Walking around Singapore

My last blog from this trip.  I am currently sitting in the airport lounge at Changi, drinking a pretty awful cup of coffee.  Ugh.  

The taxi ride was super fast, totally scary as we exceeded speed limits all the way, and tailgated any vehicle that was travelling at the required speed.  The trip took only 15 minutes!  But the good news was that no handbags were left in the taxi.  Walter wrote the taxi registration number down, just in case.

We enjoyed a lovely few days here, walking everywhere.  It must be the new smart watches that are encouraging us to walk, as they count our footsteps, and lets us know how well we are doing!  However  we do like to walk here, as there is so much to see, so many changes and plenty to reminisce about, having lived here in 1972.

Soon it will be Chinese New Year, so the streets, and buildings, were decorated in preparation for the celebrations.  Plenty of relevant merchandise for sale also.

We checked our fortunes for the coming year, mine were financially positive but Walter's not so, so we are well matched, in that we cancel out each other's fortunes.

One of the temples by Bugis Street, very busy in the lead up to the Chinese New Year.

Zam Zams.  Our favourite Indian restaurant, now extended, as they have taken over another shop downstairs and have three rooms upstairs.  The restaurant is very popular with students, tourists and families, but probably not so for the local Muslim population, who probably now go next door which advertises traditional Muslim food.

When we lived here, it was always a race to get to Zam Zams before dusk during the fasting period before Ramadam, otherwise it was impossible to get a seat.   They were the days when one washed their hands and ate with the left hand.  Now it is all forks and spoons.

However the food is still excellent, hence their popularity.

The beautiful mosque opposite Zam Zams.

I am a little lost, with the photograph below.  Definitely original buildings.

We visited the National Museum of Singapore, build as a museum in the late 1800s.  A magnificant building and a very interesting and informative display inside.   The history and building of a nation were honestly told, with plenty of artifacts and visual displays.  Fascinating.

My nephew Ken and his wife, Jane, took us to dinner at a restaurant on the edge of the river, at Riverside Point.  It was lovely to catch up with Ken, and meet Jane.  It has been a very long time since we saw Ken last, so there was plenty to talk about.  Delicious food too.

Riverside Point.  A vibrant place to be at night, full of bars and restaurants.  So different to 1972, when it was a busy merchant trading area, with barges unloading merchandise into the warehouses.

Raffles Hotel, with the huge shopping centre showing slightly on the left.  We ate Christmas dinner here in 1972, when it was affordable.  Our taxi took us to the front door.  We also went there for quite a few dinners in the courtyard.  Great atmosphere, without the exhorbitant costs.  A beautiful hotel still.

We were walking on the opposite side of Beach Road, and the view from the hotel was now buildings, hundreds of them.   There were one or two buildings opposite Raffles Hotel, in 1972, but I think the government was starting to reclaim land the .

The skyline on the other side of the bay, Marina Bay hotel and shopping centre,  where once there was sea, and boats.  Pretty impressive really.

The owers holding the 'ship' up are extremely high.  We have been up to the top, a great view, not that I really enjoyed the experience.   I certainly would not like to live in an apartment near the top.  They all have open balconies.  I shudder.

Nor would I like a hotel room here either, even if I had the money.  The passageways leading to the rooms are all open.  Impressive views, if one likes that sort of experience.

Amazing foyer in the hotel.

And finally the Merlion, guarding the entrance to the Singapore River.

Time to catch our flight, as we say goodbye to Singapore again.  I wonder what changes await us when we visit next time.

Gardens by the Bay - Singapore

Gardens by the Bay.  What a discovery!   We were spell bound.   Situated behind Marina Bay Sands Hotel (the one that looks like a boat on top of three tall towers) and the Marina Bay shopping centre, on even more reclaimed land.  

We can vaguely remember building work here four years ago, but did not expect to see such a magnificant development.  Singapore moves fast.

After leaving the shopping centre and hotel we crossed over the expressway on a high, treelined walkway, which was very pretty.  Then we saw the view over the gardens which was spectacular to say the least.

My eye caught sight of the domes in the photograph below.  Are they in competition with the Eden Project in Cornwall?  A deja vu moment.  In actual fact I think these domes must be used by the gardeners for propagating the plants for the gardens.  These domes were not mentioned in the brochure.  

The Supertree Grove. An assortment of metal structures, with plants growing up the sides.

In the photograph below the gardens are spread out behind me, with the Flower Dome and Cloud Forest Dome in the background.

The gardens have been divided up into areas that focus on different ethnic groups, plant relationships, ecosystems, children's play areas and a sun pavilion.  It was a very extensive area and sadly we did not have time to walk around the gardens fully.

Our aim was to visit the domes, which cost $26 each, to visit the two domes. And here we saw many similarities with the Eden Project, especially regards  raising awareness of the fragility of our world.

The first dome, The Flower Dome.  Very cool inside, with a dry atmosphere, to represent the Mediterranean and subtropical regions of the world.

The Australian Xanthorrhoea or grass tree, with the trunk blackened by fire.  Quite a magnificant speciman.

Australian bottle trees, part of the Baobob collection.

There was one of the best collections of cacti I have seen, nearly as good as the collection in Kew Gardens.

Thank goodness Walter did not fall backwards on any of them.

There were plenty of sculptures made of wood.

The sculpture of a family travelling, was donated by Changi Airport.

I loved the plant monkeys.  So cute.

The second dome, the Cloud Forest, was also very cool and represented the tropical mountain regions of Asia.

The 35 metre high waterfall.

A relaxed Walter standing on the platform which jutted out from the side of the waterfall, about half way up.  The very nervous photographer had trouble taking this photograph.

The cloud walk, high up in the dome.  We took a lift to the top, and then walked back down the walkway, with a couple of escalators to help along the way.  No effort required on this walk.

The view down.

 The pitcher plants growing in the pond at the top of the Cloud Forest.

We then hurried to The Supertrees in order to take the lift up to walkway, before it rained.  The clouds were gathering fast.  Luckily it was not a thunderstorm.

A relaxed Walter,

And a very nervous Nola.  This walkway swayed a little, similar to a swing bridge.

The view from the Supertrees walkway.

It was a marvellous experience, and I would love to go back and explore the rest of the gardens, slowly.

Bits amd Pieces - Adelaide

Bits and pieces.  Events that did not come under any of the other heading but too important to leave out.

First off, the band that Darren belongs to, playing a gig for the local radio station.   A typical Aussie setting, playing music, under the gum trees, in the front yard of the community radio station.  They sounded great.

Custard squares or vanilla slices, the name depends on the place.  These were from a local bakery and were particularly delicious.  We ate them with our morning coffee.

On the subject of delicious cakes.  Jay made these cupcakes and decorated them with shapes she made from melted chocolate.  Clever girl.  Also delicious.

We spent many an evening at Darrens watching test cricket, India v Australia, and games in the lead up to the semi finals of the Big Bash.  Adelaide Strikers  were the top team until they lost their semi final game.  Oh well, that is how it goes, I suppose.

We visited many of our friends while in Adelaide.  It was so lovely to catch up on all their news.  Such a special time.

Joan and I, posing for our photogrqpher.

Fish and chips at Victor Harbour.  They tasted so much better when wrapped in paper.  Smiles all round.

Moet, the dog.  Such a cutie.  A real favourite.

We went to Alex and Peter's house for a McLeod/van Dam reunion.  A lovely get together, with plenty of reminiscing about past events.  Peter cooked a fantastic barbeque, and we all brought a variety of delicious salads.  Sadly Stan passed away eighteen months ago.  We all missed him, but he was definitely with us in spirit.

Walter and Moira looking happy and relaxed.

Donna, Scott, Alex, Darren, Patrick and Peter, getting into a party mood.

Lunch with Donna and Andreena in Victoria Square.  Lovely and cool.

Another watch?  Yes. Third time lucky. The band on the dark grey watch broke, so now I have a white watch, which, I must admit, looks better than the dark grey watch.  I  hope all goes well with this watch as I am no longer in Adelaide.

And on that note it is time to say goodbye, and head off back to the northern hemisphere.   Until next year.

Santos Tour Down Under

The annual Santos Tour Down Under in South Australia is a pretty big event.   And I am sure that the other Australian states, especially Victoria, would love to have the honour of holding it.  I remember when the Grand Prix moved from Adelaide to Melbourne.  But no, the Tour Down Under is definitely staying in South Australia. That is good news.   

As we were a trifle busy this year, we only saw the riders leave Glenelg on the 3rd day of the tour.  Donna and Patrick live on Brighton Road so we walked for five minutes, and watched from the footpath opposite Jetty Road.  

For the more aware we were standing on the tramlines, but luckily the trams stopped at Brighton Road on this particular day.  Thank goodness.  They are big, silent brutes.

A very impressive line up of police motor cycle officers.  They must have been all on duty during the races.  Keeps them out of mischief no doubt.

The peloton being marshalled slowly along Jetty Road.

Once around the corner onto Brighton Road they started to speed up.

The last vehicle to leave the procession of support vehicles was the truck towing a trailor with two portaloos on it.  It went the opposite way, probably heading for the finish line.  One forgets that sports people need to use the toilet too.

We also visited the centre of Tour Down Under activities in Victoria Square.  Very interesting.

We were impressed with this bicycle rack as it had hinges and swung both ways so that the bicycle could be pushed flat against a wall.

I was fascinated by the large numbers of men wearing lycra, sometimes riding bikes, but often walking around in the vicinity of their parked bikes.  I am not sure how much serious bike riding they do, but lets say, they should not be wearing lycra, which certainly accentuates the rolls of fat.   A woman on the tram rather facetiously referred to them as MAMILS (middle aged men in lycra).

But then lycra appears to be also the favourite Saturday apparel for many Adelaide women too.  They dress for a gym session, with top brand footwear on, or sometimes rubber flip flops, and then go shopping or drink coffee at the many cafes.  I don't think exercise is high on their priorities either.

There are some men in lycra in the distance in this photograph, but I thought it a little rude to zoom in on them.

The Tour Down Under is now finished for another year.  Looking forward to being there for the next tour.