Round The World and other travels
A frequent flyer's collection of trip diaries
This is: Singapore & Malaysia 2017
Wartime history and fast food, Singapore-style
| RIGHT: The weather was set fair from the outset |
 |
The day got off to a good start with an excellent breakfast offering in the executive lounge of the Marriott Tang Plaza. Unusually for such a lounge, eggs were available on a cooked-to-order basis, and a couple of freshly fried ones certainly hit the spot for me. We ordered an Uber to take us to the Former Ford Factory, which was a new attraction for both of us, and one that we hoped would be as interesting as it was alliterative.
Built in 1941 and featuring a striking Art Deco facade, this was Ford's first car factory in Southeast Asia. The building suffered an early interruption to its intended career due to the spread of World War II into the region. In particular, it went on to become the scene of the British surrender of Singapore to the Japanese in February 1942. The factory resumed normal operations after the war, with production continuing until 1980. Now a national monument, it tells the story of the surrender and the subsequent Japanese occupation. We were given an excellent guided tour of the exhibition, which proved to be very interesting.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Our morning visit to the Former Ford Factory |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Next, we rode a bus a few stops further out of town to Hillview MRT, followed by a train back into the central location of Chinatown. This neighbourhood provided some highly colourful views immediately on arrival, although it appeared at the time that these might be in danger of having a bleached appearance in my photos as a result of the searing midday sun.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
We eventually had a late lunch at the Maxwell Food Centre, one of the most famous collections of 'hawker stalls' in Singapore. One of the stalls even boasted a Michelin star; we couldn't even get close to it due the huge line of people patiently waiting to be served. We stopped to eat at least twice, at somewhat less celebrated venues.
| RIGHT and BELOW: Seeking out lunch at the Maxwell Food Centre |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
After a further walk in the area, we returned
to the Marriott for a bit of well deserved pool time.
Later, we returned to the executive lounge - which was even busier than on Friday! - and then once more made our way across the street to the food courts. Finding an extensive Japanese section (known as Japan Food Town) in the Wisma Atria mall, we picked a venue and quickly got settled in. After starting with a shared portion of bamboo shoots, we each enjoyed a bowl of hot and spicy soup containing what appeared to be a slice of roast pork!
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |