We arrived back in Melbourne this morning to a very cold morning. It was only 4 degrees when we touched down. It made us long to be back in Bali all the more.......
We went to Bali via Singapore so I will give you a quick rundown on Singapore first and then move onto Bali.
Day 1 to Day 5
Left Australia on 9/9/2006 and arrived at Changi airport on 10/9/2006 at about 7.30am. Got off plane and out of airport in about 10 minutes as there were no other flies at this time. Tour East were waiting to pick us up in a lovely newish Mercedes (Most cars in Singapore are newish and well looked after). First impressions are thar Singapore is a very clean city and well set out with beautiful parks. Arrived at Furama City Centre and were checked into our room by about 7.30am.
Spacious room, clean and great views of the city. Gym and pool were also located on our floor and we gave both good use whilst we were there. We would happily use this hotel if we are in Singapore again.
Was lucky enough to have a friend who is Chinese Malay visiting Singapore and we were taken out for lunch. Went to the food court in Peoples Park Centre and had local hawker type food, Peking Duck, crispy pork, rice, wonton soup and a serve of tofu soup with vegies and big chunks of tofu in it. All very nice and remarkably cheap S$3.00 per serve. Funny isn't it we are 6000kms from home and lunching with a work mate from Melbourne......
That night we walked through Chinatown Temple St, Sago St, South Bridge Rd, Maxwell Rd, looked at lots of hawker food stalls and also lots of colourful odds and ends.Then off along Riverside walk to the river and had an Indian dinner at a place called The Curry house, great meal but at S$62-00 we won't be doing this every night. The best thing about this evening is just walking and looking at all the sights. Singapore, particularly Chinatown and the river precinct look great at night.
Hotel buffet breakfast was included in our tariff and it was great with a mix of asian and western foods on offer. Made sure we had a full stomach each day courtesy of Furama.
Utilised the hop on/hop off bus quite a lot, for S$3-00 you can ride all day and get on and off at various points. Points of particular interest for us were Chinatown, botanical gardens, Orchard Road, Little India, Arab 1/4, and riverfront areas. Also used the the MRT and found this to be a very efficient and cheap mode of transport.
We went to botanical gardens and saw the magnificent orchid garden, this was an oasis of peace in such a busy city, Orchard Road was fun for a while, but I am not so much into shopping at the prices in Singapore, Raffles Hotel was worth a look at an era of bygone majesty and way out of our price range. We did lots of walking and saw many lovely temples, so many I cannot possibly name them all (look in Lonely Planet guide). Went to Lau Pa Sat Hawkers market for local sates one night, this was great but once again very expensive and really set up for tourists. I also went to Sentosa one day, it was okay but I don't believe it is a must see. I really think the best things we did were just walking and looking as it is such an easy city to stroll around. Chinatown was great to just wander around and it was so colourful with all the decorations for the mooncake festival.
Highlights of Singapore for me were the cleanliness of the city, many parks, botanical gardens and the food.
Downs were the cost of everything and the unfriendliness of the people. It is not a welcoming place like Thailand or Bali, you don't see all the smiling faces that these places have to offer.
I am glad we went to Singapore and have many happy memories, but I don't feel the need to return again.
Next onto Bali.....