I had a fantastic sleep last night and woke up around half past ten this morning feeling refreshed. Around midday I sauntered into the cultural enclave of Little India. Immediatley on entering you feel like you are in Mumbai! Everyone is Indian, there is Indian music blasting out of shops, Bollywood advertising and the spicy aromas of the restaurants. I was feeling hungry so I decided to go in a vegetarian Indian restaurant. The waiter spoke no English so I just pointed at the menu and he gave me a huge water jug and a metal cup which already had water in it. I was about to drink the cup when I saw other people dipping their hands in. Aha it's a finger bowl thing. Suddenly I realised there was no cutlery;anywhere! Everyone was using their hands-what fun! My meal arrived on a banana leaf and I began copying the locals, scooping up rice, green stuff and red stuff; then guzzling it down! I finished the meal which was great and then asked for the bill. The waiter retorted "$5" and that was that. A meal for 1 pound eighty pence. I left the restaurant and walked through Little India which became more and more downtrodden and dirty with each block I passed. FInally I saw a road I recognised that led me towards the main city centre. I headed towards the Colonial District, wandering aimlessly for awhile. I found Raffles Bar and walked into the famous Long Bar, and ordered a Singapore Sling-what else? The interior of the bar is just as it was nearly 150 years ago when the British ruled this island. The first thing you notice is the peanut shells littered across the ornate tiled floor. In Singapore dropping litter is forbidden and if caught you are fined $500. The Long Bar is the only place you are allowed to drop litter and so it is customary for people to chuck their peanut shells which accompany any drink on the floor. It feels a little naughty throwing your peanuts on the floor but as you can't do it anywhere else it's actually good fun! The Singapore Sling was a bit of a let down to be honest. I used to make them when I was a cocktail barman in Stavka and they tasted amazing! However the barman didn't even use a cocktail shaker and appeared to have ready-made drinks that he just threw in a cocktail glass. It just tasted of fruit juice and I find it hard to believe there was gin and Cherry Brandy in there. It also cost $19 but hey you've got to do it! You are paying for the priviledge of sitting in a bygone era with paddle fans and exquisite service. I walked out of Raffles Hotel & Bar and into Raffles Plaza. I bought sandals and shorts from Op and M&S. I then wandered round the city in the sauna-like conditions which are oppressive. Finally I headed back to my hostel for a little "siesta". I woke up and feeling hungry headed towards the Tekkan Foodcourt and inside wandered past a myriad of food vendors but the smell was making me sick. I didn't want to do this-but I went to Burger King. It was great as I haven't been in years and after all the different Chinese/Japanese/Indian food I've been eating recently; a BK meal hit the spot. When I returned to the hostel I met Solomon a Ghanaian musician who is in a Danish jazz band called the New Jungle Orchestra (web address: http://www.newjungleorchestra.com/). I had chatted to him a few nights ago. He invited me along to the gig which was in a really cool jazz club called the South Bridge Jazz Club down in the boat quay area of Singapore. I went to my room to get changed when I met a Scottish guy called Ruaridh from Edinburgh who is funnily enough doing almost the same itinerary as me but going to Cairns instead of Sydney. I invited him along to the jazz club (http://www.southbridgejazz.com.sg). The jazz club looked a little shabby from the outside but inside it was uber-cool and plush. We watched the gig and it was terrific! The music was an eclectic mix of sax, bongo drums, clarinet and drums. They also chanted every now and then! We spoke to the band at the bar, most of them were Danish and some Swedish. They are heading on to Bali for their next gig. It was a great night but the beer was expensive; about 5 pounds a pint. So only had 2 pints the whole evening! Got in at 2am and went to bed.