Day Nine: Singapore Activities

This morning, the creative abilities of our group were put to the test as we attended a batik class at the Goodman Institute. Our instructor gave us directions about the use of the tools of the batik artist, particularly the tjantings, the tool that traces the wax over the batik design. She also demonstrated the painting of the water colour dyes on the fabrics. After we each selected a design and then traced, first with pencil and then with the wax from the tjanting, we were well on our way and were able to fill in the spaces with a variety of bright colours. Some were able to incorporate effective shading skills as well.

When we finished our smaller first project, we continued on to a larger and more complex work that required more careful tjanting, though some experienced frustration as their tjanting dripped wax where it was not required or spread it too thickly. It was certainly an activity that had everyone well engaged. There were some most impressive final peices of work that were achieved by the end of our three hour workshop.

We then proceeded to lunch at a Chinese restaurant in the city centre and were served local Singapore cuisine, including fish ball soup and fried tofu. Following lunch, we were back to the hotel for a break from touring. This allowed some of the group time to go for a swim, while others purchased time on wi-fi to catch up with social media. 

As Stuart had his birthday on the first day of the trip when we were flying from Sydney through to Siem Reap, it was decided in advance that we would celebrate his birthday today. This allowed some group members time to organise special items for the celebration, including a birthday sash, a crown, a cake and various other small gifts. 

As we left for our evening meal, we crowned Stuart and then got stuck into a seafood meal, which included a local speciality, chili crab. When eating crab, you must have a bib on as it is going to get messy. We then had the birthday cake, although Stuart experienced significant difficulty blowing out the trick candles.

Afterwards, we went for an evening ride on the Singapore River in a bumboat. It was a spectacular evening as we were able to appreciate the colourful night lights of Singapore. On arrival back at the hotel, some had time for some card games before heading to bed for our final night in a hotel for our trip.