Day: January 14, 2023

If you are into WW2 history there are two must do things here for you in Singapore. The first is the Changi Chapel museum, which is likely the more well known of the two, out near Changi prison and Changi airport.

The other is the “BattleBox” which is a bunker built into the hill that Fort Canning was located on. It’s a similar concept to the Churchill war museum in London. This bunker was were the decision was made to surrender to the Japanese in Feb 1942.

The only downside of the museum is that you can’t take pictures inside. Trust me though, it’s awesome. Both museums dispel many myths about the fall of Singapore, the main on about the guns pointing the wrong way. Before the invasion the BEF were well aware the invasion would come from the north.

The BattleBox can easily be accessed from Fort Canning Station, an uphill walk but there are outdoor escalators. The parklands around Fort Canning are beautiful and worth a look even if you are not interested in WW2. There is even a small wading pool on the south east side, so take your swimmers!

Changi chapel is harder to get to, there is a bus, but I’d recommend getting a cab. Both museums tell the same essential story, but with the chapel focused on what happened after the fall with the BattleBox focused on the events leading up to it.

The BattleBox is only open a few days a week (Friday, Saturday and Sunday). If you can only do one – tough decision, but I’d pick the BattleBox

If you are looking for lunch there is a fantastic little restaurant next door.

On Thursday night we had dinner at one of the amazing restaurants in the “Shoppes” area of Marina Bay Sands.

The Restaurant was “Cut” by Wolfgang Puck, one of the handful of restaurants in the complex with a Michelin Star. The food was amazing, of course I chose a steak main since it’s a steak focused restaurant. I had a pork belly for entree, probably the best one I’ve ever had.

Last night we had dinner over in the East Coast road area on Joo Chiat Road. A very very trendy part of town that in Australian terms would be like a cross between Sydney’s Surry Hills and Queensland’s Burleigh Heads. Some fantastic food options and beachy nick nack shops. We had dinner at a Caribbean style restaurant, food was awesome but forgot to take pics of the food !

I’ve been complaining about the lack of breakfast caffès, this is one area of Singapore that isn’t lacking options. Next time I’m here in S’pore I’ll be checking it out in more detail

On Tuesday night we headed over to the “Night Safari”, which is part of the Singapore Mandai Zoo complex. It’s specifically set up only as a night zoo and opens at 6:30pm

There is a normal zoo next door, so in theory you could do the zoo in the morning and night zoo in the evening. The setup is excellent, I would recommend getting there before 7, then head straight for the show and register for that (it starts at 7:30pm). Once the show is over most people head for the tram, but don’t do that, it’s a long queue.

Instead, after the show head for the cafe and have some dinner. The food is next level. I was expecting basic “event / attraction” style quality but the food was excellent. I had an Indian chicken tikka curry.

Once you have had dinner, take the tram around the park, then do some of the walks. It’s still quite humid but at least at night it’s a little cooler.

The worst part of the experience is getting there. It’s to the north (closer to Malaysia), whereas most people will be staying closer to the city. There is public transport but it involves a train and a bus. It would be much better if there was an MTR station there. It will take over an hour each way from downtown

I’m not really a fan of any trip that involves a bus, so we just took a taxi, direct, took 45 minutes and cost about $50. Return was a little cheaper and quicker.

The displays are excellent and the animals were very active. If you are in Singapore and have a spare evening this is really worth doing. One of the best Zoo experiences I’ve had.

Breakfast is something I’ve struggled with here in Singapore, early breakfast just really isn’t a thing. Sure there are a few places that do a proper breakfast, but they are not everywhere. You have to hunt them down. There is a particular lack of them around Marina Bay Sands (about my only gripe with the area). Of course decent breakfast can be had directly in the hotel for a price.

A quick search found this place called “ToastBox” which is part of some chain store and in the “Shoppes” mall. The food was decidedly average with very little choice. I had a ham and cheese toasted sandwich, which back home would have been sent straight back, cheese wasn’t melted and toast was cold. I tried a Pandan cake which was ok. The coffee was traditional Singaporean Kopi (filter/drip coffee with sweetened condensed milk).

Most interesting thing is you can get the coffee served in what looks like a goon bag