7th Nov, Singapore, Singapore.
Lovely flight.
Our arrival in Singapore happened so fast – we had booked a people mover for Andy. They turned up with a wheel chair – the man scooped him off and took off like a Formula One driver. I was nearly jogging to keep up.
We got through immigration in the express lane, then off went the guy with Dad again. I lost them completely so went and got the luggage – three suitcases, walker, a cabin bag and the walker. Then I searched and searched for Andy. Maybe he had been stolen and sold into the sex trade. I saw the Formula One wheelchair driver who said “through to taxi”. The security guys told me “Yes, He took an old guy in a chair through” – so through I went – past the point of no return point….and no Andy!
I found some lovely people going on our cruise who guarded my mountain of luggage while I went in search. I stepped over THE line and set off the alarms. But then I saw him…dumped over near another luggage carousel – with no chair or walker. He managed to get a trolley and with me standing at THE line calling out each time the heavy glass doors opened, he finally heard me. Yay. Not sold to the sex trade at all!
It was then into a taxi and the drive into town. We arrived just on dusk. And the rains came. There would be no blue skies on this trip.
I was here in Singapore in May and it was hot and sticky. It is now the wet season and it was hotter and stickier! But at least the smoke had gone from the Indonesian bushfires – deliberately lit to clear land. It was causing massive devastation to wildlife including the endangered Orang-utans and to the health of nearby countries. Singapore had a few days of extreme danger last week where all schools and government places were closed down.
Singapore was so pretty and neat. The roads were amazing, with three lanes and perfectly manicured gardens. The taxi was only $27. Taxis are great here. Interesting that only Singapore born people can get a taxi license. They also have luxury taxis.
Our hotel was in Clarke Quay, which was wonderful. Very touristy, very colourful and lots of food places. Very handy and fun. And super pretty at night.
A bar about 100m from the hotel door did a happy hour – and trust me, we needed a happy hour. Alcohol was so expensive. Happy hour was two for one, so two Mojitos for $18 was brilliant. Beer was also two for one. We could afford to drink there. But not wine. It was NOT cheap.
8th Nov, Singapore, Singapore.
We took a tour in a taxi for about a 90 minutes, on the meter with a few photo stops. It cost $35 with a tip. Great value.
We saw heaps of the city including many of the iconic Singapore sites – Marina Bay Sands hotel, the Singapore Flyer, Orchard Road etc. There is some stunning architecture.
Singapore is so very tidy. People cleaning everywhere.
Little India was decorated for a festival on Tuesday. Beautiful. And China Town.
Raffles was a stunning building, dripping in history.
Andy told a story about one of his mates who was stationed in Singapore when it fell in 1942. He was a low rank and ran into the bar at Raffles and ordered a beer. An officer started yelling and tried to chase him out. Raffles had been made an officers bar. His mate said “I’m here with my gun, and a few thousand Japanese troops are 500 yards away, and I bloody well will have a beer before I am captured!”. Cool story. (And his mate did survive Changi.)
I was recommended by a (very) ex student (who is now a Qantas pilot) to eat at a place called ‘Wing Seong Fatty’s’. He said there was a story and he would tell me later. Which he did…..
“Folklore had it that in WW11 the RAAF airmen found a great kid who sold them chicken skewers. When they were overrun and sent to Changi prison, guess who turned up at the fence and passed them food? Once the war finished, many ex RAAF pilots joined Qantas and on the way to Europe and London they tracked him down again. His roadside stall soon became a restaurant. Fatty died mid 2000’s. A sad day for Qantas pilots, but his sons run the place now. One of them is called Skinny. The other Kelvin. Not a day goes by that a Qantas crew doesn’t show up at the door hungry and thirsty.”
How cool is that. And it was great food. Worth the visit.
SIDE NOTE – there are stickers everywhere in the taxis telling you to check for your phone when you get out. “50% of all things left in taxis are phones ……yadda yadda yadda”.
I always check before getting out that I haven’t left anything. I lost a favourite scarf in Seattle once. Lucky I checked, the phone was on the floor. I picked up my phone and off we went.
So, we found Fatty’s, sat down and ordered. I pulled out my phone and took some photos. Then my phone started ringing – really loudly – from inside my bag! Shock horror. There was another black, iPhone 6S, in a black leather flip case in my bag!
After a moment of panic I answered it. “Hello, who is this, why you have my wife’s phone”.
“I am so sorry, I have picked it up by accident, how can I get it back to you”. “What, Lyn in accident, Lyn in accident?”
“No, No, No accident – I stole her phone by mistake!” Etc, etc, At least I got the name of the company from him.
I was able to ring the taxi company and organise for her to be contacted and to organise for her to collect it from the hotel.
I was worried – you get fined for chewing gum and for jay walking in Singapore, and people get public caning for other crimes. What would they do to a phone thief?
Oh dear. She did get it back. That evening. At least she got a really good tip!
I then left Andy to sleep and went for a Bumboat ride. A bumboat is “an authentic Singapore old charm style, blended with modern, environmentally friendly engineering, carefully crafted for a nostalgic experience reminiscing a bygone era of old Singapore.”
We cruised for an hour up and down the river.
It was then time for drinks. We met up with JD and Kyle, from Canberra, for a drink at our happy hour bar. This time I had the Virgin Mojito. Silly me. It wasn’t on the 2-1 list – which I didn’t notice. So my ‘soft drink’ cost me $14. Not two alcoholic ones for $18 They all laughter at me. Loudly.
We then headed off to ‘Gardens by the Bay’. They are vertical garden structures and home to a great light show.
We were eating at the restaurant at the top of the tallest ‘tree’. A restaurant called ‘Indo Chine’. Beautiful, fantastic food, amazing view (from the bar on the top) but very expensive. There was a minimum charge of $80 each. We had no trouble racking that up. We didn’t drink wine. One bottle of McGuigan’s Red (that at home is under $10) was $130. It was a lovely night though.
The light show was brilliant. It went for about 15 minutes and was choreographed to Disney music. We watched the 7.45 show from above and the 8.45 from below. This is a free show that happens every night.
9th Nov – Singapore, Singapore.
I got up early and headed off to the Singapore Zoo. I do not like Zoos.
So I invested a lot of brain power into trying to decide if I should go…..I did lots of research and found that this zoo is highly regarded for its animal welfare and environmental issues, so I did go.
Off to ‘Breakfast with the Orang-utans’. I got a table right at the front, near the platform the Orang-utans sit on.
The area was connected to their enclosure by rope walkways. They open some kind of gate and down they all clamber.
Mostly young ones, and they were wonderful. The way they moved was amazing. At the worst I was only 3 metres from them. At the best, about 500mm. Awesome. Great activity.
I went and had a quick look at the Wolverines and the Raccoon Dogs as I had never seen them before. Both very cool animals with very strong jaws.
During my trip back we hit a tropical rain storm. It was amazing the amount of water that fell from the sky. Motor bikes all stop under bridges. Traffic slowed down to a crawl.
When I got back to the hotel I decided to go for a walk and look at the shops.
And here is a tip – When going out for a walk…If the Concierge says “would you like an umbrella? And then says “are you sure?” when you decline the offer, maybe you should take the hint.
Part way down the road it started the spit. Within seconds it went from spitting to fire hose rain. I was drenched. So wet I took off my watch and my iPod to put them in my bag for protection. But it was beautiful rain. So warm. I embraced it and enjoyed it. It was great. And I’m sure Singapore is used to smiling tourists wandering down the road, soaking wet with their arms stretched out to enjoy the rain even more. I could not have got any wetter. Or so I thought.
Another tip – when in a tropical downpour – don’t wait close to the road at the traffic lights. As the road is a river – you will get drenched as the bus roars past you. And then don’t stand there laughing so hard that you don’t see the second bus, that will drench you even more. My shoes had pourable water in them. I got “Chicago-ed”.
I loved that warm delicious rain!
I went back to get Andy to go out for our Black Pepper Crab feast– a signature dish of Singapore. It was fantastic. Messy but fantastic. Not just the food. Singapore Sling is also a great drink.
That night we went on a Bumboat ride to see the laser show at the Marina Bay Sands hotel. A glass of red wine before hand cost $18. And no he hasn’t drunk half of it. That was the size of the pour.
The cruise down the river was about 20 minutes each way and was great with the city lights. The laser show was fantastic. Massive lasers, huge fountains and even bursts of flame. All to music. And we sat there in comfort with front row views.
Andy was happy in the end that I ‘made’ his clamber into that tiny flat boat.
10th Nov – Ship day.
We packed up and got a taxi. We ask the taxi to take us for a tourist drive out of the city.
We went out to Changi – behind the airport. We saw the site of the infamous prison camp. The area is now ‘Changi Village’ and is a lovely holiday spot. Condominiums, country clubs, golf courses, bungalows, holiday lets. Lots of fishing, beach activities, and more.
The highway was huge – 4 lanes each way. The gardens are in planted in boxes. Reason being……if the runway at Changi is ever damaged or attacked they can remove the planter boxes and use the highway as a runway. Clever fellows.
Then it was time to board the ship. And we were so lucky. We got through fairly quickly between priority boarding and the special assistance line. Others took three hours. The place was a shambles. By muster time there were still many hundreds of people waiting to board. Sail away was about an hour late.
Legend of the Seas – home for the next four weeks. And a place were we could afford to drink. Wine in Singapore was ridiculous! $19 for a ‘standard serve’ aka tiny serve– about 100 mls.
Once on board life was wonderful. We were staying in connecting Junior Suites – so spoilt. They were huge. And the barriers on the balcony open up on Legend – so we had a giant balcony. We needed to have BBQ and a game of cricket out there.
It was then up to the Concierge Lounge for a few drinks.
Sail away was pretty, especially considering the weather. We saw the massive amounts of crude oil storage. All our oil comes out of Singapore and is refined here and our fuel price is based on the Singapore crude price. We also saw a few big oil rigs during the night with gas being burnt off.
11th Nov – Sea Day
Started the day at 9 am with a Remembrance Day ceremony. It was really well done and well attended. A retired Australian Army Major spoke and read The Ode. The trumpet player did a great job. It was all very moving. They asked the veterans to stand up and I was very proud of Andy. The only WW11 person there.
It was then rush off to the lecture on ‘The Gulf of Thailand’ and was really good. The speaker was interesting and kept it real. Much of Bangkok is built on reclaimed land and is only 1.5 metres above sea level. Not a bright future for a city of 14 million people.
During the lecture, the speaker said to think about haggling in many counties. Many of us put a lot of effort into getting the price down from say 400 to 300 baht. To us that is a few dollars ($2.70 US). But to a person from a very poor country like many in SE Asia, loosing this amount a few times in a day could be the difference between his kids going to school or not. He didn’t say not to haggle….but to think about what you are haggling over and with whom – ie an individual v a large shop. I liked that.
Andy joined the other Veterans at the ‘Services Drinks’. They all had a great time.
Then time to get ready for Formal night.
Life is very busy on a sea day!