A hot and sweaty but very enjoyable week in Singapore- it was great to meet and spend time with Charles' family and also consume a lot of very delicious food!

When we arrived on Sunday we went through customs and could see Charles' cousin Kelvin when we got pulled over by security to have our bags x-rayed. First Charles' small bag was searched and he was released. My rucksack was put through three times and then I was pulled over to have it searched. "What is in the top of the bag?" the very stern man asked me. I pulled out my dirty knickers, books, washbag and loads of other stuff with him going "not that not that" constantly. "I will need to scan again" he said and it went through the x ray machine 3 more times. "No you definately have something in there, I think it's bullets" at this point I started to panic a little but then calmed myself down "bullets? I've never fired a gun in my life" he looked in the bag again "you know you cannot bring bullets to Singapore? I need to scan this stuff" my things were put through the x ray machine again. "Ok" he said after a lot of discussion with the other officers "you may go but you must not bring bullets into our country again" this annoyed me a bit "but you haven't found any bullets in my bag" I protested, another stern look and a "do not bring bullets" at this point we gave up as we'd been there half an hour and went out to meet Kelvin who drove us back to his parents. We had a great reception with lots of yummy cakes.

On Monday Kelvin had taken the day off to spend with us which was really kind. In the morning we went round to Charles' other Aunt and Uncle- Rose and Ven's house who live 2 doors away to see his Grandmother. Afterwards Kelvin and his mum Florence took us out to lunch at an amazing all you can eat Japanese buffet and then in the the afternoon we went to the national museum. The museum was really good and very well done. You got issued with an audio guide and typed in the numbers corresponding to the exhibits to be told about it. There was a great exhibition on the occupation of Singapore by the Japanese and also the experiences of Singaporeans throughout the ages. There was also a separate section on the history of the food and fashion in the country where Charles learnt about all of his favourite dishes! We got to sample some for dinner too when we went to the hawker stalls and had some yummy food. I had Hor Fun noodles with sliced fish which is my new favourite. Charles had a noodle soup and satay sticks- the food here is so good.

Tuesday morning we went out shopping to get a shirt and trousers for Charles to wear when he needed to be smart on Wednesday and then had lunch with Florence. Afterwards Kelvin met us with his fiancee and we went to Chinatown. Charles and I went to the Chinatown heritage centre which was fascinating- they had preserved a whole house exactly as it would have been 60 years ago. Many families lived in a tiny compartment about 4 metres by 2 metres often sleeping up to 6, sharing a very dirty kitchen and bathroom. We also learnt about the different traders and dialects and also about the opuim dens that were still around in the 1950's.

On Wednesday Charles' uncle who is a member of parliament had arranged for us to visit Changi Prison. It is very notorious as where a lot of prisoners of war were kept during the Japanese occupation but this building has been demolished now and the current prison is brand new. Before going in though we did go to look at the remembrance museum and old chapel which was very interesting. By all accounts conditions were pretty awful and many people were very lucky to survive. Anyway after we had spent some time there we were collected to be taken to the new prison. Our visit was very official- we met the head of the prison and had a four course lunch with a prisoner playing piano in the corner! Afterwards we had a presentation and then a tour of the prison itself.

It was Incredibly different from ones in the UK- not just because it was new and absolutely spotlessly clean but also because it was so quiet. All gates are controlled by computer so no banging of doors constantly. Also on the plus side there are fantastic facilities for learning skills- a multi million pound bakery that makes bread for hotels, airlines, other prisons etc and turns over a large profit that is reinvested in rehabilitation programmes, hundreds of computers in a design studio which produces very high quality products and is used by big companies such as Nestle and a brilliant education programme in the learning department. They have a yellow ribbon scheme which looks great and is about not being prejudiced to ex offenders- this is a national initiative and they hold lunches and events to raise awareness. There are also hardly any drugs in there at all- due to very high security, (the prisoners are never allowed outside- even the exercise hall is indoors) but mainly due to prison staff having their bags x rayed when going in which doesn't happen in the UK hence all of them bringing in drugs and phones for the prisoners as security for staff is very low- we used to be able to walk in with a ruck sack. It just seems absolutely ridiculous that staff are not searched in the UK. Here the visitors have their fingerprints taken on entry and there is also no open visits- they take place through a glass screen and phone which is difficult but also seriously restricts the availability of drugs in the system.

On the other side there are a number of things that are very difficult to get your head around not least the fact they still have Caning for over 40 offences as well as the prison sentence which is horrific- offenders are strapped to an A frame and caned up to 24 times by 4 officers (so that one doesn't get tired and the stroke remains as hard as possible)- the scars never go away. The also still have the death penalty by hanging- the most controversial thing is that it is mandatory (ie no judge can even look at the circumstances and not give it) for possession of more than 3g of heroin, importing drugs and many other crimes. It is very strange when you talk to people who live here as there does not seem to even be any debate about it "well it's the law" is the common answer with no acknowledgement that laws can be changed and may not always be right. "It acts as a deterrant" is also commonly used but we know that people use drugs for a lot of reasons and the consequences are far from their minds- I guess these things are said by people who just cannot fathom the situation a drug user may find themselves in. I think the saddest thing is that when we met up with 2 drugs workers they said that there was no way to get help for a drug problem without getting arrested- even if you go to the one place you can get help they report you to the central narcotics bureau who will then drugs test you and here you get arrested and sentenced for just testing positive for an illegal substance- you don't even need to have any on you.

The prison is ridiculously disciplined- when you walk into a room- even the exercise yard with 100 prisoners in it- all of the prisoners jump up, face you and shout "good afternoon sir and maam" it is very strange. you can't help feeling that they are not treated like humans but animals but it was hard to tell with all the positive PR being spun on the situation. They are not even allowed to watch TV- they have a TV that shows some pre recorded programmes and even the newspapers are censored. Their cell is very very basic. A square room with a squatting toilet and shower at the back, each prisoner is issued a straw mat to sleep on the floor and a blanket and every day the cell must be presented in "inspection condition" mats rolled up and clothes on top so it looks very empty. The are not allowed any personal possessions even on remand and are just issued with one set of clothes, a toothbrush and toothpaste and towel.

We came away with very mixed feelings. There has obviously been a huge amount of money injected into the system and the condition of the actual prison itself and the rehabilitation facilities surpass anything we have in the UK by a million times. it just seems such a contradiction that their "rehab, renew" policy stands alongside the highest rate of executions per capita than anywhere else in the world and an average of 100 canings a week in the prison system. We were incredibly greatful for the oppurtunity to see inside the prison, however and it was an interesting experience.

On Thursday we went out for a delicious Chinese Lunch with all three of Charles' Aunts and Uncles (apart from Paul the MP who was busy working) and also his grandmother. Afterwards we went to deliver a postcard that we had picked up in the old fashioned post box in the Galapagos. It took us a while to find the apartment block but Mr Chu who opened the door was very pleased and interested in his hand delivered postcard from his daughter. We then went to the church to visit the columbarium where the ashes of Charles' grandfather are and then to see his Grandmothers old house. When we got back we all watched our skydive videos and then a lot of videos of Charles' cousin's wedding in June. The day is so long so there are a lot of DVD's- the official betrothal where the family exchange gifts, the wedding preparations, the wedding mass, the tea ceremony afterwards where they are formally welcomed into each other's families then the evening dinner. There has been a lot o talk about us getting married very openly whilst we were here which is quite strange to say the least! This evening we went out again and had more yummy local food- Hor Fun with sliced fish (my favourite) Laksa, Spring rolls, Black bean fish with bittergourd rice (very bitter!) and all sorts of lovely things kindly bought for us by Rose and Ven.

On Friday we went to Sentosa island just off the coast on the monorail. To get there you have to go through a shopping mall called vivocity so we had lunch in the food court there. I am so glad we did because I made the discovery of a lifetime- Tutu Keuh. They are little soft cakes made with very fine rice flour and a sugary coconut filling and are absolutely amazing! We bought 4, scoffed them and then queued up to get more. On our way back we were still thinking about them so decided to buy 40 for our goodbye dinner with the whole family on
Saturday! In fact i am so obsessed we even went to the bakery supply shop to see if we could buy a mould to make them at home but no luck. Anyway after stuffing our faces we got on the monorail to Sentosa.
First it takes you past the huge building site where they are constructing a huge universal studios. We then got off at Imbiah station and the first thing you see is a huge Merlion (half lion half mermaid) which is the national symbol of Singapore. We then walked to the top to do lugeing for the second time. I think the luge here must be owned by the same people as the one in New Zealand as everything was exactly the same- the signs, helmets and carts themselves. The only thing that wasn't quite as good was the actual track- it was shorter and had less jumps and turns. It was still good enough for us to ride it three times though! We then went for a walk along the man made beach at the bottom before getting the chair lift back up the hill to the top. We then walked to do another 2 activities.. The first was a para jump. It was supposed to simulate a parachute landing but was basically just you jumping off a 15m high platform and a line attached to your back slowing your fall so you land on your feet at the bottom. It was hilarious because the other day we were standing 50m above ground underneath the Sydney harbour bridge and I said to Charles "look this is how high I bungy jumped from" (years ago in Thailand) "oh it's not really that high" he said. Standing 15m up he started to think quite differently "I can't do it" he was saying and looking very scared. Eventually the guy working there pushed him off! I jumped off and the we climbed back up to the top of the tower to do a big zip line all the way down to the beach again. We then headed back to the monorail and to the shopping centre. We had a good time but couldn't put our finger on what was a bit strange about the place. It's like a theme park but it's not...hmmm can't explain! Anyway when we went back Charles got a very painful massage in the shopping centre while I got my toes painted (utterly pointless I smudged them in 10 seconds) and then it was back to the food court for more dinner. Having had his favourite chicken rice for lunch it was time for Charles to indulge in the best of the rest and indulge he did- char kuey teow, honey glazed pork with rice and 6 Satay sticks! Just another portion of my favourite hor fun with sliced fish for me... We then got the mrt home to bed.

After a lovely lie in and some more yummy tutu keuh cakes for breakfast we started Saturday with the aforementioned visit to the baking shop to look for the mould and then headed to Little India with Kelvin in his car to have a look around. There we enjoyed a delicious Dhosa for lunch and a pudding of a spectacuar "Ice cream Teppenyaki" from the Raffes hotel Creamery. This involved picking your Ice cream flavour and then any filling inside. They then spread the ice cream out onto a frozen slap and chopped the extras inside of it...I had a low calorie Pina Colada flavour ice cream with chopped snickers and Charles had Coconut cream with oreos and chocolate chips- delicious! It was also a good oppurtunity to talk to Kelvin about living in Singapore. There is only one party in parliament who have been there for ever and it has no real opposition. Of course they control the media very heavily as well so if anyone does run against them they don't really have a chance. They also do clever tactics like saying that they will only improve the housing development flats of those areas that have voted for them in the elections. It is also illegal to protest here and many have been arrested and imprisoned for it- one person just for wearing a t shirt with a picture of a kangaroo on in court. Other bloggers have also had to leave the country for writing things against the parliament. This means it is a little bit like living in a dictatorship. Still we have been enjoying the hospitality provided to us by Charles' uncle Paul, a member of parliament all week so it's difficult to criticise it too much. Kelvin says that most Singaporeans just want to earn money and as long as the laws don't affect them doing that they have a real apathy towards political issues.

After that Kelvin took us for a very weird but hilarious experience- a "fish Spa." This involved sitting with your feet in a tank of fish that nibble at your feet and legs. It is supposed to make your skin smoother and be relaxing. It was so funny. Apart from a few very serious people who obviously went regularly the room was filled with people in fits of laughter from the tickling feeling of the greedy fish nibbling away at you. We did it for 20 minutes although apparently at other places it is done in half hour slots. When you took your feet out it was hard to tell whether they were softer because of the nibbling fish or because of having soaked them for 20 minutes in salt water but it did seem to work a bit!

This evening we had a lovely meal with the whole family at Rose and Ven's house. Rose and Florence, Charles' aunts cooked so much delicious food, Rendang Curry, Satay, Baked fish, huge prawns and loads more stuff. For pudding we stuffed ourselves silly with the Tutu Keuh of course as well as grass jelly with Longans, ondeh ondeh,seri Kaya, ramboutans and lots of other yumy desserts. t was really nice to meet the rest of the family that we hadn't seen at the meal on Tuesday- Charles' cousin Nick who came home from National service with his head newly shaved and his other cousin Cedric and his wife Megan. Tonight is our last night in Singapore and it is now 3am....we've been up late as we wanted to update everything whilst we still have free access to a computer. Tommorrow we will have a last Singaporean lunch where Charles will no doubt stuff himself and i will have Hor Fun with sliced fish and then we will fly to Bali, Indonesia.