Trip to Singapore
Off we went again, our hardy little band of eight. To Singapore this time, one of the last outposts of British colonialism. And we went in style. No Putaraya bus station with is noise and crowds and long delays breathing in exhaust fumes from lines of buses waiting to get in and out of the station. This time we went in comfort (and obviously paid a higher tariff). We caught our bus at a very nice hotel in downtown Kuala Lumpur (KL) near Petronas Towers. After the normal hassle with the taxi drivers to get into town, we were happy to sit in the restaurant of the hotel and enjoy the ambiance as well as the free coffee and tea. A couple of us made a quick trip to load up on beer. The bus arrived and we boarded. A double decker with a wide comfortable cushioned seat for everyone on the upper deck and a lounge below which would accommodate six people sitting around a coffee table. Some of our group laid claim to the lounge immediately. They had their beer and vodka and could enjoy their choice of films on the DVD. I remained above, happy to relax in comfort and read, something which is almost impossible to accomplish on a normal bus due to what seems to be a total lack of shock absorbers. Of course, a few beers made the ride more pleasant. The trip was uneventful with a single bathroom break. We were given water and served a pleasant meal.
Singapore was separated from Malaysia in 1965, thus, it is a separate country as well as an island and we had to go through customs to enter. We first went through customs to leave Malaysia. We had to get off the bus, show our passports, and give up the piece of paper that showed when we had entered the country. We got back on the bus, drove a couple of miles and had to get off again with ALL our luggage, go through Singapore customs where the luggage went through the Xray machine, get our passports stamped and get back on the bus. We had crossed the border. The only problem we encountered was that you have to declare any alcohol brought into the country. Joe had a bottle of Vodka so he went to the authorities and showed them the bottle. They told him the tariff was twenty four dollars which Joe started to pay and then remembered that the Vodka had only cost seven dollars. He decided to let them keep it and told them to take it home and enjoy. They immediately exclaimed that they couldn’t do that, they might lose their jobs. So a good bottle of vodka wasted, benefiting no one.
The bus let us off at Harbor Front, which is at the far end of the island from the mainland. We bartered with a taxi to take us to Ali’s Nest, a hostel where we had made a reservation. Joe and Marlene had opted for a little better accommodation but also in the Little India area of Singapore. We dropped them off first and then went to Ali’s. Unfortunately, the reservation I had made a few days prior had not been recorded and all the rooms were taken. Ali was very apologetic and immediately set to work to find us a room nearby. Within a few minutes, Colleen and I had a room, clean with A/C and a shared bath. We dropped our bags and went back to Ali’s to see what everyone was doing. Surprise! Surprise! Chris Robinson, our friend from Language Link in Hanoi and his brother, Steve, were there at Ali’s. We had planned by e-mail to meet in Singapore but he didn’t know where he would be staying. He told us that when he got off the bus at 5:30 that evening, Ali was waiting trying to rent his last available room, evidently the room that I thought I had reserved. But all worked out well.
The group wanted to go to Raffles, a landmark hotel in Singapore built in the Colonial style and opened in 1887. Raffles claims to be the spot where the first Singapore Sling was concocted and they now market it for $12, glass not included. Chris, Colleen, Steve and I opted for a few beers in a little street side cafe where we could catch up on news from Hanoi.
The next morning we set off to visit the Changi Prison Museum. On the bus to the museum, a local struck up a conversation with me and was quick to point out that the British had not made much effort to defend Singapore. Not knowing much about the war, I couldn’t defend the Brits but I’m sure they did what they could with what resources they had in the area. He told me that the peoples of southeast Asia were shocked that the Japanese had taken control of the area so easily. The locals had viewed the British as their superiors and protectors and had always looked up to them for leadership and considered them invincible. The defeat of the British made the people realize that they weren’t so invincible and that planted the seeds of independence in their minds. If the Brits could not protect them, then they would have to take care of themselves and govern themselves. (I have now seen this idea expressed several times in several different books). The British were never able to reestablish colonial rule in Southeast Asia and the Empire began to crumble.
The museum exhibits were very moving with pictures and stories and letters that had been written at the time. It depicted the hardships suffered by the Brits AND the locals civilians. The cruelty and barbarity were almost unbelievable except that we can see the same treatment of human beings in other parts of the world today. We never seem to learn. Some of the pictures looked like scenes from one of the Nazi concentration camps. Emaciated bodies living in terrible conditions. I was glad to see it but happy to leave. One of the articles I read later said that if the Japanese had not been so cruel, they might have established an empire in the area but their cruelty made the people hate them.
We headed downtown on a bus. Unfortunately, Chris and Steve had to leave us. They wanted to see a different part of town and were flying to The Philippines that night. We had lunch in a Chinese restaurant. Some of the group went to tour Chinatown. Colleen and I headed for the downtown area on the river. The business district of Singapore is just like any big, modern city. Tall buildings of glass and steel. The same shops with the same names you find everywhere else in the world. We found the Merlion, a large statue of a lion with the tail of a mermaid, which is supposed to be the symbol of Singapore. Think I could have picked a better symbol. Our gang found us and we had a few beers before heading back to our lodgings.
Again we split up for the evening. Three of us went to the night zoo, an interesting concept. The zoo is huge and large enough so that the cages are not obvious. The animals appear to be living in the wild. It is not well lit, allowing the animals to roam in semi darkness but making it difficult to get pictures as flash photography is not allowed. We same everything from lions and tigers to porcupines and hyenas (which are larger that I thought). The most interesting thing to me was a crocodile like creature with a long but narrow snout and lots of sharp teeth. There were several of them in a dark pool and they surfaced periodically to swallow what they had caught. And they were huge, probably 15 feet. Not sure what part of the world they were from, India I think, but I would hate to meet one of them in the water. I would not be at the top of the food chain.
We went back downtown to see a brief (very brief) fireworks display to commemorate the anniversary of Singapore’s independence which had occurred a few days before. I told Julia, a young teacher from Poland, into Hooters to get some beer for the group. She had never been to a Hooters and was mildly surprised to see the costumes worn by the waitresses.
The next day, Colleen, Julia, Renee and I went strolling through Little India, one of the major neighborhoods of Singapore. We went looking for temples and shrines and we found them. What was most interesting, we found one block that had a Buddhist temple and a Hindu Shrine side by side, with people streaming in and out of both. Street peddlers sold flowers and incense and other things to be used as offerings. And just down the street were a Christian Church and a Jewish synagogue, all on the same street, coexisting peacefully side by side. It was wonderful to see and should be an example for the whole world. There are temples all over Singapore but I was surprised to see so many Christian churches, even a Methodist church. Singapore is 76% Chines, 14% Malay and 8% Indian so temples are to be expected but Christian churches must be the result of the British influence on the island.
We made our way to Raffles Hotel, a splendid old hotel built by one of the first European entrepreneurs, a representative of the East India Company. It’s a grand old place. Lots of tropical flowers and trees fill several courtyards. The hotel is spread out and you can wander from one beautiful area to another. Water flows in fountains and birds sing in the tees. There is a circular drive at the entrance where a tall, dark, Indian looking gentleman in what seems to me to be Indian imperial dress complete with turban, opens the door for the cars arriving. He was very friendly and was happy to tell us about the hotel and what important people had stayed there (including Bill Clinton). He had worked there for over twenty years and told us a little of the history. He was also happy to pose for pictures with us. One could imagine Raffles in it heyday in the early 1900s when guests of the hotel dressed in formal wear for dinner and the men enjoyed brandy and cigars after the meal while the women “freshened up”. It would be a beautiful setting for a movie with a spacious lobby filled with flowers and wooden stairways leading to the upper floors. We didn’t stay long and didn’t have a drink because we were casually dressed and, I think, a little intimidated by the surroundings. We had heard that Raffles has a strict dress code but actually, there was no evidence of it.
We wandered toward the downtown area taking photos enjoying th scenery. We happened upon a Cricket Match in full swing (if you can describe cricket in that manner). It seemed to be a friendly match as there were no spectators. All the participants were dressed in white (obligatory) and played with enthusiasm. The setting was the Singapore Cricket Club, a reminder of the splendor of the colonial era. I’ve talked to several Brits and Ozzies since living in southeast Asia and have learned a little about the game and how it is scored and some of the terminology. I would really like to sit and watch an entire match sometime so I could really comprehend what is going on. But, to my amazement, Test Matches, matches between countries can last up to five days. I can think of very few sports which would hold my interest for so long. And i don’t think cricket is one of those.
We had lunch down town and then made our way back to our lodgings, gathered up our bags and headed for the subway. We got to Harbor Front in plenty of time to look around the huge mall. From Harbor Front you can catch a gondola which takes you across the river to Sentosa Island which has a Butterfly Park, Underwater World where you can walk under the water and watch sharks, etc. swimming overhead, and several nature walks. Unfortunately, our time was limited and we had to pass. We caught the bus for an uneventful ride back to KL.
Well, we’ve come to the end of another trip (those of you who have read this far).
Singapore is a very interesting city, rich in history, and diverse in nationalities. I recommend it to anyone.
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