(or perhaps we should rename it ‘Sling and Pour’?)
So, our last long bus journey in south east Asia is concluded. The bus was comfortable, the journey uneventful (even getting across the border was straight forward), and with massaging seats this trip was a far cry from many of our earlier journeys. Predictably though, it took longer than advertised – so that remained familiar.
Singapore is our last stop before flying back to the UK, and is the only place we’ve been before, so an opportunity to do the few things we didn’t do last time, and to enjoy a last bit of natural warmth, even though it is extremely humid.
Singapore itself is one of those cities that is easy to walk around and just admire the enormity and modernness of it all. It is beautifully laid out, clean and shiny and has a lot of green and a lot of water – it is after all, an island and a small one at that.
We walked a lot on our first day – along the waterfront to the famous Marina Bay Sands hotel (where we weren’t staying!) and then cut away from the waterfront into Chinatown and then Kampong Glam, which we didn’t explore last time we were here. Even the old buildings here are beautifully kept but sadly there are few of them and much seem to have lost the battle with the newer high rises.
After the many miles of the day before, we jumped on a bus to get the monorail to Sentosa Island and have a bit of time on the beach, from which you can see the shores of Indonesia beyond the many ships in the Singapore Strait.
However, our plans for a cooling dip turned out to be getting wet in a different way as we watched the rain come in and a thunderstorm rattled overhead for the next two hours. It was definitely a case of ‘rain forest’! Luckily, we were able to shelter and watch the rain fronts drift by whilst listening to the thunder, but once it eased enough to make a dash for it, we headed back to the hotel.
Luckily, the rain stopped before we headed out in the evening to enjoy a treat we hadn’t done on our previous visit
The following day was packing, a visit to Sim Lin shopping arcade to look at all things technology related, and getting ready for our flight home, but we did have a final morning visit to the waterfront, the sunshine before the expected thunderstorms which once again graced our afternoon.
Our walk into the city brought us past a Hindu temple which was not only very attractive but also decorated with very appropriate idiom:
And our final journey brings us round to finish our adventure as we started – at an airport, although here English is very easily spoken and understood, and even if it were not we suspect it would no longer feel nearly so ‘alien’ as our starting point did 13 weeks ago.
Tokyo to Singapore:
“Thank you” SE Asia. It is time for us to go home, see family and friends and start planning the next trip.
We have stretched our comfort zones, seen and experienced things we’d never have imagined; met some amazing and wonderful people; grumbled and complained; learnt huge amounts; been humbled, silenced, shocked and surprised; made new friends; seen incredible sights; but above all else, enjoyed ourselves hugely. Whether you want us to or not…. We. Will. Be. Back!!! (and by that we mean doing it, whatever “it” is, again!)