My 2:55 PM afternoon flight from Hong Kong to Singapore was delayed over 3 hours to 6:40 PM and I spent a lot of time wandering around Hong Kong International Airport trying to spend my remaining cash totaling around 120 HKD or $20 CAD. With the last bits of my money I purchased an expensive nail clipper and some McNuggets to last me the 3.5 hour flight. I dumped my remaining change in a charity donation bin and officially had zero HKD. I boarded my flight last minute thanks to slow gate updates and finally took off at around 7:00 PM which was later than my scheduled and delayed flight time. The flight itself took longer than expected as well and took four hours due to the weather conditions on the flight path. On the way I saw massive lightning strikes on all sides of the plane as we hovered over Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia. After landing at Singapore Changi Airport I withdrew cash (Singaporean Dollars are nearly 1 to 1 with the Canadian dollar), bought myself another cheap Data Sim ($18 for 3GB a day for 5 days) and figured out my transportation options since the MRT (not the same as the Hong Kong MTR) had shut down for the day. I went to the help counter and people were speaking English fluently which was a pleasant surprise. I was directed to a cheap shuttle that cost $9 to plop me in front of my hostel / capsule hotel. The driver was friendly but his Singaporean (Singlish) accent was so strong that all I could do was smile and wave most of the time as I understood probably less than 10% of what he was saying.
The next day I did everything. I saw probably 3 days worth of stuff in one day starting at 8 AM going to 2 AM. I started off by getting breakfast in the Arab quarter at an inexpensive Indian restaurant; the prices were so low I thought portions would be smaller but I ended up shoving Chicken Biryani, Longyan drink and a Dosa into my stomach for under $10 SGD. I waddled down the road and headed to the harbor taking some photos of churches on the way down. First stop was the famous Merlion against the backdrop of the city skyline.
Singapore skyline with merlion in front.
The amazing Marina Bay Sands stood firmly in the distance.
Marina Bay Sands Hotel.
I walked down the promenade entering the downtown core and entered the Marina Bay Sands hotel, completely in awe of its engineering spectacle. Its curvy, tall lines and huge skydeck are truly one of a kind but due to it’s complexity the cost of building was so high it is currently the second most expensive building ever constructed. I walked around the grounds of the hotel and through it’s lobby, taking pictures at each turn from different angles. It truly was an architectural marvel.
Amazing curves of Marina Bay Sands.
In the distance I could see the Singapore flyer ferris wheel and my next destination, the Gardens By the Bay. The “gardens” are a set of tall, otherworldly metal towers with greenery growing on all sides that acts as a carbon sink for the city. Getting up close I could see the densely packed vegetation growing out from all sides including ferns, mosses, flowers and small shrubbery.
The otherworldly gardens by the bay.
In addition there are two indoor greenhouses that I also checked out. The first of contained many flowers, cacti and trees including the elusive baobao trees of Africa but unfortunately god awful music reminiscent of the infamous Disneyland attraction “It’s a Small World After All” was playing in the background on loop.
Garden dome.
After checking out each garden and trying to forget the nightmare inducing nursery rhymes I headed over to the other dome, Cloud City. Inside is a giant man made mountain, cave system with waterfalls and tons of greenery growing in all places. It was incredibe.
Cloud city waterfall.
There were many walkways that provided alternative paths to observe the outside. Mist was also released in the greenhouse creating a really cool smoky effect, and wind was simulated using several large, concealed fans. I headed out and walked alone the shoreline of the gardens, taking pictures as I went. I headed back to the hotel and went up to the observation deck. I managed to take a photo and get a glimpse of the famous infinity pool overlooking the skyline. The view was great but the sun was beaming making it hard to see and take photos. Singapore’s downtown skyline is very compact and compared to the sprawl of Hong Kong it seemed quite tiny.
Singapore skyline from Marina Bay Sands observation deck.
I dropped down and wandered the downtown core and eventually sat down at Lau Pa Sat festival market to have some Singapore Laksa. The creamy coconut broth was like heaven to my taste buds and the fish and seafood inside filled me up. I headed over to Chinatown and Little India to check out the Buddha Tooth Relic Museum, and Sri Mahamariamman Temple.
Budda Tooth museum and temple.
I did not have pants on me and wasn’t allowed inside either site due to my shorts but for me wearing pants would be suicide in this heat. I remember in a previous blog entry I said it was hot and used the words “blistering 28 degree weather”, well to me now that’s genuinely cold as in every country I’ve been to 32 degrees or higher is the norm. The intricate carvings on the outside of Sri Mahamariamman’s gate were quite the sight.
Sri Mahamariamman temple.
Cows lined the walls as they are sacred in Hinduism. I checked out the neighborhood as well finding mostly overpriced hipster eats reminiscent of the gastropubs back home and a market selling expensive souvenirs. I headed down to Clarke and Boat Quay to check out one of the prime nightlife areas of Singapore.
Clarke Quay.
Bars were just getting ready for a full night service and people were beginning to trickle in for drinks and appetizers. I explored the Central Mall and walked my way down the boardwalk down back to the Merlion where I snacked and waited until dark. After getting some night shots I secured a spot on the edge of the water at the base of the Merlion to watch the laser, light and fountain show provided by the Marina Bay Sands. I had just seen something similar in Hong Kong quite recently and liked the music, but to fully appreciate the show I think a boat ride is required to get closer closer to the action but it costs around $30 for about 15 minutes and for me was just not worth it. Lasers and lights shot up into the sky creating dazzling patterns in sync with the music.
Marina Bay Sands laser and fountain show.
I got lost on the way back to the hostel and walked probably a good 3 kilometers before getting back. I got so lost that I actually wandered into a building where a youth string orchestra was playing and sat down for a bit to listen. I made it back at around 2AM and collapsed into bed.
After an exhausting day I slept in until 1:30 PM and went to eat and walk around a few malls. I headed out to Sentosa, a resort island to the south of the city. Locals have given the island the hilarious acronym “So Expensive Nothing TO See Actually”. The island is home to Universal Studios, a huge zip line, 3 beaches, a few museums, a cable car and lots of shopping and food areas. I first checked out another giant merlion that stood in the middle of the park.
Second gigantic merlion at Sentosa.
I then walked alongside an interesting mosaic sculpture fountain all the way to the lower levels where I found myself on Siloso beach. Here the sand was fine and the water was warm but the view was not the best as tons of oil tankers and silos were the only things visible. I sat down on a sun chair and just as I felt relaxed a guy came up to me and said I had to rent the rickety wooden thing for $20 SGD. Honestly I think if they could figure out a way to charge you for breathing they would. I trekked on and found a rock to lay on where I napped in the glow of the setting sun for a few hours, just appreciating the ambient sounds of people playing volleyball, the waves hitting the shore, and the occasional scream from the zip line above.
Sunset at Siloso beach.
Several fighter jets going supersonic speed were flying in formation above my head but to my disappointment no missiles were fired. As it got dark I wandered back into the mall and eventually back to the hostel.
The next day I headed to Jurong Bird Park. All sorts of exotic south east Asian birds were on display here as well as penguins and owls in temperature controlled chambers. I really enjoyed the open aviary and was able to get some good photos. People were feeding birds with sugar water and I did the same but while trying to get a bird to follow me I teased him with the bowl of sugar water. I guess he didn’t like this because as soon as the water was out of reach he turned around and projectile diarrhea’d all over my arm. They had ostriches, vultures, flamingos, pelicans and some super ugly hornbills. I even saw a few wild, large iguanas just wandering around, chilling in the shade.
Close up of rainbow lory.
They also had some indoor exhibits with incubators and eggs being hatched. I headed back to the Arab quarter and checked out the famous Bugis street which I only walked through before on the way to downtown. T-shirts were being sold for 2 dollars and fresh fruit juice and food was being sold for a single dollar. All sorts of cheap fried skewers and Hong Kong bubble waffles were on sale as well as fresh fruit in ziploc bags. I headed back and had some late night Dim Sum (the restaurant’s hours were 6 PM to 6 AM?) and then called it a night.
The next day I was lucky enough to catch some badminton at the South East Asian Games, which I did not even know was going on. For those of you who don’t know badminton is the most popular sport in Asia and in parts of Europe and it was the sport I played for many years until recently when school became overwhelming. It is a lot more intense and physical than people give it credit for; the dynamic playing styles and creativity in motion and multiple dimensions make it one of the most exciting sports to watch. Here is a match from courtside which displays the speed and power of doubles. Here is a clip of former world #1 Lee Chong Wei’s amazing footwork. You also run twice as much as in tennis in an average match. I got tickets for only $22 and was able to see a lot of top 20 players.
Ricky Suwardi about to hit a finisher.
In the SEA games there is a team event and an individual event. The team event is best of 5 games with 3 singles matches and 2 doubles matches. The events are separated into mens and womens but the combined mens and womens doubles (mixed doubles) is absent from the team portion. The women were up first and I got to see the amazing Ratchanok Inthanon of Thailand play. I also got to seed Malaysia’s #1 womens doubles pair of Vivian Hoo and Woon Khe Wei play. After 4 hours of intense play, Thailand and Malaysia moved on to the finals, with Thailand winning gold the next day. After finishing the women’s semis the men’s semis started. Former world #1 Lee Chong Wei as well as the top players in Malaysia were in force as well as up and coming junior Indonesian players such as Jonathan Christie, Firman Kholik, Ihsan Mustofa, and Kevin Sukamuljo.
Lee Chong Wei about to smash.
Thailand and Singapore as well as Indonesia and Malaysia duked it out until the 5th last singles game. Thailand eventually beat Singapore when Suppanyu Avihingsanon took out Ryan Ng of Singapore in a short match. Indonesia and Malaysia have had a historic badminton rivalry since the sport emerged in their respective countries. There was lots of pressure from back home for both sides, but Ihsan Mustofa took out the older and more experience Arif Latif in the fifth and final game much to the disappointment of many Malaysian fans in the audience.
Indonesia team anticipating their advance to the finals of the SEA games.
Indonesian, Malaysian and Thai fans are notoriously rowdy and even in Singapore they were well represented. Thai fans were dressed up in crowns from their kingdom, had giant flags and umbrellas with their country colors and were shouting Thailand Su Su (Go Thailand or Thailand Fight) continuously through the games. Indonesia has a famous cheer and drum beat which was being shouted by small groups here and there in the crowds and by one extraordinarily loud guy who was literally jumping out of his seat and shouting the entire match. The Malaysians were the best represented, cries of Malaysia Boleh and Lee Chong Wei could be heard at all times, even when he wasn’t even playing funnily. It felt great to see some of the worlds best in person and I came extra early to get nearly court side seats. Unfortunately my camera and lens were not good enough to get many good shots.
I planned to head out to Kuala Lumpur the next day in the morning but took a wrong turn and ended up in Johor Bharu in Malaysia. After navigating my way back I found out train tickets were sold out due to it being the weekend and I got super discouraged. For the first time I felt really homesick and just the chaos and having to wake up at 5:30 AM, being turned away and then having no place to stay after really frustrated me. I decided to get a decent hotel for the first time on the trip and spent the day relaxing and calling my family. I got to see Jurassic World for $6.50 as well at a nearby theater and ate some great pork bone soup and just relaxed. I think the long days of travelling all over the place, seeing so much and having no routine has started to take its toll on my body and mind. I fell asleep while watching the rest of the SEA games badminton on TV and rested up for 17 hours during the night. The next day I killed time in a nearby mall eating desserts such as kaya toast and cendol until 8:00PM when I headed back to the hotel, grabbed my luggage and made my way back to the now familiar Woodlands train checkpoint to board my overnight train from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur. After waiting a long time I boarded and put my stuff on the tiny bed. Due to space constraints I slept on top of my bag with my feet in the air since the bed was too short for me. The toilet on the train was dirty, tiny, and did not flush. Rather, a hose was provided to both wash your behind as well as push waste down. Gross. Luckily I brought toilet paper with me. The train ride was uneventful but constant whining, talking and nose sniffling from a 10 year old girl that seemed to be jacked up on a combination of red bull and skittles was driving me nuts. I put on my old family road trip music (a combination of Queen and Meatloaf as you’ll see later in the entry), cranked the volume to max and bumped and grinded my way across half the country over a hellish, uncomfortable 8 hour train ride.
Initially I was a bit worried about going to Kuala Lumpur as it as a bit of a reputation for being dangerous. Some people have even stated that KL can alternatively stand for “killed by locals”. On arrival in Kuala Lumpur I was disoriented, confused and tired having not slept well on the train. I withdrew money at an ATM but had to wait an hour for the phone store to open to get a data sim but after a while I got myself sorted and to the hostel in one piece. I showered then headed out and explored the nearby Petaling street, a famous market and food area in Chinatown.
Petaling street entrance.
Malaysia uses Ringgit and there are approximately 3 Ringgit per Canadian dollar. Due to the currency conversion, an entire meal in Malaysia costs only $2-$5 Canadian. As a result I have been absolutely gorging myself and trying new food everyday. The deserts here are amazing, ABC seriously needs to come to Canada. Petaling street has a lot of hawker restaurants as well were sanitation is questionable but the low price and good food make up for it. I felt a bit of deja-vu as the area seemed similar to the Temple Street night market in Hong Kong; everything was fake, everyone was trying to sell you something, but it was a lot of fun to walk up and down just seeing what was for sale. Afterward I took the LRT train to the famous Petronas Twin Towers, one of the tallest buildings in the world. I actually cracked my neck trying to look to the top of the building.
Petronas twin towers.
It was an incredible feat of engineering and the skybridge connecting the two towers is really quite the engineering spectacle. After admiring the structure from the outside I took the inside tour but had to wait a bit since they only allow a certain number of visitors per day. Walking across the sky bridge was the first portion of the tour. The bridge weighs 75 tons but is suspended mid air with nothing below it but a few supports latched to either tower.
View of plaza below from skybridge.
It gave a great view of the neighborhoods below as well, but the best part was the second leg of the tour were guests are taken to the 87th floor. At 360 meters up this is the second tallest building I have been on on my trip (the first being the Tokyo Skytree), but this was an office building and not just an observation tower.
One of two towers with Menara KL in the distance.
The view was spectacular and provided a 360 view of all of Kuala Lumpur. I could see downtown, Chinatown, the Batu Caves (which I’ll explain later), even the mountain highlands. After being forced out when my time was up I headed back to the area near my hostel and checked out a Chinese Buddhist temple and another amazingly intricate Hindu temple before calling it a night.
Temple in Chinatown.
Another intricate Hindu temple.
The next day I woke up late and called my family again. I headed out to the luxury shopping area of Bukit Bintang to take a look around. I honestly don’t even know why I bother checking these sorts of places out since I would never buy anything here but there was some neat architecture.
Bukit Bintang.
I was also harassed by a girl who wanted to get money for an art project and she kept getting me to sign this form on the way in. On the way out she did the same and I signed it but she wanted me to give her 30 Ringgit ($10) for no reason other than to support her supposed project. Me being a cold hearted bastard told her no and I ran across the beeping crosswalk just in time as cars whizzed by to avoid her chasing me down and harassing me some more. Her whole family was there and she was physically stopping me from crossing the road, standing in my way. I hate people that feel like the world owes them something or that they can just get by through begging and charity. There are so many people I have seen on this trip working themselves to death to just earn a living and scrape by, even some people as old as 90; what makes these other people think that they are above a little effort and hard work? I walked down the road to Berjaya Times square and got a glance of the Badminton World Federation building and moved on to check out Berjaya Times Square, a huge mall with a roller coaster theme park inside. Honestly the mall had seen better days and it seemed there were many vacancies despite its size and location. After wandering around and eating some local food I headed back to Pasar Seni near my hostel, took some photos of the canals, graffiti and local surroundings and headed in early to rest up again.
Graffiti on edges of rainwater ducts.
The next day I woke up and checked out the central market across the street. It was mostly touristy souvenirs but I discovered a pretty decent food court at the top which I made use of several times after. After going to the bank I headed to Menara KL, the observation tower that looks strangely similar to the one in Calgary with its red tinge. On the walk I found some really neat abandoned buildings and found a bunch of monkeys just hanging out. Someone had left a half full Gatorade bottle out and the monkey tipped it over and drank from it. He after gave a satisfied “ahhhhh” look on his face which I thought was hilarious.
Monkey drinking Gatorade.
Monkey after drinking Gatorade.
I headed up the tower to the open deck, unlike the Petronas Towers, there is just a fence guarding you from the edge. Once again the view was spectacular but the wind against my face made it all the more better. I was hoping that I could hang my legs off the edge of the tower while strapped in a safety harness but it seems like they do not allow you to do it anymore. I also had to sign a huge waiver before going up the elevator, I seriously wonder if someone fell off and died.
Kuala Lumpur skyline from Menara KL.
After admiring the view for an hour or so I headed down to the other observation deck and took some photos aimed at the ground then headed out on foot towards the Petronas towers again. I wandered around KLCC park, a great green space next to the towers and checked out some amazing exotic plants and took some more daytime photos of the towers. I wandered Suria KLCC mall for a while as well eating snacks on the way. At dinner time I found a bench and enjoyed the scenery of the park while the sun set.
Petronas from KLCC park.
They had a series of dancing fountains in the park and when it got dark they lit up in many different colors. I got some night shots of the tower, headed back to Pasar Seni, ate some delicious Roti Canai and another desert to the tune of the evening prayer and called it a night.
Petronas towers at night.
The next day I headed to the Batu Caves, a series of 400 million year old limestone caverns that jut out of the relatively flat landscape out of nowhere. It is one of the most sacred and popular Hindu sites outside of India and is around a 30 minute train ride outside KL Sentral.
Golden Lord Murugan statue next to stairs leading into cave.
There are several very tall statues of deities surrounding the caves and the main chamber or temple chamber has a very tall golden one of. The steps are very steep leading up to the main temple and one small trip could result in a Bugs Bunny style death. After taking photos and ascending I got to the main chamber, it was airy, damp and bright light streamed in from large gaps in the ceiling. It was vast and large. I even saw chickens and a rooster wandering around inside. I ascended another flight of stairs to the grand opening, a huge opening with greenery all around with a temple in the cavern. It was amazing.
Batu Caves temple looking towards opening above.
After taking photos and taking a spiritual break I headed back out down the steps. Monkeys were everywhere on the way out, I saw them steal peoples food and flowers and eat them, drinks etc. They looked pretty gentle and harmless but proved to be vicious and aggressive in reality. They were even hanging out on the sharp spikes of the fence. At the bottom there is a massive power line with tons of pigeons on it, people were feeding them and the monkeys much to the disapproval of the staff. There were also small stores selling Hindu items and Malaysian souvenirs as well as many Indian restaurants. I headed back and decided to take another movie break and watched the Avengers 2: Age of Ultron, something dumb and fast to balance out my slow and spiritual morning and afternoon. I ate some more delicious Roti Canai and called it a night.
The next day I planned to check out the hills area but only got as far as the Sultan building and before it started pouring rain.
Sultan Abdul Samad Building.
Just like Hong Kong, crossing the street alone can soak you head to toe. I waited patiently in the most dead mall I have ever seen in my life but the rain would just not let up. I eventually I went to a small local gallery where they had a nice miniature scale model of the city accompanied by a light show. Everything I planned to see was outdoors so I just headed back to the hostel, kicked back and watched a bunch of Youtube videos until I slept. The next morning I picked up where I left and headed to the National Mosque.
National Mosque of Malaysia.
At the time I went it was Ramadan, the holy month of Islam where all Muslims are fasting from dawn to dusk. I happen to go during the daily prayer as well and tons of people where in attendance. I headed up the hill to the Islamic Arts Museum to check out what was inside; though I understand very little about the religion, the artwork was beautiful and showcased worldwide Islamic architecture, jewelry, weaponry, and different artifacts. I particularly liked the miniature models of the different mosques around the world. One of the most striking things in the exibit was the number of different Qu’ran and how they varied from country to country.
Intricate Quran.
The museum building itself was beautiful and had great domed ceilings and white marble floors.
Amazing dome of Islamic Arts Museum from inside.
Outside it was 32 degrees but the humidity was absolutely inhuman, seconds after leaving the aircon hall my skin was sticky and wet. I marched up the hill to the Kuala Lumpur bird park. I sure have seen a lot of birds, monkeys and flowers lately, but this park didn’t disappoint. Right off the bat there were beautiful peacocks wandering around. I really enjoyed both Hong Kong’s and Jurong Bird Park’s open aviary and the Kuala Lumpur bird park has the world’s largest. Birds of all kinds were coexisting and just wandering around, eating or flying in the enclosure.
Peacock.
Many of the species here were primarily land based unlike those in Singapore and Hong Kong so I crouched real low to get some shots of them. One of the best things I did was feed lorries sugar water like in Singapore, but without getting pooped on. There were around 4 on my body just chilling and slurping the sugary concoction.
Lorries having a family hug.
A few of the rarer birds were also wandering out in the open here including parrots, pelicans and flamingos. I headed across to the free orchid garden to take in the view, and get some shots of Malaysia’s national flower. They were quite beautiful even though I know nothing about botany.
Beautiful flowers at the orchid garden.
I headed down the hill, retracing my steps in reverse and headed back to do laundry, eat and get some rest.
I spent a day relaxing then boarded another hellish overnight train to Butterworth then a ferry to Georgetown on the island of Penang which is where I currently am. When I arrived at the hotel, nobody was there as it was around 6 AM. I just sat on the porch, exhausted from getting only 4 hours of sleep. The chaos of taking these overnight trains sparked my first real instances of homesickness. When I headed back to the hotel after being turned away in Singapore I felt like going home to Vancouver for the first time since the trip began, but after some rest I felt energized and motivated again. I called my family to ease my worries and listened to a few of my favorite songs from my road trips during summer back as a kid. Some of my fondest memories I have are of me sitting crunched in the back of our sedan with my legs crossed on the top of a giant cooler on the way to visit my Grandparents at Christina Lake for summer vacation while rock music blared on our car stereo. The songs that evoke these memories the most are Meatloaf – You Took The Words Right Out of My Mouth, Meatloaf – Bat Out of Hell, Meatloaf – Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad, Queen – You’re My Best Friend, Queen – Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy, Queen – Don’t Stop Me Now, Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody. Right now my tablet screen is broken, and the ‘h’, ‘3’ and right shift keys are all broken on my external keyboard so I rebound some of the lesser used keys to the broken ones, making for a very awkward typing experience, as a result my blogs will likely be shorter or come less frequently.
– Michael
Michael Moo Abroad 