The Road Behind
VenezuelaTrinidad
Curacao
Galapagos
Ecuador
Peru
Bolivia
Paraguay
Argentina
Chile
Hong Kong
Thailand North
Thailand South
Malaysia
Cambodia
Singapore
Nepal
Kathmandu
Royal Trek
Nepal Trek
India
India Palace
Udaipur
Bangalore
Greece
Islands
Rhodes
Camping
Olympia
Turkey
Istanbul
Bath
Bursa
Cappadocia
Bodrum
South Africa
Garden Route
Cape Town
Namibia
Fish River
Etosha
Botswana
Zimbabwe
Wedding
Great Ruins
Germany
Bathroom
Netherlands
Spain
Madrid
Seville
Granada
Gibraltar
Morocco
Portugal
Sintra
France
Normandy
Egypt
Pyramids
Nile
Aswan
Abusimbel
Luxor
Valley of Kings
Alexandria
Red Sea
Jordan
Kings Valley
Aman
Palestine
The Road Ahead
IsrealCzech Republic
Austria
Italy
Switzerland
England
Find pages
Unused pages
Undefined pages
Page Index
Set your name in
UserPreferences
UserPreferences
Referenced by
...nobody
JSPWiki v2.2.33
SingaporeRelax |
|
| Your trail: WeblogArchivePlugin > PortugalSintra > EgyptCairo > PalestineChristmas > PageIndex > HangingGardenOfBabylon > Galapagos > EgyptAlexandria > Austria > TurkeyBodrum | |
Hard Rock Cafe was our lunch stop - I think we have been to most of them in Asia: Hong Kong, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, and Singapore. We had to wonder around all the shopping malls and stores until our laundry was done. Not a bad way to spend the afternoon. The evening agenda included a walk to Clarke Quay - another fun 'going out' area. Dinner at Hooter's and a great blues band at the Crazy Elephant. We met a group of guys in the merchant marines who were currently stationed in Singapore. They had all been in for a couple of years and they had no plans on looking for a new job. They all really liked Singapore. They invited us out on their ship for a tour the following day.
It is Sunday and my plan is to update the travel journal. I got sidetracked by Scooter when I agreed to walk to the library. The goal was to spend the afternoon working in a place with books. The library was state-of-the-art with an entire floor with computers and high speed connections to the Internet. It was the perfect working atmosphere until the librarian told Scooter he could not use his laptop here. It was explained that we could rent a laptop but the library was not setup for people to use their own laptop and plug into the library power outlets. We could use the laptop but only if it was running on the battery. This of course did not make any sense but Scooter relented after arguing the merits of a stupid rule for fifteen minutes. This was after all Singapore and they usually have a good reason for making stupid rules. Scooter was determined and managed to find someone who would let him use his laptop with power in the reference section of the library. We got some work done and decided it was to difficult to sit without making any noise so we set out for some more procrastinating. We spent a couple of more hours at the MPH bookstore reading travel books and avoiding work.
We had not exercised, so we decided to go for a late night walk. After a fifteen minutes of walking we came across thousands of men most of whom were holding hands as couples. Our guide book pointed out that male and female couples should not hold hands in India but it is OK for men to hold hands. It was really freaky to see so many men holding hands in a touchy-feely way. We had apparently come across little India and everyone was returning with bags from the market. Almost all the construction labor and dirty work done in Singapore is by Indian workers. It was Sunday night at 10:00 PM and the streets were packed with people. This would be practice for walking the streets of India and its 800 million people. Our walk took us through the Albert complex, Bugis street market, Beach road, Intercontinental and the famous Raffles Hotel, home of the Singapore sling. What a great city.
We have settled right into Singapore. This morning we get up and do a tough hour long run through Fort Canning park. Fortunately, for our training purposes, the park has lots of hills and steps. I am out of breath in five minutes but I keep on going. The sweat factor is huge but my trekking anxiety keeps pushing me. I am nervous that I won't be able to make it up the steep climbs in Nepal. All the information I have been reading about trekking in the Himalayas warns you to be in shape. We even practice a climbing step that is hard to describe and looks really stupid but it does work on steep climbs. After some practice and modification by Scooter we determine that we are using the wedding march to climb steep hills without getting winded. The small pause when you bring both feet together allows the muscles to relax and it makes all the difference. Today two Singaporeans reached the summit of Mt. Everest for the first time and the country is very excited. Of course they are carrying a satellite transmitter for a live 64 KB connection to the Internet. They are also using the same video camera we are using the Sony PC-10 and shipping back live video via the Internet connection. It turns out that batteries don't like to work at -20 degrees Celsius so they are boiling the batteries in plastic bags to get the temperature up so they will work. Something about chemical reactions and energy, Scooter is eating all this stuff up. We are both really fired up about trekking in Nepal and we are even contemplating a trek to the base camp of Everest. The base camp is reachable in 14 days and is the home of a small town and the sherpas who carry all the gear up on the mountain. The Science museum in Singapore has an Omnimax theater and they are showing a newly released film done by the National Science Foundation on an expedition to Mt. Everest. The Omnimax is like IMAX a really big screen but the Omnimax screen is a big sphere and it allows you to look you left and right and the screen is the same distance in any direction. According to Scooter it adds to the realism.
The Science museum was jammed with hundreds of well behaved school kids. It was amazing to watch them all have such a good time standing in line and harassing each other. We got in line for the movie and the usher saw two foreigners standing in a sea of uniformed kids so she brought us both up to the front of the line. The movie was about climbing Mt. Everest and the amount of pain and suffering required. Unfortunately, climbing of Mt. Everest has been perfected to a science and for $50,000 and little to no climbing experience you can climb Mt. Everest. The year that the Mt. Everest Omnimax movie was being filmed six people from another expedition group died when a fierce storm trapped them on the mountain. The Omnimax crew helped saved numerous lives at their base camp and the group was deeply affected by the loss of so many people. That year turned out to be the worst on record for climber deaths. In all total since the 1950's one out of every three people who attempt to climb Mt. Everest die. We would not be going anywhere near Mt. Everest base camp. For a good book on what happened that year "Into Thin Air" is a must read.
Our days are numbered in Singapore and we have to start behaving like tourists again. A Singapore landmark is the Raffles Hotel, which you are not allowed to walk through, but is the home of the Singapore Sling at the Raffles Long bar. It is an expensive rip-off but that is why they call us tourists. Next stop is the Night Safari at the Singapore zoo. We had met a couple of travelers in Thailand that said we had to do the Night Zoo. We jumped on the subway and made a bus connection arriving around 9:00 PM. The Night Zoo is a semi-open safari with special lighting that allows you to see the animals in their natural habitat. You ride a tram through most of the park stopping at the various viewing areas and the guide points out all the animals. The road is actually separated by a well hidden fence and moat but it appears the animals are free to roam anywhere they want to go. Each holding area is actually quite large and looks like if you had to be trapped in a zoo this was the place. The one thing that amazed us about the entire zoo was that the animals actually hung out at the closest place to the viewing areas. If the tram pulled up to a viewing area or you were walking on a foot path the lion, tiger or rhinoceros were lounging two feet away. I am not sure how the zoo got almost all the animals to hang out in the ideal tourist viewing area but it must be a Singapore law. We thoroughly enjoyed the zoo and they had to force us to leave at midnight. If you are in Singapore you must go to the Night Zoo.
It is May 30th and our last day in Singapore. Scooter is not happy today - he said he had stopped having fun. I hope this will pass but I am worried. Traveling through Asia has been rough. He really missed being able to do real work and keeping his mind intellectually challenged. He likes fixing and creating new things which is difficult when you are traveling for a year. If I could help him I would but I know my limitations. When we began this trip, I thought about living daily life as you would at home only somewhere else. Daily life over a one year period is full of highs, lows and it cannot be any different when you are traveling. Fortunately, Scooter and I compliment each other with our highs and lows, so one of us is always strong ... that will be me for the moment. We have checked in at the state-of-the-art Changi Airport in Singapore. Scooter is at the Internet Cafe trying to print out his English papers so he can mail them from the post office. This airport has everything, a complete shopping mall, numerous restaurants and business facilities. If you find yourself with a long layover you can even board a special tourist bus that will take you on the tour of the city. The bus is unique because you never go through customs. You board the bus at a special gate and you spend the next couple of hours on a city tour without ever leaving the bus. It is like you never left the gate area of the airport.
After we checked in our bags and got all of our errands done we decided to jump back in a cab for a quick trip to the Dragon boat races. The Singapore International Dragon boat race was being held at a park not to far from the airport. Over 1,000 rowers from international and local teams were competing. Traditionally, the Chinese regard dragons as the guardians of the water and symbols of supreme power. Taoist priests give 'life' to the boats just before the race begins. Today were time trials for about thirty teams. There was even a team from Holland. The course is about 400 meters long and it takes about 3.5 minutes to complete. Each boat is filled with 24 rowers who paddle at the beat of a large drum in the back of the boat. The secret for speed is that each person rowing must be completely synchronized with the other rowers in the boat. The level at which this is perfected is shown by the teams from Indonesia which can complete the course in two minutes. This is 40 percent faster than the other dragon boat teams. The boats are brightly decorated with dragon heads and tails and a large drum for the drummer to set the pace during the competition. At the end of the race the boats sink for some reason and they have to be towed back to shore. It was a festive couple of hours barefoot in the sand. It is difficult to think of Singapore as an island with beaches until you actually see the ocean. It must be tough to have all that dirty dirt and no laws to protect you.
We head back to the airport because we are still flying business class on Singapore Airlines which means we get to hang out in the Silver Kris lounge. I love the Silver Kris lounge or for that matter any VIP airline waiting area. Singapore Airlines earns its 'number one airline in the world status' with service and excellent facilities. Our flight to Delhi is at 6:45 and I am already prepared with a list of hotels and phone numbers. According to the paper it is now 47 degrees Celsius or 116 degrees Fahrenheit. They are having a heat wave - the hottest in the last fifty years. It is the hottest place in the world right now and we can't avoid it any longer.
|
Go to top
|
| This page last changed on 17-Apr-2006 19:36:28 EDT by unknown. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |