Day 11: Ann Siang Hill
Verdant. That’s the word I’ve been searching for. That’s precisely how I’d describe Singapore and the bright green and pink and yellow foliage that surrounds the city and intertwines its roadsides. Yesterday I saw more of it thanks to the SBS buses I hopped on and off throughout the day, making the most of my unlimited visitor’s pass.
My first stop: Ann Siang Hill in Chinatown, a straight shot down North Bridge St. from my hotel. I had no particular destination in mind beyond the street itself, which is the center of a pocket of beautiful architecture dating back to the early 1900s. The Victorian shophouses are brightly colored and boast porticos on the front that provide much-needed shade to wanderers like me. Most of the stores and cafes were closed as it was a Sunday morning, and the streets were empty, made more eerie by the overcast skies.
From there, I took a bus back toward my hotel but overshot it a bit to inspect the area near the mosque that I can see from my window. Here, too, I found tiny multicolored shops and restaurants painted yellow, coral, and teal, though these sold rugs, incense, Turkish food, and “Singapore’s best chai.” Tourists posed for pictures in the narrow alleyways holding up the foot traffic.
Spotted: Chijmes Church, scene of Araminta and Colin’s wedding. :P
After a quick costume change (for season reason I wore pants in the morning!), I took a long bus ride north and west to the Botanic Gardens. As I approached the Tyersall Ave gates (yes, that IS the name of the Young family estate in Crazy Rich Asians), the sounds of the city fell away and were replace by roaring locusts, bird calls, and the wind whispering through palm fronds. The gardens themselves were massive, and I only saw a small portion of them as I walked through the thick, moisture-filled atmosphere. I passed a sign pointing toward the “Rainforest” and as if on cue at the Rainforest Cafes of my Kansas mall youth, a large crack of lightning followed by a boom of thunder soared through the air.
I took shelter at a small cafe before the rain started and read there for a while before heading for the exit through the waning showers and onto another bus, this time to Newton Centre, the hawker centre featured in, you guessed it, CRA. But my coworker had also recommended it! I suspect it’s busier at night when all of the stalls are open, but I had no trouble securing a bowl of braised duck noodle soup from a Michelin-recommended husband/wife (?) duo—yes, soup, despite the heat. The temperatures fell into the low 80s after the rain! I paired it with a fresh lime and sour plum drink (already hooked) and wow—such a great lunch. The broth was light and flavorful but salty with soy sauce and floating bits of scallion, the duck breast tender, and the egg noodles still had just the right amount of bite.
I wanted to try satay, too, but didn’t want to settle for less than the best. So back on the bus I went to Lau Pa Sat, a restored Victorian hawker centre near the bay.
En route, however, the duck noodles ran right through me (sorry, I don’t censor) and I had to make a pit stop at one of the many ghost town shopping centers to find a public bathroom. Thank goodness I’m not in America. When I arrived at Lau Pa Sat, however, I discovered that here, too, things don’t pick up until after 7 p.m., when one entire section lights up with satay grills. Given my stomach already resented me, I decided to come back another time and took my final bus of the day back to the Andaz.