Dalí Before Bali

After my time at the Singapore Botanical Gardens, I made my way on the MRT (their version of the tube) to Bas Basah to go to the Singapore Art Museum. The rain was pouring heavily when I got out of the station so I decided to wait under an awning until it subsided. I waited...and waited...and waited. I waited until boredom and hunger kicked in so I found a canteen style place that served all dfferent styles of Asian food like pig trotter soup and fish dumplings...I was a wuss and ordered fried rice. I know I should be more adventurous with my food but, I'm sorry, I just don't think I could stomach those other dishes!

The Art Museum was a waste of time and money really. I paid 10 Singapore dollars to see three rooms of portraiture. They only had one exhibit on and the artist didn't impress me one bit. Had I known it was so empty and only portraits before I got my ticket, I would have turned away and found something else to do. But it all helps to shape my taste, I guess, discovering what I like and what I don't.

I hadn't been out in the evening yet since I got to Singapore so I decided to at least go and buy a drink somewhere, and that somewhere was not far at all. Back at the good old trusty Clarke Quay Center by the river, I walked along and took in the atmosphere of the place. I'd only seen it in the morning when having my usual bakery bought breakfast but at night it took on a different persona. It was lively, music blaring out from each bar, people drinking and sitting in groups by the river, kids running through the street fountains and tourists gathering round to watch street performers.

I found a rock themed pub that had a biker-style bar and was playing my favourite Ted Nugent song - perfect - this was me.

But 15 dollars for a rum? I don't think so. I coyly asked for a lemonade and sat for a while, watching people pass by on brightly lit tour boats.

The next morning I packed up my suitcase, cleared my bunk, emptied my locker and checked out of River City Inn. My flight to Bali wasn't until 7pm so I left my things at the hostel and decided what I'd do over coffee. I wanted to attempt the ArtScience Museum one more time, hoping that it wouldn't be closed again for another private event.

But hoorah! It was open...


Lotus shaped building...Keith and I think that's pretty cool.

I was the first person through the door when they opened at 10am and I wasn't sure what I was in for. I was hoping there'd be no more crap paintings. To my delight, they were displaying the biggest collection of art by Salvador Dalí, one of my favourite artists! I spotted his famous 'melted clock' by the entrance and I did a mini dance.

Unfortunately, my camera battery died just as I got ready to snap some of the most stunning Surrealist work in the most interesting exhibition I'd ever seen. This is the only photo I can show you, the rest of them are stuck inside my phone. But here's a picture of Dalí and one of his paintings that I nicked from Google images:


I didn't mind what I did after that, I was reeling from Dalí 's art; it had made my day. I took my time to get back to the hostel. I had a coffee here, had some lunch there and by the time I was done it was time to leave for the airport.