Rusty and Britney's Asian Adventure — Part I

In early March—in fact just about a month ago—my college roommate and one of my best friends, Rusty, told me some exciting news: he was coming to my corner of the world! You see, his girlfriend Britney was planning a massive two month backpacking extravaganza all around the region, and Rusty figured it would be as good a chance as he was ever going to get to come out and visit me.

Over the course of a few weeks, we discussed plenty of potential options. It started with a simple twelve hour layover in Singapore on his way to meet up with Britney in the Philippines. Then we would all meet up a few weeks later in Hong Kong. But then he figured it would be silly to have such a short amount of time in the Little Red Dot, so he opted to extend his stay for a night or two.

After Rusty booked his flights, Britney, originally flying from Bangkok to Manila, decided to come to Singapore instead for the long weekend, with the two of them then flying off to the Philippines together. They left yesterday evening, and this past weekend was the first real chance I had to play tour guide for an extended period of time in my new city. I had a ball showing Singapore off to Rusty and Britney and will never forget the great laughs we all shared here.

Rusty arrived just before noon on Friday, and I was at the airport to pick him up. It was slightly surreal to see him walk through the customs checkpoint at Changi! But it was so good to catch up, as I hadn't seen him since I was back in the States for Joe's wedding in October. We hopped straight in a taxi and headed to Sonia’s house, where I am still staying. And Sonia was gracious enough to let both Rusty and Britney also take up temporary residence for their stay in Singapore. 

Amy and Chiara were both at home, enjoying their last hours in Singapore before flying back to London and Shanghai, respectively. It was very good timing that Rusty landed about fifteen hours before their departures, getting to meet two of my best friends who just happened to be in town. I was supposed to head back to the office to finish off the work week, but I made an executive decision to take the afternoon off. It isn't everyday one of your best friends from America is in Singapore, and I wanted to enjoy the luxury. The four of us enjoyed some drinks and conversation before Chiara, Rusty and I all headed to the beach at nearby East Coast Park. Amy had to pack, but we wanted to enjoy the beautiful day!

We walked along the beach and found ourselves a seaside table at a local restaurant called Mana Mana. With a couple of jugs of Tiger Beer, some delicious satays and the restaurant’s signature fried rice, we kick-started Rusty’s first weekend in Asia. With a view of the waves and countless container ships waiting to unload their goods in Singapore, the afternoon passed quickly, and before we knew it, we had to head home to get ready for a night out.

Back at the house, there was more imbibing and chatting, especially when Sonia and Motez arrived. Eventually we were all showered, changed and ready to go, and we hopped in two cabs to head to my office. I know what you must be thinking: “Why the heck would you head to your office on a Friday night, especially when one of your best friends had just arrived in Asia?” I don’t think I’ve written about it before, but my building is in Raffles Place in the heart of downtown Singapore, and it has a sky deck with a pretty spectacular view over the Marina Bay. This is where I watched the New Year’s Eve fireworks, and it's a place I love showing off to all my friends.

Since drinks tend to be very expensive in this town, we brought our own and enjoyed them in the open air, overlooking the sparkling nighttime lights of Singapore. It was like we had our own private rooftop bar!

After finishing our drinks, we made our way to LeVeL 33, a microbrewery with delicious beers and a killer view of the city. Although it’s not quite as economical as drinking from my office's sky deck, it’s undeniably impressive, and the home brewed beers are pretty stellar, so it was a place I really wanted to take Rusty.

At Lau Pa Sat, a nearby hawker center, we feasted on more satays and a delicious local delicacy called black carrot cake. There’s no relation between Singaporean carrot cake and the popular Western dessert of the same name. In fact, carrot isn’t even one of the ingredients in the local version, making its name very strange. One bite, however, immediately makes you forget this quirky aspect of the dish. It was pure heaven!

Midway through the meal, Rusty and I had to hop in a taxi to head back to Changi Airport. You see, Britney’s flight was scheduled to land at 12:40am, and we didn’t want to be late. In the end, she had already gotten through immigration and cleared customs by the time we got there, but we quickly found her and again hopped in a cab to whisk her back to Sonia's.

Chiara was at the house already, preparing for her own 6am flight, and before too long, Amy, Motez and Sonia all arrived home as well. It looked as if the night was about to die, but luckily for me, Britney and Rusty agreed that we had no interest in sleeping and wanted to head out to experience a Friday night, Singapore style!

We took a cab to Clarke Quay, enjoying some more cheap 7-Eleven beers on what I fondly call “The Expat’s Bridge,” a simple bridge spanning the river where scores of expats bring their own booze and create an impromptu party.

We also stopped in one of my favorite Clarke Quay bars, called Highlander, to dance and party. The time just evaporated. We found ourselves at a local noodle restaurant for some late night food, and eventually hopped in a taxi to head home. (On the way we stopped for early morning McFlurries at the local McDonald’s!)

By the time we got home, Chiara had already left for the airport, and Amy was awake finishing up her packing. Of course we all kept her company until she left herself around 7am, as the sun was coming up. It had been great to have her around in both Hong Kong and Singapore over the past month, and I look forward to our next reunion, wherever in the world it happens to be!

With Amy gone, we finally got our much needed sleep, but we still awoke relatively early the next morning (i.e. a few hours later), ready to explore the heart and soul of Singapore.

Our taxi driver took his old sweet time driving us into town, steering clear of highways and sticking to the local roads all the way. Normally this would have annoyed me and I would have asked him to take a quicker route. However, we weren’t in a rush to get anywhere, and I enjoyed pointing out interesting sights and driving along some of the island’s quieter, quainter streets.

We jumped out of the cab at Lau Pa Sat. I wasn’t planning on eating anything there, I just wanted to show Britney the cool venue since she hadn’t been there with us the night before. However, one of the Indian stalls had some enticing dishes on display, and we ultimately decided to order some beer and food and get a little sustenance in our stomachs.

Of course, Mother Nature decided to throw more than a fair share of rain into our day, and while we were eating, the skies opened up. 

I was at a loss for where to take my friends. When I drew up their packed itinerary, I hadn’t considered that rain might thwart my plans. (Of course, this being Singapore, I should have known!) Luckily, Lau Pa Sat is near my office, and I had deliberately brought my building pass with me.

We tiptoed through the raindrops to Raffles Place, where Rusty changed over some money and we loaded up on some more 7-Eleven drinks. And since the sky deck is actually covered, it made for a nice venue to wait out the heavier part of the storm, as I pointed out different parts of the city and we just had a good chat.

After an hour or so, the rain calmed down to a faint drizzle, and we decided to man up and head out into the city. From the office, we headed across the river, walking up along the bank opposite Boat Quay, past the Asian Civilizations Museum. We snapped photos with the statues along the water, making our way to Clarke Quay and—ultimately—Chinatown.

A pair of quick pit stops in KFC and yet another 7-Eleven (not to mention a ‘massage chair’ where Rusty enjoyed a $2 automatic massage) and we were off exploring Chinatown. The Pagoda Street Market winds its way up and down atmospheric side streets lined with colorful restored row houses, and we snacked on some Indonesian dumplings before heading into the Sacred Buddha Tooth Temple, a multi-story complex built to showcase its namesake relic.

Just across the street from the temple is the Maxwell Road Hawker Center, not quite as visually stunning as Lau Pa Sat but no less attractive from a culinary perspective. With last night’s carrot cake still fresh in our minds, we found a stall serving it here, and ordered another helping.

Then we just wandered around. And wandered. And wandered. We made our way up and down street after street, stumbling upon fascinating statues, temples and buildings. Rusty thought a bar we passed, Our Korner at the Scarlet Hotel, looked interesting, so we stopped for a drink. I had a Pimm’s, Rusty had a caipirinha and Britney had her signature drink, a shot of vodka with a Diet Coke chaser. And we sat outside on the small veranda and discussed our plans for the night.

There was one bar in the area I wanted to show somebody since the day I strolled by it a month or so ago during my lunch break. I just couldn’t get over how ridiculous it was and wanted to make sure I hadn’t imagined it.

We wandered around for so long that I was starting to believe I had dreamed it! Nobody we asked seemed to know what we were talking about and eventually I had to call Sonia and ask her to Google it for me. At last, we got there. O’Bama’s Irish Pub. You read that right. O’Bama’s Irish Pub, located on Tras Street, has got to be one of the strangest places in town. There are obviously-photo-shopped pictures of the president wearing Leprechaun hats and holding pints of green beer all over the place. It is almost too ridiculous to be believed, so we had to stop for a pint. Turns out it was the bar’s fourth anniversary that night, and there was a special offer on pints, so a Guinness for me and a Strongbow for Rusty it was.

We visited yet another 7-Eleven to load up on goods before heading home to Sonia’s. After some power naps and a quick freshen-up, out again we went, this time to Arab Street for dinner. I know I’ve written about it before, but Arab Street almost immediately became my favorite part of town when I first explored it back in September. The quaint architecture alone would have been enough to endear it to me permanently, but mix in an abundance of out-of-this-world authentic Middle Eastern restaurants and you have an unforgettable quarter of town.

My favorite restaurant here is a simple one called Istanbul Grill and Café. With a handful of tables neatly arranged on the sidewalk under the watchful gaze of the fanciful Sultan Mosque, Istanbul Grill and Café quickly established itself as my restaurant of choice in the area.

We had hummus, tziziki, baba ganoush, stuffed grape leaves and plenty of other dishes, washed down with Effes Turkish beer and accompanied by the sights and sounds of Singapore’s Muslim neighborhood.

Just around the corner from the restaurant is one of my favorite Singapore bars, Blu Jaz. With an ever-changing roster of live bands and a chic interior, it’s one of the best places for a post dinner drink. Rusty had a coffee to try and wake himself up, but ultimately the jet lag won out. We decided to cut our night short around 1:30am and take a taxi home, so we could be up bright and early and fully take advantage of Sunday, Rusty and Britney’s last full day in Singapore.

Sunday morning we tidied up the apartment a bit, as it had gotten understandably cluttered what with all the people coming and going over the past weeks. Then we walked down to East Coast Park, with a bottle of champagne to share on the way. Singapore is famous for its food, and perhaps its single most famous dish is the tasty chili crab. In East Coast Park, there are some of the most famous chili crab restaurants, several of whom claim to have invented or at least perfected the well-known dish.

We snagged oceanfront seats at Jumbo Seafood Restaurant, one of the most popular purveyors of chili crab. We also ordered one of my favorite local delicacies, cereal fried shrimp. Chili crab isn’t necessarily easy to eat. It’s about as messy a meal as I’ve ever head. Luckily bibs are provided, and we had no problem digging our hands into the saucy bowl, breaking apart the juicy crabs to get to the meat inside.

After the meal, we took a taxi to Changi Village. From there, boats leave every few minutes for a small island called Pulau Ubin. I first read about Ubin over a year ago but somehow I had never managed to make the journey over. It seemed like something Rusty would particularly enjoy, and I thought it would be cool to discover a new part of Singapore with my guests, so we took the short bumboat ride over to what is popularly referred to as the last remaining patch of undeveloped, old-fashioned, 1950s Singapore.

Ubin is unlike any part of town. It’s a small island with many unpaved roads. There are only a few restaurants and shops near the ferry pier, the rest of the island is dotted with humble villages and huge swaths of natural, undeveloped forest.

We rented bikes from one of the local shops and cycled around, heading to the Chek Jawa Wetlands, a waterfront park teeming with wildlife. We climbed an observation tower, explored the boardwalks over the mangroves and saw all kinds of animals, from crabs and birds to roosters and wild boars! At one end of the island, there’s even an old, Tudor-style seaside cottage, built by a colonial bigwig back in the 1930s. It’s quite a surreal sight, and it’s very lucky for locals and visitors alike that such a spot still exists in the uber-modern megalopolis I call home.

Cycling back into town, we stopped for an al fresco beer at a local seafood joint called Ah Lian’s. We then returned our bikes, made our way to the pier, and hopped on the bumboat to cross back to Changi Village. I remarked to Rusty and Britney that I really miss how often I used to take boats around when I lived in Hong Kong. Both cities are built close to the water, but in Hong Kong, boats just play a much larger role in the daily life of its citizens. I relished the short ride back, feeling the spray of the ocean on my face as we skidded over the waves.

At the local Changi Village Hawker Center, we indulged in some uber-local nasi goring and uber-American cheese fries and onion rings. That’s one of the fun things about hawker centers. You can take a chance on a random local dish and hedge your bet with some guaranteed comfort food. This time, since the local dish included some unforeseen dried anchovies, I’m really glad we hedged our bet! We ate our little meal on the steps, as the bustling crowds loitered about eating all manner of food.

After some sugar cane juice and a gruelingly painful attempt to find a taxi, we finally were en route back to Siglap. We made one quick stop on the way home, at Udders, an ice cream parlor up the street from Sonia’s house. Udders specializes in alcoholic ice creams, and the three of us split two sundaes, the Boozy Mudslide, (a chocolate and Bailey's combination topped with caramel vodka) and the Irish Nut (a mix of Bailey's, peanut butter and hazelnut ice cream that was absolutely delicious).

That evening, we headed to Singapore’s nocturnal stunner, the Night Safari. One of the Lion City’s most popular tourist attractions, the Night Safari is hard to describe. It’s a zoo that is only open from 7:30pm to midnight, and it attempts to shine a light on the night-time activities of the animal kingdom. By way of live action shows, walking trails and a remarkable tram ride past all sorts of animals, the Night Safari is unforgettable; as Frommer’s Singapore points out, "This is the one place where all Singaporeans bring their foreign visitors, and I have yet to see anyone walk away unimpressed."

We stayed until midnight, when the park closes, and took a taxi back to Sonia's where we promptly fell asleep. Three jam-packed days and three late nights and you can bet I was out like a light as soon as my head hit the pillow!

Monday I had to be in the office at 8am, as usual. It was a pretty uneventful morning, but I was in contact with Rusty via email, and we had made plans to meet again for lunch at Ku De Ta, the rooftop bar and lounge atop the stunning Marina Bay Sands. Taz joined as well, and though Britney and Rusty got held up a bit because of an overlong bus tour, we eventually all met on the 57th floor of Singapore's most iconic structure.

After a spicy cocktail  we actually opted to head to Boat Quay to eat, since nothing on the Ku De Ta menu was particularly inspiring. We wandered all the way along the Esplanade past the Theatres on the Bay and the Merlion. Strolling up along the river, we passed all kinds of restaurants and eventually settled on Forum Seafood for spring rolls, sweet and sour chicken and a typical Singaporean bee hoon noodle dish. Mix in a couple of jugs of Anchor Beer and you have a fitting end of perhaps my most memorable Singaporean weekend thus far! I lingered for a few minutes at the table after watching Rusty and Britney walk off to make their way to the airport, not wanting to head back to work and certainly not wanting my friends' time in Singapore to come to an end so quickly.

Rusty and Britney are in Manila now, and they plan on spending a nice chunk of time in Boracay while they are in the Philippines, too. Then, in a couple of weekends, we will all meet up again in Hong Kong, where I'll get the chance to show off a second Asian metropolis to my friends. I can't wait and hope they are just as excited as I am. Stay tuned for part two of Rusty and Britney's Asian Adventure!