Singapore

Sunday 10th February
Who should I meet but Claude and Damien! Can’t remember what we did ! mostly ate I expect. Explored Chinatown in the evening. On one bamboo stage we watched a choir introduced with great aplomb and ceremony. Looking rather nervous they began to sing “Auld Lang Syne” in Mandarin!

Monday 11th February
Go to bank, Post Office (Christmas card!), buy film, and writing paper. Discover yet another food centre and have plate of Chinese duck had rice for 85 P.
 See off Claude and Damien at Singapore Airport in the evening and suss out flights to Jakarta myself. Meet Pierre through Claude and Damien, they were in Chang Mai together. Many daily flights to Jakarta, should be no problem getting a last minute ticket. Send several letters. Wander around the superbly decorated Chinatown again, all twinkling lights, red sashes, hanging lanterns, puffing dragons and cherry blossom. Packed with people, fancy paper shops, sausage shops, squashed duck shops, calligraphers, durians, oranges, miniature orange trees, palmists. Eat delicious desert; sweet water with shaved ice, pieces of fruit and twinkling coral reef colours of agar jelly floating in its magical depths. Refreshing and delicious. Another version of chendol, I suppose.

Tuesday 12th February 1985
Spend most of the day 20 km out of the City seeing the Japanese and Chinese gardens. Large formal gardens in a lakeland setting. Spend an hour snoozing in a pavilion during a violent thunderstorm. Many roads get flooded and the Lake rises 6 inches. See a large three foot water lizard.
 Evening in Chinatown again. Bustling with shops, durians, cherry blossom, red and gold cards oranges.... But I’ve done this already, however it is great free entertainment. Excellent food market. Eat something steamed like a small white roly-poly with a shrimp and mushroom paste centre, with sweet chilli sauce and sesame seeds. Yum.

Wednesday 13th February.
Spend the morning at Airport, make reservations for Bali, Hong Kong, Sydney, no hassle. But no cheap tickets for sale at Airport, not even last minute discounts. Ticket agent touts wants 300 S$.
Ask Sim, he makes phone call, and gets ticket for tomorrow after noon on Thai air for 200 S$. Watch Chinese street opera with Pierre in the evening. Stage constructed in the street with bamboo and string. Impressive sets and costumes. Ear piercing singing, very percussive orchestra in the wings, lots of cymbals drums and wood blocks. An individual cymbal may only be struck once an hour. Make-up is all white and pink.