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 4 – Singapore
The Arts House
Following the excitement of yesterday at the Night Safari, I was hoping for a stress-free day today. The majority of the group had opted for a morning cruise on Singapore River. I chose to utilise my time in exploring the city further.
Today has been the hottest so far. Previously the sun was behind the clouds and although it was still too warm for us Brits, it wasn’t too bad walking around. With the sun in the ascendancy a simple stroll became a gruelling marathon.
First stop was the Fountain of Wealth. Unfortunately it turned out to be one of those nighttime attractions that lights up the streets so had little to offer during the day. The only consolation I took from this unrewarding detour was seeing more of the track for the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix they’ll be hosting later this year. Like the Monaco race, it looks like they’ll be closing off parts of the city for the weekend.
My next target was a visit to Singapore’s National Museum. Despite having a map I went off course but luckily wandered into a real find – Fort Canning Park. Our tour guide had pointed this place out from a distance on our first day in Singapore. The area is of significance because the first ruler of the island is said to be buried there. Later, the British built a house on the hill and fortified the area with towering walls and numerous cannons.
Fort Canning Centre
I didn’t see the entire park because it was huge. By the time I’d first found the place, my arms and forehead were dripping with sweat and I’d forgotten to bring any water! I don’t tend to be superstitious but the debacle of yesterday’s Night Safari could have been more down to my not wearing my St. Christopher medal rather than my own stupidity. I’d made the effort to wear the necklace today and fortune smiled on me. I found an archaeological dig, which was interesting but more importantly next to it was a vending machine filled with ice cold drinks. I spent the next five minutes bringing myself back to life with a much-needed beverage.
I must have spent around an hour wandering the park before I spied the National Museum. The main section comprised mostly of sketched drawings, while the history, culture, fashion etc required you to buy a ticket to swipe in for individual sections. I chose to head back to the hotel not due to being tight-fisted with money but because time was getting on and I still wanted another walk down Singapore River.
I wasn’t back at the hotel long before the doorbell rang. It was the cleaner eager to work on my room. She’d visited earlier in the day to see if I needed any laundry doing. Despite both of us being able to speak English we found a mutual language barrier whereby we would have to say everything twice before it was understood. I opted to leave her to it and headed for Singapore River though the cleaner did reassure me the room would only take ten minutes to clean. Not thorough enough if you ask me.
Thomas Raffles
The sun was out again when I made for Singapore River and proved far too hot to walk around in for long. The most notable part of Singapore River was a statue of Thomas Raffles. His name resonates throughout Singaporean society and the statue overlooking the river is said to have been erected on the very spot he first stepped onto the island. Raffles negotiated the use of Singapore for the East India Company back in the 19th century and the island soon fell under British control.
On my way back to the hotel I made the mistake of checking one of the shopping centres. First, one man who wanted me to look through his stock of cameras and camcorders approached me. I politely declined but at the next stall an elderly man called me over and shook my hand. He asked where I was from and I informed him England. He thought I said Finland but we soon cleared that up. I think it was the “land” bit that threw him. Easy mistake to make!
Luring me inside the shop, I was told to have a seat while he produced sheet upon sheet of material with much enthusiasm. I wasn’t sure what to do so just bided my time. Not content with trying to sell the stuff to me himself the old chap set a younger man on me whom was knowledgeable about England and knew Yorkshire well enough. I don’t think he’d heard of Barnsley though.
We soon got down to the business of selling. He wanted to produce a shirt for me from material of my choice. His mobile ringing interrupted the conversation but he set the old fellow on me again. When I came to express my lack of interest they shook my hand and sent me on my way. I felt a bit sorry for the old guy as he’d laid out at least ten sheets of material for me to peruse. Their quoted time for producing a shirt was 2 minutes!
Security was strict at Singapore but New Zealand and Australia promised to be even stricter
Back at the hotel there was little for me to do but wait till 5.00 for our coach to the airport. I would have preferred staying longer in Singapore but next up is New Zealand and Australia so as consolations go it doesn’t get much better than that. I had a feeling Singapore would be a beautiful island but I must admit it’s exceeded all expectations.
Negotiating the airport was straightforward, at least at first. We had two flights ahead of us:- first to Sydney, then onto Christchurch on New Zealand’s south island. It was set to be another 24+ hours without sleep. There was a couple of hour’s wait for our flight so I passed the time chatting with two sisters in my tour group. They were the first ones I’d met and continually refer to me as ‘young man.’ They do say your eyesight goes when you get older. The eldest – Pamela – told me of her days as a midwife and how she’d delivered the baby of Robert Smith – lead singer of The Cure. She described his gloomy image in the showbiz world as misleading and revealed he’s actually one of the nicest guys you could hope to meet.
Security at Singapore proved a major stumbling block. We all had to throw our bottles of water away and, for me, the contact lens solution was a no-no. At 250ml the bottle was too big to allow through so I had to walk to the far side of the airport to the pharmacy where I bought two 100ml bottles. Back at security I had to transfer the contact lens solution to the two smaller bottles before I was allowed to proceed. Both bottles are clear with no labels so I envisage not being able to get the stuff into New Zealand. It’s a good thing I brought my glasses!
Enjoyed the read? Subscribe!
