Reunion Island

Reunion, such a close neighbour to Mauritius, is in fact completely different.  More mountainous, less beaches, less people, more wealth.  Whereas Mauritius is a republic, Reunion is a department of France, and as such is well looked after.  Of the 800,000 people who live here, 37% of them are under the age of 20.  Reunion has one of the biggest and most active volcanoes in the world and the island is constantly growing as a result of its many eruptions.  Today we took a tour up to Piton Maido, a viewpoint at 2200m of the Mafate cirque, a crater if you like.  Millions of years ago a giant crater collapsed and left within it 3 smaller craters.  They are still huge, and inside these smaller craters are tiny villages accessible only by foot or helicopter.  The whole thing is spectacular on a Grand Canyon scale.  Simply breath-taking, and my photos do not do it justice as I can only show one portion of the entire vista.

We also visited a distillery for geranium oil.  The island used to produce 40% of the world’s supply but this has declined as more profitable sugar cane has taken over, and geranium oil is produced elsewhere.  The flora at this altitude was similar to New Zealand.  They had several ponga (which the Americans called Australian fir trees!) and tamarillos.  There was even a bird very similar to a fantail.  As is the island way, we were treated to a rum sampling at the end of the distillery tour.  Not sure what that had to do with geraniums but I wasn’t complaining, and it was 11:05am.  Anyway, I needed to calm my nerves for the hair-raising ride down the mountain.  Going up was bad enough.  Think Crown Range road times ten....

By noon we were dropped in the popular beach town of St Giles.  It has been a stunning day with clear skies and 25C with gentle breeze.  I felt the need for a waterside lunch of seafood and beer.  Dad went back to the ship.  Why pay for lunch when it’s free on the ship, right?  I found a little bistro down in the marina and ordered fresh sea bass fried in butter with aioli on the side, pomme frites, and a simple but delicious green salad.  I sampled the local beer, officially called Bourbon (after the former French royal dynasty) but referred to as Dodo, as per the picture on the label (Dodos lived here too, once upon a time). 

I will be sorry to leave Reunion.  It’s definitely a place worth spending more time in, even if just to go tramping in the mountains.  But the beaches are beautiful too, if you don’t mind sharks.

Three days at sea now, and then Durban where I’m going on safari!

 AT PINTO MAIDO LOOKING INTO MAFATE CIRQUE.  THE TINY WHITE DOTS ARE HOUSES.

ST GILES BEACH

CATCHING SPRATS IN THE MARINA

Mauritius

 Me pretending to touch the tortoise.  If you could see the amount of crap on them you'd pretend too.

 Local talent.

Our ship, docked in Port Louis, at sunset.

First impressions as we came into Port Louis were that it looked like Suva, Tahiti, Hawaii.  Any city on a tropical, volcanic island in fact.  Green lushness and jagged mountains with white buildings at their feet and to the water.  The port was busy and full of factories belching smoke, forming brown clouds amongst the white.  Not pretty. 

On shore, we were met by our Creole guide, Henry.  A lovely, smiley man who showed us some of the sights.  English is the official language here, but most people speak Creole, and most of the signs are written in French.  Actually, I loved the place names here.  Towns called Curepipe, Flic en Flac, Pampelmousses, Bambous....

Our first stop was the Casela Nature Park where I caught a glimpse of the Mauritius Pink Pigeon, one of the rarest birds in the world.  My favourite bird though was the Peach Headed Love Bird.  It had insane, googly eyes set in its peach head, and brilliant yellow plumage everywhere else.  I want one.  Do you think they have them in the pet stores in NZ???  There were also several Seychelles Tortoises which roamed freely for us to pet.  A woman kept calling them Gloppagus tortoises in a broad American accent and it took me a while to realise she meant Galapagos.  I ran into another woman coming out of the toilets in her crisp white outfit, who asked me, “Could you tell me if there’s a mark on the back of my trousers?”  Does Mikael Gorbachev have a birthmark on his head?  Lady, have you crapped in your pants?  I mean, “a mark”?!  She had massive stains all down her trousers.  She’d sat in bird poo.....majorly.  I personally couldn’t think of a worse location to sit down in white trousers than in a bird park. But that’s me.  

Henry broke a twig off a tree and asked us to name the spice.  Apparently I was the first person to EVER guess correctly.  He thought I must be a chef.  Ha ha ha. It was pepper, and it smelt exactly like white pepper, although this was wild pepper.  

Interesting factoid: 25% of Mauritians suffer from Type 2 diabetes, including Henry.  He said it was from all the rice they ate and arranged marriages.  Couldn’t quite figure that one out, and didn’t get the chance to ask him.  So there’s a little mystery to unravel when I get bored of going to exhibitions of paint drying.

Mauritius was the home to the dodo before they were all killed by the Dutch many hundreds of years ago.  The Dutch described them as tasting disgusting and vomit-inducing, and impossibly tough to eat if cooked too much.  So the big question is, if they were so awful to eat, why kill them all?

From the park we went to the island’s second biggest town, Curepipe (pronounced Curapeep).  We visited a miniature-ship-making factory-slash-souvenir shop for rich ignorant tourists. OK, I bought some local rum there.  They used to drink that on ships didn’t they? Oh, and I bought the world’s best souvenir in the craft market in Port Louis.  A white cotton tablecloth....embroidered with blue dodos!!  Are you jealous?

The centre of the island, where Curepipe is, is a volcanic plateau.  Coming down from there, back to Port Louis, we had grand views of the island and the reef that surrounds it. I really liked how you could drive along the road and there would be a Tamil temple, next to a Hindu shrine, next to a Catholic church, next to an Assembly of God hall.  So much worship, in some form or other.

Dad had a great day too, but that’s his story to tell.  We’ve already swapped notes over cocktails, and now we’re back out at sea.  Reunion Islands tomorrow.

Indian Ocean, The Chef's Table

 Jean-Paul demonstrating the art of opening champagne.  Like I need a lesson.

Dad telling Remo that beans need to be cooked for 20 minutes minimum in order to be edible.

Getting onto The Chef’s Table is like trying to join a secret society. Possibly even harder.  Passwords, secret handshakes, and membership going back to great-grandpappy’s day are all required.  Luckily my cleavage and the head waiter have developed a special rapport, and so Dad and I managed to by-pass the waiting list and get an invitation. However, the invitation doesn’t tell you when, where, or what time. It only tells you to meet for a pre-dinner meeting several days before the actual event.  This we did.  Along with the other 8 invitees.  At this point we had to sign several waivers and declarations and promise to wear clean clothes and closed shoes.  And here was I thinking I could pop down straight from the pool.  We were also told the dinner would PROBABLY be held on April 25th BUT it could be cancelled at the last minute.  What a rigmarole. I wasn’t sure whether to be excited or annoyed.

Anyway, the dinner took place last night.  We were met in one of the bars by Jean-Paul, the maitre-d, who spirited us through the dining room and into the galley.  Right inside the door were a couple of sinks, where we all had to wash our hands thoroughly and don white jackets.  I was given a LARGE and Dad was given a MEDIUM!  Oh, the ignominy. I told you I’d put on weight.  From there we took the escalator (yes, escalator) down into the bowels of the galley.  This is where Remo, the executive chef, came and met us.  Remo and Jean-Paul, both Italian, were quite the comic duo and entertained us with canapes, champagne and witty repartee.  We were then whisked up in the service elevator to the private dining room for a group photo with the captain.  He left us to it, and Remo starting impressing us with his flambe skills.  They actually had a fire extinguisher on hand.  Just in case.  The food was tasty, but quantity sizes were ridiculous.  The main course alone was half a lobster thermidor and six slices of tenderloin each. Super-sized surf and turf.   On the plus side, Dad did eat some vegetables.  Not without telling me to lay off on the vegetable nagging.  I’ve given him til the weekend.  All the courses came with matching wine.   The evening ended with us all being given a signed cookbook, a single red rose (for the ladies) and the group photo.  It had been a fun evening but you can imagine after all that rich food and alcohol, and a very large, sloppy sea, I’m not feeling that flash today.

We have left pirate country (everyone breathe a sigh of relief), and our nearest landfall is Madagascar.  Tomorrow we arrive in Mauritius. 

At Sea, Somali Basin

The Private Sun Deck.  Membership limited to 20 people.  Usually only 2 or 3 of us out there.

We are 500 miles off the coast of Somalia, our nearest landfall.  It's very soporific out here.  There's a big, fat, lazy swell and a gentle breeze.  Temperature around 30C.  The captain has been out on the Private Sun Deck all morning, having a snooze and catching some rays.  Obviously not worried about pirates then.
I thought I'd fill you in on my typical sea day.  So buckle up and get ready for a wild ride of excitement and thrills.  Here goes!

7 - 7:30am
Tea, and Dad's pre-breakfast breakfast are delivered to the room.
7:30 - 8am
Check emails.  I have my laptop, and wireless internet is available in our cabins.
8 - 9am
Breakfast at the trough (also known as the buffet).  I try unsuccessfully to avoid the almond croissants.  Never happens.
9 - 10am
Spin class.  The only exercise I get all day.  3 out of 5 of us regulars are Kiwis.  As there are only 8 Kiwis on board, this tells you a lot about the fitness levels of the Americans.
10 - noon
So much to do, so little time.  First off, the jigsaw tables in the library.  There's always a few on the go and a few people doing them.....or are they sleeping upright.  Hard to tell.
Look in on Bingo.  Is it a sport or is it a game?  God knows you couldn't find a more boring pastime.
Do laundry, or any other mundane chore that needs doing.
Check emails again.
Look at dolphins.  This ocean is crazy with them.
Hit the Private Sun Deck and read another book.
Noon - 1pm
Back to the trough.  The food is very good.  I have finally weaned myself off having dessert at lunch.  Just have to work on dinner...
1pm - 5pm
Have a cappucino in a cool, dark spot and read, or do the blog, before hitting the Private Sun Deck again.  It's on the 9th Deck, forward, with great 180 degree views.  Read my book; struggle to stay awake; contemplate the cocktail menu; have a swim; read my book; check out the view; have a swim.  You get my drift.
5 - 6pm
Shower, and rest.  It's been an exhausting day.
6 - 8pm
Dinner down in the rest-home.  I mean the restaurant.  A different and extensive menu every night.  Did I mention the food's great?
8 - zzzzzzz
Watch a movie.  I can't face the cabaret.

There you have it.  Well, I'm off to the Private Sun Deck.  Laters.

Dubai

  The Atrium, inside the Burj Al Arab Hotel.

The Waterfall at Dubai Mall.  Several stories high.


We have just had two full days in Dubai.  If you guessed I spent most of it shopping you'd be right.  Yesterday I shopped at the Mall of the Emirates. So last year with it's internal ski field.  Today I went to the far newer Dubai Mall which has an ice rink, a waterfall, a fountain copied from the one at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, AND an aquarium.  Who needs to shop when you have all that?  But shop I did.  Two pairs of shoes and a handbag have fallen apart from too much use. So I of course they needed replacing.  Bought more shoes than I needed, and a classic, black Kate Spade handbag.  Very happy with my purchases anyway.  I might have bought some clothes too.....
I did manage to squeeze in some sightseeing too.  Dad and I, along with the captain and his wife, and half the senior crew members, took afternoon tea at the magnificent Burj Al Arab hotel.  For those of you who don't know, that's the one shaped like a giant sail - the iconic image of Dubai.  Normally you can only get inside if you're staying there, so our way round that was to dine there instead.  But I'm getting ahead of myself.  BEFORE that we went to the new marina, next to the Jumeriah Palm Island, and jumped on a large private catamaran for a 2 hour sail in the Arabian Gulf and to admire the sheer size of the Jumeirah Palm Island which is all man-made and on a scale far larger than I realised.  It's a suburb in its own right, with several large hotels and a variety of apartment buildings and private beachfront houses.  We drove by coach round it first. It's still a work in progress, although the monorail that runs the length of it is operational, as is the Atlantis Hotel (like something out of Disneyland).  The cat cruise would've been great if the visibility had been better.  We would've had a brilliant view of the city skyline but a seasonal sea haze has moved in and it's like looking at things through fog.  The Burj Al Arab hotel is pretty impressive, but then I think that about all of Dubai.  It's like the architects are trying to outdo each other.  Our afternoon tea was everything you'd expect of a 5 star hotel: cucumber sandwiches, etc,  scones (with passionfruit jam!!) and other sweet treats.  Tea with REAL milk, not UHT.  Bought myself a souvenir at the hotel too.  Wait for it, wait for it...... a key ring.  It's all I could afford.
Just a note on the taxis here.  They're very cheap.  And the roads are outstanding, generally seven lanes in EACH direction for a population of only two million.  But they only have two speeds - flat out and stop.  Not that you can see the speedometer because your eyes are watering too much from the driver's B.O.  You've been warned!!

Muscat, Oman

Muscat appears a compact little city as it's built amidst the valleys of the barren hills that line the coast.  From the port all you can see are rows of neat, little, white boxes, above which are centuries-old remains of Portuguese forts and watchtowers.  There are few boats in the harbour, mainly Arab dhows.  We were only here for the morning, and as I'd been here before and seen the main sights,  I spent my time at the Muttrah Souk.  The souk is made up of many passageways, through many buildings, meandering in no sensible direction.  The shops at the entrance sell frankinsense and myrhh (sp?), which release their musky scent when burning.  Therefore, the souk smells like a church.  A rather pleasant smell I think.  It beats old piss anyway, which is the underlying aroma.  My main aim was to buy some "Aladdin" slippers.  You know, the ones that curl up at the end?  I had success, but not without trying every colour and design available.  I left that poor shop seller scratching his head, wondering if the sale was worth the disarray I'd created.  And still I left without a perfectly matching pair.  Last time I was at the souk I bought several items of Omani silver.  Silver here is sold by weight, and I'm pretty sure I didn't pay more than $100 for all my bits.   Now the prices seem to have sky-rocketed, and all I left with was a small baby's rattle (don't read anything into that).  There is something for everybody in the souk: old telescopes and compasses, gold, incense, pashminas, genie lamps, wonderful necklaces made from amber and turquoise, traditional daggers, snake skins, and furniture inlaid with shell and camel bone, to name a few.  In the end, I didn't spend much, but then we have two days in Dubai so it's good to have some money left over.
I took a lovely photo of a group of young men in their white Arab robes.  They were as fascinated by us as we were by them.

Mumbai

                                            GHANDI'S SIMPLE BEDROOM

                                            DHOBI GHAT - MUMBAI'S GIANT LAUNDROMAT

 We smelt Mumbai about an hour before we arrived there.  An acrid combination of diesel, decay, stale urine, and rotting fish.  I thought I would hate the place before I set foot in it.  But Mumbai = LIFE.  Everywhere, teeming with it, an absolute assault on your senses.  Horns blasting. People, cars, scooters, rushing.  Love it or hate it.  I loved it!  We did most of our touring around the old British part of the city, where once splendid Victorian buildings are almost in ruins, with trees growing in the masonry and balconies and windows slightly crooked and barely hanging on.  Rent is controlled at around $5 a week so landlords don't maintain the buildings.  There are still some lovely ones though.  The truly gothic Victoria Railway Station, and the classical Prince of Wales Museum in it's perfectly manicured, tropical garden.  The Arc de Triomphe-like arch of the Gateway of India, now more a gateway to nothing, is still a lovely piece of architecture beside the immense and stunning Taj Mahal Palace Hotel.  Oh the Taj.  An oasis for the senses.  Walk in there and the chaos of India drifts away.  Quiet, calm, cool and perfumed.  We ate lunch there, at the Masala Kraft restaurant.  Fish curry, lamb biryani, chicken pilau, chilli and olive nann bread, spicy masala tea.  I dragged myself away, back into the chaos.
There is such contrast here.  The billion dollar home of a wealthy Indian.  It's a multi-story modern building
 for the 14 members of his family.  Our guide said she couldn't talk about it.  It burnt her heart.  I wonder if that guy sleeps at night, overlooking all the slums that surround him.  Or does he just cast his eyes on the lavish golf course a few blocks away and pretend the poverty doesn't exist.  But on a lighter note, if you had a billion dollars to spend on your home, would you build it in Mumbai?  Just saying.
The begging wasn't as bad as I expected.  And anyway, you only had to wait for some elderly tourist, yearning for his grandkids, to toss out $1 and they were all over him like flies on rotten meat.
Late in the afternoon I walked from the Taj back to the port.  It gave me a chance to take in the architecture, and it was lovely to see all the teenage boys out in the leafy streets playing cricket.  They always had big smiles, hellos, and invitations to join them in a game.
Wow, what a place.  Can't wait to come back.

Arabian Sea

Thought you might be interested in the ship security.  Yip, that's them.  Relaxing in the shade and manning the LRAD (sonic cannon).  Not sure what LRAD stands for - that's what Google's for.  Look it up.  I have to say, the LRAD isn't quite as scary as an ACTUAL cannon.  And apparently the pirates get a verbal warning before they're blasted with it.  Quite thoughtful really as it means they can go, "Oh, cheers, mate.  We'll just pop in our ear plugs.  Off you go then."
I thought we'd be seeing lots of other ships by now.  So far, just the one.  It was so immense it took us a while to figure out, through the haze, whether it was a land mass or just a frigging big ship.  It was so laden with containers, and moving so slowly, I can bet pirates were looking at it thinking it was an easy, juicy target.
Hundreds of dolphins about today.  They look so tiny, everyone thinks they're midget versions.  However, I think it's just because we're so high up...
And before I go, can I just have a rave about the almond croissants that are baked each day.  Petite sized, crispy outer, chewy texture, fresh-as almond paste laden with slivered almonds.  My God it's lucky I go to the gym each day (although it's a losing battle of the bulge).

At Sea, en route to Mumbai

Forgot to tell you about my lovely lunch yesterday.  I was too busy talking about beer and swimming.  Priorities, right?  We were at the above cafe, but in the shade, as it was waaaaay to hot to sit in the sun.  I thought I'd try a local Maldivian dish which was a fresh tuna and coconut curry with chappatis.  YUM!  Dad was less adventurous and had the club sandwich with fries.  It follows his theme - pizza, fish and chips, mash and gravy.  I keep asking him when he's going to have some vegetables that don't include potato.  "I had half a tomato at breakfast the other day," he told me. Puh-lease!
We were meant to leave Male at 6:30 last night but didn't get away until midnight due to engine trouble.  I guess it was better to have it there than in the middle of pirate territory.  An American asked me if I knew what the delay had been about.  This was this morning when we were steaming along at 20 knots.  I said, "It was engine trouble."  He said, "Oh?  Have they fixed it?"  Yeah dude.  Look out the window.

Maldives

Arrived Male around 9am.  Decided to eat breakfast out on the rear top deck which was exciting for two reasons.  Firstly, the LRAD (sonic cannon) was set up there and manned by security staff keenly scanning the horizon with their binoculars.  Sort of funny as we were at the entrance to Male harbour, and hanging around off the runway approach to the airport, an island in itself.  Secondly, was the proximity of the large jets coming into land directly over us.  So close in fact, you could actually see the pilots completely ignore us!
Male from a distance reminded me of Venice.  What a cliche, but every inch of land is built up to the water's edge. Instead of church towers across the skyline, there are minarets.  We were whisked ashore and promptly transferred to an old tub that took us over to Bandos Resort Island for the day.  The waterways here are mental with boats of all descriptions whizzing hither and thither.  I could barely bring myself to look out the window so I amused myself by staring at a woman of indeterminate age who had collagen-enhanced lips on her stretched face that Angelina Jolie would've been jealous of.  And boobs so out of proportion to her tiny body that her husband had to hold her by the bra straps to stop her toppling over.
Dad and I quickly found the bar/cafe/restaurant by the water and hooked into the icy beers while we decided how to spend our island time.  Pretty much just drinking beer and swimming as it turned out.  I think you can see from the picture above how suitable those two activities were.
At the end of the afternoon we had some time to wander the streets of Male.  Not advisable as the streets are narrow and over-run by scooters.  The men to women ratio seems to be about 90 - 1.  I've noticed this in other Muslim countries.  Where are all the women hiding?
It's very, very hot here so I'm enjoying being back in the air-con now!  Two more days at sea and then we arrive in Mumbai.  Can't wait!

At Sea, Bay of Bengal

Great excitement on board today as we went through our piracy drill - now a legal requirement of ships traveling through pirate waters.  Apparently that will be us from April 11 - 20th.  The alarm sounded and we had to proceed to our staterooms and sit on the floor by the cabin door.  Away from windows in other words.  Then a head count took place and the ship went through avoidance measures - zig-zagging severely, activating water cannons and sonic cannons.  Sonic cannons burst ear drums (not our fortunately).  As for the water cannons....well, they seemed pretty feeble to me.  I think a pirate would see them more as a refreshing shower than a deterrent to taking us captive.  At the end of the 30 minute drill we did get to see the cannons in action.  Check out the woman in my photo above.  She has a Donald Trump comb-over.  Seriously.
Not much else to report.  I've joined a regular Spinning Class.  I tried the Boot Camp (more a Slipper Camp) which was 30 minutes of repeating 5 exercises with a 1kg weight.  This was a taster class.  For US$300 I could've signed up for FIVE more classes and received an "amazing poster" that showed the exercises we were doing.  It was a tough decision, but I declined.
Lots of dolphins about today.  Dad had a senior moment and said "What are they doing way out here?  What do they eat?"
Um...fish?
6 hours behind NZ now, and by tomorrow it will be 7.

Georgetown, Penang

We started our day with coffee at the Eastern & Oriental Hotel - Penang's Raffles Hotel.  In fact established by the same people - The Sarkies Brothers - over 100 years ago.  I loved the doormen, dressed as if heading off on a tiger safari, with long white socks and pith helmets.  We sat in the garden, on the edge of the sea-wall, and watched the people promenading.  Something black and furry skittered at our feet.  Rat, kitten, monkey.
We walked through Chinatown, littered equally with temples and mosques, Chinese and Indian restaurants.  The cauldrons of curries being sold on the street made me wish I was remotely hungry.  Their fragrance was mouth-watering.  It's Sunday so most shops were closed.  Lots of traffic though, and it was tricky getting Dad across the streets where pedestrian crossings didn't exist, even at traffic lights, and open drains were the norm.  The old bugger did pretty well though.  We walked in 33C heat for 3 hours.  I rewarded him with a trishaw ride once we popped out at the harbour-front.  For the grand total of N$5 we got to risk our lives with the manic traffic as we travelled the short distance to Fort Cornwallis.  This is the 300 year old fort at the entrance to the harbour.  Pretty much a ruin now, but with dozens of old cannons lining the wall and a tired but informative museum telling the history of this old relic.  By the time we got back to the ship we were completely drained and exhausted.  Had my first afternoon nap in years.  These old people ways are catching.
We spend the next 3 days at sea before arriving in the Maldives.  We have paid a little extra to have a private balcony with pool and reserved lounger at the rear of the ship, off the spa.  We share it with about 20 others but it's worth it to know we'll always have a lounger available and it's pretty much where I'll be for the next 3 days.  Next update at the Maldives.

Kuala Lumpur

Arrived Port Klang early this morning.  Basically up a river in the middle of the jungle.  The atmosphere was positively fecund.  KL was an hour's bus ride away where we were dumped at the foot of the Petronas Towers.  That was all very nice.  Floors and floors of lovely shops.  I could've spent all day.  However, I only HAD a day, so it wasn't to be wasted indoors.  I caught the LRT (subway/light rail) to Chinatown.  Here the charming, pastel-coloured and crumbling buildings struggle to survive amongst the glass and super-modern architecture encroaching on it.  I ventured to the Central Market which was really just a nasty Mecca for souvenirs.  BUT.... it was there I discovered the fish spa!  Yes, for a measly $2 I got to plunge my feet into a pool of ravenous, toothless fish who seemed to crave human flesh.  This is a must-do, people!!  It's like having thousands of little vacuum-cleaners attached to your flesh.  Best of all - it tickles!!  We all sat around laughing our heads off, feeling like idiots, but not being able to help it.  Seriously, it was laughter therapy. (Is that an oxymoron?)  It seemed a shame to continue walking around after that, building more callouses, having just had them eaten away.  I think I saw a mosque, a monument, a giant flagpole sans flag.  All with a silly smile on my face....
Tomorrow we arrive in Penang.  There's a powerful thunder storm raging right now - deafening, in fact.  Rain, lightning, the whole she-banger.
Our ship is very petitie.  Like a doll-house version of a ship.  I'm quite liking it.  Not too crowded either.  Lots of old people of course.  Food seems good so far.  I told Dad I'd only have dessert if it was a souffle.  So far we've had one every night.  No diets on this trip.

Singapore

These photos are all of the lovely Raffles Hotel.  Such a tranquil and charming oasis in the city centre.  It's so tropical-colonial with the white marble, dark wood, cane furniture and ceiling fans.  We particularly like our personal butler who, at the press of a button, brings us a tray of tea in the morning.  It's certainly another world.  Cam is also staying here and we caught up last night in the Long Bar where we sucked back Singapore Slings and scattered spent peanut shells onto the floor.  So far our time here is all about food.  I think we sampled nearly everything at the breakfast buffet - my favourite being the spinach and shrimp dumplings with chilli jam.  From breakfast we jumped in a taxi to the suburbs to try Dean Brettschneider's latest venture - "baker and cook".  Mainly we went for the Allpress Coffee (thanks for the recommendation, Jody) but the food was stunning.  Berry meringues the size of my fist, hot from the oven hot-cross-buns, mince and cheese pies, fruit tartlets, hazelnut tarts, stunning salads.  Cam scored a sampling of various things.  God knows where we managed to put it.  Dean, who lives in Denmark, spends a week a month in Singapore and happened to be there today.  He came and sat with us for half and hour and told us all about the ins and outs of setting up a business in a foreign land.  Fascinating stuff, and then he shouted us more coffee and hot cross buns.  My sides were aching!  His next venture is in New Delhi.  Of course, when he mentioned this it took me a while to work out he wasn't talking about his new deli.  DUH!  After this expansive morning tea we all went our separate ways.  I went to Vivo City for some mall shopping.  Didn't buy anything and of course all that wandering around made me peckish for Hainanese Chicken - a Singapore specialty.  Our concierge told me about a local place in Purvis St called Chin Chin, only two blocks away from the hotel.  I hot-tailed in down there and entered what looked like a hole in the wall, but was more like Grand Harbour inside (without the Grand).  Massive round formica tables with plastic chairs, a rainbow of plastic bowls, plates, forks, chopsticks and an all Chinese clientele.  A surly looking waitress gestured for me to take a seat (or was it the fingers).  I ordered the Hainanese Chicken and a fresh coconut juice.  All appeared very promptly and were slammed down on the table (I think she spat in the coconut).  The chicken was succulent and flavoursome, the chicken broth delicate and laced with fresh coriander, the condiments all there - ginger paste, chilli paste and thick, sweet soy sauce.  And of course the rice to mop it all up.   The waitress cheered up considerably when I left 15 minutes later, flashing me a gap-toothed smile.  She didn't say, "Come again," but I will.  Spent the rest of the afternoon by the pool, under a thundering sky and air thick enough to smother.  No sign of Cam yet.  He must be lost in Chinatown.  Dad has been hanging out in the hotel - he loves it here.  Tonight we are going to the Shangri-la Hotel for teppanyaki, supposedly the best in Singapore.  This was Dad's idea.  Mr Meat- and-Mash-with-Gravy is having a Japanese craving.  Go figure.