After the eight-hour flight from Melbourne, arriving in the city-state of Singapore was actually not quite the culture shock I had expected. With its glistening skyline and modern transportation, the CBD of Singapore is largely undistinguished among the ranks of the world's increasingly homogeneous wealthy cities. The most notable disparity between Singapore and her global counterparts is her conspicuous efficiency and cleanliness, which are strictly enforced by the benevolent dictatorship that has run the country for the last 50 years. So westernised is Singapore that perhaps we shouldn't have been surprised when we came across auditions for “Singapore Idol” just around the corner from our hotel.
We took the obligatory pilgrimage to the Raffles Hotel, named for Sir Stamford Raffles who founded Singapore in 1819 as a British trading post. We had intended to take in a Singapore Sling cocktail in the bar there, as is apparently the done thing. However a peek at the menu revealed we'd have to sell an organ to afford it, so we snuck off and refreshed ourselves elsewhere!
Singapore provided us with a gentle transitional gateway to Asia. Outside the CBD, we eased into the the Asian melting-pot by visiting this beautifully animated Hindu temple, just around the corner from an equally impressive Chinese temple, which in turn was situated next to a sizeable mosque.
After a day of sight-seeing we met up with our tour-group, which comprised just six people including ourselves and the tour-leader Alex. The others were a couple from Glasgow and a young woman from Switzerland, all in their early twenties (this photo was actually taken later on in Bangkok). It would turn out to be a fun group with whom we would have some great experiences.
Included in the price of the tour were accommodation, transport and a tour leader. So the general procedure was that we would travel to a hotel and then be given a day or more's free time to look around the vicinity on our own. On day two of the tour we jumped on a public bus and headed out of Singapore, bound for the town of Malacca in Malaysia. Situated on the Straits of Malacca, the town was a key trading post for the Portuguese, Dutch and later the British during their respective periods of colonial rule. Now the town's historic quarter is cheerfully tarted up for the tourists. The picture shows one of the delightfully tacky trickshaws daubed in fake flowers ferrying tourists past our hotel. This particular one blasted out trance music, but it was possible to find a trickshaw with music to suit any taste.
We spent an enjoyable day walking around the historic quarter. This ruined entrance gate is all that remains of Fort A Famosa built by the Portuguese in the early 1500s to defend the port against the Dutch.
The Malaysian population is predominantly composed of three ethic groups: Malays, Chinese and Indians. While in Malacca we visited a Chinese tea-house where a young lady performed a traditional tea ceremony for us. There was a lot of symbolism and ritual sloshing of water, but all I recall is that it was the best cup of tea we'd had since we left Blighty!
Another public bus took us to the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur. Here at last we found the culture shock we had expected. KL fulfilled all my stereotypes of a hectic, grubby and chaotic Asian city. Mopeds zoomed around ignoring every conceivable rule of the road (not to mention the rules of common sense!), while a single careless step could see you fall through one of the many gaping holes in the pavement to the deep storm drains below. This photo illustrates one of the paradoxes of the city – the fabulously opulent Petronas towers, once the tallest buildings in the world. We joined the queue of tourists to receive our free tickets to the the sky-bridge, a walkway between the buildings at the 41st floor.
From the sky-bridge we had great views over the sprawling metropolis.
On the outskirts of KL we climbed the 272 steps to the Batu Caves, which have been made into a Hindu shrine. The statue of Lord Murugan really was that tall (43 metres) – it's not just a trick of perspective!
Cheeky monkeys skitted around us as we climbed, doubtless hoping to get a morsel of something tasty.
After two nights in KL we took a crazy bus-ride up into the Cameron Highlands. When the steam pouring into the cab from the overheating engine finally became intolerable to the driver we stopped for a few minutes to top the system up with more water. The photo shows the view of the dashboard-geyser from my seat, I don't know why we bothered going to Yellowstone!
After the bus finally screamed into the village where we were staying, we went out on a hike into the jungle. We stopped at an aboriginal village, where we were shown how to shoot a hunting blowpipe. I fluked a bulls-eye on my first shot!
From the village we started climbing in earnest. After two hours of scrambling up muddy tracks, following a local guide through the steamy jungle, we came upon the object of our mission – a Rafflesia flower. This plant has evolved flowers that attract beetle and fly pollinators by mimicking the appearance and scent of rotting animal flesh. An obligate parasite on the climbing vines you can see in the picture, the flower is the only part of Rafflesia that is ever visible on the surface. This specimen was actually a few days old (they open for about a week), so disappointingly it didn't really have a strong stench going on. However, our guide knew of a newly-opened flower a little further up the path, so we marched on excitedly. A few of our party had reached the flower, and I had just come upon it, with Andy further back in the group, when our guide suddenly became agitated. It became apparent that he had heard something sinister in the jungle. He indicated urgently that we must turn around and leave. Alarmed, we all turned on our heels and slipped and slid our way back down the steep slope as quickly as we could. When we had made a good distance we finally managed to elucidate from the guide that he had heard the low rumbling growl of a prowling tiger!
Our next stop was a tea plantation, where a stiff cuppa was most welcome after the exertion of dashing down a mountain to evade a tiger.
Only slightly less menacing than a tiger were some of the local bugs like this stag beetle, which we viewed in a little bug zoo.
Our last stop in Malaysia was Georgetown on the island of Penang, another historic colonial trading post. We largely spent our time in Penang just chilling after our adventures in the hills. We did however manage a visit to a chocolate shop (with free tastings of course) and a stroll around a Chinese temple or two.
A full day's drive took us across the border to Thailand and up to Surat Thani. After overnighting in Surat, we boarded a ferry for the island of Ko Pha Ngan. On arrival we took a hair-raising ride across the island on dirt roads, in the back of a pick-up truck.
Our accommodation for the following 4 nights was a free-standing bungalow set back a little way from a beautiful beach.
We took things real easy on Ko Pha Ngan. In one of our more strenuous bursts of activity, we headed into the village to tour-leader Alex's favourite restaurant hangout. Andy got a lesson in how to make Son Tam, a salad made with unripe papaya and chilli, while I test-drove a hammock.
A heavy night at the karaoke was followed by a day of serious chilling on the beach. One evening we went for a night-swim. As we waded into the water, we were engulfed by swirling clouds of blue luminescence, an utterly enchanting experience. With a bit of internet research, I think the luminescence comes from microscopic algae called dinoflagellates, other species of which are responsible for shellfish poisoning and red tides.
When the time came we were sorry to be leaving the traquility of Ko Pha Ngan. Back at Surat Thani we boarded an overnight train bound for Bangkok. At 10pm the guards come around to convert the seats into a lower bunk and pull down the upper bunk from a compartment in the ceiling. I slept well on the top bunk, though Andy fared less well on bottom.
We disembarked at 6am at Bangkok. Immediately, we were whisked away in a minibus to visit a floating market some distance out of town. Here you can float up and down the canal in a boat making purchases from merchant boats as well as from stalls that line the bank.
Next, our minibus took us to the infamous Bridge over the River Kwai. The bridge was part of the Thailand-to-Burma “railway of death” built largely by allied soldiers who had been captured by the Japanese during World War II. An excellent museum next to a depressing large allied cemetery presented a thought-provoking and poignant portrait of the terrible human toll of the railway. One aspect of the story of which I was previously unaware was that while English, Australian and Dutch losses on the railway were great (6318, 2815 and 2490 respectively), deaths among Asians under forced labour on the railway were astronomical (numbering around 90,000). Furthermore, as was pointed out by our local guide, there are no cemeteries for the Asians – they remain where they fell in their multitudes.
Back in Bangkok we had one final day to do some sightseeing. The Grand Palace, the official resident of the kings of Thailand from the 18th century onwards, most certainly lived up to its name.
The extensive complex of temples, shrines and residences can most accurately be described as "bling central". Every surface, cornice and roof is daubed with fabulously gaudy gilding, mirror tiles, mosaics and murals.
After 17 hectic days our tour came to an end, and with it the Wonder Year drew to a close. We said goodbye to our tour-buddies and boarded the plane to Singapore where we connected with a flight to London Heathrow.
And what a year it has been. So many sights, so many memories, every one of them to be cherished. The next chapter of our lives begins here and now. All that remains is for us to extend our heart-felt thanks to you for sharing in our journey of a lifetime. Go well.
