From Singapore to NZ: A Remarkable Safari Through Time and Across Cultures
Dec 30th, 2013, 01:46 PM
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From Singapore to NZ: A Remarkable Safari Through Time and Across Cultures
Greetings Fodorites, here is my attempt at a report of my travels across Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, and New Zealand, a trip that took exactly one month to complete.
Before I begin, I want to say thank you once again to everyone here for all the help and advice I've received over the past several months as I planned for what was indeed a fascinating trip. And thanks for the wealth of information you've shared about your own trips, as it really helped me think about mine and put information that I read in guidebooks and on websites in a more useful context.
And also some background: I love to travel. I travel frequently for work, and about once a year (sometimes two) for pleasure. My travels have taken me across the United States and Canada, as well as Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia. This is my third trip to Asia (previous trips were to Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Thailand, and Malaysia) and my second to Australia.
The spark for this trip: I first visited Australia in 2006, the first time I stepped outside of North America, and immediately fell in love with the country. I've longed to return to Australia, Sydney in particular, since 2006 but the desire to explore other lands, coupled with an unfavorable exchange rate, has kept me away. I knew I also wanted to visit Borobudur Temple. I remember seeing images of the place at my local temple (I'm a Buddhist) at a very young age, but reading about Kathie and Cheryl's trip there lighted a fire. Singapore was a logical starting point before Indonesia giving my flight options and New Zealand touched upon my curiosity.
Wheels up: I arrived in Singapore several time zones and a couple of days later by way of Tokyo and Newark, where I boarded my first flight. United Flight 79 departed on-time at about 10:30 in the morning. My economy class seat was fine for the trip - not the worst I've taken but certainly nothing to write home about. The meals were decent, and the entertainment system kept me occupied between a couple of naps. My plane touched down at Narita fourteen hours later, and after a brief layover, I was on United Flight 803 bound for Singapore. I slept for most of the Tokyo to Singapore flight, and arrived shortly after midnight at Changi airport. Immigration was a breeze. My baggage arrived soon after. And I was in cab on my way to my hotel - the Swissotel Merchant Court, located near Clarke Quay.
Next: My first full day in Singapore...
Before I begin, I want to say thank you once again to everyone here for all the help and advice I've received over the past several months as I planned for what was indeed a fascinating trip. And thanks for the wealth of information you've shared about your own trips, as it really helped me think about mine and put information that I read in guidebooks and on websites in a more useful context.
And also some background: I love to travel. I travel frequently for work, and about once a year (sometimes two) for pleasure. My travels have taken me across the United States and Canada, as well as Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia. This is my third trip to Asia (previous trips were to Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Thailand, and Malaysia) and my second to Australia.
The spark for this trip: I first visited Australia in 2006, the first time I stepped outside of North America, and immediately fell in love with the country. I've longed to return to Australia, Sydney in particular, since 2006 but the desire to explore other lands, coupled with an unfavorable exchange rate, has kept me away. I knew I also wanted to visit Borobudur Temple. I remember seeing images of the place at my local temple (I'm a Buddhist) at a very young age, but reading about Kathie and Cheryl's trip there lighted a fire. Singapore was a logical starting point before Indonesia giving my flight options and New Zealand touched upon my curiosity.
Wheels up: I arrived in Singapore several time zones and a couple of days later by way of Tokyo and Newark, where I boarded my first flight. United Flight 79 departed on-time at about 10:30 in the morning. My economy class seat was fine for the trip - not the worst I've taken but certainly nothing to write home about. The meals were decent, and the entertainment system kept me occupied between a couple of naps. My plane touched down at Narita fourteen hours later, and after a brief layover, I was on United Flight 803 bound for Singapore. I slept for most of the Tokyo to Singapore flight, and arrived shortly after midnight at Changi airport. Immigration was a breeze. My baggage arrived soon after. And I was in cab on my way to my hotel - the Swissotel Merchant Court, located near Clarke Quay.
Next: My first full day in Singapore...
Dec 30th, 2013, 03:12 PM
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>>>I was on United Flight 803 bound for Singapore.<<<
Warm greetings tripplanner, from New Zealand holiday, and many thanks for the brilliant opening post - and bringing back some UA803 memories. (Before Singapore Airlines became my primary business travel carrier, have fond UA (yes!) recollections of flying 803 into SIN for meetings. These days, my NRT-SIN business travel flights are mostly SQ 637 & 11.)
Looking forward to your impressions of our fine home of Singapore... Warm wishes to you and all from what has been (to date) a most satisfactory New Zealand holiday,
macintosh (robert)
... Singapore Girl, You're a Great Way to Fly ...
Warm greetings tripplanner, from New Zealand holiday, and many thanks for the brilliant opening post - and bringing back some UA803 memories. (Before Singapore Airlines became my primary business travel carrier, have fond UA (yes!) recollections of flying 803 into SIN for meetings. These days, my NRT-SIN business travel flights are mostly SQ 637 & 11.)
Looking forward to your impressions of our fine home of Singapore... Warm wishes to you and all from what has been (to date) a most satisfactory New Zealand holiday,
macintosh (robert)
... Singapore Girl, You're a Great Way to Fly ...
Dec 31st, 2013, 01:08 AM
#6
me too [looking forward to reading it, i mean]. we just got back from a trip with not dissimilar starting and finishing points [HK and NZ] but i suspect that our trips were very different. It'll be interesting to read your views, tripplanner, about the places we both saw, and the places we didn't.
Dec 31st, 2013, 04:51 AM
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Thanks for the encouragement, everyone.
AskOksena, glad you're having a great time in New Zealand. What parts of the country are you visiting?
Kathie, you're welcome. Having done quite an extensive read through these forums, I've learned to seek out your reports as I know we have a similar interest in temples and Buddhist art and iconography.
Ann, welcome back! Will you be posting a report as well? In one of my posts on Singapore, I will speak a little bit about my impressions vis-a-vis Hong Kong, which I visited a few years ago.
I'll put up another post or two later today. Right now, there's a little something called work that's calling my name
AskOksena, glad you're having a great time in New Zealand. What parts of the country are you visiting?
Kathie, you're welcome. Having done quite an extensive read through these forums, I've learned to seek out your reports as I know we have a similar interest in temples and Buddhist art and iconography.
Ann, welcome back! Will you be posting a report as well? In one of my posts on Singapore, I will speak a little bit about my impressions vis-a-vis Hong Kong, which I visited a few years ago.
I'll put up another post or two later today. Right now, there's a little something called work that's calling my name
Dec 31st, 2013, 06:03 AM
#8
Ann, welcome back! Will you be posting a report as well? In one of my posts on Singapore, I will speak a little bit about my impressions vis-a-vis Hong Kong, which I visited a few years ago.>>
hi TP. Here 'tis:
http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...-hong-kong.cfm
hi TP. Here 'tis:
http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...-hong-kong.cfm
Dec 31st, 2013, 01:44 PM
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Introduction to Singapore
After a good night's sleep and a hearty breakfast at the hotel's restaurant, I set out absorbing the sights and sounds of Singapore like I do most cities I visit for the very first time - a nice walk around the central part of town, taking in a museum and / or a few key landmarks.
As my hotel is a block from the Singapore River, this is where I began my morning promenade. I followed the river from Clarke Quay towards its mouth, passing through Boat Quay and the Fullerton Hotel, where I stopped for a quick peek, ending at the Merlion. As this is the financial heart of the city-state, I expected to see office buildings and other high-rises like I see in every other city in the world, and it was just that. What I didn't expect was the row of historic buildings at what is now Boat Quay. The contrast between the rowhouses along the river and the steel and glass right behind felt stark to me. I anticipated some sort of architectural transition between the two, and it just wasn't there. Except for the brief architectural observation, I didn't linger. The rowhouses have all been converted to restaurants and bars, and none were open when I was walking by.
After the Merlion, I retraced my steps towards the Fullerton, went across the Cavenaugh Bridge, and paid a visit to the Asian Civilizations Museum. The museum is very well laid out. I found several of the exhibits interesting. I especially enjoyed the sections devoted to Southeast Asia and China, as well as India / South Asia. However, I did find the section on the Middle East a bit oversimplified. Perhaps I was making comparisons between it and the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum in Istanbul and the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, both of which are focused on that part of the world. Overall, though, I thought this was the best museum I visited in Singapore.
After a couple of hours at the museum, I headed past several colonial-looking buildings, all of which were under scaffolding, and across the Padang towards Esplanade - Theaters by the Bay. I've seen pictures of this building prior to my trip to Singapore and was intrigued by its architecture. Up close, it felt underwhelming.
Exiting the theaters, I made my way back across the Padang and towards the Raffles Hotel, but not before stopping for a quick bite at the food court inside the Raffles City shopping mall. They were not permitting visitors into the main lobby of the Raffles Hotel on the afternoon that I visited, but I was able to walk along the arcades where the shops are located. I took a peek at the Long Bar, and did not go inside for one of the famed Singapore Slings. I had read that it's more of a tourist gimmick than anything else, and didn't feel I was missing something.
Next is the Peranakan Museum. For those of you who may not be familiar with the term, Peranakan refers to people from Singapore and Malaysia of mixed local-Malay and Chinese-or-Indian-settler ancestry. Another term for Peranakan is Baba Nonya.
The Peranakan Museum was a good place for me to spend the rest of my first day in Singapore. As someone with a significant family ancestry from this corner of the world, I felt a special connection to the story that was being told. I found the exhibits about the traditional wedding and funeral ceremonies to be very accurate to what we continue to experience to this day.
I left the museum right around closing time, and hopped into a taxi back to my hotel to freshen up and meet some friends for dinner. Yes, I tried the local chili crab as well as the black pepper crab; while I liked the chili crab, I preferred the black pepper crab.
Next up: Green Singapore...
After a good night's sleep and a hearty breakfast at the hotel's restaurant, I set out absorbing the sights and sounds of Singapore like I do most cities I visit for the very first time - a nice walk around the central part of town, taking in a museum and / or a few key landmarks.
As my hotel is a block from the Singapore River, this is where I began my morning promenade. I followed the river from Clarke Quay towards its mouth, passing through Boat Quay and the Fullerton Hotel, where I stopped for a quick peek, ending at the Merlion. As this is the financial heart of the city-state, I expected to see office buildings and other high-rises like I see in every other city in the world, and it was just that. What I didn't expect was the row of historic buildings at what is now Boat Quay. The contrast between the rowhouses along the river and the steel and glass right behind felt stark to me. I anticipated some sort of architectural transition between the two, and it just wasn't there. Except for the brief architectural observation, I didn't linger. The rowhouses have all been converted to restaurants and bars, and none were open when I was walking by.
After the Merlion, I retraced my steps towards the Fullerton, went across the Cavenaugh Bridge, and paid a visit to the Asian Civilizations Museum. The museum is very well laid out. I found several of the exhibits interesting. I especially enjoyed the sections devoted to Southeast Asia and China, as well as India / South Asia. However, I did find the section on the Middle East a bit oversimplified. Perhaps I was making comparisons between it and the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum in Istanbul and the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, both of which are focused on that part of the world. Overall, though, I thought this was the best museum I visited in Singapore.
After a couple of hours at the museum, I headed past several colonial-looking buildings, all of which were under scaffolding, and across the Padang towards Esplanade - Theaters by the Bay. I've seen pictures of this building prior to my trip to Singapore and was intrigued by its architecture. Up close, it felt underwhelming.
Exiting the theaters, I made my way back across the Padang and towards the Raffles Hotel, but not before stopping for a quick bite at the food court inside the Raffles City shopping mall. They were not permitting visitors into the main lobby of the Raffles Hotel on the afternoon that I visited, but I was able to walk along the arcades where the shops are located. I took a peek at the Long Bar, and did not go inside for one of the famed Singapore Slings. I had read that it's more of a tourist gimmick than anything else, and didn't feel I was missing something.
Next is the Peranakan Museum. For those of you who may not be familiar with the term, Peranakan refers to people from Singapore and Malaysia of mixed local-Malay and Chinese-or-Indian-settler ancestry. Another term for Peranakan is Baba Nonya.
The Peranakan Museum was a good place for me to spend the rest of my first day in Singapore. As someone with a significant family ancestry from this corner of the world, I felt a special connection to the story that was being told. I found the exhibits about the traditional wedding and funeral ceremonies to be very accurate to what we continue to experience to this day.
I left the museum right around closing time, and hopped into a taxi back to my hotel to freshen up and meet some friends for dinner. Yes, I tried the local chili crab as well as the black pepper crab; while I liked the chili crab, I preferred the black pepper crab.
Next up: Green Singapore...
Jan 1st, 2014, 02:07 AM
#12
Hi tripplaner - interesting start to your trip. We debated lang and hard as to whether we should stop-over in HK or Singapore and eventually went for the former, but we found it almost impossible to decide having been to neither; in the end we more or less tossed a coin!
I'm really intrigued, therefore, to find out what we missed!
I'm really intrigued, therefore, to find out what we missed!
Jan 1st, 2014, 06:29 AM
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Kathie, is the Raffles museum accessed from the main lobby? Either that or I missed it.
Ann, having been to both, I would give HK a leg up over Singapore. This is not to say that Singapore's not worth a few days, although I could easily have spent a couple of weeks in HK. I'll do a pros and cons post after I complete an account of my time in Singapore.
And now Green Singapore...
After a full day wandering through the urban landscape of downtown Singapore, the next day was devoted to greenery and "hiking". When I visit a place, I like to mix things up for changes of pace and schedule some down days every 4th or 5th day, sometimes more depending on how strenuous the activities have been.
My second day in Singapore began with a visit to the Botanic Gardens. I started earlier in the day to take advantage of the cooler weather and spent a good two and a half hours at the gardens. Admission to the gardens itself is free, but there is a separate fee to enter the National Orchid Gardens, S$5 I believe. The orchid gardens are definitely worth the entry fee. It is well laid out and there was a lot to see. In the main gardens, I especially enjoyed the valley of palms. You can walk among the different types of palm and there are large expanses of grass where you can sit down and just take in the scenery. I highly recommend that you include a visit to the Botanic Gardens on any trip to Singapore, even if it's for a couple of days.
Following a visit to the gardens, I grabbed a taxi and headed to Reflections at Bukit Chandu. Bukit Chandu was the site of a British military fort and was the scene of a major battle in the fight between the Brits and the Japanese during World War II. Today the site houses a small museum that tells the stories of the fight. The museum does a good job with the videos, including one that recounted Malay village life there and how they were affected by war. It's worth about an hour.
Leaving the museum, I turned right and followed signs to the Canopy Walk, the start of a "hike" along the southern ridges that make up a portion of the island. The Southern Ridge hike is more of a walk over paved concrete, steel, and wooden walkways than outdoor terrain, and even wheelchair accessible. It starts at the Canopy Walk and ends at Vivo City shopping center, the jumping off point for Sentosa Island. Along the way there's interesting flora, good views of the Singapore skyline, and glimpses of Sentosa Island and the Straits of Malacca. The walk took about three hours at a leisurely pace and included an hour break for lunch at a small bistro atop Mount Faber that served decent-quality food.
Understanding that Sentosa Island is pretty much an amusement park, geared towards kids, I decided to give it a miss. I rounded out my day with a visit to Chinatown instead. Highlights of my visit there we're the Chinatown Heritage Center and the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple. The heritage center told the life stories of Singapore's early Chinese settlers. It includes a good reproduction of what a typical rowhouse was like, with a storefront on the ground floor and housing quarters above. The tooth relic temple supposedly houses one of the Buddha's teeth; all you can see is a gold covered stupa in a very large room, part of which is covered in glass. There's also a small rooftop garden at the premises, in the middle which houses a large Tibetan-style prayer bell. The main religious icons on the ground floor were under scaffolding when I visited, undergoing three months of top to bottom cleaning. Nevertheless, I did spent a good amount of time there and joined part of a prayer service that was going on at the time.
Tomorrow is another action-packed day comprised of visits to Little India, Kampong Glam, Gardens by the Bay, and the Marina Bay Sands. Stay tuned...
Ann, having been to both, I would give HK a leg up over Singapore. This is not to say that Singapore's not worth a few days, although I could easily have spent a couple of weeks in HK. I'll do a pros and cons post after I complete an account of my time in Singapore.
And now Green Singapore...
After a full day wandering through the urban landscape of downtown Singapore, the next day was devoted to greenery and "hiking". When I visit a place, I like to mix things up for changes of pace and schedule some down days every 4th or 5th day, sometimes more depending on how strenuous the activities have been.
My second day in Singapore began with a visit to the Botanic Gardens. I started earlier in the day to take advantage of the cooler weather and spent a good two and a half hours at the gardens. Admission to the gardens itself is free, but there is a separate fee to enter the National Orchid Gardens, S$5 I believe. The orchid gardens are definitely worth the entry fee. It is well laid out and there was a lot to see. In the main gardens, I especially enjoyed the valley of palms. You can walk among the different types of palm and there are large expanses of grass where you can sit down and just take in the scenery. I highly recommend that you include a visit to the Botanic Gardens on any trip to Singapore, even if it's for a couple of days.
Following a visit to the gardens, I grabbed a taxi and headed to Reflections at Bukit Chandu. Bukit Chandu was the site of a British military fort and was the scene of a major battle in the fight between the Brits and the Japanese during World War II. Today the site houses a small museum that tells the stories of the fight. The museum does a good job with the videos, including one that recounted Malay village life there and how they were affected by war. It's worth about an hour.
Leaving the museum, I turned right and followed signs to the Canopy Walk, the start of a "hike" along the southern ridges that make up a portion of the island. The Southern Ridge hike is more of a walk over paved concrete, steel, and wooden walkways than outdoor terrain, and even wheelchair accessible. It starts at the Canopy Walk and ends at Vivo City shopping center, the jumping off point for Sentosa Island. Along the way there's interesting flora, good views of the Singapore skyline, and glimpses of Sentosa Island and the Straits of Malacca. The walk took about three hours at a leisurely pace and included an hour break for lunch at a small bistro atop Mount Faber that served decent-quality food.
Understanding that Sentosa Island is pretty much an amusement park, geared towards kids, I decided to give it a miss. I rounded out my day with a visit to Chinatown instead. Highlights of my visit there we're the Chinatown Heritage Center and the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple. The heritage center told the life stories of Singapore's early Chinese settlers. It includes a good reproduction of what a typical rowhouse was like, with a storefront on the ground floor and housing quarters above. The tooth relic temple supposedly houses one of the Buddha's teeth; all you can see is a gold covered stupa in a very large room, part of which is covered in glass. There's also a small rooftop garden at the premises, in the middle which houses a large Tibetan-style prayer bell. The main religious icons on the ground floor were under scaffolding when I visited, undergoing three months of top to bottom cleaning. Nevertheless, I did spent a good amount of time there and joined part of a prayer service that was going on at the time.
Tomorrow is another action-packed day comprised of visits to Little India, Kampong Glam, Gardens by the Bay, and the Marina Bay Sands. Stay tuned...
Jan 1st, 2014, 06:48 AM
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No, the little museum in Raffles is not accessed via the lobby. It is sort of tucked away and would be easy to miss if you didn't know it was there. But it sounds like you saw plenty during your stay in Singapore.
Jan 1st, 2014, 07:00 AM
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Vacillating between a trip to southern India, having done Rajasthan and Varanasi previously or a trip through Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia including bali (all if which we have not yet been to). Your report is very informative and I'm looking forward to more.
Jan 1st, 2014, 08:45 AM
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Kathie, you're right. I had my fill of Singapore being there for four nights. I'll make sure to check out the Raffles museum on my next visit.
Dgunbug, I've never been to India so I cannot make the comparison for you. Central Java and Bali will come in subsequent posts, and I'm happy to try and answer questions you may have about those places.
Ann, gardens are definitely my thing, although I also enjoy temples, architecture, and hiking the great outdoors. I was only in NZ for five nights and spent all of it in Auckland, so my only garden stop was in the Domain. Will be eager to read about your discoveries though.
Dgunbug, I've never been to India so I cannot make the comparison for you. Central Java and Bali will come in subsequent posts, and I'm happy to try and answer questions you may have about those places.
Ann, gardens are definitely my thing, although I also enjoy temples, architecture, and hiking the great outdoors. I was only in NZ for five nights and spent all of it in Auckland, so my only garden stop was in the Domain. Will be eager to read about your discoveries though.
Jan 1st, 2014, 09:34 AM
#18
I was only in NZ for five nights and spent all of it in Auckland, so my only garden stop was in the Domain.>>
tripplanner, the only part of Auckland that WE saw was the airport, so we never saw anything of Auckland proper. Sadly we didn't get to the botanical gardens in Wellington either because of the awful weather. But we did visit the gardens in Christchurch, Oamaru, and Timaru, all of them excellent. And in OZ we went to the botanical gardens in Brisbane and Sydney; both were lovely too.
tripplanner, the only part of Auckland that WE saw was the airport, so we never saw anything of Auckland proper. Sadly we didn't get to the botanical gardens in Wellington either because of the awful weather. But we did visit the gardens in Christchurch, Oamaru, and Timaru, all of them excellent. And in OZ we went to the botanical gardens in Brisbane and Sydney; both were lovely too.
