Leaving the beautiful town of Melaka behind, we headed South towards the Johor Bahru then over the humongous road bridge to the city-state of Singapore. Opting for another Nice bus (as Fran described – the bus was exactly what it said on the tin!) for our last overland leg in Asia, we had the pleasure of the entire coach to ourselves. The journey was smooth and seamless – an absolute world away from some of the horrific night buses in Vietnam! We stopped after a couple of hours for the Malaysian immigration checkpoint just after Johor Bahru which took a miniscule 10 minutes, after which we continued through no man’s land and then over the soaring steel spans of the bridge above the Straits of Johor.
Rich, Fran and what appears to be a swarm of small bees around Rich’s chin setting off on our VIP coach!
Next stop Singapore
Big concrete causeway, looking back from Singapore to Malaysia
Our first experience of Singapore (well, unless you count 2 hours at Singapore Airport en route to Oz 8 years ago!) was of the grand and super-clean Immigration checkpoint. We had to offload all of our bags to put them through the baggage scanners. Having caught sight of a poster informing us that drug-trafficking is an offence punishable by the death penalty, we were particularly vigilant in case anyone slipped anything in our luggage – that would be a bit of a downer to say the least!!! Anyway, we made it through customs OK (although as I mentioned our netbook keeled over in the baggage scanners – poor little chap!) and were soon back on our luxury coach for the final sprint down the expressway to our terminus on the outskirts of Singapore City. As with everything in Singapore, the roads are super-efficient and well-maintained, flanked by beautifully landscaped verges and driven on by shiny new cars - Singapore has a vehicle policy like Japan in that cars over 10 years old are heavily taxed to encourage you to buy a new, more efficient one, although I’m not sure about the green credentials of the countless Lamborghinis, Ferraris and Maseratis we saw! Though it has a population of about 4 million people (quite a number for a relatively small island), there are still large portions of the island covered in lush natural rainforest, especially in the centre of the island where the main National Parks and the Zoo are located. Passing through the forest on the expressway, we soon arrived at the salubrious suburbs of Singapore – both pristinely maintained colonial-style houses and striking contemporary mansions lined the leafy boulevards, giving an indication of the wealth of many of Singapore’s high-flyers. We disembarked at the swish Copthorne Orchid hotel, beholding its striking chandeliers, beautiful floral arrangements and spotless marble floors before descending to reality, knocking over a few locals with our rucksacks on a jam-packed bus and checking into our shoebox of a hostel room!
We were staying on the outskirts of yet another Little India in the North West of Central Singapore. Though similar in some respects to the other Little India’s we’d encountered throughout Malaysia, we’d definitely saved the best until last! Being Singapore it was extremely clean and beautifully presented, with traditional shop houses painted in bright pastel colours, flowers and plants spilling over their balconies. Countless shops selling fresh flower garlands tantalised both the eyes and the nostrils whilst the omnipresent blaring bhangra music provided entertainment for the ears too! As we were eventually in Singapore for 11 days waiting for our boat, we were really able to soak up the atmosphere and thoroughly enjoyed it. On our first Sunday there, the streets were teeming with Indian men (but strangely no women) from the early evening onwards; after initially guessing it was due to some kind of religious festival (there were marshals and portaloos brought in especially!), it turned out that the same gathering happens every Sunday!!! As it’s quite hard to put into words quite how many people there were, check the photos out below!
Brightly-coloured shop-houses in Little India
One or two chaps gathering in a field for a chit-chat because it’s Sunday!
People everywhere!
…and again the following Sunday
Whilst we were in Singapore, we met up with Anna – the daughter of one of Fran’s Dad’s friends – and her partner Juanma. Though we’d never met them before, they were wonderfully welcoming and we thoroughly enjoyed a delicious Indian meal in Little India with them and their friends – thanks guys! They were all living and working in Singapore; it was interesting hearing their stories about living with Singapore’s strict rules and that although they can be restrictive, they do make Singapore an easy and clean place to live.
We were both fortunate and unfortunate to have inadvertently timed our stay in Singapore to catch both Singapore’s National Day Celebrations and the start of the first Youth Olympic Games. The buzz about the town was excellent with red and white Singaporean flags adorning every building, however lots of stuff was closed off for non-ticket holders – boo! We ended up watching the National Day celebrations on telly as you couldn’t get near them without a ticket but were able to watch the fireworks for the Olympic Opening Ceremony the following week for free - pretty spectacular!
Youth Olympics Opening ceremony festivities
The first few days were spent on essential admin – liaising with the shipping agent, booking extra accommodation in Singapore (after we found out the ship would be another 4 days late) and attempting to fix our trusty netbook (which eventually proved successful, although not until after we’d purchased a replacement - doh!). After this however, we set to work exploring this fascinating city / country! Being at the end of the Malay peninsula, Singapore is very strategically positioned and as a result has seen its fair share of influences from traders from around South-East Asia and beyond. When the crackingly-named Thomas Stanford Raffles arrived in 1819 to set up a British trading station, the population of Singapore was only a few thousand. After it was ceded to the British outright in 1824, Singapore grew rapidly and became the world’s centre for rubber export, attracting thousands of Europeans, Indians, Javanese, Arabs and Chinese looking for work. Almost three-quarters of Singapore’s population today is of Chinese descent, and this figure is reflected in the abundance of Chinese shops and temples across the island. After the Japanese occupation in WW2, Singapore briefly returned to British rule but declared independence in 1965, subsequently growing into an economic powerhouse (though this came at a price as media was censored and opponents to the regime suppressed).
Singapore’s diversity, success and affluence throughout the years has left a legacy of distinctive architecture, from the ornate low-rise colonial buildings and churches to the skyscrapers of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. The colonial district stretches from the banks of the Singapore River north-eastwards to the famous Raffles Hotel and southwards to the grand Fullerton Hotel on the marina. The Fullerton is now dwarfed by the enormous skyscrapers of the last 30 years that define the commercial district of Singapore, with new buildings seemingly growing by the day. South of the river lie the largely low-rise shophouses of Chinatown which provide an impressive spectacle at Boat Quay where they are contrasted against the enormous glowing high rises behind them.
Colonial block on Stamford Road
Soaring towers in the CBD
The Singapore Flyer – apparently a couple of metres bigger than the London Eye!
The slightly ugly Marina Bay Sands hotel (with what looks like a cross between a banana, a container ship and a surfboard plonked on top) with an intricate steel footbridge in the foreground
The snazzy-looking Fullerton Hotel
Boat Quay by night
Sir Stamford Raffles watching over proceedings
Just upriver from Boat Quay lies Clarke Quay, originally a similar row of shop-houses but now a bizarre complex housing restaurants, boutiques and clubs, all with a mock-traditional look (plus strange Teletubby-esque air-con ducts descending from the roof – you’ll seen what I mean)! Just as we’d thought nothing could take Kuala Lumpur’s crown as shopping capital of South-East Asia, along came Singapore! There are shopping centres literally everywhere in Singapore and this is before you’ve even got to Orchard Road (described as “Fifth Avenue, the Regent Street, the Champs Elysees, the Via Veneto and the Ginza of Singapore”)! With three Prada, Gucci and Armani shops and approximately 15 huge shopping malls on one road alone, it’s obvious that the Singaporeans have money to spend and like to spend it in style! Unfortunately as accommodation is about four times the price of the countries we’ve been in recently, the only thing we splashed out on was a couple of Extra Value Meals at Maccy D’s!
Clarke Quay on the right and another glowing shopping centre on the left!
People rocketing into the night sky on Clarke Quay’s vertical bungee
Huge Gucci store and shedloads of people on Orchard Road
As we’re meant to be doing some sort of training for our Sydney Marathon preparations, we attempted to find some open spaces for some long runs. Luckily for us, Singapore is quite runner-friendly once you’re out of the city centre. Though it was a bit of a trek and very humid once we got there, running around the dense forest surrounding the MacRitchie Reservoir in the centre of the island was quite an experience, especially when we had to stop for a group of about 20 Macaque monkeys, one of whom took a slightly intimidating interest in my drinks bottle! After a bit of a tug of war I came away victor – result! We also attempted to run in East Coast Park, however as this had been cordoned-off due to it being the rowing and canoeing venue for the Youth Olympic Games we had to make do with running in the park next door. This took us along the water’s edge, past a whole host of dragon boats out for their weekend practice – dragon boating appears to be Singapore’s answer to rowing. We also ended up at a running track next to the Old National Stadium and managed to do a few laps, although the middle of the track was also being used that weekend by Arsenal Singapore’s junior football academy so we had to dodge a few goalposts on the track! Throughout China and South-East Asia it seems everyone watches the English Premier League (even despite our dismal performance in the World Cup) – we’ve probably seen more Chelsea, Man U, Arsenal and Liverpool shirts worn with pride here than back in the UK!
Dragon boat action
Coaches at the start line, ready to ferry competitors to the opening ceremony of the Youth Olympic Games (also the start line for the Singapore F1 in September)
Rich with the rowing venue in the background
A monumental event on our travels also took place in Singapore – the ceremonious removal of the untameable beard! As we were going to the Zouk nightclub one evening which has quite a strict door policy, we anticipated that unless horrible tramp-like facial hair had suddenly become the height of chic, I was going to get unceremoniously denied entry to the establishment! It was indeed an emotional experience removing the beard, plus it took over half an hour of attacking it with some nail scissors and a blunt razor, but once it was off it was like being on ‘10 years younger’ – I felt like a new man!!! We did manage to get in to Zouk and partied the night away to some pretty excellent tunes – thanks to my bro Nick for an awesome wedding present!
Tentative first snips
… about 10 minutes in…
…nearly there…
Beardless in Zouk
Loud tunes and flashy lights - yay!
The following day we took the opportunity to head to the uber-luxurious and charismatic Raffles Hotel for the essential Singaporean drink – the Singapore Sling. Though the downstairs Courtyard Bar is probably the more luxurious location in which to enjoy a cocktail, the slightly more rugged and atmospheric Long Bar is where the Singapore Sling was first concocted in 1915 by bartender Ngiam Tong Boon. Though initially looking disturbingly like a Wetherspoons, the Long Bar quickly grew on us as we sipped on our delicious (albeit slightly pricey at £15 a pop – thanks Julianne!) Singapore Slings, slowly sinking into our seats whilst munching our way through the colossal bucket of free monkey nuts placed on our table! The old tiled floor crunched underfoot with discarded nutshells when we arrived and we had great fun contributing ours to the collection!
Courtyard Bar at Raffles – too civilised for us!
The Long Bar, Raffles – it’s long and most definitely a bar
Getting stuck into the Singapore Slings
Lionel gives a thumbs up to the ‘Sling too!
Nuts everywhere!
Last and by no means least was our visit to Singapore’s famous zoo. Set in the thick rainforest in the centre of the island, the zoo prides itself on not having any cages so as not to distress the animals – the majority of the animals live on their own islands to protect us from them and them from us. There were a variety of captivating animals residing in the zoo but some of the most captivating were from the primate world – gibbons, orang utans and monkeys galore! Walking through the trees with Orang Utans swinging overhead was a highlight, as was observing the hairy black-and-white skunk lookalike – the Colobus monkey! After a solid afternoon of animal antics, we grabbed some food and headed next door to the Night Safari. This zoo only opens once the sun sets and the creatures of the night come out to play! The lighting wasn’t great for photos but was just light enough to get a look at the likes of tigers, lions, zebras, hyenas and our favourite, the mousedeer (a deer smaller than a cat – awesome)! We were thoroughly animalled-out by 10pm so hopped on the bus and made our way back to Little India for a much-needed sleep!
Crazy-looking Cotton-top Tamarin monkey
White Tiger – just a big mog really (sponsored by Tiger Beer – good work!)
Great weightlifting skills from the elephant!
The shaggy-looking Colobus monkey
Baboons going bananas over bananas
Fran and an orang-utan at the Night Safari
The tiny and aptly-named Mousedeer
Pelican chilling out on a log
A few days later it was time to board our next (and possibly most exciting) form of transport – the container ship to Australia! It was originally scheduled to leave on the 31st July, then rescheduled to 13th August, then delayed until the 15th and then again until the 17th, with the additional delay of heading back to Pasir Gudang in Malaysia and back again to Singapore before finally heading for Oz! We were collected by taxi at 7pm and driven to the entrance of Pasir Panjang container terminal, stopping for temporary port passes to be issued so we didn’t get accused of being stowaways! Bizarrely, we were advised to put ‘visiting captain of MSC Palermo’ on our passes; felt like we were being smuggled aboard which added to the adventure! We were driven around the enormous port between thousands of huge metal containers with cranes and lorries ferrying loads all around us. We arrived at the MSC Palermo just as the gangway was being erected and left to find our own way through the hive of activity that surrounded us to meet with the captain! Eventually we scaled the slippery stairs onto the huge steel hulk and found the duty officer, who escorted us to the lift and up to the boardroom for our meeting with the Captain! I’ll leave the rest for the next blog post which should see us setting sail on our extended 14-day voyage to Australia! Until then, hope everyone’s well and see you all soon – we’ll leave you with a few of Singapore’s many ‘advisory’ signs…
In case you’re wondering why the spiky durian fruit is banned on the tube, the reason is because it absolutely reeks of old shoes! At least you wouldn’t get fined $500 (£250) like if you were to have a swig of water though - crazy!
Subtle reminder that if you trespass there’s a strong likelihood you could get shot!
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