It's a history kind of day.
Day 170 - 10th December
So whilst talking to Dad the day before last, he mentioned about the huge defeat the British had in WWII right here in Singapore. A little research led me to find Fort Siloso, the largest remaining fort in Singapore and as ever, the history surrounding it drew me. I get that from my dad.
Selatang Sentosa!
So I set off for Sentosa (the island where it is situated) and arrived after an hour mucking around on the MRT, a monorail and walking up the beach.
The grounds were extensive.
It was free to get in and I only paid $6 (£3) to visit The Surrender Chambers - the waxwork reenactments that document when the British surrendered to the Japanese after being bombarded by them when trying to get supplies into the fort. It still stands as the greatest defeat in British Military history.
This was kind of creepy and I was in there alone.
The walk up was picturesque and already I was getting into the history mode. The Surrender Chambers were great, equipped with footage of the battles and surrendering. I thoroughly enjoyed that visit - yeah, I might be a geek, but I don't care!
Ventilation chambers for the ammunitions men.
Is it me or are the cannons pointing at the fort?
From then on, I sauntered around the grounds, reading all the usual placards, visiting the tunnels where the ammunition was stored and supplied to the cannons above, which pointed out to the ocean.
I read this sign which made me a little nervous but I didn't have any issues.
Why do I put myself through this?
On my way back down the hill, I thought I might as well take a look of the harbour and surround areas from the Sky Walk. I noted a sign that said not to go up the Sky Walk during or just after a thunderstorm but it was only overcast so I was in no danger.
I ascended in an elevator and went the 36 metres upwards to the sky deck. No-one was up there and I laughed at my sheer luck. As I looked back toward the city, I saw the clouds darkening. But I was still fine, no worries.
There's a storm coming Mr Wayne.
A Scottish guy in his sixties, named George joined me and suddenly the sky opened and an incredible storm began. We saw forks of lightening crashing down over the city and thanked our lucky stars we were a safe distance away to watch it.
Now you see it...
Within minutes, the rain was bucketing down like hail around us as we ducked for cover under the Sky Walk's small roof area. The lightening began to grow closer so we retreated to the ground and waited in the foyer bit for it to pass.
I know I wanted to get into the mode of Fort Siloso's famous battle but I didn't want a simulation of it! The thunder was deafening and I mean deafening. I was getting more and more nervous as the rain smacked me in the face.
In the end, George and I jumped on the shuttle bus and headed back to the MRT to get back to our districts. It turned out he was only one stop up from me at Clarke Quay so we spent another hour or so travelling together.
In that time, he told me bits about himself and I realised once again that travelling was a special experience. Every day something new happens and it just makes you appreciate life - yeah, I might sound like a dick to some, but if you've travelled, you know what I'm getting at.
George had lost his wife when she was just 53. He told me how they'd planned to travel when they retired and it just had me lost for words. He said he was enjoying what they should have been together but enjoyed every moment. He was one of those people I nodded my head at with great respect.
He also told me about this restaurant in Chinatown called Fatty Weng. Fatty started out as a small street hawker but over the years developed into a big restaurant and then finally settled in a modest place in 2007 in Chinatown. George highly recommended it. How could I ignore such supposed, sound advice? I'd recalled seeing it a couple of night before as I wandered.
So here I go, Fatty.
So after I shook his hand and disembarked at Chinatown, I went straight there.
I feel a bit bad she's cutting that up in front on me. Pressure's on!
A meal fit for Fatty!
I had half a duck in two servings - the first with pancakes, veggies and sauce, the second with egg fried rice and a Tiger beer. Boy, I wasn't disappointed. It was so, so, so good. I even ended up talking to a Singaporean couple who found it fascinating to know I was travelling on my own and were asking me questions about where I'd been, how I'd enjoyed it and so on.
By the time I finished eating, I was stuffed and ready to pay out big time. A meal that good had to be pricey. To my delight and surprise, it was only $57 - £29. For the size of the portion and with the beer, it was a fantastic deal.
It looks horrible, it's actually pretty good.
Never content, I tried some minced pork slab that I've been seeing everywhere. It wasn't bad.
To round off another great day, I went souvenir hunting for Christmas presents for the family. I found some good bargains that didn't break the bank - sounds cheap, but Singapore can be pricey - but you need to ignore everything I've said above to believe me.
What a way to spend a day, aye?
