Singapore Day Two

Tomorrow (Friday) we head to Chiang Mai. We will have been traveling for 36 days -- India, the cruise with multiple stops, and these three nights in Singapore. It has all been wonderful, but it will be good to be in one familiar place for a longer period. 

Yesterday after my hours-long adventure on the hop-on-hop-off bus tours and a stop in Little India, I was quite tired, but there was one more thing I really wanted to do in Singapore. I knew that if I didn't do it today, it would never happen. So this morning I got two tickets for the observation deck at the Marina Bay Sands tower; Dan decided to go along. It turned out to be a hazy morning -- we had a rainstorm late yesterday and there is another predicted for this afternoon. The humidity must be about 99.5%! And it's just over 80°F.

After searching various websites for bus information, I found that bus 106 would depart from the same stop as our Big Bus tour yesterday, just a block or so from our hotel. It left us off in front of Tower 3 of the hotel, and the observation deck entry was at Tower 1, so we had a bit of a walk. Our timing was great, as there were no crowds and we walked right in and onto an elevator. The deck is on floor 56. It is cantilevered out from the end of Tower 1 with views in nearly every direction. There were good signs in English and Chinese indicating what the various buildings and locations were. The bus stop to return was across the highway and we had to get off at a different stop. My trusty Singapore map helped us find the way back to the hotel; it was just a few blocks. (We don't have cellular service here, so my phone isn't much help when out and about.)

Looking down on the ArtSci building (welcoming hand)

Explanation of the construction seen in the rear of the previous picture

Esplanade venues, called durian buildings because they look like that fruit

Singapore Flyer, similar to the London Eye

Looking down on the Helix Bridge

Yesterday we didn't see the Merlion, a symbol of Singapore. Here you can just see it beside the water. Lots of people are milling around it.

Supertree Grove in the Gardens by the Bay -- they give shade by day and a light show at night.

The main part of the rooftop of Marina Bay Sands is not open to the public. But I got a glimpse of the pool from the corner of the observation deck.

Lightpole sign at crossing

The next time you hear from me we should be settled into our studio in Chiang Mai. It's comforting that we are going back to a place where we are familiar with the surroundings.

Singapore Tour

Today (Wednesday) we took the hop-on-hop-off bus tour to see the main sights of Singapore. One of the stops was only a short walk from our hotel, so we started there. We traveled the yellow route, which covered a good portion of the city. I wanted to continue on to the red route, but Dan was pretty tired and get off at our starting point. The red route circled Little India, the old Malay quarter, and Chinatown. I stayed on the bus for the full route, then kept on for a few more stops to get off at Little India. (I didn't want to do it the first round until I had a chance to see the several stops and which might be best for me.) I walked around a bit and found a restaurant, where I had a dosa and mango lassi. On my way back to the bus stop, I passed a fruit seller on the street and got a few bananas. We've gotten no Singapore currency, and even the street vendor took credit cards/ApplePay. Amazing!

As we expected, Singapore is very clean and efficient. When the HOHO bus got to stop zero, we all had to alight and then get in line for our choice of red or yellow route. The next bus rolled up and we were led right to the door.

We saw many many buildings, both old and modern. There is evidence everywhere of the colonial past, scattered among the modern skyscrapers. Most of the older buildings have been repurposed, except for the churches. There also is a lot of greenery. We went through the botanical gardens, Fort Canning Park, and the Gardens by the Bay.

A colonial building just down the street from our hotel

The iconic Marina Bay Sands Hotel. In front are the Helix Bridge (based on the DNA form) and the Welcoming Hand of the ArtScience Museum.

Another colonial building

The former Old Hill Police Station, now a government building -- over 99 windows with shutters the colors of the rainbow.

A tall tower

Hindu temple in Little India -- one of the official languages here is Tamil, so I'm guessing many of the Indian population are from the south.

Houses in the Malay quarter -- similar to many in Penang

The former Chinese opera house then theater

My dosa lunch

This image isn't from the tour, but it is just down the street from our hotel. A vending machine that squeezes apples and gives you the juice. You can see the apples inside. There is also one that makes sugar cane juice.

Kuala Lumpur

The last stop on the cruise was Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. We had signed up for a ship-sponsored bus tour of the city, but Dan was not feeling well and didn’t go. It was a good hour’s drive into the city from Port Klang. It was supposed to be a panoramic tour and it certainly was — we drove around the city multiple times, passing the same sights several times. Our first stop was at the KL Tower, a telecommunications tower with an observation deck. After standing in line for a while, we arrived at the top in crowded elevators. We had a wonderful view of the city from all directions. It was fortunate, as the day before (when we had a rainstorm), they told us there was nothing to see.

After some more driving around, we arrived at the Petronas Towers, the famous twin towers with a connecting bridge in the center. The lower levels are a shopping mall. When we finally arrived there, about 2:30, our guide announced that we had 30 minutes to find some lunch and do any shopping. There was quite an outcry and she finally agreed to 3:30. I went up the escalator and stopped at the first coffee shop I found. I had a tiny quiche and a pastry with my own bottled water. Then I found a place to sit for a while.

When we gathered near the entrance to meet the group, I had an interesting conversation with two men. At first I thought they were speaking another language, but then I found out they were from Manchester, England! Two brothers, both truck drivers, took this cruise together. I could barely understand them, but they were very enjoyable.

 Merdeka 118, second-tallest building in the world

Another view from KL Tower, showing lots of city green

Petronas Towers from the side, showing a few of the many skyscrapers here

One of the many colonial buildings we passed (bus window tinted)

The National Mosque

Petronas Towers from the sidewalk

We landed in Singapore today, Tuesday morning. The arrival process was incredibly smooth, and we were even directed into a line that didn't require screening of our baggage. We got a taxi and arrived at our hotel about 9:00. Fortunately, they had a room available, so we are getting settled in. We will be here three nights, then head to Chiang Mai for the next few months.

A Day in Penang

We have been to Penang twice before, eight and nine years ago, both times to get Dan a new Thai visa so he could stay on in Chiang Mai. Our plan was to get off the ship and look around on our own. But our travel agent gifted us a tour with Distinctive Voyages, a company that works exclusively with travel agents. Their representative, Helen, met with us several times before. We told her we weren't that interested in a walking tour, but it included lunch and we might join for that. In the end, we went with the tour for the morning and had lunch with the group before taking off on our own. 

The start was not the greatest -- the distance from the ship to the street area where we met the buses was very long, by far the longest we've seen. But we did eventually get to the bus. The first stop was at one of the Chinese family jetties, well-known villages built over the water. We had seen them before, so we stayed on the nice air-conditioned bus. We did that again as they stopped at a Buddhist temple. When we got to the restaurant, the Yeng Peng, we realized that it was directly across the street from the hotel we had stayed in twice before. So we were familiar with the area and knew that the Penang free bus stop wasn't far away.

After lunch we crossed the street (but didn't go into the hotel) and walked toward the bus stop. Shortly before we got there, we spotted an Indian clothing store -- one we think we visited before. We spent some time in there and Dan finally found the kind of shirts he wanted to get in India. I also found some nice tops and a couple of dresses. All Indian-style fabrics which we love. So, great shopping opportunity!! 

We only had to wait a couple of minutes for the free bus, which went around the edges of the city, passing sights we had seen earlier on the tour bus. When it stopped right at the pier, we got off. The walk back didn't seem quite so long, as it was more familiar. We found a shop in the terminal and Dan was able to get some cough syrup and a new hat. It was very hot and it was 4:00 by the time we got back on the ship.

Today (Sunday) we are in Port Klang, the port for Kuala Lumpur. We signed up for a city tour, but I am going alone, as Dan has a cough and cold. I think he also had enough bus riding yesterday.

Chinese temple we passed while the others were at the jetty; unusual decor on the roof

Magnolia tree near St. George's church.

I saw this in an area with multiple dried fish shops.

The Buddhist temple the others toured

Yeng Peng restaurant. The woman in teal was our local guide and she kept bringing dishes to our table. Some of our group sat upstairs but a small number of us were given a table downstairs.

The hotel we enjoyed staying in twice

A few of the garments in the Indian shop; it was quite large.

The pier terminal, reached after a rather long walk, and then even more!

After we were back on the ship, we heard thunder. It was wonderful to watch the rainstorm come through. By the time I took this shot, it was lifting a little bit. For a while we couldn't see anything except gray mist. Beautiful!

Scammed in Colombo!

I thought that I was smart enough to avoid being scammed. Well, it happened anyway. After the fact so many things about the day in Colombo were obvious. My mind went ding-ding-ding as I went back over it. Of course, my family members know that I have a tendency to take things straight as they come and not be doubtful about the source. (Subtlety can go right over my head.)

We had signed up for a tuk-tuk tour through a third-party vendor (not the cruise line). We were told to meet up at the lighthouse, very close to where the shuttle from the ship would drop us off. As we walked toward a huge row of tuk-tuks, looking for a driver holding a card with our name, it didn’t appear that any of them were doing that. A young man approached us, said he worked on the ship but was going to visit his family and did we have a problem. (first ding) I said we didn’t know where our tuk-tuk was but I had a number to call. He kindly dialed the number and talked to the man on the end. When he gave me the phone, the driver said he had broken his foot and couldn’t come. (Ding)

The young man (he said his name was Shantha) told us that there were government-sponsored tuk-tuks and he would take us to one nearby. The driver he found agreed that he had a meter and that he could take a card as payment, as we had no Sri Lankan currency. (Ding)

We got in and had a very good tour riding through Colombo. Some pictures below. As we were ready to finish and head back, Shantha just happened to appear. He said he had seen his family and was on the way back. (Ding) He said the meter reading was xxxx (it was only on the driver's phone, ding) and the driver couldn’t take a card after all. So we went to an ATM and Dan got some Sri Lankan currency. The total seemed high, but we paid him. (Ding) Shantha got in with us and directed the driver to the pickup spot for the ship shuttle. From there it was no problem; the bus arrived a few minutes later. As we settled back in our room, a huge light bulb went on over my head and I realized what had happened. I had several messages from our real driver, who had been there waiting, but not where we had been able to see him. Big lesson learned! 

It is clear that Shantha doesn’t work for the cruise line and is an accomplished scam artist, as is the driver. We were easily duped. However, we did see a good part of Colombo and enjoyed the ride in the tuk-tuk.

I could be really angry, but have decided to chalk it up to another life experience. I am embarrassed, but not too much to avoid sharing it with all of you. And nothing terrible happened other than paying way too much for the ride. Thank goodness!!

Selfie in the tuk-tuk. There was a nice breeze!

Driver. He told us a lot about himself but now I wonder what was true.

Gangamaraya Buddhist temple

Pounded copper doors inside

One of the many rooms

Lotus tower 

Hindu temple; we didn't go in

We are now on the ship for a few days without any stops where we are disembarking. (Today Hambantota, Sri Lanka, which is far from any town. And on the 5th, Phuket, Thailand, where we went last year and don't intend to return.) Our next stop is Penang, Malaysia.

Visit to Cochin (now Kochi)

We had a restful day at sea after our visit with Momo in Goa. I wanted to swim and tried the solarium pool, but it was far too warm. Fortunately, there is a deep (5.5-6 feet) lap pool outside on the pool deck that is a bit cooler. If I go late in the afternoon, there usually aren't more than two or three other people there. 

On Saturday we stopped in Cochin. This is another port that the Europeans colonized -- first the Portuguese, then the Dutch, and then the British. It was a princely state that became part of modern India in 1956. This has been an interesting trip, with visits to three former colonial areas prior to British rule -- Pondicherry (French) on the east coast, Goa (Portuguese), and now Cochin, both on the west coast. Goa is the only one we have visited before, back in 1980 and again in 2008.

I signed up for a small group tour of the city through a company not affiliated with the cruise line (Dan went out on his own to find a barber and got a haircut). There were only five of us (couples from Maryland and Scotland), with a very good guide named Rajesh. He knew the history well, and had a special interest in trees, of which we saw many. After a walk by some vegetable vendors, we visited the dhobi khana. Laundrymen (dhobis) still do washing and ironing in a central place. We then drove to Fort Kochi, where the Portuguese first started a settlement with a fort and a church. The fort is long gone, as the Dutch tore it down and built structures called bastions. The fort area has a walkway along the edge of the Arabian Sea. This tour turned out to have a lot more walking than I was expecting and I struggled a bit, but made it through. 

Ironing room in dhobi khana; they have electricity, but a few still use coal-fired irons.

One of the three remaining bastions. One is a museum, one the bishop's residence, and one is privately owned.

We visited the St. Francis Church, built by the Portuguese in 1503. It was Catholic, but when the Dutch came, it became Protestant. And when the English took over, it became Anglican. It still has two services every Sunday, one in Malayalam and one in English. Vasco da Gama's tomb is there, although his bones were removed to Lisbon in 1539.

Front of St. Francis church with war monument.

Inside the church. Upper right is one of the six punkahs, manually-operated fans (done by punkah-wallahs sitting outside and pulling ropes).

One of the many large old trees.

Chinese fishing nets are lowered into the water, then raised to catch fish, active in the morning.

We also visited the palace of the maharajah. He was friendly to the Jewish people who were being mistreated by others, so he invited them to settle close by him. You can see the temple from the palace.

Do I dare enter the maharajah's palace? Steep steps! I did it.

Ceiling inside

One room had all the walls covered with paintings of the Ramayana.

The Jewish synagogue; we had to walk through an area selling handicrafts to see it.

Now it is Sunday afternoon and we have just docked at Colombo, Sri Lanka. Tomorrow we have a tuk-tuk tour of the city.