I didn't realise there was a festival on when i arrived in Sanur. I managed to catch the last day. It did mean that it took me forever to find somewhere to stay. I ended up booking myself into an expensive homestay with a king size bed, air con, a fridge, hot water (oh joy!) and a bath to put that hot water in. This is sheer luxury and it is costing me about 7 pounds a night!!!
The first thing i did is run myself a hot hot bath (i am not as tanned as i thought!) and set the air conditioning to about 16 degrees (bbrrr)- Fabulous!
When i eventually got myself outside to see whats what a carnival had just started its procession down the main street. There were dancers and musicians in traditional clothing along with floats with giant characters, it was all really noisy and fun. Much like the carnivals we used to have at home the floats were sponsored by local businesses- mostly hotels in this case and some had even got their guests to participate, dressing them up in local costume.
Sanur is another beach resort, but where Kuta is full of loud and drunk surfers and Lovina is quiet and laid back this place is the more expensive end. Lots of big hotels backing onto the white sands.
I only stayed here a couple of nights, and once i had seen the carnival and had some food it was quite late. i had seen most of the beach front are whilst looking for somewhere to stay, so the next day i set out in search of Bali's oldest artifact.
This artifact was very difficult to find, especially as most of the locals seem to be unaware of it. Situated behind a temple, Pura Belanjong, it is a stone column covered with Sanskrit and dated 913 AD. The column stands in a pit of earth and has a glass cabinet on the top so you cannot see the full length of it. It has also been draped with a sarong so only a small portion of the delicate script can be seen.
Wednesday 17 September 2008
Lovina, Bali
Lovina is on the opposite side of Bali to Kuta and even Kalibukbuk, the main tourist area is a much much quieter town. Its beaches are a mixture of black and white sand so they look a dirty grey colour and the water is clouded by seaweed but it is still a nice place.
The top attraction here is dolphin watching, so 6am one morning i found myself heading out to sea on a small boat to go find some, and there were loads it was fantastic. Quite a lot of people do the dolphin runs each day so there are lots of boats on the sea. Once a dolphin is spotted the boats jump to life and they are off chasing it down so the passengers can get a better look, horrid as it sounds this does not seem to faze the dolphins as the do leaps by the side of the boats. Once they have finished feeding they all seem en mass to head back out to deeper waters and this is when you realise just how many there were in the water here.
As side from the dolphins seeing the sun rise over Lovina was beautiful and i was quite taken with the glowing blue plankton in the water, it was really pretty.
Going to the Hot Springs up in the hills involves using the public transport (Bemo) for the first time. As i am only going about 8k down a straight road this should be fairly simple, and it does seem to work fine except i was charged double what it would normally cost.
Everyone in Bali is out to relieve you of as much of your money as they can. It is really poor here but even so it does start to grate on you when you are constantly asked to pay more than you would even at home. Everyone has a trick or a scam, even in the 7eleven they will try to skim money- which means telling you the goods come to an amount more than the till reads.
Anyway back to the hot springs. Once dropped at the side of the road it is a motorbike taxi up to the springs them selves. Its pretty here and nicely laid out. The water falls down two tiers through water spouts into pools for swimming. The water is slightly green in colour and smells slightly sulphurous but is not overpowering. There is a third pool where the water falls so heavily that it is like getting a massage.
On the top of the hills not far from the springs in Bali's only Buddhist monastery. The views from here are lovely, the hills on one side and the sea in the distance on the other. This is a strange Buddhist temple as it has many of the same carved guardians as would be found round the Hindu temples.
The top attraction here is dolphin watching, so 6am one morning i found myself heading out to sea on a small boat to go find some, and there were loads it was fantastic. Quite a lot of people do the dolphin runs each day so there are lots of boats on the sea. Once a dolphin is spotted the boats jump to life and they are off chasing it down so the passengers can get a better look, horrid as it sounds this does not seem to faze the dolphins as the do leaps by the side of the boats. Once they have finished feeding they all seem en mass to head back out to deeper waters and this is when you realise just how many there were in the water here.
As side from the dolphins seeing the sun rise over Lovina was beautiful and i was quite taken with the glowing blue plankton in the water, it was really pretty.
Going to the Hot Springs up in the hills involves using the public transport (Bemo) for the first time. As i am only going about 8k down a straight road this should be fairly simple, and it does seem to work fine except i was charged double what it would normally cost.
Everyone in Bali is out to relieve you of as much of your money as they can. It is really poor here but even so it does start to grate on you when you are constantly asked to pay more than you would even at home. Everyone has a trick or a scam, even in the 7eleven they will try to skim money- which means telling you the goods come to an amount more than the till reads.
Anyway back to the hot springs. Once dropped at the side of the road it is a motorbike taxi up to the springs them selves. Its pretty here and nicely laid out. The water falls down two tiers through water spouts into pools for swimming. The water is slightly green in colour and smells slightly sulphurous but is not overpowering. There is a third pool where the water falls so heavily that it is like getting a massage.
On the top of the hills not far from the springs in Bali's only Buddhist monastery. The views from here are lovely, the hills on one side and the sea in the distance on the other. This is a strange Buddhist temple as it has many of the same carved guardians as would be found round the Hindu temples.
Monday 15 September 2008
Ubud, Bali
Eventually i managed to get myself out of Kuta and travelled inland to Ubud, this is the cultural centre of Bali.
Here you can wonder around the old palace. It is laid out more like a compound with open pavilions, one with a large bed in it, another with a throne. Everything is on one level (its not done for the princes to have common people walking above their heads), there are few decorations but the whole thing is still quite pretty and feels calm. Down the road from the palace area the Royal Temple (Pura Marajan Agung) is not open to the public but you can peer through the gates to have a look. Pura Taman Saraswati is the Water Palace, quite a large place with two pools filled with lotus flowers in front of the main temple area.
Public transport in Bali is a bit of a nightmare unless you are travelling out from the capital Depensar to another fair sized town. So to get to see some of the sights outside of Ubud a tour was needed.
Goa Gaja is the Elephant Temple (no elephants) It used to be a hanging temple which meant that it was literally hanging on the side of a steep hill. When the Volcano Batur erupted in 1962 it caused an earthquake which in turn started a mudslide and the temple (along with a Buddhist Temple) was washed down the hill. Lots of the smaller more ornate rubble has been collected and is on display.
There are two large pool here with water features involving ladies with urns. Splashing this water on your face aids fertility. Actually this whole temple is dedicated to fertility and lots of couples come here to pray and meditate. It has to be a joint effort, as making babies is a joint effort! There is a cave at this temple too with a huge carved image of Kata, he it there to ward off evil spirits and is always pictured with his hand ready to catch them! After another couple of temples we went to view Lake Batur at the base of Mount Batur. You can still see the lava paths down the sides of the volcano from when it last erupted.
The last place we took a look at was the rice terraces, these stick out the side of the hills like large ledges and they are constantly in use. There is some story of a farmer offering to sacrifice a pig at the end of the harvest if it was a good one. The harvest was good and he didn't have a pig to sacrifice so he planted some more rice meaning he hadn't yet finished with the harvesting!
Ubud is famous for its traditional dances, there are various performances every night. I went to see the Kacak Fire and Trance Dance Pura Batu Karu. It was brilliant. In the Kacak there are a hundred or more men sat round in a circle chanting, singing, swaying, in the middle of the circle, the stage, is an enormous candelabra which provides the only light. The costumes were amazing, the story told was part of the Hindu story Ramayana so we have demon kings and monkey gods and magic weapons!
The Sanghyang is a god-inspired trance dance that protects the society from evil. A man wearing a costume of a grass horse repeatedly dances through a bed of burning coconut shells with bare feet while the rest of the men chant.
Here you can wonder around the old palace. It is laid out more like a compound with open pavilions, one with a large bed in it, another with a throne. Everything is on one level (its not done for the princes to have common people walking above their heads), there are few decorations but the whole thing is still quite pretty and feels calm. Down the road from the palace area the Royal Temple (Pura Marajan Agung) is not open to the public but you can peer through the gates to have a look. Pura Taman Saraswati is the Water Palace, quite a large place with two pools filled with lotus flowers in front of the main temple area.
Public transport in Bali is a bit of a nightmare unless you are travelling out from the capital Depensar to another fair sized town. So to get to see some of the sights outside of Ubud a tour was needed.
Goa Gaja is the Elephant Temple (no elephants) It used to be a hanging temple which meant that it was literally hanging on the side of a steep hill. When the Volcano Batur erupted in 1962 it caused an earthquake which in turn started a mudslide and the temple (along with a Buddhist Temple) was washed down the hill. Lots of the smaller more ornate rubble has been collected and is on display.
There are two large pool here with water features involving ladies with urns. Splashing this water on your face aids fertility. Actually this whole temple is dedicated to fertility and lots of couples come here to pray and meditate. It has to be a joint effort, as making babies is a joint effort! There is a cave at this temple too with a huge carved image of Kata, he it there to ward off evil spirits and is always pictured with his hand ready to catch them! After another couple of temples we went to view Lake Batur at the base of Mount Batur. You can still see the lava paths down the sides of the volcano from when it last erupted.
The last place we took a look at was the rice terraces, these stick out the side of the hills like large ledges and they are constantly in use. There is some story of a farmer offering to sacrifice a pig at the end of the harvest if it was a good one. The harvest was good and he didn't have a pig to sacrifice so he planted some more rice meaning he hadn't yet finished with the harvesting!
Ubud is famous for its traditional dances, there are various performances every night. I went to see the Kacak Fire and Trance Dance Pura Batu Karu. It was brilliant. In the Kacak there are a hundred or more men sat round in a circle chanting, singing, swaying, in the middle of the circle, the stage, is an enormous candelabra which provides the only light. The costumes were amazing, the story told was part of the Hindu story Ramayana so we have demon kings and monkey gods and magic weapons!
The Sanghyang is a god-inspired trance dance that protects the society from evil. A man wearing a costume of a grass horse repeatedly dances through a bed of burning coconut shells with bare feet while the rest of the men chant.
Friday 12 September 2008
Kuta, Bali
I had planned to spent the afternoon on the beach after my surf lesson, but instead i sat outside my room at the losmen waiting for my teeth to set!!
OK with the disasters out the way its time to see stuff. I found the Hard Rock Cafe, Bali and had a drink there for Greg, and visited the memorial to the Bali bombings of 2002 which i found quite beautiful.
There are two nice temples to visit not far from Kuta. I went to Tanah Lot first, this is a sea temple on a rock which is inaccessible at high tide. To get into the temple complex all visitors and locals must be wearing a sarong, including the men. You can rent these at the entrance. The temple itself is on top of the rock and not open to foreigners but if it is low tide you can walk across to the base, where i had a blessing from the priests.
First you have to wash your face in a small stream that flows out of the rock there, then one priest will dab water into your hands from a bowl held by another. You have to pretend to drink this, this is done three times and on the third time you rub the water onto your face and hair. A third priest then stick a few grains of rice to your forehead and the blessing is complete.
Back on the main land you can sit on the cliff top with a beer and watch the sun set behind the temple. this is what most people come to see and its one of the most photographed scenes of Bali and it is gorgeous.
It is believed that if you visit the temple with your partner before your marriage then the marriage will fail, i don't know the reason for this though. The temple itself has mostly been reconstructed as the constant pounding of the waves against the rock inevitably wore it away. It is still an important site for the Balinese though.
The second of the two temples i visited was Uluwatu, another sea temple though this time on a cliff top. Again foreigners are not allowed into the temple itself but can walk around the grounds which a full of statues of gods and mythical beings, so long as they are careful of the monkeys!
The monkeys here are crafty they often steal things and only return them when they are exchanged for food. Some have even been known to dangle their stolen items over the side of the cliff until the food is produced.
I got punched in the nose by a monkey trying to steal my glasses right off my face. The little critter came from out of nowhere and with a flying leap made a grab, fortunately he missed but his little fist slammed into my nose instead- it was quite a shock, it didn't hurt but my nose is still a little sore after the surfing incident. I spent the rest of my time at Uluwatu half blind. This is another good place for sunset.
Just down from the main temple is a naturally formed arch way of rock that juts out into the sea its very pretty and today they had ceremony out there, the walkway was decked out with fronds and woven grasses and millions of offerings. It kind of looks like our harvest festival with corn dollies.
Offerings can be found everywhere over Bali, it is made up of a little packet made from banana leaf and holds a bit of rice and other food stuffs, some flowers and a joss stick. They quite small they fit into the palm of your hand and they are left outside shops and houses, at bends in the road, at junctions, in family and communal temples. As soon as the parcel touches the floor the essence of the offering is absorbed by the gods so the dogs eating them, people treading on them and cars driving over them is not a problem.
Each family will have its own temple compound withing the family compound this is an enclosed area with a few or more decorated columns that honour the gods and their ancestors.
Dogs roam all over the place mostly wild and either ignored or mistreated, as it is believed that they fraternise with evil spirits and this is why they bark all night. Though some people do now keep them as pets.
I spent quite a bit of time down on Kuta beach too, i never did get back on a surfboard but i did get a bit of a tan. I also got so see them filming a couple of episodes of the Australian TV programme Bondi Rescue: Bali, which was interesting.
OK with the disasters out the way its time to see stuff. I found the Hard Rock Cafe, Bali and had a drink there for Greg, and visited the memorial to the Bali bombings of 2002 which i found quite beautiful.
There are two nice temples to visit not far from Kuta. I went to Tanah Lot first, this is a sea temple on a rock which is inaccessible at high tide. To get into the temple complex all visitors and locals must be wearing a sarong, including the men. You can rent these at the entrance. The temple itself is on top of the rock and not open to foreigners but if it is low tide you can walk across to the base, where i had a blessing from the priests.
First you have to wash your face in a small stream that flows out of the rock there, then one priest will dab water into your hands from a bowl held by another. You have to pretend to drink this, this is done three times and on the third time you rub the water onto your face and hair. A third priest then stick a few grains of rice to your forehead and the blessing is complete.
Back on the main land you can sit on the cliff top with a beer and watch the sun set behind the temple. this is what most people come to see and its one of the most photographed scenes of Bali and it is gorgeous.
It is believed that if you visit the temple with your partner before your marriage then the marriage will fail, i don't know the reason for this though. The temple itself has mostly been reconstructed as the constant pounding of the waves against the rock inevitably wore it away. It is still an important site for the Balinese though.
The second of the two temples i visited was Uluwatu, another sea temple though this time on a cliff top. Again foreigners are not allowed into the temple itself but can walk around the grounds which a full of statues of gods and mythical beings, so long as they are careful of the monkeys!
The monkeys here are crafty they often steal things and only return them when they are exchanged for food. Some have even been known to dangle their stolen items over the side of the cliff until the food is produced.
I got punched in the nose by a monkey trying to steal my glasses right off my face. The little critter came from out of nowhere and with a flying leap made a grab, fortunately he missed but his little fist slammed into my nose instead- it was quite a shock, it didn't hurt but my nose is still a little sore after the surfing incident. I spent the rest of my time at Uluwatu half blind. This is another good place for sunset.
Just down from the main temple is a naturally formed arch way of rock that juts out into the sea its very pretty and today they had ceremony out there, the walkway was decked out with fronds and woven grasses and millions of offerings. It kind of looks like our harvest festival with corn dollies.
Offerings can be found everywhere over Bali, it is made up of a little packet made from banana leaf and holds a bit of rice and other food stuffs, some flowers and a joss stick. They quite small they fit into the palm of your hand and they are left outside shops and houses, at bends in the road, at junctions, in family and communal temples. As soon as the parcel touches the floor the essence of the offering is absorbed by the gods so the dogs eating them, people treading on them and cars driving over them is not a problem.
Each family will have its own temple compound withing the family compound this is an enclosed area with a few or more decorated columns that honour the gods and their ancestors.
Dogs roam all over the place mostly wild and either ignored or mistreated, as it is believed that they fraternise with evil spirits and this is why they bark all night. Though some people do now keep them as pets.
I spent quite a bit of time down on Kuta beach too, i never did get back on a surfboard but i did get a bit of a tan. I also got so see them filming a couple of episodes of the Australian TV programme Bondi Rescue: Bali, which was interesting.
Wednesday 10 September 2008
Kuta, Bali - Surf Lesson
Hey hey I'm in Bali- how fantastic i have been looking forward to arriving here. Not really got any expectations other than its paradise!!!
So keeping true to form i arrive about 12am at Depensar airport which is not actually in Depensar!! It is though only a 15 min taxi ride into Kuta which according to the bible (Lonely Planet) is the place to be as a backpacker. Unfortunately i have arrived during the high season and with nowhere booked to stay, where is the fun in that, it is about 3am before i find anywhere! So that was a good couple of hours wondering from Losmen to Losmen (guesthouses) before i found one with vacancies. I managed to get myself totally lost down the various Gangs (side streets) that run between Poppies I and Poppies II, the main areas for budget accommodation.
Even though it is very early in the morning there are plenty of people about. Kuta is a party town it is to the Australians what the south of Spain is to the British (and i feel i must add they are no better behaved than the Brits!!)
It turns out i have booked myself into a place on Poppies II which as it turns out is the busier of the two streets and requires ear plugs.
The streets are very narrow, just about the width of a car and lined right the way down to the beach with market stalls. It is a friendly place and very quickly the locals get to know your name and where you are from though they will try and herd you into their shop each time they see you. This is of course if you don't get hustled into a side street to have your nails painted or your hair braided!
The beach here in Kuta is lovely, a long stretch of white sands and clear sea, you can walk out into the sea for quite a way and it doesn't get past your knees, but beware the surfers they are everywhere!
So if this is the main pass time i best get myself some lessons. This is really easy to do there are plenty of surf shops dotted amongst the market stalls. I follow the first sign i come to which leads me to Jason and Made, its not actually their sign they have just moved their tour business to this location and are not yet open for business but Jason is quite happy to provide info on the different surf companies. Eventually we decide it would be best if he just took me out himself and make arrangements for the following day.
So with my new board shorts and feeling the part i start my lesson. First off is learning the positioning for paddling a few rules like not placing yourself between the board and the beach (this one is important!) and how to jump up on the board- i am more comfortable with my left foot forward which means the strap will go round my right ankle, this apparently makes me goofy (ha ha yes thank you!!) if i was to have the strap around my left foot i would be normal.
Time to get into the sea. After about half an hour i am getting to grips with the sea and balancing and do actually manage to stand up, no hands- this is great fun!! Time for a quick break and its back in the water my first attempt is not good am unbalanced and fall off, as i wipe the sea from my eyes i am totally unaware i have broken an important rule here, until the surf board smacks me in the face, and i spit my teeth out into my hand.
In case anyone is unaware my front teeth are false i have a bridge which means they are held in place with strips of metal at the back and its these odd looking teeth i am now looking at, actually i am very lucky a wave didn't wash them straight out of my hand stood there like i was, lisping to my surf teacher that i need a dentist!
Jason was very good as soon as he got over his own shock he got me to his dentist which charged only slightly more than the local rates (a lot less than the tourist dentist) and insisted on paying for the repairs. As it wasn't his fault we settled on half each. In a couple of hours my teeth were glued back in place as good as new. Thank god they were false would have been in a right mess had they been real!
No i do not have pics of this incident!
So keeping true to form i arrive about 12am at Depensar airport which is not actually in Depensar!! It is though only a 15 min taxi ride into Kuta which according to the bible (Lonely Planet) is the place to be as a backpacker. Unfortunately i have arrived during the high season and with nowhere booked to stay, where is the fun in that, it is about 3am before i find anywhere! So that was a good couple of hours wondering from Losmen to Losmen (guesthouses) before i found one with vacancies. I managed to get myself totally lost down the various Gangs (side streets) that run between Poppies I and Poppies II, the main areas for budget accommodation.
Even though it is very early in the morning there are plenty of people about. Kuta is a party town it is to the Australians what the south of Spain is to the British (and i feel i must add they are no better behaved than the Brits!!)
It turns out i have booked myself into a place on Poppies II which as it turns out is the busier of the two streets and requires ear plugs.
The streets are very narrow, just about the width of a car and lined right the way down to the beach with market stalls. It is a friendly place and very quickly the locals get to know your name and where you are from though they will try and herd you into their shop each time they see you. This is of course if you don't get hustled into a side street to have your nails painted or your hair braided!
The beach here in Kuta is lovely, a long stretch of white sands and clear sea, you can walk out into the sea for quite a way and it doesn't get past your knees, but beware the surfers they are everywhere!
So if this is the main pass time i best get myself some lessons. This is really easy to do there are plenty of surf shops dotted amongst the market stalls. I follow the first sign i come to which leads me to Jason and Made, its not actually their sign they have just moved their tour business to this location and are not yet open for business but Jason is quite happy to provide info on the different surf companies. Eventually we decide it would be best if he just took me out himself and make arrangements for the following day.
So with my new board shorts and feeling the part i start my lesson. First off is learning the positioning for paddling a few rules like not placing yourself between the board and the beach (this one is important!) and how to jump up on the board- i am more comfortable with my left foot forward which means the strap will go round my right ankle, this apparently makes me goofy (ha ha yes thank you!!) if i was to have the strap around my left foot i would be normal.
Time to get into the sea. After about half an hour i am getting to grips with the sea and balancing and do actually manage to stand up, no hands- this is great fun!! Time for a quick break and its back in the water my first attempt is not good am unbalanced and fall off, as i wipe the sea from my eyes i am totally unaware i have broken an important rule here, until the surf board smacks me in the face, and i spit my teeth out into my hand.
In case anyone is unaware my front teeth are false i have a bridge which means they are held in place with strips of metal at the back and its these odd looking teeth i am now looking at, actually i am very lucky a wave didn't wash them straight out of my hand stood there like i was, lisping to my surf teacher that i need a dentist!
Jason was very good as soon as he got over his own shock he got me to his dentist which charged only slightly more than the local rates (a lot less than the tourist dentist) and insisted on paying for the repairs. As it wasn't his fault we settled on half each. In a couple of hours my teeth were glued back in place as good as new. Thank god they were false would have been in a right mess had they been real!
No i do not have pics of this incident!
Sunday 7 September 2008
Singapore
It took two hours to make my way through customs at Singapore, and when i finally got to the other side my bus had left without me!!! Panic!!
its not too bad i had been queuing up with a couple from my bus, she was Singaporean but he was Burmese so they had a long wait too! Being Singaporean she knew how to get me into the city from the border! How lucky was that!!
I had not been able to get any Dollars in Melaka so they lent me the money for the local bus and took me to an ATM when we got to town, though they refused to have the bus money back. You meet some really nice people travelling.
I don't know why i keep doing this but once again i have arrived at my destination late at night, its gone 10pm now, and it takes me a good 20 Min's to walk to an area called Little India, this is where i will find all the hostels. I have been recommended a place called Ali's on Roberts Road by the chaps i met in Hat Yai.
I could not find the place and eventually asked at a cafe on the corner. It just so happened that a chap eating in there worked there, he took my stuff up to this little door with no identification and up some stairs. Each door on the landing had a number on it and the room he showed me into had towels on the beds like a guest house would be, but he seemed to have it in his head that as i was travelling on my own, unmarried and not a Muslim i was fair game. It took quite some time to convince him to leave the room, if it had not been so late by this time i would have moved. As it was i locked the door, put my backpack in front of it and slept in my clothes! I made a quick get away the following morning and found a fantastic place called The Inn Crowd and spent the rest of my time in Singapore there!
Singapore is just a big city- it is nice though and they do make every effort to keep it clean!! I think though that in my mind i had blown out of proportion the cleanliness of Singapore and i was a little disappointed to find things such as dust and mud and puddles still thrive here.
I did read somewhere a quote 'One cannot visit Singapore without eating at Raffles at least once' or something to that affect, and so i did. I had lunch there in the bar (couldn't afford the fantastic buffets with free flowing champagne!) and a Singapore Sling, well after all this is Singapore!
The hotel actually took up most of the rest of my day it is a very grand looking building as you can imagine (it even has its own theatre).It also has lots of fancy shops and for some reason i found myself in Tiffany's again looking for that necklace i liked in KL. They didn't have it.
I had a real good mooch around the centre the following day, did all the usual sites, The Museum (Originally Raffles Library & Museum), The court houses old and new, Raffles landing site (where Sir Stamford Raffles, the founder of Singapore first landed) and the surrounding quays. Found a nice English style pub here (The Penny Black- full of English people too!) that did very nice fish and chips and best of all had vinegar to put on my chips- marvellous!!
And just to make me feel even more at home it rained all day!
well tomorrow i am heading out to Bali, i have seen all i wanted to see of Singapore on this occasion. i didn't really stray from the city centre but i am happy with that.
Singapore airport is fantastic- free Internet for all!!!
Interesting fact (to me anyway!):
The foundation stone of the Old Supreme Court Building, then the biggest foundation stone in the whole of Malaya, was laid by the Governor of the Straits Settlements, Sir Shenton Whitelegge Thomas, on 1 April 1937. Buried beneath the stone, is a time capsule containing six Singaporean newspapers dated 31 March 1937, and a handful of coins of the Straits Settlements. The capsule is due to be retrieved only in the year 3000.
SINGAPORE SLING
The Singapore Sling was created at Raffles Hotel at the turn-of-the-century by Hainanese-Chinese bartender, Mr. Ngiam Tong Boon.
In the Hotel's museum, visitors may view the safe in which Mr. Ngiam locked away his precious recipe books, as well as the Sling recipe hastily jotted on a bar-chit in 1936 by a visitor to the Hotel who asked the waiter for it.
Originally, the Singapore Sling was meant as a woman's drink, hence the attractive pink colour. Today, it is very definitely a drink enjoyed by all, without which any visit to Raffles Hotel is incomplete.
Recipe30ml Gin
15 ml Cherry Brandy
120 ml Pineapple Juice
15 ml Lime Juice
7.5 ml Cointreau
7.5 ml Dom Benedictine
10 ml Grenadine
A Dash of Angostura Bitters
Garnish with a slice of Pineapple and Cherry
its not too bad i had been queuing up with a couple from my bus, she was Singaporean but he was Burmese so they had a long wait too! Being Singaporean she knew how to get me into the city from the border! How lucky was that!!
I had not been able to get any Dollars in Melaka so they lent me the money for the local bus and took me to an ATM when we got to town, though they refused to have the bus money back. You meet some really nice people travelling.
I don't know why i keep doing this but once again i have arrived at my destination late at night, its gone 10pm now, and it takes me a good 20 Min's to walk to an area called Little India, this is where i will find all the hostels. I have been recommended a place called Ali's on Roberts Road by the chaps i met in Hat Yai.
I could not find the place and eventually asked at a cafe on the corner. It just so happened that a chap eating in there worked there, he took my stuff up to this little door with no identification and up some stairs. Each door on the landing had a number on it and the room he showed me into had towels on the beds like a guest house would be, but he seemed to have it in his head that as i was travelling on my own, unmarried and not a Muslim i was fair game. It took quite some time to convince him to leave the room, if it had not been so late by this time i would have moved. As it was i locked the door, put my backpack in front of it and slept in my clothes! I made a quick get away the following morning and found a fantastic place called The Inn Crowd and spent the rest of my time in Singapore there!
Singapore is just a big city- it is nice though and they do make every effort to keep it clean!! I think though that in my mind i had blown out of proportion the cleanliness of Singapore and i was a little disappointed to find things such as dust and mud and puddles still thrive here.
I did read somewhere a quote 'One cannot visit Singapore without eating at Raffles at least once' or something to that affect, and so i did. I had lunch there in the bar (couldn't afford the fantastic buffets with free flowing champagne!) and a Singapore Sling, well after all this is Singapore!
The hotel actually took up most of the rest of my day it is a very grand looking building as you can imagine (it even has its own theatre).It also has lots of fancy shops and for some reason i found myself in Tiffany's again looking for that necklace i liked in KL. They didn't have it.
I had a real good mooch around the centre the following day, did all the usual sites, The Museum (Originally Raffles Library & Museum), The court houses old and new, Raffles landing site (where Sir Stamford Raffles, the founder of Singapore first landed) and the surrounding quays. Found a nice English style pub here (The Penny Black- full of English people too!) that did very nice fish and chips and best of all had vinegar to put on my chips- marvellous!!
And just to make me feel even more at home it rained all day!
well tomorrow i am heading out to Bali, i have seen all i wanted to see of Singapore on this occasion. i didn't really stray from the city centre but i am happy with that.
Singapore airport is fantastic- free Internet for all!!!
Interesting fact (to me anyway!):
The foundation stone of the Old Supreme Court Building, then the biggest foundation stone in the whole of Malaya, was laid by the Governor of the Straits Settlements, Sir Shenton Whitelegge Thomas, on 1 April 1937. Buried beneath the stone, is a time capsule containing six Singaporean newspapers dated 31 March 1937, and a handful of coins of the Straits Settlements. The capsule is due to be retrieved only in the year 3000.
SINGAPORE SLING
The Singapore Sling was created at Raffles Hotel at the turn-of-the-century by Hainanese-Chinese bartender, Mr. Ngiam Tong Boon.
In the Hotel's museum, visitors may view the safe in which Mr. Ngiam locked away his precious recipe books, as well as the Sling recipe hastily jotted on a bar-chit in 1936 by a visitor to the Hotel who asked the waiter for it.
Originally, the Singapore Sling was meant as a woman's drink, hence the attractive pink colour. Today, it is very definitely a drink enjoyed by all, without which any visit to Raffles Hotel is incomplete.
Recipe30ml Gin
15 ml Cherry Brandy
120 ml Pineapple Juice
15 ml Lime Juice
7.5 ml Cointreau
7.5 ml Dom Benedictine
10 ml Grenadine
A Dash of Angostura Bitters
Garnish with a slice of Pineapple and Cherry
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