everything stops for tea

Singapore. We knew it would be expensive & it was the hard to find budget  accommodation which is how we ended up at the Days Inn hotel, 10 mins from the MRT (underground) & a 15 min from downtown but getting around was straightforward & v cheap.   I had to come here though. In 1994 my mum & her best friend Moira who met at nursing college, & by then both retired and widowed, visited Singapore on their world travels & loved it. Both are sadly no longer with us, however I  recently discovered my mum’s diary from her travels with Moy & so before we left I made notes so we could explore some of the places they did.  On arrival I could see the attraction for mum - English spoken, lush & green, very neat & orderly & safe. They managed to pack so much into their trip. Despite us walking over 60km in 3 1/2 days we couldn't match them.The hotel they stayed in is still there & when we went we found it was on the edge of the vibrant area known as Little India. However  despite all the wonderful food that is on offer  I know mum would never have ventured to eat there.  She just didn't eat ‘ foreign food’! Mum & Moy did visit  the nearby Temple of 1000 lights,  however it was closed when we got there, but we did stumble upon a street festival with traditional music & dance.  On our 2nd day we went to the Botanic gardens – protected by Unesco & visited by Mum & Moy. It a huge site &  quite beautiful But was ridiculously hot.  We met a nice couple & strolled through the orchid gardens chatting & sharing stories before we headed to Chinatown where we found a lovely Chinese café off the beaten track & had some delicious soup. Back at our hotel for a recharge before heading to Marina Bay. Much of this area has been developed since Mum & Moy visited in particular the crazy Marina Bay Hotel @ Sands with its 3 towers topped with what looks like a giant surf board housing gardens, a swimming pool &  bar. We walked around the bay & caught a glimpse of the nightly light show before going into the mall attached to the hotel. All very high end but with an impressive vortex water feature inside.
The following morning we woke to the news from home that the beautiful Edith Elizabeth had been born to L&J - very exciting & our morning was filled with pictures & messages, before we headed out to Orchard Road which is Singapore's famous shopping street. Mr L described it as Kuala Lumper on steroids . So many shops,  so many malls many interconnected underground so you don't even have to go up to street level. It was mad but essential as we had to get something to wear. we had managed to secure a cancellation booking for afternoon tea at the famous Raffles Hotel the next day. The trip was a success with Mr L getting a shirt & I got £7.50 dress. Sunday we were up early & back on the Mum & Moy trail, visiting the catholic cathedral & saying prayers for them & others back home, before going to the national museum which was surprisingly good with a great Japanese art exhibition. Then to get my hair done. I had been putting it off as I was nervous about having it cut but Raffles was not the place to go with frizzy, unkempt hair. We got ‘dolled up’ and made our way downtown. There, amidst tall towers & high-rise apartment blocks sits this 2 storey colonial  building with whitewashed walls, red tiled roof – it couldn't look anymore incongruous with its surroundings. And I know that when Mum & Moy had afternoon tea here they loved it. I could just imagine them sitting next to us laughing & chatting to everyone. We loved it too & funnily enough we ended up chatting to some interesting chaps on the next table to us. After eating our own body weight in cake & sandwiches we wandered around the parts of the hotel you can visit (& some you can't) then headed to the war memorial & down to the other side of the marina where a band was playing. We kept walking until we arrived at the Gardens by the Bay a beautiful area with a huge indoor garden and the most amazing tree structures - super trees - up to 50m high. As the sun set, we strolled around the trees when suddenly they lit up & we were in the middle of a light show. it was wonderful. A perfect end to a perfect few days. 
We didn't see everything on Mum and Moy's list but we did enjoy retracing their steps. Singapore needs more time than we gave it. I'm not sure it's edgy enough for us but certainly worth a visit.