Singapore

Jan 19th 2012 (Thurs)

A long but uneventful flight leaving Auckland at 1.35pm and arriving in Singapore at 7pm. A ten hour flight but we gained 5 hours en route. For us it was like arriving at midnight so we were pretty tired and then had about an hour's transfer (met at the gate by a wee chinaman holding up a sign with our name on it and then escorted to a very new 7 series BMW!) from the airport to the hotel. Basically we showered and went to bed. It was good that we'd gained 5 hours because we had a nice long sleep and woke up refreshed.

Jan 20th 2012 (Fri)

Had a delicious breakfast and then went for a stroll down Orchard St where the main shopping centre is. Here they have all the major stores including the very expensive ones like Prada, Cartier etc. No Next though!!The Malls go underground by 4 levels!! The pavements are really nice and wide so that you're not struggling through crowds as you have to in our country! Some amazing tower blocks around too.

We were lucky as they had the largest Jade Buddha in the world on display (2.7m high & weighing 4 tonnes)in a marquee outside one of the malls. This has been around the world & will finally come to rest in Bendigo north of Melbourne. We watched as some Buddhist monks worked on the construction of a Sand Mandala which basically involves very carefully pouring coloured sand onto a template to creat a very intricate 'picture'. They have to wear masks to prevent their breathing from disturbing the sand.

We picked up some sandwiches from Subway & had our lunch back at the hotel. We were then picked up for our first excursion "The Footsteps of Raffles". We were picked up by taxi & true to form as we were being driven to our meeting point the heavens opened and the rain literally started tipping down. It developed into a pretty violent thunder storm & we had no brollies or kagoules!

The guide on the minibus gave us a bit of information on the history of Singapore. Originally it was just an unremarkable island in the Malay archipelago populated by about 150 sea gypsies, fishermen etc. However, because of its strategic position it became a major trading port. When the winds blew from the NE it brought Chinese down with their spices and china ware. When the wind blew from the SW it brought Indians and Arabians with cotton and glassware. Singapore is where East meets West.

It got it's name, aparently, from a Sumatran Prince who came here to hunt in 1299 and mistakenly though he'd seen a white lion.

Singa = lion

pore = city

So literally it means "Lion City"

He became the 1st King of Singapore and his desendants became, 2nd, 3rd, & 4th kings. There was then an uprising in Sumatra and the king had to flee. He was a friend of the 4th King of Singapore and took shelter here. However, he showed his gratitude by killing the 4th king & declaring himself 5th King. This, understandably, upset the followers & family of the 4th king who retaliated by burning Singapore to the ground. However, the 5th king managed to escape to Malacca, took his business with him & set up Malacca as a v successful port.

Over the centuries there was interest in this city and Malacca from Portugese, Dutch & British. Spices were very valuable and 1g of spice was worth 1g of gold . Sir Stanford Raffles was sent here in 1819 to set up a British base to get a 'piece of the action' in the spice trade. Although he wasn't here for v long he did an excellent job and the people still hold him in high esteem. Eventually the British exported tin & rubber from here. When Napoleon invaded Holland the Dutch had to leave Malacca to go and fight for their country. They left Malacca in the hands of the British who promised to look after it. However, as soon as the Dutch had gone they raised the port of Malacca to the ground thereby taking the trade to Singapore. In 1891 three Armenian brothers set up a high class restaurant in Singapore for tea & cakes, 'Tiffin'. This was overlooking the sea at the time before all the land reclamation that has since taken place. This eventually became 'Raffles Hotel' to acknowledge Sir Raf's contribution to Singapore's success. It is now world famous and still caters for the wealthy including the Beckhams! It has 103 Suites - -no rooms! Prices start at $1200 - $5000 -per person per night!! Liz Taylor & Richard Burton spent their honeymoon here. Pete and Al have also graced the hotel with their presence.

We paid a quick visit to the Asian Civilizations Museum to look at an exhibition that traces the history of the Singapore river. At one time this was very busy, full of 'bum' boats(lighters to us Brits) and the hub of the trading centre. Now trade has been moved to a harbour and the river has been cleaned up & is a pleasant area for small pleasure cruise boats. Many of the old buildings have been preserved, refurbished and are very picturesque restaurants, bars and shops.

We then went to have a look around the 'Raffles Hotel' and to be served afternoon tea (with our noses well up in the air!). This was a wonderful experience - v traditional cucumber and smoked salmon sandwiches cut into triangles (no crusts of course!), cakes, scones & delicious tea served in china cups. The hotel itself is magnificent in the old colonial style with open covered walkways, shaded courtyards with fountains and expensive shops. We visited the 'Long Bar' where the famous cocktail the 'Singapore Sling' was invented. The billiard room is still as it was many years ago with different sizes & brands of cigars laid out on trays in wooden cabinets for the 'gentlemen'!

From there we went on a cruise of the river with very interesting and informative commentary about how important the river had been to the development of trade in Singapore. It has now totally changed & is mainly used for recreation and water catchment.

Then we visited the largest pewter manufacturer in the world. This was started by a Chinese immigrant in the 1800s. We had a demonstration of how some pewter ornaments were made by hand from molten pewter using wooden moulds. Pewter is a mixture of tin, copper and antimony and is soft enough when set to have patterns hammered into it by hand.

January 21st (Sat) 2012

After another massive breakfast we took a taxi (v cheap) to China Town. Monday the 23rd is New Year's Day here & heralds the start of the Year of the Water Dragon. So there is a lot of excitement here and everywhere is brightly decorated - a bit gaudy but very atmospheric! We had a good wander around & Pete bartered & got a filter for his camera at a good price having originally gone in to look at lenses! Right in the middle of China town is an Indian Hindu Temple. We bared our feet and had a wander around. It is extremely ornate both inside and out with pictures of the Brahman cattle (we had seen so often in Australia being bred for beef) are a prominent feature! There was a great deal of activity and we enquired what was going on. It was interesting because they were preparing to feed & entertain the Singaporean elderly Chinese. Good community trans religious community spirit!

We caught a taxi back & picked up some sandwiches for lunch before being picked up for the 'East Singapore and Changi' Tour.

We were taken past Changi prison (which is still a prison today & still carries out the death penalty even for drug offences) to the Changi Museum & Chapel. We were told the story of the Japanese invasion of Singapore. The Japanese had already taken Korea and Formosa (Taiwan) and then became more ambitious and confident & set their eyes on China. Although their planning was very exacting they miscalculated the depth of human feeling. First generation Chinese from all over the world reacted and sent funds to China to fight the Japanese. This resulted in a prolonged war & Americans & Brits froze up Japanese money in world banks and cut off trade with them. The japanese turned their attention to British Malaya because of the flourishing rubber trade & mineral resources. Using cunning & well planned strategies they invaded Malaya from the North. Our guide told us that the bombing of Pearl Harbour had been in preparation for the Japanese invasion of Singapore. After massive loss of life the allied forces decided to surrender in the hope of preventing more loss of life. This, however, with hind sight was the worst poosibly decision as the Japanese executed all males between 15 & 50, Raped the women & slaughtered them along with babies and children. The Changi museum tells this story and the inhumane conditions in Changi prison. It tells of the men who 'volunteered' to go to Burma in the hope of better conditions but were then faced with inhumane cruelty, starvation, malaria and cholera. It was all quite traumatising but well done. We also saw a replica of the chapel that the men had built themselves out of wood & a cross made from a shell. At the end of the war the Australians had taken the original home with them and it now stands in the Changi museum in Canberra. However, when some of them returned to visit Changi they felt that there should be a chapel there too. So a replica was built and now stands as a touching exhibit in the museum here.

We then drove through the residential area of Singapore and our guide explained to us how the Singaporeans live. Most housing is multi storey & built by the government and is outside the city centre. There is a system of shuttle buses that take people to & from work to bus & train stations. Housing is available to buy but the number of rooms is restricted according to the size of family. All housing is from the first floor up & have an open social area on ground level (a bit like the podium at Cathkin!!! but not smelly!!!). In the basements of the buildings are shops, markets and restaurants. Most women work here but are not expected to cook after work. Most people eat out most of the time. These food outlets are strictly controlled re hygiene & have to display their rating. Schools & leisure, and medical centres and outdoor recreational spaces are all within easy walking distance so there is no need for cars. Medical care has to be paid for but on a sliding scale according to means. Owning a car is very expensive as they have to pay for a very costly certificate which entitles them to buy a car before they have to pay for the car itself. Anyway, everywhere is very tidy and clean & there's no sign of graffitti. Everyone who can work is expected to. They are very strict about littering and anti social crime. It is very safe to walk around even at night aparently. They also have a thriving system of volunteer work to help the elderly e.g helping them with painint & cleaning windows. Wonder if Cameron got his idea of 'the big society' from here?? Our people would be more likely to rob the elderly than clean their windows! Anyway it seems to work for them. I think I would miss having my own outside space.

We then visited the Malay Ethnic area of Singapore - -the muslim area. We saw the Sultan Mosque, biggest in Singapore, and cleansing area from the outside.

We returned from this tour at 5.15pm & had to get changed ready to be picked up at 6pm for the 'Singapore at Night' tour. We had a delicious simple Chinese meal in a resteraunt at the riverside. It was busy and beautifully decorated with dangling lights and lanterns. Then it was back on the coach to see the world's largest circular fountain with laser lights playing in it. As we were crossing the Benjamin Sheares Bridge we were lucky enough to see a firework display coming from the floating pontoon ercted to launch the New Year celebrations. This bridge took us through to the business district with its enormous but quite stunning sky scrapers.

We were then dropped off at the Bugis Street night bazaar which was chaotic but buzzing with atmosphere. Apparently, the Chinese get their hair cut and buy a new outfit to see in the New Year so there was a lot of last minute shopping going on. In fact we lost two lovely mature ladies from Edinburgh who had to catch up with us at Raffles by taxi!! Raffles was our last stop. If anything it looked even more stunning at night. Such an elegant colonial style building. We had our photos taken with the very tall handsome Sikh doorman who must be the most photographed doorman in the world! We then went to the Long Bar for our 'Singapore Sling'. Very delicious!! Pete has the recipe so be prepared to be experimented on!! I even had some peanuts and, as you're encouraged to, throw the shells on the floor. We were taken upstairs. This part of the bar hadn't been open during our daytime visit. There was a very talented 8 piece band entertaining. We were sorry that our visit was short as they were very good and enjoyable listening.

Home at 11pm extremely tired but happy!!

Jan 22nd (Sun) 2012

We decided last night to cancel the 'City Tour' we had sheduled for 8.30am this morning as we were both tired and felt we'd seen a fair bit of the City. Plus of course we shall be flying through the night tonight - -12 hour flight. So we are taking it easy today. Thankfully, we have our room until 3pm. Then I think we'll find somewhere to chill with our books & find somewhere to have some dinner before our airport pickup at 8pm. Eating out is very cheap in Singapore but expensive at the hotel.