2025 – 2nd Annual Singapore Book Club Meeting

At our 1st Singapore Bookclub Meeting in Istanbul in 2024, we chose to go back to Singapore for the 2nd meeting. The meeting was hosted by Jane and Sunder, before they leave Singapore for London. What a great get-together those of us able to attend enjoyed.

Pat and I arrived on November 7, after a week in South Korea with Annelise and Gloverson. Gulcin and Phil were already at our hotel, Citadines Balestier. With Jane and Sunder, the attending members were all in SG. Unfortunately Susan & Woody, Jenni & Eric, and Elise & Renato, were unable to join us.

The actual book club meeting was to start on the evening of the 9th, so everyone was free to meet with friends made during the times we lived in SG. Below is Pat and my adventures.

8 November (Saturday)

Our first stop was Tiong Bahru Bakery, where we often went while living here. One of our favorite pastries is Kouign-Amann, which we first tasted at TBB in 2014.

We then walked to Tiong Bahru Market, Central Green Condominiums (where we lived), and Tiong Bahru Plaza. Then back to Tiong Bahru Market for lunch. This was a homecoming, and we felt very comfortable eating food we remembered fondly.

Later that evening, we went back to Central Green to visit a family we had become very good friends with. Wei Hon and Linn Whui’s kids and our grandkids played together. We had dinner with them and they surprised me with a birthday cake for my 80th birthday that was coming up later in November.

9 November (Sunday)

This evening was our first official gathering of the book club. But first there was another friend to meet up with. We met Kirsten as a friend of our son-in-law, Tom and his work with The Butterfly Home in Nepal as well as the dragon boat races in Singapore. A few years ago, Pat had knitted a blanket for Kirsten’s daughter, Josephine who we finally got to meet.

Later Sunday evening, our group of six, took a Grab Taxi to Jane and Sunder’s home. We had a fun gathering where we discussed many thing, including the book that we read before coming to SG – Lieutenant Kurosawa’s Errand Boy by Warran Kalasegaran. After an excellent dinner, as we always did at our book club meetings, each of us rated the book in several categories, and an average for the categories was calculated. (I didn’t record the final tally.)

10 November (Monday)

As many of us did while living in SG, we attended the Monday Morning Lecture (MML) at the Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM). At the first meeting I addended when we first arrived in Singapore, I met Jane and was asked to join their book club. It all started here for us.

This evening we met Jane at Fort Canning for a walking tour of the area. Jane, who owns Jane’s Singapore Tours, was an excellent guide. Pat and I had walked around Fort Canning years ago but it was very obvious we missed many interesting things.

Anyone who goes to Singapore should have one of her tours. I have been on several tours and believe them to be outstanding. All of her tour guides are very professional.

11 November (Tuesday)

We met Jane and Sunder at the Chinatown Heritage Center. We were a bit early so we walked down a nearby alley to look at, and enjoy the Wet Market at Temple Street mural painted by Yip Yew Chong in 2021 (see article, #3). We had seen several of his murals in Tiong Bahru. All of the paintings are fun to see and show parts of the real life of Singapore.

It was now after 10 AM and the Heritage Center was open. “The Chinatown Heritage …[invites] visitors to rediscover the rich history, culture, and resilience of Singapore Chinatown’s residents, offering an immersive experience that connects visitors with the past.” There are rooms showing the 1950s shop houses, where multiple people lived and worked. It is a fascinating place to visit.

From there we walked through the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum, which all of us had been to several times when we lived here. Always an amazing place to visit.

We then walked to the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) building, where we could see exhibits showing the work being done to revitalize parts of the city. In addition, we visited the Singapore City Gallery in the same building. What a great place to visit – we wish we had known about these places when we lived here.

At 6 PM we went to the Jurong Lake Gardens (including the Chinese and Japanese Gardens) and then had dinner at Canopy, within the Gardens. 

12 November (Wednesday)

Today we visited Bird Paradise at the Mandai Wildlife Reserve. This area includes 42 acres (17 hectares) housing 3500 birds from around the world. The entire area is covered with netting and is divided into 8 separate aviaries. This is the best collection of aviaries we have ever seen. It was spectacular. It is one of the many things that Singapore does better than much of the world.

We then crossed over to the Rainforest Wild ASIA, where we were able to see a few animals. I suspect many of the animals were staying in cooler areas. Some in our group saw a fleeting view of a tiger (Pat and I were not so lucky).

13 November (Thursday)

After breakfast, we went to the National Orchid Garden at the Botanic Gardens. One of the many things I loved about Singapore was access to these gardens. There were always orchids at the Tiong Bahru Market – none of which were expensive like in other places. The orchids at the NOG were plentiful and very pretty. We could go back here regularly if we still lived here and never get bored. A few days before we arrived, Princess Anne of Great Britain came to the NOG to have a particular orchid named for her (see the photo below).

When we left the Orchid Garden, we went to the Gallop Extension at the Botanic Gardens, to see 2 colonial black-and-white houses (Arbara House and Inverturret House) Both houses were designed by the prominent architect Regent Alfred John Bidwell. “Beginning in 1939, the building [Inverturret House] served as the residence of the French ambassador in Singapore, with Atbara House housing the French embassy, with French consul-general and his wife moving into the building by April of that year.”

Later this evening we went to see a play at Wild Rice@Funan. The play was The Emperor’s New Clothes and the performance was the opening night. There were many kids at this performance and they seemed to thoroughly enjoy it – I know we did.

14 November (Friday)

Today, in our free time, Pat and I decided to walk part of the Rail Corridor, which we had walked several time while we lived here. We started at the southern end and immediately ran in to problems – crews working on the trail access. Once on the trail, we discovered long sections were blocked for remediation. We gave up.

Tonight, some of the group went to a lecture about an archeological site in Malaysia. The photos and lecture were good.

15 November (Saturday)

Our last, full day in Singapore!

Today, Pat and I went to the Kampong Glam area, in particular Arab Street. This is another area we had spent many hour visiting. Pat was looking for gifts to take back to the U.S. We also looked forward to having lunch in this area and found a restaurant we had not been to before. I was also able to find a nice shirt for dinner tonight at Raffle’s Hotel.

Tonight, the group met at the Writers Bar in the Raffles Singapore Hotel. In addition to being our farewell gathering, they celebrated my 80th birthday, which is the next day. The group gave me another Singaporean dress shirt, while Pat gave me a Smith Street Taps t-shirt. (Smith Streets Taps is my favorite place to drink beer in SG. There is a nearby satay shop that we can’t resist when having a beer.)

After drinks, we had dinner in the Tiffin Room. The dinner was Northern Indian, served family-style. The dishes, chosen by Sunder, were delicious. At the end, I was served a birthday desert, with a candle. Thanks to a great group of friends.

While at the Writer Bar, there was also a passing of the “torch” – next year the book club will be hosted by Annelise and Gloverson in Brasil. Gloverson provided us with the video below, not only as a review of the Singapore meeting but an invite to the next meeting.