After our check in at the Fairmont, Katie and I quickly headed off to get our feet wet in Singapore. We headed over the Clarke Quay, a popular area along the Singapore River with restaurants and bars. I must note that I was pleased to see that Clarke was spelled with an E at the end. My middle name is Clarke and I’ve spent much of my life saying “Clarke with an E” when providing my full name. We found our way to a bar called Le Noir and got a few drinks and sat in the heat of a typical South East Asian humid night just being happy that we were out of Thailand. We were reveling in the “freedom” and western feel of Clarke Quay given our last few days of travel to get here. After a few drinks we were both exhausted and decided that it was time for a good nights rest.
On Tuesday we woke up after sleeping like the dead. It was 11 AM which was quite unusual for me given I am normally an early riser. We made our way downstairs and into Raffles City Center, attached to our hotel, for some food. Raffles City Center is a large mall with a food court and the typical shops of a western mall. We would quickly learn this is one of an incredible number of malls in Singapore. We would also quickly learn that these malls exist because it is so hot and humid here. Tuesday was a bit lazy as I realized how exhausted I was from the travels and stress of trying to get out of Thailand. I spent some time lounging around the room and anticipated going to the Singapore Night Safari (http://www.nightsafari.com.sg/) that evening. By mid-afternoon the rain had started. It seemed very typically a tropical rain storm blowing through in the afternoon. Unfortunately the rain didn’t let up. We called to the front desk and asked if it was a good idea to go to the Night Safari and were quickly told that most of the animals would likely be hiding out in covered areas so not to go. While a bit disappointed to not get to our first tourist site in many days I appreciated the down day and got some much needed rest. I was excited to get out and about on Wednesday and see more of this city. It was clean and welcoming. There are huge penalties for littering so the city was cleaner than any city I’d seen before. Our taxi driver from the airport had told us that there is a fine but more importantly the penalty is the humiliation of being forced to sweep streets if you are caught littering.
Wednesday morning we started out early. It was my birthday, at least in Asia, and I was ready to have some fun. The day before I’d seen the Hippo Tour Bus drive by the hotel. It is a typical double decker open top bus and it seemed this would give us a great overview of the city. After trying to find the stop for some time we got on the bus at Suntec Center, another of the cities numerous malls. Riding the bus was great as we got the breeze on an otherwise stifling day of humidity. We went on the first of two loops which took us by the botanical gardens, through the luxurious single family homes (costing upwards of 12 million Singapore Dollars - $8 or 9 million US), and onto Orchard road. I’d long heard about Orchard Road and the fact that it is a shopping mecca of sorts. We alighted the bus there and wandered into some shops. We stopped in Takishamaya at the Ngee Ann Center (another mall) and went to the food court for some nourishment. After wandering Takishamaya and realizing it was just like a Macy’s, not like the fancy 5th Ave. outlet in New York City, at home we headed back for the bus. The bus took us down Orchard Road and back to Suntec, but not without first going by the Thai Embassy that I thought about storming out of spite! We jumped onto the second bus that took us on the more historic tour of the city with a ride through Little India and China Town. We learned that there are three main ethnic groups in Singapore; the Malay, the Chinese and the Indians. There is an interesting amount of harmony between these groups as there are requirements that condominium complexes be equal percentages of each group. When buying a home you have to look to see what the make-up is because if there are too many Chinese, and you are Chinese, you will be precluded from buying there. Little India and China Town are not comprised of just those ethic groups in terms of residents but are more focused on having stores and meeting places for the individual groups. Interestingly eighty percent of the city lives in “public housing” that was built by the government. Housing is so expensive that the majority of the country’s population can’t afford to by a regular condominium or house. The fourth group of people that make up the rest of the population are expats from a wide range of countries and they make up a whopping twenty percent of the population.
After our bus ride we headed back to the hotel to have lunch by the pool. Katie had joked that I would be holding court waiting for birthday well wishes to come pouring in. My parents had called while I was on the bus but we weren’t able to communicate well between the loud announcements and the wind. They told me they’d call back and did so while we ate beef and chicken satay by the pool. After speaking with them for a bit we headed to the room for a rest. Katie went to do some shopping and when she came back she had cake, champagne and presents for me! It was turning out to be a great birthday even though I was thousands of miles from home. After some afternoon down time (the head saps the energy out of you here) we got dressed up to head out to my official birthday celebration. First stop was the Long Bar at the Raffles Hotel. The Raffles (http://www.raffles.com/en_ra/property/rhs) is certainly the most well known hotel in Singapore. It was opened by Sir Stamford Raffles over 100 years ago and is Colonial in style. It is quite famous, as is the Long Bar, for having been the place of invention of the drink the Singapore Sling. The bar was a classic pub style, except for the Palm Frond fans waving back and forth on the ceiling. We ordered up some Singapore Slings and ate peanuts, throwing the shells on the floor that was already covered in them.
We’d read that the Long Bar was for tourists and the Billiards Room and Bar was the real thing. We walked across the property and had a drink on the patio of that area before heading to the taxi stand to make our way to dinner. Dinner was at the Pierside Grill (http://www.piersidekitchen.com/html/design.html), a restaurant I’d read about that is next to the Fullerton Hotel (http://www.fullertonhotel.com/), another very swanky colonial style hotel that used to be the post office, on the Singapore River. Dinner was amazing, starting with an octopus salad and then a filet of beef. It hit the spot and was a great dinner to celebrate being in Singapore on my birthday. After dinner we walked back to our hotel and I had the chance to read some e-mails I’d received. All in it was a really fun day!
Thursday we woke early to head to Kusu Island (http://www.wildsingapore.com/places/kusu.htm). Kusu Island, which translates as Tortoise Island in Chinese, requires a ferry ride out into the South China Sea and promised to have sea tortoises, turtles and other wild life worth seeing. We started out on the top of the boat as it made its way out of the dock and to its first stop at St. James Island. Once stopped there we quickly made our way inside to avoid further lung damage from the diesel engine that was spewing exhaust onto the covered top deck, effectively hot boxing it! It was a beautiful ride with many islands dotting the area. I was amazed as we first pulled out of the dock at the magnitude of which shipping takes place here. Growing up in San Francisco I’d always seen freight ships but nothing like we saw here. It was like a parking lot of these giant boats taking all that Southeast Asia produces west and east to different places.
Once we docked at Kusu Island we decided that we would take the noon boat back giving us only an hour to explore. Going there we’d been told the next boat wouldn’t be until 4 PM, having us there for 5 hours. As we pulled to dock we could see the entirety of Kusu Island and realized we certainly wouldn’t need to be there for five hours. There is a lagoon with a Chinese temple in the middle and from the bridge running over it we caught a glimpse of a giant sea turtle gliding through the water. That was the first I’d ever seen. As we continued to wander we saw lizards and then arrived at the turtle sanctuary that was full of small turtles swimming and sunbathing. We continued walking and went into one of the swimming lagoons that looks off in the distance to Indonesia. After a walk up the hill in the middle of the small island we went back to the air-conditioned boat and made our way back to the city with an incredible view of the skyline off in the distance.
Back in the city we went to Riverside Point, right across the Singapore River from Clarke Quay for lunch at an outdoor spot. In the midst of lunch the rain started again, thankfully they are prepared for that here and we were under awning with the blink of an eye. We finished our lunch and headed to the taxi stand where there were lots of people and no taxis. So we braved the rain and found the MRT (subway). We didn’t have a clue how to use it but found it very straightforward, or so we thought, clean and rain free! We bought our tickets and looked at the map. We saw Raffles City on the map and assumed that was where we needed to go. We’d ride this line one stop, transfer to another line and three stops later we’d be there. When we got out at “our” stop we weren’t sure where we were. Nothing looked very familiar. We realized pretty quickly that we weren’t anywhere near our hotel, and it was pouring still. We did see a taxi and hailed it in New York fashion so as not to let it escape. As we drove a few blocks we both realized we were right back at the spot where we’d gotten on the subway. We’d effectively gone one stop by going on two trains! Cracking up we dried off in the taxi and got back to the hotel. Back in the meat locker, we’d dubbed it this because the hotel and our room were both freezing, we waited for the rain to stop.
Thankfully the rain did stop. We had not wanted to get rained out of the Night Safari a second night. We grabbed a taxi and headed off on the half our ride to this very popular spot. Our taxi drive was very engaging and told us some history of Singapore. The Night Safari lived up to its promotion as a top site in Singapore. We got there around 9 PM and got on the tram to go through the park. It reminded me a bit of the San Diego Wild Animal Park, but at night. It is in one of the remaining areas of rain forest in Singapore and in it is a very cool set-up in which the animals all seem as though they are living in their natural habitat. The trail that the tram takes is in the dark with what they describe as “half light” on the animal areas. We were able to see some animals that we’d consider traditional at a US zoo and others that were very unique and specific to the area. In the middle of the tram ride they let you off and you walk through a very dark trail in the midst of the jungle, and the most humidity I’ve ever felt, and see more animals. Then we entered the bat tunnel. It is basically a large netted area full of different bats, mainly fruit bats. The fruit bats were enormous and hanging upside down eating as well as flying all around. After a few hours at the Night Safari we headed back to the hotel so we could get up early the next morning for more nature.
On Friday morning we got up and took a taxi out to the MacRitchie Reservoir Nature Area (http://www.wildsingapore.com/places/macr.htm). Another area of rain forest in the midst of the city, MacRitchie has a reservoir that is surrounded by hiking trails leading into the jungle. Making our way to the trail that leads to the “Tree Top Walk” we dove right in. It was amazing how quickly you exited civilization and found yourself completely ensconced in the canopy of trees, vines, leaves and who knows what else. There were the sounds of animals but for the most part nothing could be seen the vegetation is so dense. We quickly spotted our first monkey. He was climbing a tree near the edge of the trail and watched us, most likely for food which signs, and the guide book, told us not to give them or we’d never be rid of them…not to mention they could get quite aggressive. The trail was about four and half kilometers one-way to get to the Tree Top Walk. We went up and down hills and were just amazed by the vegetation…and the humidity. I’d thought the Night Safari was the most humidity I’d ever felt but this changed everything! At one point we popped out of the jungle and realized we were right near a golf course. That was bizarre given we’d had no idea because of the isolation, and peacefulness, of the trail we were on. We reached a ranger station and were both completely soaking wet with sweat from the hike thus far. We came across a number more monkeys just after the rangers station. We also were keeping our eyes open for the pythons we’d been told to watch for as they often sun themselves on the trail. We finally reached the Tree Top Walk that is a suspension bridge of sorts that has been built at the top level of the trees so you can look down on the jungle you’ve been walking through. It was pretty interesting looking out on just complete green in which you really couldn’t see the ground. It started to make me think of lessons I’d learned in school and from friends like Bea (a longtime family friend who is a scientist) of the different ecosystems that exist in a jungle. It was clear life at the top of the trees was quite different than life on the floor of the jungle. After walking further we reached a road so we could get a taxi back into the city and wring out our clothes!
Back at the hotel Katie was ready to go to the Singapore National Museum (http://www.nationalmuseum.sg/) and I was ready to ice my foot. It had felt great through Thailand but when I got to Singapore it began to hurt again. It was swollen and the walk this morning probably didn’t help. I was beginning to think that a hairline fracture on one of the many foot bones was what had happened. I vowed not to let it slow me down…a ridiculous injury from a waterslide was not going to take a toll on my trip! So with Katie at the museum I put my foot on ice and then we met up for lunch on Orchard Road. After some shopping on Orchard Road we came back to the area of our hotel and a center called Chimes. Chimes is full of restaurants and shops with lots of interesting things to buy. Ironically we came across a shop full of stuff from Thailand. The woman owning Mai Thai shop was from the North East of Thailand and incredibly friendly. Neither Katie nor myself had gotten much in Thailand to remember the trip by since we’d been in motion once we left Bangkok. We picked up some fun stuff to remember Thailand…in Singapore.
Tonight was Katie’s last night of vacation. We’d decided to go to the Singapore Flyer (http://www.singaporeflyer.com/) and then have dinner at Clarke Quay. The Singapore Flyer opened earlier this year and is the worlds largest ferris wheel. It is about 10 meters taller than the London Eye, which Sophia and I had ridden in the spring of this year. It tops out at nearly 500 feet, the equivalent of a 45 or 50 story building. When we got there it was raining…I sense this is a theme in Singapore…but still open and the clouds were high enough that the view wouldn’t be hampered. The thirty-seven minute ride was quite fun. We got to see the boats lit up out in the South China Sea, the skyline of the city and then there was a fireworks show going on just next to the Flyer where the Singapore Grand Prix was kicking off. Most amazing was to watch the lightning bolts striking in the distance. Of course we had to keep our minds off of the fact that we were in a large metal object reaching into the sky ourselves. From the Flyer we headed back to Clarke Quay and sat down for dinner at Hot Stones, a restaurant in which you order different items and grill them at your own table on a very hot stone. It was a fun dinner of cooking and chatting about all we’d done in Thailand and Singapore (as well as things like Chiang Mai that we’d not been able to see).
Back at the hotel, Katie put the final touches on packing her bags. She was leaving the hotel at 4:30 in the morning for the flight she’d been able to reschedule onto from Singapore to Tokyo. Her original flight had gone through Bangkok so she was glad she’d been able to change it. Her wake up call at 3:45 was a bit jarring and I quickly rolled over and went back to sleep while Katie left for the airport. Waking up myself many hours later I got packed up and relaxed in the room. My flight isn’t until late this evening and given I had to check out of my room I’m now sitting poolside writing my blog and reading magazines for the afternoon. It is pouring rain at the moment but we’ve all taken refuge under the canopies of the café by the pool. In a few hours I’ll head to the airport and fly from here to Tokyo. One of the hard parts of using frequent flier miles is getting flights to work as you’d like. I had been unable to get a flight from Singapore to Australia so I’ll fly via Tokyo. The good news is I’ve got a fourteen-hour layover and will be meeting my friend Brad, whom I know from a summer in the Dominican Republic, and his wife Tanya for lunch in Tokyo. Thankfully I’ve traveled to Tokyo in the past so I don’t feel I’ll need to run around like a tourist, even though this is a way of life I’ve embraced this year. From Tokyo I’ll fly to Cairns Australia for two days at the launching point of the Great Barrier Reef!
