Singapore

Saturday 14 July

This morning we had a 3 hour bus trip to the Singapore border, again in a reasonably comfortable public bus.  Once again we passed by many palm plantations.  At the Malaysia/Singapore border we got off the bus with just our hand luggage and were stamped out of Malaysia.  We got back on the bus again and after a few minutes drive we were at Singapore immigration, a huge processing centre where we took all our luggage and queued to be processed through baggage x-ray and passport stamping.  After a bit more bus travel we were at a down town Singapore bus depot then we took a short taxi ride to our hotel at Mt Emily.

Marina Bay Sands in the background

After some lunch we walked down to the water to Merlion Park where we viewed and took photos of the Marina Bay Sands resort, an impressive building that includes a casino, shops, hotel, restaurants, theatres etc.  We returned to our hotel to freshen up before going out for dinner.






This was the last evening of our Intrepid trip and as we had all got along so well we were sorry  to be saying goodbye to our new friends.  After dinner at a Thai restaurant we said goodbye to Kitty our Intrepid guide and the rest of us went to Raffles to celebrate my birthday (today) and Tenna's birthday (tomorrow).  As expected the drinks were pricey but the occasion and surroundings made it worthwhile.   After one drink at Raffles we went across the road to Chijmes where the drinks were half the price and we stayed there until was Tenna's birthday.

Celebrating birthdays 

Raffles Hotel

Sunday 15 July

After having breakfast at our hotel we made our way to Marina Bay Sands.  A new park (Gardens by the Bay) has been created there and we spent some time looking around before going into the shopping area to cool down.  Inside we discovered a canal with canal boats - things are not done by halves here.

In the park looking towards downtown

Some of the"Super Trees" at the gardens

Shopping area, canal and boat.

Marina Bay Sands main building.
The top area has bars and a swimming pool.

Dragonfly

We took a train to Chinatown and had lunch at a outdoor cafe while watching the people walk by.  There seemed to be more tourists than locals passing by.   After wandering around here we caught a train to Little India then waked back to the hotel for a couple of hours rest before going out for dinner.  Our hotel was a short walk from Little India and we used the MRT station to cross under a main road.  When we came out on the other side there were crowds of Indian men, some walking around, some standing talking and others sitting small groups on the grass in the park.  It looked like there was a convention on but apparently it was just the usual Sunday night get together.  After a nice Indian meal we caught a train to Marina Bay Sands to see a free lightand laser show.

Singapore train

Laser show

Frogs in the pond at our hotel.  They only came out at night.

Monday 16 July

The last day of our holiday but we had several hours to go exploring before we had to go to the airport.  We went to Little India and looked at shops and buildings before making our way back towards the hotel.  We did a little bit of shopping on the way.  Although we had checked out of the hotel we were given passes to the recreation room where we could relax, use the computers and have a shower before heading for the airport.

8 roomed villa in Little India.  Built in 1900 it had
carriage gates on both sides leading to courtyards

Shop houses in Little India

Temple

Temple closer up

We were invited to join in but declined.

Deities on a Hindu Temple

another butterfly

At the airport there is a butterfly garden.  It was a lot bigger than I imagined and we spent time looking and taking photographs.

Butterfly garden at the airport

butterfly

Malaysia - Malacca

Thursday 12 July

We had a leisurely morning in KL and went for a walk to explore in a different direction.  At about midday we caught a commuter bus to take us on a 20 minute ride to the terminal for our coach to Malacca.  The terminal was huge and a bit like an airport with electronic boards showing arrival and departure times.  After a 2 hour bus trip and a short mini bus ride we arrived at our hotel in Malacca where we dumped our gear and went off in search of lunch.  It was a nice walk beside the river to get from our hotel to Jonker Street (one of the main streets) where we found a cafe and had lunch.

Malacca river

water monitor

We then went for a two hour ride in a brightly decorated trishaw.  At first I was a bit dubious about being in a trishaw festooned  with barbie dolls but it was an advantage as it was easy it tell which trishaw was ours when we returned to it after stopping to explore.

We stopped off at the Cheng Hoon Teng Temple , founded over 400 years ago and had a look inside. This is Malaysia's oldest still active traditional Chinese temple. The three doctrines of Taoism, Confucianism and Buddhism are practised here.  The temple is elaborately decorated with carvings, gold paintings and  roof  with chien nien decorations (mosaic porcelain)

Cheng Hoon Teng Temple

Cheng Hoon Teng Temple

Decorated roof at the Cheng Hoon Teng Temple

Close up view of the roof decoration

carved panel

We then crossed the road to look at the  Xiang Lin Si Buddhist temple.  This is more modern and by comparison is plain. 

 Xiang Lin Si Buddhist temple

Xiang Lin Si Buddhist temple

Street scene in Malacca

Our trishaw tour then took us to see some older houses.  One was a living museum and although the house was being lived in we were able to go inside.  

Museum house

in the kitchen

house in Malacca

Friday 13 July

We awoke to a rainy day but with umbrellas held aloft we set off in search of breakfast.  We found a friendly cafe by the side of the river where we had an American breakfast - 2 eggs, sausage, beans, tomato and toast with tea.  With this fuel inside we went up the hill to see the ruins of the St Pauls church, built by the Portuguese in 1521.  The outer walls are still standing with what appears to be minimal propping.  Around the walls are huge granite tombstones with Portuguese and Dutch inscriptions dated in the 1630's.

St Pauls Church

St Pauls Church

Down the hill from the church is the ruins of the A Famosa Fort, which was built by the Portuguese in 1512.  The gatehouse is the only part remaining.  The fort changed hands in 1641 when the Dutch took over Malacca and in the early 19th century the Dutch handed it over to the British to prevent it from falling into the hands of France.

A Famosa gate house

Another old building we visited was the Francis Xavier church, built around 1856.  From the outside the building has a noticeable lean. 

Francis Xavier church

Francis Xavier church

After lunch we went on a river cruise but had to wait for the ticket office to open as it closes for 2 hours of Fridays for prayers.   The 45 minute trip was very informative and we had good views of the murals on the walls that are a feature of the riverside buildings.  

Bridge over the river

Murals

Murals

Blue heron

Malaysia - Kuala Lumpur

Tuesday 10 July
We made the most of our free breakfast at the hotel as with a 5 hour drive ahead of us to get from George Town to Kuala Lumpur and we knew lunch would be late. This time we travelled by public bus and it was very comfortable with a row of single seats down one side and doubles down the other, they were big roomy seats and were able to be semi reclined. The view out the window was of palm plantations and when we were in hilly areas the palm trees gave way to jungle. As we were on a motorway any towns we passed were off to the side so all in all not much of note was to be seen.

It got warmer as we we travelled south and was around 30 C when we arrived in Kuala Lumpur.  After settling into our hotel we walked a couple of blocks to Chinatown where we had lunch before catching a train to the Petronas Towers.  The towers have 88 stories and at 452 metres tall are the world’s tallest twin buildings (second tallest buildings).  There is a huge 6 story shopping mall by the base of the towers, which has large number high-end brand stores.  An art gallery, cinema, concert hall are also part of the complex.  Of more interest to us was the lovely park outside with walking/jogging paths, children’s playground and a large pond. We stayed at the towers until dark so we could take night photos of the towers and we were treated to a colourful fountain and light display.

shopping galore

the park

the towers by day

the towers by night

Wednesday 11 July
We were picked up at the hotel and our guided tour took us to the national museum, Presidents palace, Batu caves and a batik factory.

Presidents palace

On the way to the Presidents palace we passed his old one which looked quite grand but the new one, opened in 2011, was impressive. The buildings are set on a hill in large grounds. Our view from outside the gate was of buildings with many golden domes. The Kingdom of Malaysia consists of 9 sultanates (Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Negeri Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Selangor, Sembilan and Terengganu) and 4 non monarchic states (Malacca, Penang, Sabah and Sarawak). The President is elected among the sultans every five years and gets to live in the palace.

After a 20 minute drive we arrived at the Batu caves, which is a limestone hill with a series of caves and is a popular Hindu shrine.  At the base of the hill the world's tallest statue of Murugan a Hindu deity, stands at 42.7m  high. The thought of climbing the 272 steps to get to the Temple cave was a bit daunting but actually it wasn’t too bad. Inside the caves were shrines and dozens of sculptures of Hindu deities.

Looking at the steps up to the cave

it looks steeper looking down

 Once back in town we visited a Batik factory where we watched silk being painted. Wax is used to create an outline and inside this dye is used to paint the fabric.  In this photo purple dye has been applied and water is now being put on to create a the lighter coloured circles.

The silk hangings are very beautiful and well out of my budget but the shop had many tempting things available for purchase.







After our tour was finished we had a late lunch then went for a walk though Chinatown and Central Market to Independence Square. On the way we passed many interesting buildings. We were going to go to the National Mosque but we were an hour too early for “non- believers” to be admitted.

Chinatown

Chinatown

Hindu Temple

Ministry of Information building, used to be the supreme court.
It was built in 1897

One of the earliest skyscrapers in KL, built 1984
It houses offices and shops

   

Railway administration building