We started our big trip on a small plane, an ATR (for those who know planes) – that’s one where the propellers are on the outside (for those who don’t know planes). In Christchurch we progressed to a 767 and then of course in Sydney we moved on to the Mother of all planes, the double decker A380. They don’t get any bigger than that – it takes three airbridges to get everyone onto the plane. With close to 450 passengers in the economy section alone, it reminded us a bit of when we used to load stock on the truck on the farm. We really were in cattle class – thank God they didn’t have the electric prodders as well.
Not only did everyone on the A380 have their own personal screen for entertainment, you could also watch the take off and landing via a flight cam on the tail of the plane. Hamish noticed there was a slight cross wind on landing – Debbie just wanted the pilot to fly straight. The only real down side was that there was so little room that people had to put their seats upright so those behind them could have their tray down to eat.
So, 13 hours after leaving Christchurch, two very tired people got off the plane in Singapore at 10.30pm (2.30am NZ time). We hardly saw any serious security (ie guns etc), but there were lots of not-so-hidden cameras, although there were heat sensor cameras to pick up passengers with high temperatures (our first swine flu test).
Singapore customs was a little confusing - you didn’t have to fill out any declaration forms, but there were aisles for you to declare things. We didn’t know what we had to declare, so we just picked up our bags and walked out into the Arrivals area in the hope that our couchsurfing hosts were there to meet us.
And they were. Michael and Hillu were waiting for us right at the door, holding a sign with our name on it, so cute. They were hoping we would recognise them as they had only seen photos of us and were getting panicky, as just about half the middle-aged couples walking out fitted the description of who they were looking for – tall man with greyish hair, and short woman with lighter hair.
Our first couchsurfing experience was fantastic. Hillu and Michael were very welcoming and told us everything we needed to know about Singapore over a glass of wine when we got to their apartment. Which by the way was something else - they live on the 19th floor of a 20 storey tower. It was 1.30am local time by the time we headed for bed, and even though our bodies thought it was 5.30am, we still struggled to sleep due to the heat, humidity, and excitement of it all.
Sunday we had a slow start to the day, but once we got going we had one adventure after another. We took a taxi into town – about $13 for a 20 minute ride. Michael and Hillu were tour guides for the day.
First stop was Chinatown - with all the little stalls and hagglers trying to get you to buy things. Deb did try and buy some very nice material but the guy wouldn’t meet her price. We took lots of photos and just soaked up the atmosphere.
Next stop was Little India. We got there by MRT, an amazing underground train system. The trains are just one verrrry long carriage that somehow weaves through the tunnels. Public transport in Singapore is very reliable, frequent, cheap, and fast - even the escalators are fast!
When we rose from the underground, there were virtually no Asian or Western looking people anywhere, just hundreds and hundreds of Indian men. We sat in a little corner café and had several plates of Indian dishes, washed down with Kingfisher beer. The rain came while we were there and so we stayed a little longer, had more beer, and watched the world go by while it poured down. After about 2 hours sitting amongst masses of Indian men, with bollywood videos on the TV we decided we needed to move on.
We visited a Hindu Temple, which was very busy with men praying everywhere and wiping white or red paint on their foreheads each time they moved onto the statue of another God. We didn’t take any photos inside as we felt we were intruding just by being there. We had to take our shoes off before going inside, and as we had just watched Slumdog Millionaire on the plane, we wondered if they would still be there when we came out. Luckily they were.
We walked through the back streets to the Mustafa shopping complex, where the locals go to buy anything from fruit and vegetables, through to jewellery and high end electronics. We also went to Sim Lim Square, which is the place to go and haggle over the price of any electronic device you can imagine – while everything looked new, you can never be sure that you’re not buying something second hand. You can’t get warranties on a lot of the stuff either, so we weren’t too inclined to try our luck.
We also visited a Mosque where, once again, men were praying. As we were walking through the streets, we noticed long lines of men at the numerous Western Union ATMs. Apparently they were all sending money back home to their families in India. A taxi driver told us that they earn about $1,500SD a month working on the construction sites, which is a lot more than they can earn back home. They have to sign up for 2 year contracts to be able to get permits to work in Singapore, and many of them stay on for extra periods after that as well.
Our intention was to walk across to the Arab sector, but by the time we got to Sim Lim Square we had been drenched in several more downpours, so decided to get a taxi across town to a café/bar called Handlebars. It was a nice place, themed around motorcycles and bikers. We spent $150SD on 4 entrees (snacks) and 3 rounds of drinks. Wow, the average price for a pint of beer was $11 and a glass of an average house wine is $12 - and that’s at happy hour prices. By 10.30pm Sunday night Debbie crashed, hit the wall, whatever you want to call it and was falling asleep at the table in the café – probably jet lag. So off home and to bed and had a wonderful night’s sleep.
On Monday, Hillu and Michael both had to work, so off we went on our own adventure. We walked up to the closest MRT station and decided to try our luck at a large food hall that the locals use. We were the only westerners in there and I am sure we had the word Tourist written on our foreheads. We finally found a stall where the staff could understand some of what we were saying, and got two large servings for $6.60SD. We were a little apprehensive about eating at a local place, but we had been assured by Hillu and Michael that most places were registered, and if they had a rating better than “D’ we would be fine. Ours had a “B” rating, so we felt it was ok to risk it, and luckily we had no adverse effects from the experience.
We then caught the MRT into the city and walked up Orchard Road. It was interesting, but too many beautiful people for us. Lots and lots of shops, especially designer shops. We finally made it all the way down to Raffles Hotel, but didn’t have the famous Singapore Sling as we didn’t think we could justify the $23 price tag. It’s a beautiful place though – very beautiful and grand. Definitely worth the sore feet to get there.
Even though it had started to rain yet again, we left Raffles and headed down to Clarke Quay. There were lots of tour boats going up and down the Singapore River and, considering how clean central Singapore is, the water was a very dirty colour. It was interesting to see several boats with men scooping up litter from the water.
As we were walking through Clarke Quay, an English woman and her teenage son came up to us. She had bought 2 tickets to go on the bungy swing and once she got in the seat she couldn’t go through with it. As they wouldn’t do the ride with only one person, she was offering one of us the ticket to go with her son. Soooooo Debbie decided to give it a go, figuring if one mother wouldn’t do it, another one might as well. She was a little apprehensive, but also quite little excited. After being strapped in so tight she could hardly breath (not a bad thing considering what was about to happen), they were then hoisted 40 metres up in the air. As she free-fell the 40 metres and swung out over the river, she screamed more than she has in a very long time, and the magic word came out too – all heard very clearly by the crowd that had gathered to watch to event. Once it was finally over, we had to walk around a while to settle down the adrenalin levels, then we sat in a bar and had a very expensive drink ($12 for a very nasty chardonnay house white).
After wandering along the river past Boat Quay, we caught the MRT at Raffles Place, along with several thousand other people at 5.30pm (got the cattle herding feeling again).
Hillu & Michael were waiting for us and off we went to Arab Street. This is Middle Eastern version of Little India & Chinatown; where the majority of men had wee white caps and beards, and the women all had head scarves. We walked around and saw lots of people sitting smoking from shiskers??? in cafes on the street. We ate Moroccan (hmmm it was good), then found a bar where Deb finally had her Singapore Sling – at the much more reasonable price of $13. That round of drinks was still $52 (2 beers, 1 red wine & 1SS) and they tell us Malaysia is more expensive. It’s all to do with taxes and the Muslim religion apparently. Then home to bed in preparation for an early start for our bus ride to Kuala Lumpur.
Our feeling of Singapore was one of sterility and a somewhat “1984 - Big Brother” mentality. Debbie saw a man go out of his way to spit in a rubbish bin, and there are cleaners all over the place – some toilets had people permanently stationed there. There are hidden (yeah right!) cameras everywhere you go, guards at most doors you go through, and every house has to be built with an air raid shelter by law. Yet we enjoyed our first experience of Asia (Asia Lite as another Couchsurfer put it): the many different cultures – a real melting pot – yet the people are friendly and polite, and the food was great.
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