May 12, 2022 – Singapore (Author: J)
Our last full day in Singapore followed a now familiar pattern: up early and ready for breakfast by 7:30, greeted warmly and overfed by the staff at Town, ready for adventure by 9. Our original plan for this morning was to visit Sentosa, but we decided against it after researching operating hours for the attractions. Many – including the aquarium, which D wanted to visit after watching the Singapore Airlines arrival video — were still operating on a limited schedule because of low pandemic crowds, I assume. While we certainly could have found something to do on Sentosa, we decided to instead stick closer to the Fullerton.
P voted for visiting a museum and, to my surprise, selected the National Museum of Singapore. The museum was a doable 15-minute walk from the Fullerton, so we decided – over P’s objection – to walk. We were no more than a few blocks from the hotel when P began complaining that he was thirsty. He hadn’t had anything to drink at breakfast; eating and drinking when meals are actually available has always been anathema to him. I opened my mouth to argue, but soon realized that I was wasting my breathe. Instead, I promised that we would look for one of the many drink vending machines that Singapore conveniently has along the sidewalk. (As it turned out, we had already passed the only ones along our route).
I had selected a walking route that took us through Fort Canning Park, a hilltop park full of historical sights and gardens. Unfortunately, if you are going to enjoy a hilltop park, you need to get to the top of a hill. That meant climbing an imposingly steep staircase. Despite P’s attempts to quit and turn around, we made it to the top of the stairs and set out through the park. Along the way, we stopped to swing on a bench swing, take photos of birds, and look at a display about archeological excavation at the park. (The hill on which the park sits was once the site of a 14th century palace; a portion dig sight has been retained – safely covered with a clear top – so that park visitors can view it).
There was a lot more to see at the park, but P was getting increasingly cranky about the lack of beverages, so we continued on to the museum. We arrived just as the museum was opening, purchased our tickets and headed to the café. Then we waited because – though the café said it opened at 10 – there were no humans in sight. Finally, we went back to the ticket counter to ask; we learned that the café would not be opening until 11. We tried to convince P to drink some tap water from the bathroom, but he rejected that suggestion, which was probably for the best.
Since we had quite a while before the café opened, we headed into the Singapore History Gallery. The displays in the gallery trace the history of Singapore from pre-colonial times to present day. The gallery had a nice selection of artifacts displayed in interesting ways. We were most surprised to see a bell baring the familiar words “Revere Boston.” Apparently, Paul Revere’s daughter was married to the first American consul to Singapore, so Revere sent Singapore a bell — as one does.
By 11, we had reached the displays on World War II. Rather than rush to cover the rest of the gallery before our snack break, we decided we would return to explore modern Singapore history after our snack. We powerwalked our way through 80 years of history and made a beeline for the café. It was mercifully open, so we grabbed a table and ordered. Even though we hadn’t yet had lunch, D and P settled on ice cream sandwiches and bottles of soda; I had a tea. Then we powerwalked from the 1200s back to the WWII era to resume our tour of the Singapore history gallery.
We spent a good chunk of time in the WWII gallery. I always enjoy when history is presented through the stories of individual people and this gallery included first-hand accounts from locals who lived through the Japanese occupation, along with interesting military and civilian artifacts. We then learned a bit about the birth of modern Singapore before we exited the history gallery. It was getting close to lunch time at this point, so we decided we would visit one final gallery.
We headed up the stairs and walked through the first door we saw, which took us into Story of the Forest. This is a multimedia display by teamLab, the same collective that created some of the exhibits at the ArtScience Museum. Inside a dome, animated plants bloom as local wildlife like tapirs putter around.
After visiting our forest friends, we hoofed it back to the Fullerton in the heat of the afternoon sun. The walk was grueling despite our beautiful surroundings. We had lunch at Breworkz at One Fullerton, which met our only criteria for a lunch spot: close to the hotel with open tables. We all had veggie burgers and D and I each had a beer. Then, we headed back to the Fullerton to rest, swim, and get P his final free ice cream of our stay. I also dealt with the unpleasant task of packing
For our final dinner in Singapore, we decided to go to Herbivore, a vegetarian Japanese restaurant that had excellent online reviews. Herbivore is in the Fortune Centre, a short walk from the Bugis metro stop. The neighborhood between Bugis and the Fortune Centre was packed with locals on their way home from work, giving it a nice energy.
We arrived at Herbivore at the start of the dinner rush and we were seated at one of the few open tables. We had a hard time selecting items from Herbivore’s extensive menu, but settled on a sushi roll, curry noodles, and a seitan katsu bento box. When the food began to arrive, it was clear we had ordered too much. The bento box alone, which included not only the katsu, but also soup, salad, fresh rolls, a number of side dishes, and a kanten dessert, easily fed two people. Despite our best efforts, we had lots of leftovers and had to reassure our server that we had enjoyed our meal.
We took a different route back to the metro, which took us past Bugis Junction. I really enjoyed walking in this neighborhood, which had lots of interesting restaurants, shops and even a cat café. It was a nice end to our trip (and reminded us that we would need to return to Singapore at some point to explore its many neighborhoods).
Travel Monkeys 