Singapore
5/7/05
In Singapore we were back to the high tech developed world. The airport had free Internet and we didn't have to bargain to get a ticket for the subway :-D
Flavien did us a treat, paying us a night at the Holiday Inn and a wonderful dinner. We relaxed in the swimming pool and steam room before going out for dinner in Clarke Quay, a place that concentrates many different restaurants. We had the exotic Jelly Fish and Stingray. It was delicious! Merci beaucoup Flavien!!!
Before going back to the hotel we walked through the Fort Canning Park. The city is extremely clean and organized especially in contrast with the 4 last countries we visited.
5/8/05
Our second day in Singapore was blessed with a strong tropical rain in the morning. So, we spent time in the malls until the rain stopped.
After walking around Orchard Road, the rich fancy part of the city, we set off to see the other neighborhoods.
We walked in the direction of Little India and stopped on the way for some fresh juices (soursop, dragonfruit and starfruit juices) in Newton Square and some Indian sweets in little India.
Beside Little India there was a very interesting market where people sell all kinds of used stuff. It is like if all the stoop sales in NYC were put together in one place. We then ended up in a Middle Eastern neighborhood where you could make really good deals.
We also checked for another hotel for the second night and discovered that in Singapore there are many brothels. We walked to the War Memorial and to the Fountain of Wealth, which is the world's biggest by the way.
We passed by the Art Museum ...
... and the Financial Center.
From there, we walked to Chinatown in search of dinner. We were determined to eat the caramelized roasted duck, but Chinatown in Singapore seems to be quite a touristy place and the prices are pretty high. So we went back to Newton Square which is much more authentic, with no tourists and with local prices.
To finish the day we went to the Night Safari.
There are two ways of visiting the park: by train or walking through its trails, which was the choice we made. Before we started exploring the park, we watched a show where they use some animals and actors, in a mixture of circus and comedy. It was really funny and well done. We then headed to the different trails in the dark to see the animals.
Instead of cages they use natural barriers to separate the animal which makes it much nicer.
5/9/05
Here the weather was better and we were planning to spend the morning by the swimming pool at the Holiday Inn, but Angie and I had forgotten our passports at the other hotel. Luckily we noticed in time and when we went back they were still there.
In the afternoon we went to Sentosa, an island resort just a few minutes away from the business district and the bustle of the city, which hosts entertainment and attractions in a tropical peaceful place.
We visited the Underwater Aquarium, with over 2500 species like sharks, giant stingrays, eels, and many other exotic fishes.
The island is like an amusement park with many other attractions, We stopped by the Art Village where it is possible to see the artists in action. But there were only two artists...is that a village?
One of the greatest attractions of Sentosa are the unique Pink Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphins. These animals are incredibly smart.
The island is quite beautiful, but from the beach, the view is far from paradisiac, we can see hundreds of ships queued to load and unload goods for the whole Southeast Asia. This is one of the busiest ports in the world.
Around 3 P.M. we went back to Singapore to take a bus to Johor Bharu, in Malaysia.
We got off the bus at the border to go through the immigration. To get into Malaysia was also very easy, no visa was needed for both of us. An interesting thing here is that the bus we travelled with does not wait for the passengers. That is because there are many buses doing this route and it is normal that we had to wait for the next bus at the border, the only problem is that because we were not aware of that we thought we were left behind :D In Johore Bharu we took immediately another bus to Kuala Lumpur.
After having travelled for so long in shitty buses and pot hole roads we were amazed by the quality of these two things in Malaysia. The bus had only three big spacious seats per row and the road was excellent.
We arrived in Kuala Lumpur around midnight and after checking some hotels we found a excellent deal in the heart of Chinatown, Petaling Street.
In Singapore we were back to the high tech developed world. The airport had free Internet and we didn't have to bargain to get a ticket for the subway :-D
Flavien did us a treat, paying us a night at the Holiday Inn and a wonderful dinner. We relaxed in the swimming pool and steam room before going out for dinner in Clarke Quay, a place that concentrates many different restaurants. We had the exotic Jelly Fish and Stingray. It was delicious! Merci beaucoup Flavien!!!
Before going back to the hotel we walked through the Fort Canning Park. The city is extremely clean and organized especially in contrast with the 4 last countries we visited.
5/8/05
Our second day in Singapore was blessed with a strong tropical rain in the morning. So, we spent time in the malls until the rain stopped.
After walking around Orchard Road, the rich fancy part of the city, we set off to see the other neighborhoods.
We walked in the direction of Little India and stopped on the way for some fresh juices (soursop, dragonfruit and starfruit juices) in Newton Square and some Indian sweets in little India.
Beside Little India there was a very interesting market where people sell all kinds of used stuff. It is like if all the stoop sales in NYC were put together in one place. We then ended up in a Middle Eastern neighborhood where you could make really good deals.
We also checked for another hotel for the second night and discovered that in Singapore there are many brothels. We walked to the War Memorial and to the Fountain of Wealth, which is the world's biggest by the way.
We passed by the Art Museum ...
... and the Financial Center.
From there, we walked to Chinatown in search of dinner. We were determined to eat the caramelized roasted duck, but Chinatown in Singapore seems to be quite a touristy place and the prices are pretty high. So we went back to Newton Square which is much more authentic, with no tourists and with local prices.
To finish the day we went to the Night Safari.
There are two ways of visiting the park: by train or walking through its trails, which was the choice we made. Before we started exploring the park, we watched a show where they use some animals and actors, in a mixture of circus and comedy. It was really funny and well done. We then headed to the different trails in the dark to see the animals.
Instead of cages they use natural barriers to separate the animal which makes it much nicer.
5/9/05
Here the weather was better and we were planning to spend the morning by the swimming pool at the Holiday Inn, but Angie and I had forgotten our passports at the other hotel. Luckily we noticed in time and when we went back they were still there.
In the afternoon we went to Sentosa, an island resort just a few minutes away from the business district and the bustle of the city, which hosts entertainment and attractions in a tropical peaceful place.
We visited the Underwater Aquarium, with over 2500 species like sharks, giant stingrays, eels, and many other exotic fishes.
The island is like an amusement park with many other attractions, We stopped by the Art Village where it is possible to see the artists in action. But there were only two artists...is that a village?
One of the greatest attractions of Sentosa are the unique Pink Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphins. These animals are incredibly smart.
The island is quite beautiful, but from the beach, the view is far from paradisiac, we can see hundreds of ships queued to load and unload goods for the whole Southeast Asia. This is one of the busiest ports in the world.
Around 3 P.M. we went back to Singapore to take a bus to Johor Bharu, in Malaysia.
We got off the bus at the border to go through the immigration. To get into Malaysia was also very easy, no visa was needed for both of us. An interesting thing here is that the bus we travelled with does not wait for the passengers. That is because there are many buses doing this route and it is normal that we had to wait for the next bus at the border, the only problem is that because we were not aware of that we thought we were left behind :D In Johore Bharu we took immediately another bus to Kuala Lumpur.
After having travelled for so long in shitty buses and pot hole roads we were amazed by the quality of these two things in Malaysia. The bus had only three big spacious seats per row and the road was excellent.
We arrived in Kuala Lumpur around midnight and after checking some hotels we found a excellent deal in the heart of Chinatown, Petaling Street.
posted by Adriano and Angie | 8:05 AM
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