Singapore and Thailand

Sizzling Singapore

Heading north-west from Indonesia through the Java Sea was like being in the English Channel – so many ships!  We had cruised the world’s two main oceans without seeing a single ship, hence this busy shipping area gave us something else to talk about . . . .

Having visited Singapore in 2015, we were intrigued to look more deeply into its history and culture.  We had forgotten that this is indeed a SIZZINGLY hot and sticky city, made all the worse by jumping on and off an air-conditioned bus on a guided city tour.  Those of you enduring a long cold, wet winter have no sympathy, I’m sure!

 

For anyone who has never visited this thriving place – a VERY brief history . . . . Sir Thomas Raffles established a thriving trading post here in the early 19^th century.  It eventually became part of Malaysia before becoming a fully independent state in 1965.  Prime Ministers since then (all from the same family) have established strict rules which are heavily enforced – a few examples . . .no chewing gum in public, no eating or drinking on public transport, respect your elders (comes into its own on the metro!), cleanliness is paramount (no litter!) . . . drugs, rape and domestic violence are not tolerated and yes, they have a death penalty.  It may be like living in a ‘controlled state’ but it works!  Singapore is now one of the most powerful financial and industrial states on the planet with a VERY low employment rate.  Chinese, Malaysia and Indian are the three official ethnic groups.  It’s an extremely diverse culture but everyone strives for individualism and excellence. 

An early morning visit to Mount Faber afforded beautiful views over the busy harbour and over the extensive living areas. 

Chinatown pulses with restaurants, cafes, markets, and temples  – both Chinese and Hindu.  We were assured that everyone lives peacefully together.  Hindu temples the world over ask that shoes are removed before entering.  My goodness, the pavements were red-hot – real sole burning stuff!

The National Botanical Gardens are a complete joy.  A heady mix of colour and scent – with thousands of different orchids growing in their preferred habitat (i.e., hot and humid!)

A visit to Raffles Hotel  – famous for its Singapore Slings – was a let-down  for us.  It seemed like the entire contents of TWO cruise ships had joined the queue for the Long Bar! We were not enthralled with the thought of an hours wait in the crippling heat, so we unobtrusively left the queue and nipped across the road to a quiet little café, where we relaxed over a cup of iced tea!  Not quite a Singapore Sling (or non-alcoholic in our case) but the peace and quiet away from hundreds of cruise passengers was bliss!  We had been lucky enough to enjoy Raffles and its Slings in 2015, so felt replete. 

Later in the day, we took the very clean and orderly MRT (metro to you and me) to the Gardens on the Bay.  This huge green ‘lung’ is a credit to Singapore. 

We were in awe of a sculpture exhibition of hundreds of animals, threading their way around the gardens – all endangered species. What a clever way to get the message to many thousands of people!

 

The growth on the Super Trees has progressed in leaps and bounds.  Two huge glass domes have been added – the Floral Dome and the Cloud Forest – both spectacular. 

We ended our whistle stop visit to this magical place by watching the Sound and Light Show which takes place nightly on the Super Trees.  The trees come to life with impressive colours and a cacophony of musical sound.  Hundreds of people attend – no chairs, no entry fee.  Just sit on the ground and look upwards.  What an atmosphere! 

Tantalizing Thailand

A further day’s cruising in a north-westerly direction conveyed us to the island of Phuket in southern Thailand.  A gorgeous sunrise over the deep-water bay greeted us. 

An early start gave us a two-hour bus ride (very comfortable air-conditioned coaches) up the east side of the island, through the main city and into the countryside.  Huge plantations of rubber trees, coconut palms and oil palms lined the roadsides.  Housing here is, once again, very rudimentary for the majority, but no litter anywhere. (phew!)  Most houses have a Buddhist shrine outside – the main faith of the country being Buddhism.  Huge ornate temples were plentiful, often with a giant Buddha in the grounds.  Passing over the bridge and through a checkpoint, we had arrived on the Thai mainland. 

A further half an hour’s journey carried us to a jetty on the edge of Phang Nga Bay where we were loaded onto a series of Long Tailed Boats.  These are traditional wooden boats – often decorated beautifully – about 30 metres long with a canopy.  They run on second-hand car or truck engines and are VERY noisy! The driveshaft is a long metal rod which extends backwards from the boat (hence the name!) with a propeller on the end.  The engineers amongst you will be able to work out the intricate workings for yourselves. . .

Our boat journey began through mangrove swamps before some AWESOME scenery began to appear in front of us.  Incredible geological features formed by fault movements, have been pushed upwards out of the sea.  These massive limestone blocks have sheer cliffs, enormous overhangs, and many caves.

After millions of years, they are now covered in verdant vegetation.  Each ‘block’ or island has been named (often with an animal name), and the guides took great delight in pointing out James Bond Island.  This distinctive feature was used in 1974 for “The Man with the Golden Gun” which has given this area international recognition.  The local name for it translates to Nail Island – very appropriate we thought!  We wondered how on earth it stays standing!!

Exhilarated after more than an hour on the water, we were deposited on a jetty at Panyee Village for lunch.  A floating Muslim village that was settled 200 years ago, now boasts its own school, its own Mosque and even a floating football pitch!  I can only guess that tourism must be their main income.  Three hundred of us descended for lunch – a very good buffet from very friendly people.  We were encouraged to walk through the village afterwards where every passageway held numerous market stalls.  You guessed it!  Yet more cheap pearl necklaces and T-shirts!! 

The Long-Tailed Boats dutifully returned to collect us, for the half hour’s whizz across the water back to our waiting buses.  A visit to the Golden Cave Temple served to break up the two-hour trip back to Borealis.  A golden reclining Buddha awaited us in the cave, but we could only look (no photos).  We wanted to respect the numerous ladies on a Buddha temple pilgrimage who were ardently praying when we visited.  Our bus driver needed their prayers, as we got held up in late afternoon traffic – drivers and guides are under strict instructions to return us to the ship within a time frame, ready for us to set sail again.  It was ‘touch and go’ . . . .

CROSSING THE EQUATOR

If you’re following us on a map, you will be aware that we have crossed the Equator a few times.  The ships horn has just been blown again, (11am on 18^th March) telling us that we’ve crossed it going south across the Indian Ocean.   The mandatory ‘ceremony’ was held on one of our crossings last week.  King Neptune and his mermaids arrived ready to ‘punish’ several members of staff (including the Captain) siting their guilt at providing us all with ‘such a good time’!  “Guilty, Guilty, Guilty!”  we all yelled, upon which ice cubes were tipped down their backs before being pushed into the pool fully clothed.  A bit of fun to while away the time on one of our numerous ‘sea-days’.