Singapore to Hong Kong 2017

I had missed out on Fort Canning last time and decided to make amends. On the way, I passed the old Fire Station that is now a museum.  It was striking for the emphasis that Singapore places on civil defence - partly because of the risk of tornadoes. Fort Canning is on a hill that had been the site of rulers of the Singapore region over the centuries. For a long time, under Malay rulers, it was forbidden to the citizens. Then, under the British, Raffles had a bungalow built for himself.  It gives commanding views of the city and harbour and for that reason, was the site of a lighthouse, signal mast and time ball. There is a variety of trees, all carefully labelled and described in what is now a very pleasant park. The hill was the site of the British military 'Battlebox' in the war. To see inside, it is necessary to join a tour but this was very informative and not the typical useless information sort of tour. The guide took us through the decisi...

We got in just after 3.30 after an event-free flight. I had left home in good time to ensure there were no panics and had a relaxed journey. The only blip was a screaming toddler that put paid to sleep just when I had achieved and wanted it. Oh well. I had forgotten the detail of the MRT. It is generally an excellent system but the airport spur suffers a bit. You have to get to the right terminal as not all of them are served by the MRT. Then you get a train for two stops before finally changing onto the train into town. All in high humidity and jet lag! Well, anyway I got to the hotel (Grand Pacific) by about 5.30, settled in and then went of to Lau Pa Sat food village which I remembered from last time. It all seemed identical and provided me with a nice prawn and squid dish. Everything felt a quite familiar but faded memory as I walked around on my way back to the hotel. Overall the tone seemed the same - very safe and friendly with a large late 20s - mid 30s ex pat communit...