Singpaore - A FINE city

July 24, 2017

Singapore

Singapore is a fine city in many ways. It has one of the lowest crime rates in the world, it is very clean and the people rank as being some of the healthiest in the world.
Having this safe, clean city does not come without strict laws imposed on residents and visitors. Here are some signs we have found:

These signs are in subway stations and trains. I think the durians should have a price attached!

Additional behaviours not usually fined in other countries but will warrant a penalty are littering, smoking in non designated places, jaywalking and there is talk of chewing gum being banned, but I am not sure that is so.

As a result the subways, public spaces and washrooms are clean.

Levi and Nate "driving" our driverless subway this morning.

Jam Packed Days

July 23, 2017

Singapore

Our days here need to be packed as we do not have enough time to see all we want to see in this awesome city. We get in late so need to allow some sleep in time to recharge the human battery. Us and getting an early start only seem to happen on days we need to travel to a new place.

The Singapore Science Center took 6 hours of our day. That was a great 6 hours. Still didn't see it all. The center had its 2 day science symposium on when we were there yesterday which made for more exhibits and demonstrations. All involved exciting loud explosions and made science fun. Many hands on demonstrations. School kids had their science fair projects on display. One boy explained and modelled his home-made drone to us. He was only 12.

Luke and Nate playing "tag".

Took us half an hour to get out of the entrance. Many optical illusions.

The subway system is so clean and efficient. The 'downtown' was across town but easy to get to the Gardens by the Bay that has a water park. Although we did not get there until 6PM, no danger of the weather cooling off. The way Singapore can blend a busy metropolis with huge amounts of natural calming greenspace is unbelievable. That is the Gardens by the Bay. Unbelievable. Need another day just for that.

The waterpark seemed to turn into a water fight of Canadians vs the Chinese. The Canadians were somewhat outnumbered!

We stayed until 8PM and saw the park under all its lights. Beautiful.

The next stop was the laser show at the marina at 9:30PM. It told the story of Singapore's history. You had to have an imagination and some knowledge of the past to follow this interpretive story.

The Pine Hostel is what the budget allows in this expensive city. The boys are no strangers to camping so this is just fancy camping.
Looking at Nate's PJs, he has grown a few inches this trip.


Tomorrow we will search again for the true ice cream sandwich!

Happy Birthday Singapore!

July 22, 2017

Penang to Singapore

Another early departure to the airport. The advantages of leaving early are missing the traffic jams and avoiding the long queues of Chinese tourists at passport control.

Playing crazy 8's in the Penang airport. Air Asia was right on time. Nothing wrong with this no frills airline. Similar to Air Canada only much, much cheaper.

We arrived early in Singapore with the flight taking just over an hour. The airport is so nice. We had spent 4 hours here in April on our way to Australia. It is a holiday in itself. Complete with swimming pool, movie theatre, butterfly and numerous other gardens, and a huge shopping mall.

My backpackers.

The subway in Singapore, like in all cities, makes it so easy to get around. We had a half hour ride to our hostel. Being only 1 degree north of the equator, it feels so much hotter here. I was near melting.

Hawker stalls abound in our neighborhood, so it was easy to find a lunch to suit everyone. The amount of oil put into all the Asian cooking is astounding. How do they stand it??? Levi had commented how he would have loved eating some of these foods at home, but now all he wants is a salad. Clean, non-greasy feeling food.

Singapore is celebrating its 52nd birthday on August 9th. In preparation for the annual holiday, the show they will put on on the 9th is rehearsed every Saturday night in July (and a few more nights to total 7), just to make sure nothing goes wrong. After seeing how the Singaporeans celebrate a random birthday like 52, the boys all agreed that Canada Day sucks. Even 150, they didn't think could measure up to a 52nd Singapore. They know how to celebrate!

Down at the marina, we were awed by the fighter jets (no mistake when they buzz over; deafening), cannons being shot, coast guard firing machine guns at seadoers, helicopters dropping divers, and later a trio hoisting the Singaporean flag. And this was just the dress rehearsal!

 

A stage was set up on the waterfront for thousands to watch the hours of entertainment.

And the beautiful fireworks! As Lei said, "Yeah, I mean, we do get a piece of cake in Carman on Canada Day, but this....."

 All this looking out at Merlion Park across the bay.

 And behind us Marina Bay Sands Tower and the huge mall that goes with it. This city of skyscrapers makes for a fantastic skyline any time of day.
 The mall itself is overboard with a river running through it.

 Singapore has wooed my boys! It is a larger, grander, classier version of Vegas.

Penang

July 20 and 21
Penang, Malaysia

A walking tour around the old city of Georgetown was well done by a local, humorous, proudly Penang, Chinese guide. This city is an ethnic mix of mainly Malay, Chinese, Indian and Middle Eastern people. The British influence is prominent in the buildings. Much damage was done during bombings of WW2. The rebuilds are not nearly as beautiful.

10 Downing Street, Georgetown - not London.

Buildings used by chemists to cure Indians and Chinese in the early days using traditional herbs and medicines. Not used any more - now a budget hotel.

So many stories told through wall art.

A trip to Penang National Park via the public bus today was worth it. Not in terms of the dangerous bus driving (almost 2 crashes on the round trip), but seeing this big water monitor after a few steps on the hiking trail caught us off guard. The first one was about 4 feet long, followed by 4 others along the way.

Truly felt like a jungle trek with the heat, foliage, monkeys and reptiles. We made it as far as one beach.

A quiet area to enjoy the breeze before heading back into the jungle.

Back on the trail.

These monkeys were hilarious. They are not shy as Luke found out. He yelled at this cute little one and the monkey was not going to forgive him. He hissed and came at Luke a few times. I wished I would have videoed it. Luke thought he was a killer. Does this look like a killer?

Getting ready tonight for our trip to the airport for our flight to Singapore tomorrow. Flights at $35 are hard to pass up. That will be the only inexpensive thing about Singapore.

This could be a contender

July 19, 2017
Georgetown, Malaysia

This city could be a contender to be in the top 5 of my favourite Asian cities. It has a lot to offer: great food, fantastic street art, architecture and friendly people.

A walk down to the historical part of the city this morning and we found these beautiful murals.

There are a few more I need to seek out tomorrow.

I had the best lunch I have had in Asia. I was in search on Penang Curry, only to find there is no such thing. I was told that there is no one Penang curry; almost everything is curry so it is a matter of what kind of curry: Indian (very spicy), Chinese (spicy), Malay curry and Nyonya curry (mild and sweet). We chose a chicken nyonya curry with a spicier eggplant curry and an appetizer plate that had tempera bean sprouts, spring rolls and some type of meat, and carrot/zucchini pickles. Everyone liked it.

In little India a food cart had fresh vegetable samosas so that was considered dessert.

Little India has the food, clothes, jewellery, and music of real India.

I am trying to convince the boys to go to a Bollywood movie just to watch the crowd (if it is like India).

Georgetown is a very multicultural city. Next to Little India is China Town. Chinese clans were established in the 19th century when many Chinese immigrated to Malaysia. They lived in clans set up on the water in floating villages. Today there are 6 clans living on the water in houses built on stilts. In every village lives one clan. They each have their own temple.

Many day and night markets sell everything from western clothes to fresh produce to tons of polyester fabric!

Even though we had had such a big lunch, Georgetown is also noted for its hawker food. A 2km walk to the Gurney Food Stalls was supposed to increase our appetite. The heat is still near 30 at night and buying food required patience and guess work.

I have wanted a coconut drink since we came to Asia. Will not be a repeat buyer.

To find a place to sit while you eat, the advice of locals is hover near a table that looks like they are almost finished eating. When they get up, quickly take their spots. Then, leave someone at the table and go purchase your food to take back.

The line for Levi's choice of fried rice was long so settled for some type of curry sweet and sour chicken with rice. Nate and Luke had chicken satay. Everything was OK, but not great.

These signs were everywhere. All day Jack and I were looking at them and could never figure out where this "Jalan Sehala" was and why it always seemed to be pointing in different directions. It seemed it was a place we would never reach. Finally Luke told us it meant 'one way street'. OK, so the kid is brighter than us at times.

These days Luke is studying for his drivers ed. test. Levi is practicing card tricks. Nate is planning his career as a track star, turned NFL super bowl champion, along with writing the first draft of the book he is going to publish about his travels.

Penang

July 18, 2017
Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia

The Air Asia flight went well. With a stop over in KL and only an hour delay we were happy. This is our second time through KL airport. Next time we will get out and stay a few days.
Arrived on Penang and took a taxi into Georgetown.

I opted for an airbnb since there was not much price difference (dollar goes far in Malaysia) and we were all so looking forward to cooking our own food. I have not stayed in an airbnb in Asia so was not sure what to expect. The apartment was spotless, and no offensive smells. It is modern, but it did not have much in the line of kitchen equipment. The difference between west and east. Many Asians would eat out rather than in. And Penang has the best food in all of Malaysia. Not a great time to pick the airbnb.

Our apartment is on the 20th floor. Bird's eye view.

Luke was insistent that we eat pasta. Just regular pasta and sauce. I found a grocery store under a km away so Jack and I hiked down. Amazingly, it was a western supermarket. We found feastable food that felt like home.

I didn't realize rootbeer is called sarsaparilla.

With a teeny tiny pot, I cooked the pasta in 4 batches and Luke still says that was one of the best suppers he has had in a long time. Asian food has mostly been good, but so much oil is used in the cooking. Everything is greasy and seems unhealthy.

A walk along the waterfront in the evening. As I look at the cool evening temperatures at home of 8C, these evenings feel wonderful at 29C.

A long day after getting in the taxi at 5:00AM, everyone was ready for a good sleep. The beds are even soft!