Singapore

Singapore is... well, Singapore really, and we're really happy to be here. Don't be fooled by all the Singaporeans and travel magazines that say that you don't need to spend more than 24 hours in Singapore, it's all a big scam to keep you away so that they can have this island all to themselves. In reality, its a warm, tropical, comfortable paradice with many little adventures to be had. It helps too that we are staying with my lovely cousin and he has been around to point out the good eating places and things to do while we are here.

The tailor
Of course the first thing that Johan wanted to do when we landed was to find his old tailor and get him to whip up some travel shorts for him for Australia. So he jumped into a cab and headed to the old address. When he got there, to his surprise, the tailor was gone. Disappointed we went to another establishment recommended by my cousin and after chatting for a while, discovered that his tailor had got into a fatal accident while driving on a highway in Malaysia. Yikes!

Durian
Neither of us have ever tasted the "King of Fruit" and as we've both had friends who have been trying to get us to taste this fruit for years, we decided that now was the time. For those of you who are wandering what all the fuss is about, you only need to get within a few metres of a durian to understand. To say that this fruit had an unpleasant odour would be an understatement of magnamous proportions. This fruit stinks! It is impossible to fully comprehend the stench of this fruit.

But we were determined not to let that matter stand between us and a potentially wonderful experience, as our durian-loving friends assure us of. Well, I have to report that neither Johan nor I were particularly impressed with it, though my cousin Jochum, whose flat we are camping out in, thought it was quite nice. It tasted of custard with a strong garlic aftertaste - very odd indeed.

Pandan bread
A new favourite, normal bread with flavouring from the pandan leaf which is delicious and for some reason, turns the bread a light green colour. A little disconcerting.

Singapore is warm and friendly and familiar to both of us and a great place to relax for a few days before our next big adventure