Post #176 5 June 2018

Gentlefolk,

This post describes our stay in Singapore, 26 - 29 April 2018.

What is it about this tiny Island-State which makes it so successful and appealing?

Total area of 720 sq km and a population of 5.6 million - it is roughly the same size of urban Canberra but with a population more than 10 times as large!

It just works well: clean, with lots of parks and gardens, good public transportation (MRT, buses); taxis are reasonable;  great attractions; great personal safety; great variety of food.

They have created an oasis of wealth out of nothing; it keeps re-inventing itself. Amazing.

We lived in Singapore 1994-96 when I worked at the Australian High Commission.  It was good then, and is even better now.

The only real down-side is that it is usually hot and humid - walk 100 meters and the perspiration starts.

Singapore is a small Island-State at the foot of the Malayan Peninsula. Over 15 million tourists visit every year.

Our hotel was near Clarke Quay and not far from China Town - good location.  It had a nice roof-top swimming pool which we used every day.

A view from the top of our hotel, across to some Government-built apartment blocks which locals could buy.  Home ownership is 90%, probably the highest in the world.

The Rugby Sevens were on while we were there.  Not as big as the Hong Kong event, but still get good numbers.

Our hotel was near Clarke Quay - not very busy during the day, but pumping at night. We counted four live bands in just one block.

Clarke Quay at night.  A belly-dancer performed outside the Shiraz Restaurant, people drinking wine and beer, and not a hijab in sight - very different from the real Shiraz in Iran where we were just a week ago.

We walked along the Singapore River - lots of historic buildings - including a statue of Sir Stamford Raffles, who in 1819 claimed the island for the East India Company and the British Crown. At that time it had a few hundred inhabitants, mostly primitive fishermen.  He would be amazed to see it now.

We went into the Asian Civilisations Museum. Fine collection.  

The Museum had a special exhibition on Angkor Wat in Cambodia. A tour was just starting so we joined in.

Our excellent tour guide (or Dosen).

Cavanagh Bridge, one of the first permanent crossings over the River.

A tribute to Deng Xiao Ping who opened up China.  Deng visited Singapore in November 1978, shortly before he introduced the "Reform and Opening" policy which created modern China.  He was 74 years old at the time, had been a dedicated, tough, battle-hardened Communist for more than half a century, had the vision and flexibility to try a new path; he saw the prosperity of Singapore which obviously impressed him; a remarkable man.

We headed for Merlion Park.

The Merlion, symbol of Singapore, and from where it derives its other name of "Lion City". A bigger Merlion  Statue has been built on Sentosa Island.  In the background are some of the buildings in Singapore's Central Business District. Singapore is the financial and trading hub of South East Asia.

We went to a Hawker Center near China Town - delicious food, and inexpensive - we ate for less than US$10.

A stall in the Hawker Center.

Another food stall.

A large Chinese Temple near Chinatown.

One of the alleys in Chinatown.  It's busier in the evenings when the temperature cools down.

Another alley in Chinatown. Lots of shops and restaurants.

We had a look at Orchard Road, Singapore's premier shopping street.  Singapore is a shoppers paradise; literally thousands of shops - how do they all survive???

We called on Mr Lai who has a sports shop in Lucky Plaza; we used to buy all our tennis gear from Mr Lai when we lived in Singapore 20 years ago.  

A free yoga class outside the Takashimaya Department Store on Orchard Road.

We visited the Gardens by the Bay, which occupies 100 hectares - all on reclaimed land.  

Some of the "Super Trees".

The Gardens are free, but there are two special areas where you pay to enter US$24 per person for two giant greenhouses called the Cloud Forest and the Flower Dome. Singapore residents paid one-third.  This site was called Cloud Forest.

We took an elevator up to the top and then walked down.  It's always busy, and we had to line up for about 40 minutes to reach the top.

The walkway down from the top of Cloud Forest - impressive engineering.

Vera took a photo from the walkway.  It was a long way up.

A exhibit in the Cloud Forest.

We also went through the Flower Dome; very well presented, but didn't have the "Wow Factor" of the Cloud Forest.

At night the Super Trees are lit up, and there are two light & music shows, one at 7.45pm and again at 8.45pm.  The Gardens close at 2am. 

The incredible Marina Bay Sands Hotel.  Rooms start at US$300 per night.  The "ship" on top has an observation deck, infinity swimming pools and restaurants.  Our taxi driver told us that the Government wants new hotels to be at least 5 stars - they want to take Singapore up market.

A view of one of the reception areas on the ground floor of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel.

There is a huge modern shopping mall next to the Marina Bay Sands Hotel.

A "digital platform" where kids can play.

A water feature inside the Mall; gondola ride anyone?

Some models were doing a fashion shoot at the Mall.

Another model showing off a wedding dress.

A third model; exotic.

A Chinese temple near our hotel.  About 75% of Singaporeans are Chinese, 13% Malay, 9% Indian, 3% Other (lots of Brits, Aussies, Americans).  Singapore has four official languages: English, Mandarin, Malay, and Tamil.

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We flew from Singapore to Melbourne and then another flight to Canberra; home sweet home.  We were away a month (Dubai, Iran, Penang and Singapore) - saw and did a lot, had a great time - but always nice to get home again.

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Best wishes, stay healthy and keep smiling.

Alex Olah and Vera Olah
Canberra, Australia
Tuesday 5 June 2018

Post #175 1 June 2018

Gentlefolk,

This post describes our visit to Penang (Malaysia) 22 - 26 April 2018.

In 1786 Francis Light took possession of Penang Island on behalf of the East India Company and the British Crown, and founded the capital, Georgetown. It prospered, and later part of the mainland was added. In 1957 Malaysia got independence from Britain.

Penang is a State on the west coast of Malaysia.  It comprises Penang Island (sometimes called "The Pearl of the Orient") and a stretch along the mainland called Seberang Perai. Penang Island covers an area of 293 square kilometers (approx 25 km x 10km) and a population of 723,000 while Seberang Perai has an area of 751 sq km and a population of 835,000.

The population is 41% Malay (Bumiputera), 40% Chinese, 10% Indian, 9% Foreign (mainly retirees).
Georgetown is majority Chinese.

Vera & I first went to Penang in 1973 - 45 years ago - and were captivated by its simple charm; we visited again in 1989 and 2014, and liked it still.

About 5 years ago Vera's cousin, Liong Handoko and his wife Pina moved from Germany (where he worked as a doctor) to retire in Penang under a Government program called "Malaysia my second home" to attract relatively wealthy Western retirees.  We decided to visit them after our tour of Iran.

Penang's location in Asia.

Penang is a State on the West Coast of Malaysia.  It comprises Penang Island and Seberang Perai on the Mainland; connected by two bridges and a ferry service. 

A view of Georgetown, the main city on Penang Island. Many new high-rise buildings built and under construction; a hive of activity. The interesting old Chinatown area has been preserved. The city has many fine hotels, including the iconic Eastern & Oriental (E & O) Hotel.

We stayed with Liong and Pina in their lovely apartment on the 28th floor of the Bayu Batu Tower in a beach area called Batu Feringgi.

Ocean view from their balcony on the 28th floor.  They rarely use airconditioning - usually ceiling fans will do.

Inside their modern, high quality apartment. Beautiful 40 meter pool downstairs.

Liong, Pina and Vera.  The temperature was around 30C during the day, and around 20C at night.  Liong said that his normal wardrobe all year was shorts and t-shirt and sandals - how great is that?

The beach at Batu Feringgi Beach 10 minutes walk from the apartment. Lots of water activities on the beach. Many local Tamil Indians were relaxing on the beach.

Fresh coconuts while watching the action on Batu Feringgi Beach - doesn't get much better than this!  The temperature is mild year-round; Liong said that his normal daily wear is T-shirt, shorts and thongs!

That night we had dinner at Hiway Restaurant; we ate outside - comfortable temperature. Delicious food and relatively inexpensive. Penang s a gourmet's paradise.

Fish dish at Hiway Restaurant.

The next morning we did a hike around the Penang Botanical Garden, on the lower slopes of Penang Hill (the top is 830m above sea level); good to see so many people exercising. 

Some of the vegetation was quite thick, tropical.

Fountain and water lilies in the Botanical Gardens.

From the Botanical Gardens we went for Yum Cha / Dim Sum.  Very popular, the place was packed at 10am.

Lots of choices for Yum Cha. Great food.

The chicken feet were delicious.

Parts of  old China Town have been refurbished very nicely.

The oldest mosque in Georgetown.

Mesjid Kapitan Keling.

One of the many old Chinese temples.

Dr Sun Yat Sen (better known in China as Sun Zhong Shan), the father of the Republic of China and its first President, spent time in Penang planning the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty.

This wall painting is a favorite spot for visitors to take photos in Chinatown.

Another tourist posing.

Vera with a Temple Dog.

Another tastefully-refurbished establishment in Chinatown.

We had dinner at this Indian restaurant.

Some of the food on offer in the Indian restaurant.

It was about 9.30pm, but the Indian Restaurant was busy with customers. 

We did a hike in the National Park in the north-western corner of Penang Island.

It was real, dense, tropical jungle.

Vera, Liong and Pina. How did the early settlers manage to negotiate terrain like this?  We could never do it except for the man-made paths.  Fortunately no leaches in this forest (Liong said that were were leaches in forests on the Mainland where he has hiked, but not here).

After the early-morning hike in the National Park we had Dim Sum (aka Yum Cha) again.
; different place, but just as good.  Liong & Pina are foodies, and know all the great eateries. 

Some of the offerings in this restaurant - it specialised in seafood.

The "price list" at the Dim Sum restaurant. The exchange rate was about US$1 = Ringgit 3.6, so most servings cost less than US$1.

Liong and Pina saw us off at Penang Airport, for our flight to Singapore (1.5 hours).  We spent a most enjoyable 3 days/4 nights with them. 

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We spent a most enjoyable 3 days / 4 nights with Pina and Liong. They are wonderful hosts - it was fun exploring Penang with the help of 'locals'. This relaxed interlude was just what we needed after the busy, and pretty intense (but good) time we had in Iran.

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We were off to Singapore, the subject of my next post.

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Best wishes, stay healthy and keep smiling.

Alex Olah & Vera Olah
Canberra Australia
Friday, 1 June 2018