When in Chinatown, shop and eat

Place: SINGAPORE 

A view of Chinatown. Note the timber windows with narrow 
slits, a characteristic of almost the entire, which along 
with pastel shades of walls, gives it an elegant look

The place for the best bargains. Okay, perhaps not many in Singapore are not as desperate for bargain as us Indians, but then Singapore's Chinatown not just offers the best prices, but also a great experience.

With its huge range of merchandise, especially souveniers at great prices, roadside vendors, and even bargaining, it is sure to remind Indians of their bazaars.

Chinatown is located in the southern part of the city, in Singapore's early areas of settlement. In Chinese the name means 'bull cart water' as once water was transport in carts to cater to the needs of the area. The area is worth traipsing around in, for this where the genesis of today's modern community lies.

The area, once overcrowded, has been restored to a great extent, and is today full of beautiful facades. The architecture is a combination, almost a cross, of Victorian, Baroque and Italianate styles. In the evening the area additionally takes on the look of a huge eatery as streets close to traffic and instead tables are laid for people to dine out. 

Sentosa straits

A view of the Singapore Straits. You can just about make out
the circumference of the Earth! 

Place: SENTOSA

Looking out to the Singapore Straits from my room at the Rasa Sentosa hotel on Singapore's Sentosa island.

This relatively small body of water separates Singapore from Indonesia. But the separation seems to be more on paper as I was told there are many men crossing frequently to satisfy certain needs!

It is also a a main channel to the Straits of Malacca. It is busy all the time, and ships and boats crowd this water body along with small sandy islands. Good for a leisurely boat ride. 

How's the action?

Place: SINGAPORE

Voyeurism? Well a view of balconies from my room on the 11th floor of my hotel. I had not realised that one could look and see so clearly into other's balconies! Despite overlooking a beautiful sea view, there were very few people out then! May be still catching up on excitement from the night before?

This is in Singapore on a beautiful early morning. 

Hang it

Place: SINGAPORE

A clotheshorse in the room at Wangz hotel, Singapore.

Made of wood, and probably from Ikea of one its cousins, it added a splash of colour in a room that even otherwise was interestingly designed and stocked.

Boutique hotels in Singapore make the stay even more interesting in this city state, as each has its own theme, and everything is designed around that. 

Anatomy of a meal

Place: JORDAN

Jordan's cuisine is to live for...

An unexpected bounty while travelling is usually the food. Each new places offers its own delights, and insights into a place. Jordan to date remains the destination I most vividly remember for every meal being such a absolute delight. Obviously Mediterrranean in its contours, the cuisine is extremely close to what most would know as Lebanese cuisine.

Here is a glimpse into the first meal we had, which is after a delightful few hours spent marvelling at Jerash. It was a late lunch, it had rained lightly and a light drizzle still continued. The weather was perfect for an outdoors meal, but we did the next best thing, sat next to a huge glass window.  

The idea of taking a pic came rather late in the meal,
when we had satiated ourselves! 

By far the most common and best way of eating is the communal mezze, which is what we followed. It consists of various individual dishes. It starts with a drink, which our case was a most refreshing lime mint juice. 

The food to arrive were platters of hummus and the falafel, great favourites. The salads include the tabouleh and the fattoush. There is also the familiar bagdonsyyeh, parsley blended with tahini and lemon juice. There are more dips on way - moutabal, pureed eggplant, a cousin of the babaganoush,  and in their variety of flavours are a hit at the table. There are bowls of olives and pickled veggies - carrot, radish, cucumber and a local veggie we couldn't identify. There is olive of course to add the to anything. There were wonderful breads to accompany all these, along with the familiar pita came the less known  ka'ak, round, thick and soft - think sheermal without the sweetness. perfect accompaniment for the rest of the meal. 

The centre piece is a very large kabab platter, which also had a bed of biryani type rice. We had stuffed ourselves, already as we had to idea that was coming! But proudly we can say we followed the eco friendly adage of not wasting anything. Coffee followed, and we did not decline! Amazingly, the meal was light enough for us to do more walking around.