Read this blog: The one where we jettison the shoes
Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd March 2025
We had woken up on Friday to the rather dramatic news that a fire at the North Hyde Substation had caused a total power outage and Heathrow International Airport was consequently closed to all flights. As we were due to fly into Heathrow, this obviously caused us some considerable consternation. However, realising that nothing we could do would influence the speed at which the matter was resolved, we decided we would still spend our last day in Singapore visiting the Battlebox, the museum in the WWII Bunker at Fort Canning, as planned.
After breakfast [see Dish of the day] and en route to the museum, Robert wanted his photo taken to showcase his two new branded bucket hats. Where better to do this than outside the Long Bar at Raffles?
By opening time, a queue had already formed at the entrance to the Battlebox. As advised the day before, we had brought our Airpods for use with the audio guide, to avoid having to wait to be allocated headsets, and so we were able to jump the queue slightly. We were consequently the first people to enter and walk down the stairs into the Fort Canning Bunker that day, descending almost 30 feet into the hill.
Built between 1936 and 1939, the Battlebox was used as the headquarters for Allied forces defending Singapore against the invading Japanese army in the final days of the Malayan Campaign [8 Dec 1941 — 15 Feb 1942]. On our trip to Thailand and the Bridge over the River Kwai in 2024 we had confirmed that one of Robert’s great uncles had been captured at the fall of Singapore. He was then used as slave labour to build the Burma Railway but miraculously survived the cruelty and hardship to be liberated and repatriated at the end of the war.
The rooms in the Battlebox recreate the days leading up to the fall of Singapore when 500 officers and men were forced to retreat into the bunker.
As well as an audio guide, visitors are provided with a pair of red tinted paper glasses and a pair of blue tinted glasses, similar to 3D cinema glasses.
In one of the rooms, the red pair reveal statistics projected onto the walls about the war from the Japanese perspective whilst the blue ones give the Allies’ viewpoint. These displays illustrate the power of misinformation: the Allies believed the hype.
The Japanese notoriously used bicycles for transport. Many of these were without tyres and so the noise of battalions of Japanese soldiers cycling on metal wheel rims was intimidating to say the least and created the sense of a far more organised, and indomitable army than the Allies were actually facing. A clock face in one of the video displays counted down to the moment of surrender.
It was here in the Bunker that Lieutenant-General Arthur Percival and 11 other commanders made the decision to surrender Singapore to the Japanese, resulting in possibly the greatest defeat ever of a British army in battle. However, if the Allies had stood their ground and fought, they could conceivably have beaten the Japanese army which was poorly resourced and supported. Subsequent accounts state that a Japanese force of 30,000 subdued 120,000 Allied forces proving that PR, perception and self-promotion can be a very powerful thing.
The surrender of Singapore was the beginning of three and a half years of Japanese occupation.
Outside the bunker [see Selfie of the day] we passed a queue of people waiting for their turn to take photos at the bottom of the Tree Tunnel. We did not join the line.
We returned to the hotel to check out and collect our luggage. As loyal customers we had been granted a late checkout time. For most of our trip, Robert had had “a hole in his shoe which was letting in water” [with apologies to the band Traffic]. This had only really been an issue in the rain in Singapore. His plan had always been to wear them into the ground and leave them behind. So he said a fond farewell to his deck shoes safe in the knowledge that he has a pristine new pair waiting in the box for him at home.
Our transit through Singapore Changi Airport was smooth.
Robert was able to visit his 54th Hard Rock Café in Terminal Three at Changi Airport. However, after passing through security, passengers can move between terminals 1, 2 and 3 on the Skytrain. Matilda was interested to discover that there is a public swimming pool airside and made a mental note to have her swimming costume in her hand luggage in future.
So to sum up this trip:
Countries: 10
Airports: 14
Days: 42
Flights: 11
Miles: 17352 (24,901 is around the world)
Railways: 1
Top 3 cities: Singapore, Hong Kong, Kuching
Bottom 3 cities: Jakarta, Brunei, Manilla
Best experience: Elephants in Luang Prabang
Most scary experience: Walking outside the wall of Intramuros
Best beer: Passion Fruit Wheat Ale at the Pasteur Street Brewing Company in Hanoi
Worst beer: The vinegar severed in the Atlas in Singapore
Best toilet roll placement: The Empire Brunei
Steps: Ave 11,808
Trip cost: Hotels, Travel, Beer and food,: £10,100
Selfie of the day:
Dish of the day:
Route Map:
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