Singapore/Malaysia

Well, this is the start of the long awaited chronicle of the travels and musings of your two intrepid travellers! The stories of wild adventures should all be treated with the proverbial grain of salt!

We drove down to Auckland on Nov. 7th. and stayed with Jean's sister Heather and her husband, Magan. They have always been so hospitable whenever we have needed a place to lay our heads and we thank them very much for that. The next day we were due to take off at 1335 on SQ 286 and arrived at the airport 3 and a half hours early so we could get some good seats. We found the exit row seats were already taken but we managed to get just 2 seats by themselves right at the back of the aircraft.

The flight was generally good with fine weather but we struck some severe turbulence over the middle of Australia and, being down the back, the movement was intensified. Probably something to do with the hot air rising from the ground - whether that has anything to do with the population at large on the West Island we couldn't possibly comment! Saw many of the islands of Indonesia with prominent extinct (hopefully) volcanoes on many. It all gave a sense of what it could be like when we are up here on the boat next year. Dusk was falling and there was a lot of cloud as we came into Changi but it was a smooth landing and we were glad to get ashore after nearly 10 and a half hours.

Had a very friendly taxi driver who gave us all the latest lowdown with new buildings etc. It was fascinating and very nostalgic for Jean (Gina)as she had lived on what was in the early 1970's Changi Air Force Base with her then husband who was in the RNZAF. Apparently it was very beautiful with lots of old trees and bungalows to live in on base. There was also the interraction with the local people in the Kampongs but all of that has gone and Changi now is one of the busiest, largest and most modern airports in the world. The same sort of thing has happened throughout Singapore and it was unrecognisable for Jean(Gina). However, through Wotif we had booked a room at the Inn at Temple St. and the hotel was situated in the old Chinatown which is largely as it always was, albeit somewhat sanitised for the tourists. It was a very old authentic building with a tastefully modernised interior. It was spotlessly clean but the rooms were a bit like shoeboxes; however, it didn't worry us as accomodation generally is very expensive in Singapore and the Temple St. Inn was reasonable at $S108 per night.

As an aside, in the 1970's 1 Kiwi dollar bought approximately 4 Singapore dollars; now we are at par. A measure of how far Singapore has come and how far we have declined.

At least the air conditioning worked fiercely and we slept well!

The next day we had an early start and we optimistically set off in intermittent rain to find the station in order to buy our tickets on the train to Tampin, Malaysia. We had been unable to buy them on the internet. It had been our intention to walk but everyone we asked directions from misunderstood and thought we were asking about the local Singapore underground! So, after a frustrating half hour or so we took a taxi (they were hard to find too) and finally arrived at the station. It's a relic of old Singapore having been built in the British colonial days and is a very grand old building. However, before the end of this year the rail terminus is being moved to Johore Bahru in Malaysia and so it will no longer be possible to catch a train which originates in Singapore and which ultimately ends up in Bangkok. We therefore felt privileged to have experienced the last of old colonial travel from Singapore. After we got the tickets we were dropped off in Orchard Rd. and found a Swiss Restaurant (of all things) which was very good. We then walked along until we came to the old Raffles Hotel - one of Singapore's iconic landmarks. We felt the need for an obligatory drink in the famous Long Bar but two drinks cost us in excess of $S30 and not only did we not spy Somerset Maugham sitting in a corner, but we also discovered that the present Long Bar is not situated in its original location. Typical of Singapore where they do an excellent job of preserving important and iconic items of history, but they do it in a way that is almost better than new!! Apart from that the new buildings and the infrastructure are breathtaking. One development that especially caught our eyes was one of three towers which was joined across the tops by a boat hull easily the size of a medium size ship. Apparently it contains restaurants among other things and one can go up there but we didn't have time unfortunately. One can stand and look at that amazing building and then turn around and there is the old Fullerton Hotel dating from the same era as Raffles and arguably a better example of the period. We also paid a visit to the SE Asia Museum which has fascinating displays of the various cultures that make up modern Singapore. One could spend hours. We had an early dinner in Chinatown that evening as we had to be at the station by 0700 the next morning for an 0800 departure.

More coming!!!!!