SINGAPORE 10 DAYS 13-24/8/2019 SINGAPORE 10 DAYS 13-24/8/2019

Singapore was founded in 1819 by Sir Stamford Raffles as a trading post of the British East India Company (you see these names everywhere on streets, places, hotels, etc.). After the company's collapse in 1858, the islands came under direct British control as a crown colony. It became independent from the British Empire in 1963 by joining Malaysia but separated 2 years later and became a sovereign state in 1965. Singapore is a country and the capital is also Singapore. Between 1965 and 2015, Singapore would reclaim an astounding 13,800 hectares (138 sq km) of land which increased the original land mass by a whopping 25%.

12-8-2019 Monday
We wanted to try using Scoot airline (Singapore Airlines budget service) to fly international, just to see what it was like. We have friends who've used it and said it was quite good. We were on a 9am flight Tuesday and were a bit concerned about getting held up in the roadworks if we drove down that morning. So we arranged with our friends, John and Val who live at Kirra/Cooloongatta on the Gold Coast, about 1 kilometre from the airport, to stay with them overnight and they would drive us to the airport the next day. We drove down after lunch time and had a nice catch up that evening.

13-8-2019 Tuesday
Everything went according to plan. John dropped us at the airport before 7am, we went through all the check-ins, bought some duty free and had breakfast before boarding our 9am flight. The flight was 8 hours and we arrived in Singapore local time of 3pm (2 hours behind us so 5pm at home). It was quite a long wait through immigration but was easy getting a taxi (very clean and professional) which took about 30 mins to our hotel, the Holiday Inn Express for the next 10 nights. Our room was quite nice and comfortable.

It was 32 degrees C and humid when we got out of the airport. After checking in we walked up to the 7 Eleven for provisions and a Subway roll for dinner. We didn't do much today but were still tired so glad to have an early finish to the day.

14-8-2019 Wednesday
We had a great sleep, and a long one as had to put the clock back 2 hours. We went to breakfast at the hotel and then walked around the city, which we found to be very clean and tidy, and the traffic was very civilised. After breakfast we walked around the city. We went in the wrong direction initially, which we realised when we ended up at Chinatown. We then walked to where we had intended which was Fort Canning Park, where the Fort Canning Battlebox, a former World War II British underground military command centre, was located and operated inside Fort Canning Hill prior to the surrender to the Japanese in 1942. Guided tours take visitors through the rooms set up to view how the centre functioned during the war.

Also in this park was a large water Reservoir, Raffles House, a Lighthouse and Artisan's Garden - a formal archaelogical work that has proven the existence of a once-flourishing settlement actively involved in regional maritime trade in the 14th century. After that we went to the National Museum of Singapore with displays detailing history before WWII, during the harsh occupation by the Japanese and life after the war.

Everywhere in the big capital city of Singapore we noticed many gardens and beautiful trees loaded with orchids, crows nests and other plants. They line the streets and it was just beautiful to be surrounded by greenery and nature in a major bustling city. It was nice and easy walking around the city.

We had a nice dinner at an Indonesian Restaurant before walking back. Our first day ended up being a very long one with lots of walking, very sweaty and hot and with sore back and feet so glad to get back to the hotel.

15-8-2019 Thursday
After breakfast we caught our Hop-On-Hop-Off bus which was not the usual red one this time (although there was also a red one operating), but a yellow one called the FunVee Hopper. We rode to Marina Square to validate our 3 day tickets for the bus and other included activities. Then we walked and rode on the Singapore Flyer - a giant 165 metre high observation wheel, similar to the Brisbane or London Eye. We had fantastic views all round the city.

After that we walked to the very famous 130 year old Raffles Hotel, where we waited in line for about an hour to get a table in the well known Long Bar and have a famous original Singapore Sling $33. Dave had a pint Tiger beer $22 and each table had a small hessian-like "Long Bar" branded bag of peanuts to eat with the drinks - tradition being after shelling the peanuts you throw the shells on the floor! This I found hard to do as it just goes totally against the grain to throw rubbish on the floor! There was a certain pleasure after a short while however, engaging in this activity, especially as I didn't have to clean it up. When you walked there was the crunching sound underfoot. It cost us about $65 for the drinks and peanuts after the 10% service charge and 7% GST was added - oh well, we won't eat tonight.

The Singapore Sling originated when a native bartender disguised alcohol in a sweet, pinky/red coloured fruit juice drink for the ladies back in the day, because it was not koche for ladies to drink alcohol - I bet that bartender was well tipped!

We had an early, quite tasty dinner as we were going on a night booked tour. The meals are prepared at what are called 'hawker' type places and are so cheap here, about $5-6 and very tasty. This does not include the restaurants that are not that cheap and always add the 17% service charge and GST on top. We walked to the meeting point at 6.30pm for our Night City Ride Tour on the FunVee bus. The first part of the trip was to the Gardens By The Bay which owes its futuristic look to a grove of 'Supertrees' - giant vertical gardens, planted in man-made palms up to 16 storeys in height. These mimic their organic cousins by harnessing solar energy and collecting rainwater for irrigation and fountain displays. Walkways lead to the largest Supertree, a 50 metre high behemoth complete with a restaurant in its upper branches. Two armadillo-shaped conservatories, the Flower Dome and the Cloud Forest, are also closeby but we didn't actually make it to see these during our trip, which was a bit of a disappointment and oversight but we felt we really did see a lot of things so maybe next trip.

The reason for being taken here on this night tour is for the 13 minute only spectacular light show that is played on the Supertrees (via wiring on the Supertrees). It was terrific. Pre-recorded music and singing accompanied the multi-coloured light show and everyone was in awe. After the show we met back up with our tour guide who took us back to the bus and we continued our night tour of the city. At the end we were dropped where we took a 30 min River Cruise - it was lovely seeing the city from the water at night. After that we walked the short way back to our hotel and got back at 10pm.

16-8-2019 Friday
We had a late start today so we could catch up on a few things and to have an easier day as the last 2 days have been full on. We left the hotel about 1pm to catch the Hop-On bus to do a route not done yet but alas, we caught the wrong one and ended up doing a route we'd already done yesterday. Unfortunately it wasn't just a matter of getting off and getting on a different one as the routes didn't cross for most of the way. We eventually got on the right bus route and finally reached our destination - the city's largest and oldest Hindu Sri Mariamman Temple. Built in 1863, it's famous for its staggeringly detailed gopuram (tower gateway). It's also the site of Theemidhi, a remarkable fire-walking ceremony held a week before Deepavali in October. We had to take our shoes off to go inside (always feel unsure about leaving my good joggers outside on racks, wondering if they'll be there when I get back). There were many big ornate and colourful statues, and statues of laid-down cows adorn the top of the walls.

We bought an EZ Link travel card for a cost of $5, like our Go Card, so you could just tap on and off with the trains and the buses, and could just top it up when needed. At the end of our holiday we just got a refund of whatever was left on the card at the train station. We found the trains to be terrific (only used a couple buses in conjunction with the trains to get to a particular place). It's called the MRT - Mass Rapid Transit and it was so easy to get around. If you missed one train the next one would be along in about 4-5 mins - amazing.

We walked around, bought souvenirs, and had an early nice dinner at Old Chengdu Restaurant (sichuan Chinese cuisine). A young salesman saw Dave's Nikon camera hanging from his neck as we were walking past and talked him into coming into the shop to show him a new lense attachment, not to hard sell it he promised, just to alert Dave to its existence. The young guy was very good, didn't hardsell, but Dave felt it was such a good thing that he decided to buy it anyway. So then, so as not for me to miss out, the guy took us a couple shops away to a jewellery shop owned by his sister he said. I knew it'd be a jewelllery shop even before we got there and I said I didn't want any. The older man in charge was disappointed that I didn't want to even look at any of it, or want to buy any for anyone else.

After dinner we walked 10 mins back to the hotel, grabbing some supplies at the 7 Eleven on the way.

17-8-2019 Saturday
After breakfast we walked 10 mins to Clarke Quay rail station (MRT) and caught a train for 2 stops, changed to another train for 11 stops, got off and caught a bus for a shortway to Jurong Bird Park south of the city limits. The trains in the city are all underground, not becoming above ground until you get outside the city like when going to the bird park. We spent about 4 hours walking around the bird park which was very good. We wore ourselves out again, did the reverse travel, and got back home about 6pm. We bought a takeaway pizza from the restaurant across the road. It was very nice but not cheap ($32), especially charging the 10% service charge and 7% GST even though it was takeaway.

18-8-2019 Sunday
Today we travelled north of the city, to go to Singapore Zoo which also was very good. Today's travel was via 2 trains again, and a 30 min bus ride. Among others we saw white tigers, white rhinos, Komodo dragons, zebras, giraffes, proboscus monkeys, meerkats, red river hogs (quite unusual and ugly) and Hamadryas baboons. Today we hopped on the tram that takes you right around the zoo which was nice on our feet. It was really busy today being Sunday.

Wearing ourselves out again with 4 and a half hours of walking around, we then reversed our travels. We got off at Chinatown to buy takeaway for dinner. One day we bought 2 pigs trotters we saw in a shop in Chinatown as we thought they looked really good, and thought they might do us for dinner. They were tasty but there wasn't really any meat on them which is unlike what we get at home so I had to walk down the road to get us some real dinner.

19-8-2019 Monday REST DAY
After the last 5 days my feet were quite sore and had a few serious blisters, thanks to joggers that haven't really been broken in yet so I decided I, and my feet, were having a rest day today. Dave went out to Chinatown to check out the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum (a Buddhist temple) which he said certainly was spectacular, so he was out a lot longer than he intended. The temple is based on the Tang dynasty architectural style and built to house the tooth relic of the historical Buddha, opened in 2002 and costing Sing$62 million.

According to Sri Lankan legends, when the Buddha died in 543 BC, his body was cremated in a sandalwood pyre at Kushinagar and his left canine tooth was retrieved from the funeral pyre by his disciple, Khema. Khema then gave it to King Brahmadatte for veneration. It became a royal possession in Brahmadatte's country and was kept in the city of Dantapuri (modern Puri, Odisha). A belief grew that whoever possessed the tooth relic had a divine right to rule that land. The Dathavamsa recounts the tale of a war fought over the relic 800 years later between Guhasiva of the republic of Kalinga and a king named Pandu.

The relic came to be regarded as a symbolic representation of the living Buddha and it is on this basis that there grew up a series of offerings, rituals, and ceremonies. So it seems the original relic originated in Sri Lanka, but several relics in other countries, such as Japan, Taiwan, California USA as well as Singapore, are also reputed to be a tooth-relic of the Buddha.

Dave was out for a couple hours, a lot longer than he intended because it was very good. We walked to a restaurant closeby for dinner.

20-8-2019 Tuesday
After breakfast we caught 2 trains to the Marina Bay Sands - an impressive 3 tower building with a boat on top - that's exactly what it looks like and you can see it from almost anywhere in Singapore. We were told by a tour guide that when the Las Vegas Sands approached the Singapore government to build a casino it was approved on the condition that they build a hotel as well (not sure about how much of the rest of it was part of the condition, like the museum, theatres, etc). We bought a ticket to the Skypark Observation Deck which is the top, on the 57th floor. Tourists can walk around and take photos on about a third of it, which is at the pointy end of the boat I mentioned. The views up there were fantastic. We could also take a photo of the infinity pool from a distance as that area is restricted to hotel guests.

Marina Bay Sands is an integrated 20 hectare resort fronting Marina Bay in Singapore, owned by the Las Vegas Sands corporation. At its opening in 2010, it was billed as the world's most expensive standalone casino property at Sing$8 billion, including the land cost. The resort, designed by Moshe Safdie, includes a 2,561-room hotel, a 120,000-square-metre (1,300,000 sq ft) convention-exhibition centre, the 74,000-square-metre (800,000 sq ft), The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands mall, a museum, two large theatres, "celebrity chef" restaurants, two floating Crystal Pavilions, art-science exhibits, and the world's largest atrium casino with 500 tables and 1,600 slot machines. The complex is topped by a 340-metre-long (1,120 ft) Skypark with a capacity of 3,900 people and a 150 m (490 ft) infinity swimming pool, set on top of the world's largest public cantilevered platform, which overhangs the north tower by 67 m (220 ft).

After that we walked to Gardens By The Bay to do the OCBC Skyway Walk - a walkway between 2 of the big Supertrees, accessed by a lift in each of the structures. Of course the views were fabulous! Alas we did not go to see the Flower Dome and the Cloud Forest located in 2 distinctive domes not far away and I've heard were awesome. Overall I think we saw a lot of things over our time in Singapore and the humidity and all the walking did take it out of us a bit, so some things did slip the mind or we decided to miss them.

After that we caught the train back home and got a Subway for dinner.

21-8-2019 Wednesday
We left the hotel late morning and caught the train to where the Cable Car Sky Network runs. There are 2 lines, each with 3 stations. One line, the Mount Faber Line, has 2 stations located on the mainland with the 3rd station accessed by travelling over Keppel Harbour to Sentosa Island, an uninterrupted trip taking about 30 mins. The second line, the Sentosa Line, also has 3 stations but all 3 travel to different spots on the island, an uninterrupted trip taking about 20 mins. After alighting from one line you have to walk 3-5 mins to access the second line. Senstosa Island is a fantastic destination but mostly for young people and young people with families, as it has beaches, and a lot of adventure stuff, like Bungee jumping, flying foxes, adventure parks, aquairium, segway, Universal Studios and a Madame Tussauds. There is a resort and spa also located on the island.

It was great having a bird's eye view of the world below as the spacious air-conditioned cars travelled over the cable network so very high up. From up there you could see several ports dotted around Singapore, and all busy. Looking out to sea from the mainland there were always many ships sitting outside the port waiting to dock. We travelled to each station and got off to explore, and all the cars we had to ourselves except for the very last one when we visited Mount Faber, right at the end of our day's travel. There must've been a couple tour groups who finished their tours and got in line just as we did. it didn't take too long though and the loading and unloading is very efficient. Apparently you can book dinner or lunch on a cable car which is solely for you for about 60-90 mins depending on which package you buy - not cheap.

There is also a privately owned and run monorail running from the mainland to Sentosa Island, also with 3 stations (one on the mainland and 2 on Sentosa). You pay to get on at the mainland station ($4) to travel to the island, but you can get on and off as much as you like at any of the stations on the island and it's free. You can also travel back to the mainland for free. We got on while we were on Sentosa and just travelled to the other station and back, just to see what it was like.

There are 7 authorised Merlion statues dotted around Singapore, with the main, original one being located at Merlion Park built 1972 (will talk about that one in tomorrow's diary). Sentosa Island also has its very own Sentosa Merlion built 1995, which is 37 metres tall, the tallest one of the 7. You can pay to go up to the top to look around but we didn't. The statue is home to two galleries from where you can have a panoramic view of Singapore: one situated on the 9th floor at the Merlion’s mouth and another one on the statue’s head. The giant Merlion’s teeth each stand for one of the various ethnic groups that form part of Singapore: Malay, Indian, Chinese and Eurasian. Thus, the Merlion still stands true to its status as a symbol of unification and proud national identity.

We reversed our train travel and bought takeaway for dinner.

22-8-2019 Thursday
After breakfast we did a walk around the city. Firstly we went to the Civil Defence Heritage Gallery - "civil" defence here in Singapore means fire fighters and ambulance whereas at home, we refer to them as emergency services. We refer to "civil" defence as civilian military defence services such as army reserve. When we went there we were expecting to see military exhibits and outside of the building were statues of soldiers which confirmed our thoughts. Instead the exhibits were of fire engines and mostly fire-related exhibits. Apparently they have many locations around the city where these civil defence stations are located.

There was a kindy age group of children having a tour of the museum. On the second floor they were able to engage in several fire fighting demonstrations in enclosed booths (with them on the outside and dry) which they obviously enjoyed. As we were leaving one of the workers came out after us and gave me an embroidered badge with an old 1912 era type fire engine on it, because Dave had mentioned to him that I was a volunteer ambulance bearer years ago.

Onwards to the modest Armenian Apostolic Church of St Gregory The Illuminator - big name for a little church. There were some statues of Christ and the Stations of the Cross in the church grounds. Further along we saw, but didn't go inside, some impressive old buildings:- The Capital Kempinski Hotel, Singapore Art Gallery, the Victoria Theatre, and the Fullerton Hotel - which used to be the General Post Office in the 1960's when the country was under British rule. We also visited St Andrew's Cathedral which seems to take up the whole block. After that we made our way to Merlion Park to see the famous White Merlion and it smaller counterpart - there were many people taking photos.

The original Singapore Merlion was first designed as an emblem for the Singapore Tourist Board in 1964 - the lion head with a fish body resting on a crest of waves quickly became Singapore's icon to the rest of the world. Back then, Singapore was still part of Malaysia but it became a sovereign nation in 1965 – which officially makes its symbol a year older than the country itself. Built in 1972 and spouting water from its mouth, the statue stands tall at 8.6 metres and weighs 70 tonnes. It is an unmissable Singapore icon and is regarded as Singapore's Guardian of Prosperity.

A second smaller Baby Merlion, rising two meters high and weighing about three tonnes, was created at the same time, and sits a few metres away from, and behind, the bigger one. They were originally crafted and placed at the mouth of the Singapore River on September 15, 1972. When Esplanade Bridge was completed in 1997, it blocked the view to the statues, which had to be relocated some 100 meters away in 2002. They currently stand in front of Fullerton Hotel, in what is now known as the Waterboat House Garden, just above the Marina Bay.

We walked past shops with containers full of herbs for sale as well as dried sea creatures such as sea dragons (looked a bit like a seahorse), octopus, some that looked like sea cucumbers, and other items that didn't have any english description. A nearby restaurant had photos of its meals on the wall and they included 'braised pig's intestines', 'braised pig's big intestines', 'pig's kidney soup', 'pig's liver soup', and 'pig's stomach soup'. Looks like not much goes to waste.

23-8-2019 Friday
Our check out time today was 12.00 and we didn't plan to do anything particular so we had a leisurely morning. Our flight wasn't until 10.15pm tonight so we checked out and left our bags with the hotel, and went up to the rooftop where Dave had a swim and I sat in the shade and chatted to another New Zealand couple who had a similar schedule and just had to kill some time. About 3.30pm we got our bags and took a taxi to the airport.

We were able to check our bags in to our flight so we only had our cabin bags to look after. We'd heard about the complex at the airport called Jewel so we made our way there and didn't have to leave the undercover of the airport. There were about 3 levels with mostly shops and restaurants but there was a big beautiful indoor waterfall with lots of surrounding plants on walls, as is typical of Singapore.

After that we made our way to one of the Priority Pass Lounges of which Dave is a member, and had some dinner and drinks until it was time to make our way to our flight boarding.

24-8-2019 Saturday HOME
We arrived at 7.40am at the Gold Coast airport where John and Val graciously picked us up. We drove to a nearby little shop for a very cheap, but very good breakfast. After that we transferred our bags to our car and drove home after the morning peak hour.