The Duffs Travels

Sadly it was our last day today. So we did a little last minute shopping (gifts ) had a lovely lunch in a shopping mall food court and had a latte with cool latte art . We finished our last afternoon enjoying the sunshine and pool. We had our last meal and got ready to go to the airport. We have had a fantastic time in Singapore  and one day hopefully we will return. There is still so much more to see and do so it’s with a heavy heart that we packed our bags (with Tea Matcha, Kopi and Kaya spread 😂) and made our way to the airport for our 13hour flight back to the UK. Our holiday has been everything we wanted and more. We definitely will not be waiting another 10 years, four more years and I will be celebrating my 50th so what a perfect way to do it 😜

Up early today for another Paratha breakfast before heading off to Singapore Zoo. We don’t really do zoos but this Zoo is a really good one. We enjoyed watching the Proboscis monkeys as you don’t really get to see them often, we were lucky enough to see them in the wild in Borneo and they really are the cutest and most comical looking of the primates. The orangutang area was another fantastic area. The trees were so large and high, the young ones were right at the top swinging about. We finished here late afternoon, then returned to the hotel to get ready and take advantage of the cocktails in the Lounge. We then went to the Kampong area for a meal. We ended up at a Lebanese restaurant really close to the sultans Mosque. It was a really nice area all lit up and lively at night. The meal was delicious and the decor was fantastic. We stayed a good few hours till we couldn’t feel our legs as we were sitting on the floor   We had a really good last ni...

No alarm call this morning as a day of rest was called for. It is hard to rest and take your time in such an exciting place, there is just so much to see and do but our blistered feet needed it this morning. Our morning started with a relaxing breakfast of Nasi Lemak.   Then a morning by the pool, just reading and relaxing. It kept raining on and off but only for a few minutes  But a storm was brewing .... Before entering out in the rain we had a little high tea  We went to the old Katong area tonight to find a special shop. This shop still sells the Peranakan pottery. It was a wonderful shop but sadly photos were not allowed .  The whole area was really pretty and the Peranakan old merchant shops were restored and brightly painted, we didn’t get to look around as much as we wanted due to the heavy rain. This will definitely  be an area we return to the next time we are in Singapore. It felt almost like old Singapore, quiet...

We were typical Brits abroad this morning, a full English😱.The lounge is stunning so we took a little time to enjoy it. Reading of course. I just love the decor, it feels like it could be home to me. We visited the National gallery of Singapore today. We love art and we love Asia so it seemed like a perfect choice. The gallery was originally the city hall and the Supreme Court. It has now been restored and updated into a stunning gallery,  the new meets old. Not only was the building impressive the art was captivating too. There were numerous galleries displaying some amazing Asian art. Some of the water colours by Lim Chang Hoe would look lovely on our walls. His art was very interesting to us as he returned after a number of years to each place that he had painted and repainted them. This not only showed us how his work began to change with new techniques but also how Singapore had changed over the years. This was also our experience seeing Singapore after returning after 1...

A morning at Ya Kung Kaya toast. This is one of our favourite breakfasts now.Who would have thought very runny eggs with soy sauce would taste so good? We made our way to The National Museum of Singapore. This is such a cultural and architectural   place to visit. The Museum dates back to 1887. The history gallery was really interesting charting  the changes from the time it was known as Singapura, through the  crown colony and the brutal Syonan-to period to modern day Singapore. It was interesting to learn of Singapore’s growth after such turmoil, extraordinary really. Another interesting if not heart breaking exhibition was the World press photo display, showing horrific daily activities happening around the world now today, and every day.  We left the Museum and walked to the local Fort Canning Park taking in the stunning colonial architecture. Fort canning Park was the place that Mr Raffles built a bungalow, later it was a fo...

We decided to visit the Kampong Glam area first, as it seemed like the coolest place to be. The Masjid Sultan mosque with its big, golden dome looked absolutely majestic. We spent a few hours exploring the shops and cafes on Arab Street and Haiji Street. It was amazing to see how much the area had changed over the last ten years. Back then, there was only one place to get a drink, but now there are so many cafes and bars to choose from. We were thrilled to stumble upon the same perfume shop that we had visited years ago.    After a few hours of shopping for carpets, we took a much-needed break for lunch and indulged in some mezze.  In the evening, we got all dressed up for a night in Chinatown and enjoyed a delightful high tea in the hotel. We were thoroughly enjoying all the perks that the hotel had to offer.     Yet another wonderful day in this amazing place. Lots of tea tasting, and buying 🤫, someone got carried away a...

The Goodwood Hotel was so amazing, it felt like I had stepped into a colonial dream. But hey, it was time to move on to my next hotel.  At times we felt we had the whole hotel and pools to ourselves, which has been perfect for us. Before heading to Jurong Bird Park, I had my last Paratha breakfast from my favourite place. And let me tell you, it was the perfect start to my day!  The bird park is a very unique place with lush foliage creating a beautiful setting for the numerous types of birds that were flying around. I had so much fun feeding the free-flying Lorikeets and strolling around the large free-flying aviary even had a massive waterfall.  It was so mesmerizing. We had many encounters with a diverse range of birds and parrots that we had never seen before. The afternoon was a lot less humid after our first rain in Singapore.   We returned from the Bird park to our new hotel (Tim's choice} The new hotel, though completely WOW, was a little overwhelm...