Singapore, we hardly knew ya

And that goes double for Malaysia. We had an uneventful flight to Singapore and a quick taxi ride to the New Seven Story Hotel. (Their literature tells us the hotel opened in 1953 and has been in the same place ever since.) But the room was nice and the people were great. They’re going to store our extra bags while we’re on Tioman Island so we spent some time re-sorting our luggage. We’re flying Berjaya Air and, according to their website, they have very strict weight limitations for luggage (checked luggage can’t be more than 10 kg) and we never travel light.
Check-in the next day was a unique experience. Berjaya flies out of the old airport (out in the boonies) which is next to a military airfield–sort of like Torbay years ago. We go to the desk and present our passports and tickets. We are then directed to go sit in the green room until we are called. There are already a half dozen people waiting there and we eventually get called. All our luggage (check-in and carry-on) gets scanned and then we are finally able to approach the check-in desk. We receive our boarding passes and proceed to Malaysian immigration and further security screening. We then were directed to the departure lounge, which was an old Quonset hut.
The flight was more than an hour late, it was pouring and thunder was rumbling. I went looking for someone to find out what was going on but there was no one around. Turned out, the people who checked us in were now out on the apron acting as ground crew for the plane which had finally arrived. Then they unloaded and loaded luggage. Talk about multi-tasking. The plane was an old prop plane. It reminded me of going to university in Prince Edward Island in the late 50's and flying with Maritime Central Airways. Watching the outside air seep into the plane through the seams and immediately turn to fog was kind of surreal.
But it got up and down without any problems and we were on Tioman Island in Malaysia. The Paya Beach Resort people were waiting with their boat and, after a short ride, we were settled in our room. One of the couples that arrived with us (there were two) also speak English so we’re already ahead of the game. Richard and Robin are from Adelaide, Australia. He’s a dentist who (along with a Chinese colleague) also sponsors a free clinic in East Timor. The beach is nice but not too long–short walks only. The food is different but we’re only here for a few days and we’ll manage.
We did a snorkel trip the next day. The first stop at Renggis Island was very good with some excellent coral. The only drawback was a strong current which kept us from circling the small island. Our second stop was to be the Marine Reserve and we were really looking forward to this. What a disappointment. I don’t think I’ve ever snorkeled a poorer reserve. There was very little coral and mostly large, grey, aggressive fish–the kind that flock to sites where people feed the fish. The main attraction seemed to be a series of three large platforms from which people could jump into the water. We swam off looking for something other than sand but the visibility was very poor and there was little worth seeing. We did see some small sting rays so it wasn’t a total waste. We did another snorkel in the afternoon at the north end of the resort beach around the point which becomes an island at high tide. This was so much better than the marine reserve.
When we went for breakfast the next morning, the tide was really out. It’s no wonder this area is not noted as a good swimming beach–too many rocks, too low water. Doreen had decided that she wanted to see some of the Malaysian countryside so we’re not flying back to Singapore. Instead, we’re taking a fast ferry to Tanjung Gemok on the Malaysian mainland and then a bus to the city state. Just before the ferry arrived, it started to pour. Didn’t matter as the ferry is an enclosed boat with no outside seating. We sat up front and froze as the A/C was cranked. We did get to watch the latest Rambo movie. You couldn’t hear the dialogue over the noise of the ferry but you could hear the explosions. I’m not sure if they settled on Chinese, Malay or Tagalog for the captions but it really didn’t matter as all are equally indecipherable.
The bus from Discovery Tours was waiting, complete with driver and tour guide. The tour guide’s only commentary related to where the clean restrooms were at the two stops we made and instructions for getting through Malaysian and Singaporean customs. It rained sporadically so, even sitting up front, we didn’t see much. The on-line information had said this was a three-hour trip but they obviously weren’t counting the border-crossing time. We arrived in Johor at the height of traffic and it took a couple of hours to get out of Malaysia and into Singapore.
The bus driver was nice enough to drop us at the Golden Landmark Hotel so that solved one problem. It’s a nice hotel, probably the best we’ve stayed at since Tokyo. We had a room on the 15th floor with a great view of the surrounding area. We could see the New Seven Story Hotel from our window so we decided to walk there to collect our left luggage. We presented our tags and they opened the room where we’d left our bags. No bags!! Wait, they have a second room upstairs. Maybe the bags have been moved there. Some feelings of dread until the bags are found. It’s so close we decided to forego a cab and walked back with the bags in tow.
We just couldn’t work up any enthusiasm for Singapore. Maybe it was because we weren’t supposed to be here. We had originally planned a week in Palau where we wanted to snorkel in Jellyfish Lake. This has been on our list ever since we first read about it years ago. But Asian Spirit dropped its flight from Manila to Palau after we’d put our original package together and we were left with a lot of free time in this area before our flight home. We split the time between Singapore, Tioman and Dumaguete. Or maybe it’s because Singapore seems to be a more Westernized city than Tokyo or Seoul. There certainly are more Western-style fast food outlets and we’ve seen more over-weight people here than we have anywhere else on this trip.
We did get to do some shopping and ride the underground train. I checked with the Canon regional headquarters about the concerns I was having with my camera and underwater housing but, since we weren’t staying around for 7-10 days, they could offer little help. We browsed the Sim Lim shopping complex–six floors of electronics with cheap prices but with a catch–a no-return policy. In the afternoon, we went to another electronics outlet, the Funan–more upscale, more expensive. So we went back to Sim Lim and I bought an attachment to cut down sun glare when I use my housing. Doreen bought a new battery for her camera as she’s been having problems with battery life.
I don’t know if it was coincidence or if we somehow angered the gods, but Doreen’s new battery didn’t work out for her. It wouldn’t charge properly and, when she tried it in her camera, the camera died on her. Worse, her two old batteries couldn’t revive the camera. We went back to Sim Lim the next day and got a refresher in Singaporean business. Yes, her old batteries were dead. Yes, her camera was dead. No, they wouldn’t take back the new (now useless battery). But, they would give her a trade-in if she bought a new camera. We’ll wait until we’re back in North America.
Saturday was my birthday and we decided to celebrate with high tea at Raffles. It was great. I was surprised at the quantity and variety of food available. It definitely wasn’t just scones and tea–more like an early dinner. We had some pictures taken. That night we headed to the wine bar at Parkview Square. This is the most opulent office building I’ve ever seen. It was built about eight years ago by a Hong Kong businessman who spared no expense. The courtyard features fountains and statues of artists (Chopin, etc.), politicians (Sun Yat Sen, Lincoln, Churchill, etc.) and similar famous figures from history. The lobby where the wine bar is situated must have cost at least a million dollars alone. What a setting. Of course, the prices reflected the setting. We had two glasses of Grigio Chianti Classic and it cost us just under $60 (the bottle probably cost $15 at the LCBO). But it was an experience. And, hey, a guy only turns 67 once. A nice way to end our stay in Singapore.