Tampines, Singapore

I contacted Ling on the couch surfing site and she accepted me to stay at her place in Tampines on the north east part of Singapore.

It was easy to take a bus to her place and they are very cheap and run frequently. Ling's elderly parents, a helper and 2 Indonesian students live with her in a huge residential block. The students were on holiday so not at home when I stayed.

Tampines is a huge residential area with hundreds of huge residential housing blocks that all look alike. I will know how well I can distinguish them apart when I return for a night with Ling before I leave Singapore.

Ling and I caught a bus to Changi Town and walked along the beach. The beach was crowded with people cooking on the charcoal grills. A large Philippine group invited us to share their grilled crabs, chicken wings and pork. They love to do things as large groups and have so much fun.

Nearby was a group of Muslim Malays cooking chicken and fish.

We had a meal at the covered food stalls not far from the beach and ate Singapore chilli crab with yam leaves sauteed in garlic and finished off with a teh tarik (milky tea poured from a great height- also known as stretched tea).

I needed a sewing kit as I had left mine behind so we wandered the street stalls to find one.

Ling's dad loves to watch the soccer so he is up all night and then sleeps all day. Ling's mum is an ardent mah jong fan and has a group around twice a week to play with her.

On Sunday, Ling went to church and I had breakfast in Changi Village; battered bananas, yams and green bean fritters. I caught a bus to the Changi Chapel Museum and saw a display on the POW internees and murals painted by an internee using whatever he could find to make paint from. It was very interesting. There were displays of radios concealed in a shoe and a broom, so the prisoners could listen to BBC radio and find out what was going on in the world.

There is an enormous military base in Changi and lots of cyclists were breakfasting in the town and I guessed by their short hair cuts that they were military personnel.

Later I met Ling and we went to Little India and visited the Mustafa store; a huge place with a supermarket and anything you would want. I managed to find some NZ manuka honey for Ling.

Using the public transport is easy because you buy an Ezylink card and then top it up and scan it when you get in the bus or train and then again when you leave, so much easier than having the exact change as none is given on the buses.

On Sunday evening Ling's sister and her family arrived to have dinner with us and we were also joined by a cousin and his daughter. It was a great evening. One of Ling's nieces wants to work on a farm so I have invited her to visit our orchard in NZ.

Ling has kindly offered to store some of my extra gear so I don't have to carry it and I will stay another night with her before I leave for Cape Town. She wants to travel to Cambodia so I have been able to give her some tips for the journey.

I leave for Melaka in Malaysia next.