on the Go with Bo!

Pulau Ubin ... Singapore, the way it used to be

If you want to travel back in time and see what Singapore looked like decades ago (60's), well then head to Pulau Ubin, a small island of the north-eastern part of Singapore island.

Getting there:  it's easiest if you take a cab to Changi Jetty (north of the airport) where you can take a bumboat across to Pulau Ubin. The boat ride is perhaps 10 minutes long and costs $2 to cross.  Don't worry about buying tickets in advance for you get them onboard.

Pulau Ubin is a small island ... perhaps 7 km long and 2 km wide.  When you get across, you get to walk through a very small kampung (village) where everyone seems to be renting bikes.  The cost ... another $2-$5 ... to rent a bike for the full day!  We rented a mountain bike for $5 and off we went.  My friend and I acted like complete city-slickers ... that is completely unprepared.  Not that you really need to bring much along ... but at least we could have looked at the map and brought some water and sun-screen.  Instead, we decided to go with the wind and see where the various roads and paths got us.  It's not that you can really get lost on such a small island ... right?

We biked through a lovely lush jungle, every now and then passing a small hut.  The island is a perfect biking getaway, although get ready, for it's more hilly than one would expect.  People say that this is what Singapore used to look like many decades ago.  If true, you will be shocked to see how much Singapore has changed.

After spending several hours biking around and getting completely soaked from the heat and humidity ... we decided to go back into town and get something to eat.  In the small town by the jetty we found a great Chinese restaurant called 'Ubin First Stop Restaurant' and had a fantastic lunch:  strifried rice, choy sum and butter fried prawns.  Yummy!

After lunch we decided to head back home and have a dip in our pool, to cool off.

What a great biking trip to do in Singapore ... and so convenient.

One thing to beware of are the mosquitos ... I didn't really notice them but I guess some people may be more susceptible to them.  So bring some repellent.  After all, it's a jungle out there!

   

Il Lido - Italian dining at its best!

I was looking for a great restaurant in Singapore to celebrate a very special anniversary. I was asking friends and checking out restaurant guides, and the place that kept intriguing me is Il Lido at the Sentosa Golf Club.

However, I kept getting very mixed reviews from people. No one though was really able to pin-point what they didn't like, or what they heard that other people didn't like. It seemed like the place was surrounded in gossip, just like it's Italian owner.

Finally I just decided to make a reservation, and off we went for our grand dinner on Friday night.

We were not disappointed! The setting is the Sentosa Island Golf Club. You can sit indoors or outdoors ... and we chose to sit outdoors, although it was very hot. But we had a beautiful view of the golf course below us and the sea in front of us. The place is decked out in Alessi furniture and accessories which gives it a very modern twist.

The menu was excellent ... we decided to go for the asparagus menu, which included an asparagus ice-cream for desert. The food was delicious and the service excellent.

My ex-wife was also impressed that her Furla bag got her own Alessi chair right by her side ... and the colour of the chair matched her purse colour. Imagine!

After dinner there is a great bar adjacent to the restaurant where you can lounge or dance away into the evening.

All-in-all, this is a fantastic venue. After we left I came to the conclusion that the gossip the place has built up in its two years of existance has to do with price. Yes, it's expensive ... but great food has no price! Just ask any Italian.

Buon appetito!

Singapore Sling!

Everyone coming to Singapore has to try the Singapore Sling! And the point is that you drink it in it's original setting, the venerable Raffles Hotel. After all, this is where the likes of Noel Coward, Rudyard Kipling, Joseph Conrad and Charlie Chaplin sipped the cocktail while sitting on the verandah. Walking into the Raffles hotel is like walking into the colonial past of South-East Asia. The hotel is opulent, colonial in style and decoration, and set amidst a lush tropical garden. Since the Raffles Courtyard bar is at the back of the hotel, I recommend you take this opportunity to walk through the entire hotel and snoop around, especially the grand lobby. And take as many posed photos as you can. We did! Then head to the Raffles Courtyard bar at the back of the hotel, order your Singapore Sling, sit back and enjoy the tropical heat while you sit under a clear blue evening sky. I recommend you only have a few Singapore Sling's though. It's a very sweet cocktail (ingredients: gin, cherry brandy, mixed fruit juices and Benedictine) ... and like any sweet cocktail, have too many and you will pay for it the next day :-) Enjoy!

 

Hang out with 'supermodels' at Mimolette

Last Friday we were invited to go out to Mimolette, a restaurant/bar deep inside the old Singapore Turf Club. To be honest, I had to even look-up what a turf club was! Little did I know it had to do with a horse race-track.

The old Turf Club is a large oasis of green in the Bukit Timah area of Singapore. Currently the grounds are used for training horses, etc. But deep in its grounds you will find a very fashionable place, where one comes to be seen.

Mimolette is an old black & white colonial-style house, which holds a restaurant and bar. Best of all, it seems that only tall and beautiful people come to hang-out here. Everyone was super-dressed ... especially the women. Add to that a great outdoor lounge area under plush foliage, grooving music, martinis ... and you've got a recipe for a great evening.

If you don't want to stand in line, come early ... around 2100-2130 ...