Singapore | Cheryl & Neil Our Story

Another catch up post to update you on the start of the year. It’s cold, grey and drizzly in January and February so like migrating birds we took off for warmer climates.

Loyal readers will remember we started our travelling adventure back on 2008 with the classic backpacker route through South East Asia. It was time for a revisit to some of our favourite places but with a different budget and travelling style. After a bit of research we found two back to back group tours plus cruises with IGLU, an online agent we haven’t used before. As we were putting together two different packages we decided to book our own flights and extra hotel days needed to fill the small gaps.

Starting with Thailand, we arrived in Bangkok which is one of our favourites. To get into the time zone and to acclimatise to 30C+ we opted to go a few days early. This gave us time to enjoy the atmosphere, delicious Thai food and ride the river ferries along the Chao Praya in both directions. We finally ticked off two experiences we had always wanted to do, a crazy night at the Muay Thai Stadium and the fabulous show, The Ladyboys of Bangkok.

The tour began and we met our new chums for a welcome dinner at the hotel. The group was 20 in total and the tour took us around the main sights in Bangkok. We had a lot of fun getting to know the group and our scatty, irritating and very loud Thai Tour leader.

Grand Palace & Reclining Buddha at Wat Pho

Longtail boat ride through the canals & Wat Saket

Jim Thomson House, watching the locals pose for their special occasion & social media at Wat Arun and rooftop bar cocktails overlooking the river.

Being with a tour meant a revisit to some places but added new experiences we wouldn’t have done. Bangkok done we headed East to The Bridge on The River Kwai and then to The Death Railway near Kanchanaburi. On the way we stopped off at the railway market where traders have set up their stall just inches from the tracks so that when a train is due into the station all the overhang shade canopies are quickly pulled in and everyone gets off the tracks and squeezes together either side to avoid being flattened. Our group had a reserved space at a cafe where we stood on benches just millimetres away from the train, so close we shook hands with the passengers who were also enjoying the madness and mayhem.

Next stop was to the floating market which had changed a lot since our first trip back in 2008. It was very commercialised and touristy and lacked the charm we experienced when we stayed locally to get an early morning boat ride when the locals use the market. It was here back in 2008 that we had the best ever Phad Thai from a lady who cooked it on her tiny boat. It was only after we had eaten it all and handed back the plate that we watched in horror as she washed it in the canal!

A full day ended with arriving at the bridge at sunset and then at our hotel which wasn’t quite as described in the itinerary but turned out ok.

Next morning began with the Bridge Museum and on to the The Death Railway where its possible to walk along the site of the tracks. We had been to the railway before, almost 20 years ago, but not too much had changed – it’s still a moving experience and makes you wonder how one human being can be so brutal and cruel to another human being.

The day ended with a visit to a new place for us, Erawan waterfalls, stunningly beautiful natural pools which are suitable for swimming in.

Last day of the tour we headed back to Bangkok via Ayutthaya a former capital of Thailand to walk amongst the atmospheric ruins.

The tour finished with a tuk tuk night tour to taste street food in chinatown.

Overall a good tour made extra special by the group who got on really well and provided a lot of laughs. Next morning we were taken to the port to get onboard Norwegian Sun for the second part of the holiday headed to various ports in Thailand and Malaysia before finishing in Singapore. We’d never used Norwegian Cruise lines or been to Koh Samui and Phuket in Thailand or Vang Vien in Vietnam so the trip was a good mix of new places and revisiting others.

First impressions of Norwegian were mixed, there was a huge well covered eating area at the stern of the ship which was needed as temperatures were very high at the start and the heavens opened as we approached Singapore. However the public areas were cramped and we encountered for the first time, a ship that allowed smoking indoors in the casino. This wouldn’t have been a problem if the casino had sealed doors and wasn’t a walkthrough to other public areas on that deck – yuk! Cheryl also discovered that the high impact dance based classes were held near the pool without shade and were unfortunately so dumbed down and short in duration to make them more frustrating than fun. However, our tour mates kept our spirits up and we all sat together for a big dinner together on the last night. We won’t be doing a Norwegian cruise again.

The sightseeing in the port stops was good – here’s a roundup.

Putra Jaya Garden City – Port Klang Malaysia

Langkawi Island, Cave & Mangrove adventure by Speedboat

The ship finally docked in Singapore and we headed to the airport to begin the second cruise & tour booking, but you will have to wait for Part 2 to find out what happens next.

This post has been sponsored by the following cheapskates who as usual gave no payment for access to our followers……

And before you go – some toilet humour

On the last night in JB we used up our final Ringits on whisky, wine & cheese and set off early next morning (couldn’t wait to get out of JB) for the huge departure terminal to leave Malaysia. It’s a tortuous routine, walking endless shiny new corridors to get to the departure point, get the passport stamped then walk down to the bus area for the short trip across the causeway only to get off the bus again and walk through the immigration and customs for Singapore. Got through immigration without any hassle, then on through the green ‘nothing to declare’ channel. Then the bags were scanned and Neil was taken to one side.

‘You have bottles in the bag Sir?’ said the man in the uniform. Out came the half bottle of wine. ‘OK Sir, you have another one?’ out came the 15 RM ( appox £3) bottle of whisky with seal intact. ‘You come with me Sir, no duty free from Malaysia’. Oh dear we thought and we followed the man to the office where the customs man spent ages filling in a form and looking at Neil’s passport. Finally the duty man asked Neil into his office and politely explained that there was no duty free allowed and gave him a gentle ticking off, no fine, no penalty. Neil did say ‘I didn’t know & I’ve been nabbed!!’ which made the duty guy laugh, and we were finally on our way. Good job it wasn’t the US, one snigger and it would have been the full body search!!!

Arrived at our ‘upmarket’ accommodation, the Novotel on Clarke Quay, and the contrast with JB was acute. Where JB is grime central, Sing is squeaky clean & colourful – the Quays in particular are almost unreal, like Main Street at Disney World. More upmarket bars & restaurants as far as you can see, full of well dressed people spending serious amounts of cash. Could our £30 a day backpacker budget cope?? Well, we have cheated with the accommodation as we have some vouchers to use so we haven’t included the true £100 per night room cost! The loyalty vouchers came from the extensive travel, care of Microgen, (bas**rds), and Cheryl’s contract with AET in Canary Wharf. We have just enough to cover our 3 night stay in Sing.

Spent the rest of the afternoon finally buying the netbook then took a walk around Chinatown including dinner at the food court, roast & bbq pork with noodles followed by spring rolls all for about £3. Beer from the 7eleven & the rest of the wine back at the room – and the budget survived (ok cheated again as have not included the cost of the netbook).

Great breakfast at the Novotel – we did expect better than the usual sweet white bread toast & Nescafe, and we were not disappointed. Spent the morning sightseeing along Boat Quay, Raffles landing spot, the Merlion statue and the Esplanade. Sing has an interesting mix of colonial and high tech with picturesque buildings dwarfed by skyscrapers in the background. It is also a novelty to walk on decent litter free pavements, use proper pedestrian crossings & have no signs of decay or any graffiti anywhere.

Got to Raffles Hotel, which is stunning and got as far as the long bar, but Cheryl decided not to fall for the tourist ritual of the obscenely priced Singapore Sling ($22) but, in keeping with tradition, ate a peanut and threw the shell on the floor instead!

Mark O, eat your heart out. Drinking cold Tiger Beer and watching flocks of beautiful Sing girls go by is still one of the best past times a man could ask for. And there’s a bonus!!!!! There’s now a Hooters here with all the same tacky trimmings as the ones we were used to in the good old days of MMT Energy and those trips to the US. Take a look at the pics Mark, enjoy!! Yes, I know, more globalisation but it’s Hooters so that’s OK…alright!! (This para was care of Neil….yeah, surprise!).

Neil’s new friend…..Mark O in your dreams

Rounded off the day with food in a Hawker Centre in Little India. Cracking Birianyi on a banana leaf. Say no more, just look at the pics.

Sunday, final day and another walking tour of Sing followed by a visit to another hawker centre out of town not used by many “white folk”. There were two major highlights on the walk.

A guided tour around a large mosque by an American who had converted to Islam. The tour was really interesting in that he explained the similarities between Islam and Christianity. Mohamed was a messenger of Allah just as Jesus was a messenger of the Christian God. Islam recognises God and Jesus. So where is the problem? We all wish we knew. We talked about Muslims and dogs, pork, alcohol and all sorts of stuff. If only the rest of the people of this world believed the same.

Second was a visit to a hawker centre at lunchtime. It was imported from Glasgow in 1894, a magnificent wrought iron structure of Victorian filigree. Absolutely stunning and packed to the gunnels with hungry Singaporeans.

Sunday night was the hawker centre out of town followed by an unintentional visit to a Nepalese Temple including a guided tour by a local follower. Cheryl chose the serenity of the Buddhist temple to light a candle in memory of her mum.

Tomorrow? Vietnam, one of Neil’s dreams to visit and about to come true.

Cheryl & Neil Our Story

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