The long journey home.

All good things come to an end... don't they. My journey home began at 10:00am Sunday 1/18 (11:00pm Saturday night 1/17, Durham time). Kate and I took a cab to the airport, got me checked in and through passport control. One last wave goodbye through the glass, and I was off to explore the airport. Explore is the proper word here, as Changi airport has lots of things to keep you busy while waiting for your flight. There are the usual duty free stores and shopping, but the also have outdoor terraces, a free movie theater, lots of lounge areas with TV's, a Koi pond, and a butterfly garden. Yep, in the middle of a huge airport, there is butterfly garden.





The Singapore Airlines has a pretty nice lounge as well, with a full buffet (try the curry chicken) drinks, magazines, newspapers, tv, and internet access (with iMacs!).

I boarded the plane at 12:00, ready for a long flight. On the flight, I ate 2 full meals, plus a snack, watched 3 movies, and slept for about 6 hours or so. Not much else to do on a flight that long. This flight went east from Singapore over Taiwan, Japan, Alaska, Canada into Newark. Because my original flight from Newark also went east to get to Singapore, I can now say I have flown around the world.



Uneventful journey so far. Then we land in Newark. Newark would rank pretty high on my list of unpleasant places to be welcomed back to the US. The airport is ugly, loud, and dirty. After spending two weeks in clean, friendly Singapore this was a sad reminder that I was back "home". Nothing more than a 3 hour layover to look forward to... wait, now 4 hours... no 6 hours... no, sorry, that will be 7.5 hours before getting on a flight to Raleigh. For anyone that has been to the Newark airport, you know what I mean when I say a 30 minute layover is about all that is really tolerable there.

So, I finally get back to my humble abode at 3:15am Monday 1/19, east cost time. Total elapsed time from leaving for the airport to arriving home... 28 hours. Now it is time to recover from jet lag and get back to the grind of everyday life not on vacation.

There will probably be a few more posts here as I get my black and white and slide film back, so keep checking from time to time.

A HUGE thank you goes out to Mike M. for staying up late and saving me the hassle of a cab ride from the airport at 3:00 am!!!!

Cheers!

One last day...

Well, today was my last full day in Singapore. Tomorrow it is back on the plane to Raleigh via a 4 hour layover in Newark. Today we went back to the Arab quarter to pick up some gifts, and then kind of layed low at the apartment until heading out to find some dinner.

We took the bus to the Esplanade and spent some time watching the sun set over the Singapore skyline, then walked back to Lau Pa Sat for a last dinner of Satay and Tiger beer. Not a bad way to spend the last evening in Singapore. I think that the top of my "Singapore Must Do List" would be to have Satay and Tiger beer at Lau Pa Sat. You have to do it after dark when they close down the street and set up tables. As our Satay hawker said... "The best way to have Satay is on the street... it reminds you that this is the way that we all used to eat"!

I am a bit too lazy right now to post pictures of the last hurrah in Singapore, but I will update the Flickr site soon. There will probably be one or two last entries from this trip, but it will be at least Monday 1/19 before the next update.

Have a good weekend!

Sentosa Island

Today we took the cable car to Sentosa Island. Trust me, the website makes it look a whole lot more exiting than it is. There are some really beautiful beaches, but other than that its kind of a big tourist trap. The cable car ride over the channel from the main island was kind of cool,



and gave us a nice view of the city and one of the shipping terminals...



...but other than that, this was the most exiting thing we saw at Sentosa:



This thing was about as big as my hand. Not the kind of web you want to walk through. Bonus points to anyone who can tell me what kind of spider this is... I couldn't find anything that looked like it with a cursory web search.

More later...

Signs

Singapore is a pretty orderly place. To remind you of this, there are signs everywhere. Some of the signs remind you to be considerate to others:



This sign was at the beginning of the nature trail at MacRitchie Park.

There are also signs to warn you of dangers:



This one really struck me as funny. I have spent a lot of time in the woods, and I have never had a random branch fall and come even close to hitting me. Maybe this is a much more common occurrence here. Maybe the monkeys drop them?

Some are just reminders, just in case your Mother didn't come with you:



I can almost hear my mom telling me "Have fun, but don't loose your lunchbox... and keep your shoes on!!"

I think they just put everything they could think of on this one.



What do they have against cheeseburgers? What is funny about this one is the location... at a food court. Was I breaking the rules by taking a picture?

Some are just odd combinations.



"HEY! You can't skate here!"
"OK, I'll take a nap"
"NO! You can't do that either"

Some are just funny...



... and some are just downright scary:



I think they could have saved a lot of money in designing and printing all these different signs by just making one... all it would have to say is:

BEHAVE!

The Night Safari

As I mentioned at the end of yesterdays post, Kate and I went to the Night Safari on Wednesday night. At a traditional zoo, you don't get to see some of the animals as they are nocturnal; the whole purpose of the Night Safari is to see the animals usually missed at the zoo. This was not an easy place to take pictures as there is minimal light and flash photography is forbidden, for obvious reasons (but that doesn't seem to stop some idiots). I set the camera at ISO 3200, and tried my best.

The tour consists of both a tram ride and walking trails. The tram takes you by some of the bigger exhibits (lions, elephants, giraffes), and makes a couple of stops for you to explore the trails that lead to the smaller exhibits. The trails also allow you to get a bit closer to some of the bigger exhibits that the tram goes by. I think the highlight of the tour was the Mangrove Walk. This is a huge area enclosed by netting where you get a chance to get up close to Malayan Bats and Fruit Bats. The fruit bats aren't that much bigger than the bats we have at home, but the Malayan Bats are huge. The picutre below is not that clear, but the orb in the lower part of the photo is an average sized apple. This was not one of the larger bats either. These things had the wingspan of a good sized eagle.



The animals are obviously fed right before the park opens, as most of them were eating or had just finished eating when we were there, a good way to get them out to be seen. The fruit bat below is munching on a bunch of bananas



I think I enjoyed the regular zoo more, but all in all it was a pretty neat evening. Oh, I almost forgot, it wouldn't be a complete trip without the cheesy tourist photo:

The Arab Quarter and National Museum

Today I took a walk through the neighborhood known as the Arab Quarter. Here in Singapore, this is the place to go if you are looking for textiles or rattan articles... from baskets to furniture. Walking down the streets here can be kind of a chore, the walks in front of the stores are only 5 feet wide (as they are in most of the older parts of Singapore) and all the shopkeepers are out in the fronts of the stores trying to convince you to come inside. Not to mention the contents of most of the stores are spilled out onto the walk. The photo below was taken in a relatively clear spot.



The central landmark in the Arab Quarter is the Sultan Mosque, the largest mosque in Singapore. This mosque can accommodate 5000 worshipers at one time.



This view is from the back of the mosque, I couldn't get a shot from the front, as the street was too narrow.

After a quick lunch of spicy beef and rice, I walked over to the National Museum of Singapore. The museum is a self guided tour, with the assistance of a multimedia device. This was really a really great way to see the museum, you just entered the number of the display you were at, and there would be audio explaining the exhibit. There is also a number next to each item in the museum, if you enter that number into the device, it would bring up the information about that particular piece on the screen in a text display. The Museum covers the history of Singapore from the 14th century, all the way to modern day. I find it fascinating that the development of Singapore as a first-world, modern city has only really been since World War II.

Tonight, Kate and I are going to see the Night Safari. Hopefully, I will have some good pictures to post later tonight.

The Battle Box

This morning I went back up to Fort Canning Park to see the Battle Box Museum (Kate wasn't too interested in going on Sunday). This is an underground bunker that was built by the British in 1936 in anticipation of the war coming to Asia Pacific. It served as the headquarters for the British Army until their surrender to the invading Japanese Forces in 1943.




The museum was pretty well done, there was a tour guide as well as wireless headphones that gave narrations in each room. The rest of the morning was spent just exploring the neighborhoods between Fort Canning Park and the CBD. Oh yeah, a tasty lunch of roast duck, rice and cabbage!

A Day at the Zoo

Kate had to go back to work today, so I was on my own exploring again. I decided to check out the electronics market to see if I could find a good deal on a small, pocketable digital camera. Everyone said the place to go for electronics in Singapore is Sim Lim Square. The quantity of things available is pretty overwhelming, but the prices weren't any better than I could get back home, so no new camera for me.

Then it was off to explore the Singapore Zoo. It took a while to get there via MRT and Bus (I seem to walk up on the buses right as they are pulling away, leaving me to sit for 15-20 minutes waiting for the next one), but it was worth the trip. The zoo is relatively small in acreage, but what they have packed into a small area is really nice. There aren't a lot of fences around the enclosures, they use moats and water to keep the people away from the animals.



When you buy your ticket at the gate, they hand you a map that also lists all the feeding times for the animals. They stagger the feeding times, so if you arrive around 1100, you can follow the feedings throughout the park. I didn't arrive until about 1300, so I only saw a few. There isn't much more I can say about the zoo, so check out the pictures here.

Fort Canning Park and Downtown at night

In preparation for this trip, Kate purchased a book called "Discover Singapore on Foot". It contains different walking tours that can be done all over Singapore. On Sunday we decided to take the walk around the neighborhood where we are staying. There are a few historical buildings near us as well as some local eateries and temples. We had already found the eateries, but some of the historical buildings were pretty neat, like the Sri Thendayuthapani Temple (pictured below).


Notice all the shoes on the steps... none allowed inside.

After seeing the temple we crossed the road and walked up the hill into Fort Canning Park. This Fort was originally built in 1861 to protect Singapore from attack by sea, and to give Singapore's European population a refuge in case of local disturbances. The Fort was used as a military base until the 1970's when it was turned into a park for public use.



There is a military historical spot/museum on the grounds that I will explore later this week.

We headed back to the apartment for a rest before heading out later that evening. I wanted to take some night photos of the skyline, and Kate had not seen the Merlion statue yet. Singapore has a beautiful skyline at night. The digital pictures don't really do it justice. Hopefully some of the slides I took will turn out. I'll just have to wait until I get home to see.



We hung around Merlion Park and people watched for a bit, then headed to Lau Pa Sat to find something to eat. As you can see in the picture below, there isn't much better than having grilled meat on a stick and cold beer outside on a breezy night in Singapore!



The rest of the pictures from Sunday can be found here.

Off the sidewalks

Until today, most of the sightseeing we have done has been of the urban kind, that is there has been pavement under our feet the whole time. Today we decided to take a look at one of the nature reserves on the island. MacRitchie Reservoir Park is near the center of the island, and is part of the Central Catchment Nature Reserve. Most of the fresh water supply for the island is located in the reservoirs in this reserve. See map here.

So after a short ride on the MRT (subway) and a short hop on the 157 bus, we arrived at the park. We decided to hike the loop around the reservoir that would take us to the Treetop Walk and back.

The hike started along the shoreline, but quickly moved away from the reservoir and into the jungle. Walking through here you realize that you are actually very near the equator, and the Singapore that you know was once all jungle. Soon after getting into the jungle portion of the trail these guys showed up...



Of course, we stopped and started snapping pictures. People passing us on the trail were giving us strange looks; I guess this would the equivalent of someone snapping pictures of squirrels at a city park in the U.S. By the way, that is a Long Tailed Macaque. They are pretty docile unless you have food, then they are known to be kind of aggressive to steal it from you.

So, after a few hours of hiking through the jungle, we arrived at the treetop walk. Most of you that know me know that I don't really like heights too much. This walkway is actually a suspension bridge that is 25 meters off the forest floor. While this was the destination of the hike, I didn't consider it the highlight.



After the bridge, we finished the rest of the hike around the lake which was pretty uneventful. The trail varied between being in the thick of the jungle, and along the shore of the reservoir. Towards the end of the hike, we ran in to this guy...



This is a Malayan Water Monitor Lizard, this one was about 1 meter long. Here is more info than you ever wanted to know about them.

The hike ended up being about 7.5 miles total. After a short but crowded ride back on the MRT, we had a nice dinner of take-out chicken rice and curry puffs. Come on now, you didn't really think I'd get through an entire post without talking about food, did you!?!?

A walk on the shore and Chinatown

Kate took Friday off, so we could have a weekday to do some sightseeing. We decided to check out East Coast Park. This park runs along the Southeastern shore of the island. You can see a map here. I think we both expected there to be a little more to look at, but it is just a long green space area along the shore. In the long run, it will be a good find, as there are separate walking/jogging and biking/rollerblading paths. What we had thought would be a nice morning stroll, turned out to be a 4.5 mile walk

The strangest thing we saw this morning was the cable-water skiing place...



The handle and line you hang on to are connected to the cable above. The cable moves through the pulley system and that is what propels you... really funny to watch.

Just beyond the water skiing pond was another hawker stand (yay!) so we had nice lunch of chicken and beef satay before hopping the bus back to the apartment. More pictures can be seen here.

It was still early in the afternoon, so we decided to take a walk though Chinatown. Both Kate and I love going to open air markets, and we found plenty here. Everyone here is gearing up for the Chinese New Year so the markets are really bustling! This year will be the Year of the Ox, (which is Kate's year) so you can find just about anything with an Ox on it.



After a few hours of walking around, it was time to get something to eat and drink, so we took advantage of the happy hour price on the local favorite, Tiger Beer.




The rest of the photos from Chinatown can be seen here.


And for my co-workers... If I do end up moving here, I guess I can just get a job driving this:

Orchids and Prisons

Strange title for an entry, but that is what I saw today.

This morning was unusually cool for Singapore, so I decided to check out the Singapore Botanic Gardens and the National Orchid Garden. The way the garden is set up, it is really easy to forget you are in the middle of a bustling city.



There is no admission fee to the Botanic Garden, and with it being situated in the middle of the city, it is a popular place for people to walk, jog, stroll with their animals or do tai chi. Actually, you see people doing tai chi all over the place, but there were more than usual in the gardens this morning.

The Orchid Garden is within the Botanic Garden and there is an entrance fee, but it is well worth the $5 sg admission price. I am not one to ooh and ahh over flowers too much, but the variety of orchids here is pretty amazing. I'll put one picture here as an example, click here if you want to see the rest.



You can read more about the Singapore Botanic Gardens here.

After lunch I went to the Changi Prison Museum. This museum commemorates the Allied POW's who were captured and imprisoned by Japanese forces during WWII. There was no photography allowed in the museum, but you can find more information here.

Oh, I almost forgot... Here is what Kate did today:

Did I mention that it is hot?

Being from North Carolina, I am used to hot weather. That wonderful drenched in sweat as soon as you walk outside kind of hot. It feels like that here. Most of the places I lived growing up were hot... or at least had hot summers; California desert, Southern Maryland and New Orleans. These places you adjusted what you wore based on the weather, shorts and light t-shirts are the norm when the temperature rises above about 75-80 degrees (except for my brief time in Michigan, where anything above 25 degrees is shorts weather). Here in Singapore I don't see that as much. Most people I see on the streets here are wearing jeans, long sleeved shirts and some even wearing light coats. Kate's co-workers here have told her that after about a month you get used to it and don't even notice the heat. I don't think that would be the case for me. I love warm weather but I just cant see myself walking around in jeans and long sleeves when it is sunny, 85 degrees and humid. Check out this link for info on the Singaporean climate.

Stay cool!

Fire Brigade Museum

Today actually started at the fairly decent hour of 0600. I guess the jet lag has finally subsided. Kate and I had time for breakfast together at the apartment and a quick trip across the street for coffee before her teleconferences started. That was my cue to get out and on with my exploring for the day.

I went back downtown to see the Fire Brigade Museum that I happened upon yesterday (closed Mondays). I arrived a bit before it opened so I went down to the harbor to check out the Merlion Statue



The story of the Merlion can be found here.

On to the Fire Brigade Museum... or Civil Defence Force to use the proper terminology. All emergency services in Singapore are handled by the Singapore Civil Defence Force or SCDF... Fire, Rescue, EMS, HAZMAT, USAR, etc. Kind of a one-stop shopping. (check out thier cool wallpapers here)

The museum is attached to the Central Fire Station near the Central Buisness District. The first floor is dedicated to the history of the Fire Brigade (as it was originally called), and the second floor is about the modern SCDF, as well as a great fire prevention education area for the kids.

I have now been to Fire Brigade museums in the U.S., England, Scotland, and Singapore. While each country has it's own way of doing things, the pride and dedication to the fire service is exactly the same everywhere I go.



The rest of the photos from the museum are here.

Now I think I will go figure out what to see tomorrow.

A morning walk

Jet lag contributed to another early start this morning. By 0500, we were both wide awake. After breakfast and a quick trip out for coffee, it was time sit down with the map for Kate to figure out what bus to take to work and for me to figure out what I was going to do for the day. I decided that I would take a walk along the north bank of the Singapore River (click here for map). This took me along the river from Robertson Quay past Clark Quay, North Boat Quay, and Boat Quay all the way to Esplanade Park. Along the way I found the Central Fire Station and the Fire Museum (closed Mondays, so that will be another trip). Here are a few views from the walk







By the time I reached Esplanade Park, I was pretty hot and ready for some lunch; so I hopped the subway back to Orchard Road and found a place to eat. I decided to try one of the sit-down restaurants in the shopping areas rather than the hawker stands. The food was good, but not as much fun or as cheap as the hawker stands. Lesson learned.

I am now back at the apartment watching it rain. Hopefully it will let up and I can get back out for some more exploring this afternoon.

A two part day

Part one of today started about 2:30 am Singapore time. The jet lag had both of us fast asleep by 6:30 pm, so naturally about 8 hours later, we both were wide awake. We decided that the best thing to do would be go for a swim and sit in the hot tub for a while. The pool is on the roof of our building and has a pretty nice view at that time of night.



The "hotel" is actually in what they call a full service apartment building. Because Kate will be here for a few weeks or more, she wanted a place with a kitchen and laundry. The full service apartments have all that, plus maid service. Pretty neat. So for our stay in Singapore, home base is a two-bedroom furnished apartment. It's much better than staying in a hotel if you ask me. When you wake up a 2:30 in the morning, you can have a snack from the fridge after your trip to the rooftop pool!

We ended up back asleep around 4:30, then back up at around 8:30 to start part 2 of Sunday. We decided to take a bus around the city so I could get my bearings and see the different areas. After the bus tour, we stopped off at Suntec City to have some lunch. I am still blown away by the hawker stands. Check out the big pile of food on my plate...


Braised duck, fried rice, tofu, peanuts and soup. All for about $2.50 U.S.! I think I will be hitting these places quite a bit.

Suntec city is also the home to the largest fountain in the world. Look! Here we are at the largest fountain in the world!


I think that was about enough excitement for today.

Laksa

So this afternoon we walked around a bit in the shopping district and stopped at the hawker stands for some lunch. The hawker stands are the Singapore equivalent of a food court but the sights, smells and tastes are a whole lot more fun. While you can find American food like McDonalds and such, not at the hawker stands. This is where you go when you want things like chicken rice, laksa, various grilled sausages and meats and a whole lot of food you just don't see in the US. The best thing to do is just order by picture and hope it tastes as good as it looks. I'll get some pictures to post later.

We both enjoyed some laksa...




The rest of the photos can be seen here
More later...

To the other side of the world.

I can now say I have been on the longest commercial airline flight in the world. About the time most of you were going to bed on Thursday night, Kate and I were boarding Singapore Airlines flight 21 in Newark, NJ. Around the time most of you were leaving work on Friday afternoon, Kate and I were getting off that same flight in Singapore. I managed to snap these just before landing.





What the pictures don't show is the 18 hours and 20 minutes or so that had elapsed from takeoff. But I will say, if you have to be on a flight for that long, Singapore Airlines is the way to go. The entire plane is business class, and our flight was pretty empty. Each seat is its own little self-contained pod that can fold down into a lay-flat position for sleeping (which I did a lot of). Each seat also has its own 14 inch monitor and your choice of about 110 movies to watch. Games and other stuff are available as well. Here is what my monitor looked like (along with my tasty beverage).



And Kate getting settled for the long flight.



Click here for info about long flights

More after updates after lunch.