Sing-Star(rett)

This year has been pretty wild so I deliberately booked a few days of decompression for time in Singapore on the way home. Raffles Sentosa looked good online - and really, who can say no to a private villa with a pool? The reality is even more spectacular. 

A butler escorts you to your villa and mixes up a fresh Sentosa sling (their twist on a Singapore Sling) while he finalises the check in process and shows you around. Two separate beautifully appointed glass and timber pavilions - a living room and a bedroom, with the pool between them, all surrounded by high walls. Inside my little oasis I have fresh flowers, lush greenery, a 24 hour butler, and complete silence except for the peacocks and the parrots. I want to bring everyone I know here to experience it with me, and I equally want to shut out the world and just sink into the privacy and the stillness. 

Breakfast can be served at your villa, but I’ve chosen to eat both days by the main pool. They wheel over little carts of fresh juices, then cereal and fruit, then a bread and pastry basket before handing you a menu to order the main event. Kind of a buffet that comes to you. I tried a delicious “ green fritter” made with zucchini, carrots (not green) and ginger, served with a slightly bitter lime zest ricotta. One evening I was driven in a Rolls Royce buggy (yes really!) to the Sofitel property next door for a nice dinner at the bar). It was less flash than Raffles but I had excellent service from my waitress and good food. Two days of swimming and reading has given me a reset, ready for reentry to my normal life. I know I’ve missed a chance to explore Singapore, however I’ve spent time in Singapore before and this relaxation time is precious. 

On the last day, I checked out late and spent time with a very dear friend and his hosts for a walk and then lunch. We wandered through little India and tried Appam - a lacy pancake made with ground rice and coconut milk. It’s fried in a wok into a little basket shape and then dipped in coconut milk and sugar. Delicious. Lunch was at a restaurant on the water and we tried Chilli Crab, with golden fried Mantou buns. Also delicious. The poor crab was live before we ate him for lunch, and I was just glad I didn’t have to choose him specifically from the tank. This day out was an unexpected bonus of stopping in Singapore and made for a lovely social finale before flying home. The Singapore stopover was a wonderful chance to eschew any decision making, logistics planning, and indeed any effort at all. A few quiet days to let the noise fade and the tempo slow. A few perfect rests before the rhythm of normal life returns. 

Thistle-stop tour.

My final stop in the UK is Edinburgh. The train from York, efficient but expensive,  was packed and it was a struggle to find space for the luggage. Although I haven’t done a lot of shopping, I seem to have acquired a surprising number of bits and pieces along the way and my two bags are both full and heavy. Luckily the hotel is right outside the train station, another ex railway building - Victorian, Grade 5 listed, and beautiful. I’ve included a photo of the outside. Inside, the Scottish theme is strong with all the staff in “costume” and a bright tartan carpet throughout. Jason bought me a Scottish title some years ago and I AM in Scotland, so…. in a moment of whimsy I MAY have signed up to the hotel loyalty programme as Lady Anna Starrett. Anyway, the front desk and the breakfast check in team addressed me as Lady Anna and it’s on my invoice too.

My days here have comprised two separate walking tours, a few fabulous meals and a good deal of wandering. I feel like I’m in a beautiful sandstone storybook - the architecture, the accents, even the inescapable sound of bagpipes from the buskers. I had a good look through St Giles, the church where Queen Elizabeth lay in state (picture of the floor tile included). The gift shop carries themed religious socks called Faith on your Feet. Think loaves and fishes, Jonah and the whale, seven fat cows and seven thin. You name a bible story, it’s on a sock. I also went to the “Georgian House”, a restored period house, run by the National Trust. It’s in the New Town, which is actually old, but not as old as the Old Town.

I’m frustrated by the lack of time to do everything I want. The more I see, the more I want to explore. I wish I had the luxury of long blocks of time to wander. I’m also still juggling work and study commitments. Numerous work emails where people are actually expecting a reply, a 5.30 am meeting that needed an hour of prep prior, a dissertation proposal for Oxford due early next week (which I haven’t started yet!)- I can’t quite escape and it’s impacting my ability to completely relax. People are always saying to me that they don’t know how I fit it all in. Right now I’m not sure! 

Leaving Edinburgh was sad but I have booked a few final days in Singapore on the way home. When I arrived at the Qantas lounge in Heathrow, I was escorted to a reserved table for dinner. All this travel has landed me at Qantas Platinum One level, leading to some special treatment. Fancy! 

In true team Starrett style, I’ve taken advantage of the proximity of my birthday and mentioned it when booking meals and hotels all week. This is a family tradition, started by Flynn, age five, to get a free birthday sombrero at a Mexican restaurant in New York. That success was followed by Starrett boy birthday claims (both accurate and spurious) during our trips to Walt Disney World. On this trip three free desserts have appeared at last count. My birthday itself is a casualty of time zones — the 14-hour flight and the calendar flip wipe out the 31st — so I’m happily taking the wins now.