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| Raffles Hotel |
Back in Singapore for a couple of days. Some ‘admin’ to do arranging the next leg of the journey plus a bit of sight-seeing. So much to see and never enough time. I have to be at Port Tanjung Pelepas ( Malaysia ) to catch my next ship on the morning of the 17th. It is the ships which cause my only dead-lines and the only aspect of this worldwide meandering which I have had to book well in advance. All the rest is done on the back of the proverbial fag packet as I go along.
Down-town to do doing some necessary shopping ( boring ) and the first thing I noticed was that the blasted Christmas decorations had gone up in the few days I had been away, with a vengeance. Why on earth do places like this persist in displaying Christmas trees, Rudolph the Stupid Red Nosed Reindeers, tinselly snowflakes, polystyrene winter scenes and playing non-stop ‘Frosty the Snowman‘, ‘Jingle Bells’ and other tacky rubbish in streets, department stores and shopping ‘malls’? ....and it’s still only November! Nobody has seen any snow or ice in this place for millions of years and never will! Money, that’s why, and the excuse to sell more and more tat on the back of a Christian/Pagan festival of greed, gluttony and materialism. If I had my way, a flame-thrower would come in very handy at this time of year.
I went back to Marina Bay to go up the Marina Bay Sands ( MBS ) building, the one that looks like an airship moored on the roof of a skyscraper, to the SkyPark thereupon. Good views, although as is so often the case in this part of the world, the conditions were hazy.
Left: City view from the MBS viewing balcony. That flower shaped building is where they had, maybe still have, the Titanic ( highly recommended ) and Dali ( slightly recommended ) exhibitions.
The floating footy pitch must provide a few problems collecting the balls booted well into touch.
Right: View to the south showing the vast armada of commercial shipping traffic which forever hangs around the port area, and all the way up the Malacca Strait ports.
Left: City view from the MBS viewing balcony. That flower shaped building is where they had, maybe still have, the Titanic ( highly recommended ) and Dali ( slightly recommended ) exhibitions.
The floating footy pitch must provide a few problems collecting the balls booted well into touch.
Right: View to the south showing the vast armada of commercial shipping traffic which forever hangs around the port area, and all the way up the Malacca Strait ports.
I also called in at Raffles Hotel. I suspect it was nothing like it is now in Sir Stamford Raffles’ day ( 1819 ) even though they insist it has been ‘faithfully restored to it’s former glory’. I doubt if Sir Stamford would recognise the prices. The cost of a ‘basic’ room is $1350 per night per individual, rising to $5800 for the ‘grand’ suites. Bloody Hell!!! That is more than the annual salary for most of the world's population.The cost of an ‘original’ Singapore Sling in the famous old ‘Long Bar’ ( left ) is, including service charge and tax, $30 a glass. Quite a whack for what, in effect, is a sweet sickly pink tart’s drink. I think, judging from what I saw, the Americans fall for it. It probably explains the glum looks on the faces of the customers in this photo who, having just drunk the filthy concoction, have been confronted with their bills.
Right: Inside one of the shopping 'malls'. Malay style boat trips throughout the shopping area seemed popular. Not enough space for waterskiing.
To go by road from Singapore across the causeway to Johor Bahru ( JB ), unless by private car, it is necessary to get either a bus or specially licenced taxi from the JB depot in Queen Street. It is, inconveniently, not possible to go direct to the Singapore border, cross on foot and get a taxi on the Malaysian side. The Malaysian check-point is on the far side of the causeway. I would need to do this later the same day, so I thought a recce was in order. On the way to Queen Street I passed the one time, during colonial days, infamous Bugis Street.
Left: The modern boring Bugis Street.
It was once a well known haunt for very friendly ladies and, more intriguingly, for very friendly boys that looked like ladies, who provided intimate social entertainment for the often rather over-indulged and licentious soldiery, with sometimes unexpected results.
Left: The modern boring Bugis Street.
It was once a well known haunt for very friendly ladies and, more intriguingly, for very friendly boys that looked like ladies, who provided intimate social entertainment for the often rather over-indulged and licentious soldiery, with sometimes unexpected results.
It is now just a covered market selling food and junk.
The last bus running to JB was to leave at 1730hrs, so I would have to get a taxi; later. So, back to my ever patient and generous hosts in Seletar Hills to re-pack and generally sort myself out.
Right: Goodbye and many thanks to my generous hosts David and Louise, plus Poppy the dog and the cat. Also to their indefatigable maid Virgy who, against all the odds, washed and ironed all my clothes with inexplicable enthusiasm.
Return to Queen Street and a taxi ( S$40 as a standard fixed rate....not too bad for delivery to the front door of a hotel in JB ) across the causeway through the two separated check-points, with no baggage checks, to the Puteri Pacific Hotel. This is a quality 4 star hotel and a very comfortable room, including breakfast, cost S$68 ( £35 approx ). This is about half the price of a single YHA room with shared facilities in Oz and NZ.
Mr Zak is due to pick me up at 0830hrs tomorrow to take me to Port Tanjung Pelepas ( PTP ) to meet the ship, the French container vessel CMA-CGM Mozart which will, hopefully, take me to Colombo, Ceylon.
So far, so good.................
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