In May 2008, I went traveling on my own for the first time and was out of England for a month. Along the way I took in Singapore, New Zealand, Australia and Thailand before coming home. I kept a journal of my time on the road, so here’s a day by day account of my trials and tribulations that has the undeserved title of Dave’s Odyssey.
Day 3 – Singapore
Merlion, Marina Bay with the odd tourist for good measure!
My alarm went off at 7.00 but I fell asleep for an hour. Normally that would have been fine but I still hadn’t had breakfast and the tour started at 9.00. After quickly getting ready I headed for the hotel café to see just what a Singaporean breakfast comprised of. Lucky for me they had just about everything:- scrambled eggs, sausages, pancakes, toast, chips, vegetables and an assortment of fruit juices, tea, coffee, warm milk, or water if you weren’t feeling adventurous. Due to being on borrowed time, I wasn’t able to have much but it was enjoyable all the same. Touchwood I would get my money’s worth the following day.
Our morning tour began with a pleasant drive through the Chinatown area of Singapore. Taking in the sights, I couldn’t help thinking I’d never seen so many beautiful people in one place! We failed to drive on any street where there weren’t at least two or three stunning women wandering around. It was difficult to even focus on the individual buildings and sights being pointed out by the tour guide.
Our first stop was Merlion Park, which includes Marina Bay. From our coach we could see a bridge lined with purple flowers while the scent of the sea was suddenly strong in the air. We passed under the bridge to see the Merlion. This is a statue of a lion’s head with a fish’s tail and acts as a fountain of sorts with water gushing from the lion’s mouth. The spray traveled a bit too far for most people’s liking but that didn’t stop the photo opportunities. If you managed a single photo without a tourist being in the shot, you were considered a veteran.
Inside Thian Hock Keng Temple
From Merlion Park we progressed to Thian Hock Keng Temple, which was worth a few photos. The temple is still used for worship and we were warned not to photograph anyone praying, as they believe being photographed while in prayer will see the camera steal their soul. Thankfully, there were no worshippers around at the time to worry about offending. In the darkest corners of the temple we did see slumbering bats. They were only small and clearly more disturbed by us than we were of them. The bats are said to bring good luck and so are left to reside within the temple. The name of the temple refers to everlasting happiness, which is hardly synonymous with bats.
Every part of the temple was magnificently crafted and all put together without nails. The insides of the doors were adorned with numerous prophets and golden dragons. The rafters were enhanced with elephant heads and a giant drum hung ominously from one side. Mats were laid out for the worshippers and behind these were the figurines of numerous names from history and religion, including Confucius from China. Although there were no worshippers the scent of incense was strong, though not powerful enough to assuage a giant swarm of flies from appearing on one side of the temple. Luckily, their sudden arrival coincided with our departure.
National Orchid Garden
Our journey through the streets of Singapore took us past the richest properties on the island with some worth up to $6 million with most belonging to ambassadors and foreign diplomats. Living in Singapore sounded pretty tricky and that’s not just the difficulty of getting residence. They prefer Singaporean born residents so the only way to win the islanders over if you’re foreign is having lots of money, particularly if you invest in their economy. If those conditions were bad enough then the island’s largest income is from taxes. They seemed to tax just about everything.
The next step on the tour was the National Orchid Garden, which is a sub-division of the Botanic Gardens. We were given around 45 minutes to explore which turned out to be nowhere near enough time. I’m not a garden fanatic but could still appreciate the variety and color on offer in the Orchid Garden. The wild/rare orchids were kept separate in their own enclosure called the Orchidarium, while the aptly titled Cool House was host to a series of orchids native to South America.
The highlight of the Orchid Garden was probably the celebrity orchids. Up to this point I’d seen orchids dedicated worryingly to Elizabeth II and Margaret Thatcher. The celebrity section had three notable names – Princess Diana, Jackie Chan and Ricky Martin. It seems that just visiting the gardens is enough to have the horticulturists work on a new one in tribute to you. My concern is James Blunt will be next as posters advertising a concert in Singapore were all over the city!
Little India
Our last stop was Little India. This is a small market, a bit classier than the one in Barnsley but not as roomy. The stalls were so close together that the group had to walk in single file. Little India has added to the ever-increasing list of places with souvenirs worth buying. Alas, with three more countries still to visit and little room in my backpack I’ll have to resist temptation.
The afternoon was free until 6.00 when I had signed up to go on a Night Safari. I took the opportunity to wander Singapore, armed with my camera and this time with a map. Tomorrow I’ll spend most of the day exploring further until we bid farewell to Singapore in the evening.
Two hours worth of wandering allowed my digital camera and I to take in ten so-called areas of interest. Amazing to think yesterday I wandered aimlessly for an hour without taking a single photo. Using the map I found the bulk of these sights were pretty close to the hotel.
War Memorial Park
The highlights were the poignant tributes to the war dead found in War Memorial Park, Lim Bo Seng Memorial and the Cenotaph. For the latter two, I had to cross a field where the locals were playing football. I couldn’t recall if Singapore has a national football team. If they do it’s unlikely they’ll be qualifying for World Cups what with the population and the island being so small.
On my way to Singapore River I passed City Hall, one of the island’s most historic buildings. It was here that the British accepted the surrender of Japan in WWII and where the island gained its current standing as an independent republic.
I only had time for a brief stroll along Singapore River. I bumped into a Scottish couple from my tour group who’d been exploring themselves. They’d met a fellow Scot who worked in one of the high-rise buildings and took this fortuitous couple to the top for photo opportunities completely free of charge. They were warned not to eat in any of the restaurants by the river as well. After comparing notes I found time was getting on. Hopefully tomorrow I can find time to return to the river.
Cenotaph
The Night Safari turned out to be both good and regrettable. I was the only one from my tour group that went on the outing but there were ample tourists from other groups to make up the numbers. Our tour guide – James – was the epitome of enthusiasm, so much so that he revelled in telling us about car license plates.
On our arrival after 7.00 we made straight for the restaurant to partake of a delightful buffet. Foods from all over the world were on offer. I got chatting with an Aussie couple who were on their way to Switzerland and then England. The husband was originally from Plymouth before he emigrated to Australia. The two of them offered some advice for when I tackled Australia. It would have been easy to sit there and get fat but we had to be back at the coach for 10.00 so everything became a rush.
The safari park is divided into two outings to be honest. The drive through takes about 40 minutes but at the halfway point you can get out and have a walk round to visit the animal enclosures, such as the leopards, which you don’t see on the main tour. The idea is that after a lengthy walk you are picked up again to resume the rest of the tour. It sounds pretty straightforward but, unfortunately for me, it went horribly wrong.
I’m late! I’m late! For a very important date!
I set off on the main tour just after 8.00 and it was quite an experience. You could barely see anything ahead early on but then you’d be told to look left or right and the numerous animals – deer, rhinos, lions, elephants, zebras, giraffes, wolves, hyenas, etc – would be there waiting. Flash photography was not allowed so I didn’t get a single shot during my time there.
At the halfway stage I opted to have a wander round myself and this is where the problems began. There were just too many paths to explore in the time we’d been given but having paid for the trek I wanted to make the most of it. The highlight was when I found the enclosure for the giraffes and zebras. While they were feasting to your right, to the left was a fantastic view between a parting in the trees of a moonlit lake stretching far out to the horizon. Sadly, there were areas of the park I simply didn’t have time to see before I had to get back to the tram.
By 9.30 I was at the station waiting for the tram to pick us up and complete the tour. They had been operating every five minutes or so but this one didn’t show until 9.45. So began a nervous wait for the tour to end. The coach was set to depart at 10.00!
When the tour was over it was 10.05. I raced out of the place but lost my way looking for the coach park. One of the safari staff pointed me in the right direction and it was still just 10.10. There was one coach in the car park and it was smaller than the one we’d arrived on as well as empty. Reality hit home at this stage. The coach had left me behind! I wandered around for another ten minutes in the vain hope the coach or the tour guide would show up and shout “Fooled you!” but it didn’t happen.
Looking back I was wrong to get so annoyed. I still think the coach could have at least hung on for ten minutes but in fairness I was late and that’s life as they say. Thankfully, help wasn’t far away in the form of a bus stop and taxi stand. I didn’t know which bus to catch to the city so had to settle for a taxi.
The best thing I could have hoped for at that point was a sympathetic driver. When I told the young driver about my misfortune he just laughed. In fairness to him, he tried to win back some approval by insisting I looked 18. That did placate me a little I’ll confess but then he ruined my improving mood by telling me of his love for not just football but Manchester United. At least he wasn’t a Sheffield Wednesday fan. That would have been the ultimate insult to a Barnsley FC fan like myself.
The drive back to the city was pretty grim despite the good-natured chat with driver. I watched the meter rising as we made good time reach the city center. The final fare weighed in at $27. In total I’d spent over $100 on the Night Safari and although it was a memorable experience I don’t think having to rush around the way I did made the excursion worth the money. Hopefully this will be my only bad experience with these optional excursions. I’ll certainly be timekeeping better next time round!
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