with almost everyday having some big lightning and thunderstorm!! But for that day, we had a nice 8 hour break…..even had sunshine at times which of course meant it was blazing hot. The Zoo is highly renowned…..we likened it to the San Diego Zoo……award winning and displays the animals in natural, open exhibits with hidden barriers, moats, or glass between the animals and visitors. We wanted to go mainly to see many of the animals that we had missed in the wild!! We spent almost 5 hours and walked almost 6 miles…yikes!!!! If we must have zoos, this was a very good one.
So what do you do after a long and hot day at the Zoo……you go to Raffle Hotel for a Singapore Sling:)))) The Long Bar: “Home of the Singapore Sling, this two-storey bar located on the second floor of Raffles Singapore Hotel is the place where travellers undergo one of the truest rites of passage of travel. While there, sip on the world-famous pink cocktail, created in 1915 by bar captain Ngiam Tong Boon, and toss peanut shells onto the floor – the only place in Singapore where “littering” is permitted.”
We understand the bartender created the drink for women as it was becoming more popular for women to drink in public back in 1915. The recipe:
30ml Gin.
15 ml Cherry Brandy.
120 ml Pineapple Juice.
15 ml Lime Juice.
7.5 ml Cointreau.
7.5 ml Dom Benedictine.
10 ml Grenadine.
A Dash of Angostura Bitters.
Shake with ice.
Strain into an ice filled collins glass.
Garnish with cherry and slice of pineapple.
It was really a delightful drink…..but very sweet….and yes, throwing the peanut shells on the floor just seemed natural. And, it was pricey….USD26/drink……but it was a large glass:)))))
That night we ate at the Palm Beach Seafood restaurant…….about 2 blocks from our hotel. We had 2 of the more famous SG dishes……chili crabs and cereal crusted prawns……OMG…….both were a 10 on the CO scale. “Chilli crab is a Singaporean seafood dish popular in Singapore and Malaysia. Mud crabs are commonly used and are stir-fried in a semi-thick, sweet and savoury tomato and chilli based sauce. Despite its name, chilli crab is not a very spicy dish. It is listed at number 35 on the World’s 50 most delicious foods compiled by CNN Go in 2011. In 1956, Cher Yam Tian and her husband Lim Choo Ngee began selling stir-fried crabs mixed with bottled chilli and tomato sauce from a pushcart. This was an improvised recipe; the original one did not involve bottled chilli sauce. A successful business selling this dish prompted the establishment of a non-mobile restaurant situated in Palm Beach.”
The sauce was outrageous…..they gave you fried bread rolls which you could dip in the sauce…..we were in heaven!!! We could have had the thick sauce in a bowl as a thick soup….almost like a gumbo!!!!
The cereal prawns are made with a Netsum cereal which is a mild cereal, crispy flakes, and a little sweet. The prawns (heads on) are mixed with this cereal, curry leaves, and a mild chili and then wok fried…..it was certainly a challenge to eat with chop sticks:))))
The next day found us doing two museums…..the National Museum of Signgapore and the Peranakan Museum. The National Museum is the oldest museum and focuses on Singapore history, some pre Raffle but most post Raffle and especially from WW II on. I am personally impressed how Singapore became such a prosperous nation in just the last 50 years. In my manufacturing days I had the philosophy that the business needed to be a win-win……good for the people and good for the business. It seems Singapore has found that balance. They give a lot of incentives to business while also providing housing, education and healthcare to all the citizens. There have been no strikes and the unions and government work closely to keep it all in balance. The government has an 85% approval rating…..and as I mentioned before the people seemed genuinely happy and proud….albeit they did openly discuss how expensive it was to live there and how hard they had to work to make ends meet.
The Peranakan Museum focus on the blending of the cultures……Chinese, Malaysian and Indian. An ethnic person from China or India marries a local Malay and thus the blending of the cultures!! The museum captured the home life of a Peranakan family mainly through the perspective of a woman…….describing wedding ceremonies, embroidery, kitchen settings, furniture, funerals, and clothing.
That night we ate at the Lei Garden in the Chimes district……another Chinese restaurant……we were very lost in the 20 page menu but ended up having a delightful dinner of various dishes…..more duck, pork, greens and a wonderful fried rice……while not up to the CO dishes we had the previous 3 nights it still was a wonderful experience dining amongst primarily Singaporeans!!
Our last morning found us back in Chinatown just wondering the streets and browsing through all the shops!!! We could have easily gone back to Kampong Glam but we ran out of time!!
So that is our Singapore experience and our mini-vacation!!!!
Boat Stuff:
Fresh Water Pump: Yep, our Headhunter Xcaliber fresh water pump is fried. This happened about a month ago and we have been using our spare. The electronics are toast….but, Headhunter still gives a 50% discount on a trade in for a new pump!! So now we have about 5 pumps to bring back from USA….joy:))))
Boat cleaning: Wow….got a great detailing job done on Mystic here at Puteri marina…..one of the best wax jobs we have had in a while…..very meticulous…..and only cost about 1/3 of what it costs in the USA!!!!
We will be leaving Tuesday, Nov 8 to start our 3 week trip up the West coast of Malaysia to Phuket Thailand. We will stay for the technical briefing for the Sail Malaysia Rally on Nov 7 but then leave the day after for Port Dickson, about 140nm. We will be going up the Malacca Straits…….one of the busiest waterways in the world….oh joy. The advice is to not travel at night as too much traffic and fisherman. So we will make it a 2 day trip…..one about 80nm and one about 60nm. Unfortunately we will miss most of the Rally thereafter. Once again we had made our plans to fly out of Phuket and then the Rally changed some of their dates…..ugh!!! But, we still hope to enjoy about 4 different locations and will try to organize some local tours.
Hope all is well!!
John
Mystic Moon
PS: Lots of pictures on the website: http://mysticmoonvoyages.com/photo-gallery/
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