Our jaded Singaporean friends at dinner on Saturday had advised us to use the Number 2 bus as a sightseeing option, and to take it to the end of the route, Changi Village, near the airport. This was the site of the infamous Changi prison, controlled by the Japanese during the war and where many atrocities were committed. Changi itself is now home to a Singapore Air Force base and the international airport as well as Changi prison, which is a very large new and high-tech facility, but Singapore deliberated oversized it and it is currently only a quarter full. They are intending to move many prisoners here from other places around the island. prison. Changi is also the jumping-off point for a number of boat tours, but the Singaporean anti-enthusiasts had rather dampened my enthusiasm for visiting Palau Ubin, (the famous “granite island” and home to some villages not unlike those of the 60s, before the mass expansion of building on the island of Singapore).
We emerged after an hour of travel on an air-conditioned bus into the most oppressive heat, right opposite the hawker centre. Neither of us was hungry, so we wandered through before crossing the main road and checking out a parade of cafes and restaurants. Mum espied an older, British couple chatting to a Singaporean man outside a small, but smart looking restaurant. We discovered that “Charlie” owned and ran the bar and he gave us helpful tips as I sat and drank exorbitant (as we discovered) imported beer. he advised us to take the 29 bus to an MRT (metro) station nearby and take a train back into town. After a sizable lunch in the hawker centre, we waited for a 29, letting many 2’s go by, though they probably would have been as good. I stood and chatted with a lady called Janice a former nurse, originally from Saskatchewan, now of Edinburgh from where she is sent worldwide to lecture on nurse management. We finally made it to the MRT station complex and after a little exploration found the platforms and pushed down to Harbourfront – the gateway to… Sentosa!