Apr 2007

As the shuttle bus whisked us from the airport into the city of Singapore, I sat at the window expectantly searching for some recogniseable landmarks from my visit five years previously. Despite being proud of my general sense of direction and memory for places, this turned out to be futile, and as we arrived at our hostel in Little India I was left wondering whether I'd actually been here before at all.

Just forty minutes beforehand at the airport, we'd met Jan in a semi-emotional reunion (on Sarah's part obviously). As a long-time friend from home, we were pleased to have a friendly face joining us for our last three months of travel through Asia, and not for once have the usual "Where have you been? How long you away for? Where you from?" conversation.

Little India seemed to be the place for a decent hostel, and we found ourselves in a fairly pleasant establishment, once again amongst other like-minded travellers. The holiday was over, and we had to re-engage ourselves into full tourist mode. For our first day in town we thought we would just take a stroll around and endeavour to get our bearings. This proved to be fairly uneventful in all honesty, our efforts only really taking us as far as the a few of the more colourful markets, mosques and temples in Chinatown, and the various assortment of shopping arcades (a national obsession!) in Orchard Road.

That evening, we went with a large group from the hostel to the Night Safari, an extension of the zoo which is now rated as one of the best in the world for it's conservation work. This forty hectare site contains nine-hundred nocturnal animals of one-hundred-and-thirty species and made for a nice 'alternative' zoo experience. We took the three kilometre tram ride around the park, viewing (amongst others) deer, rhino's, giraffe's, sloth bears, and elephants, and then took to the walking trails to see the Tigers, Leopards and smaller rodents. Finally, there was the 'Creatures of the Night Show', which despite a couple of amusing moments, still needs a little work.

Singapore broke onto the world stage in 1819 when Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles arrived to make the island a bastion of the British Empire. This of course all came to an abrupt end in 1942 when the Japanese invaded during World War Two and continued to harshly rule the land. It was all over three years later of course, when the devastation of Nagasaki and Hiroshima at the hands of the Americans and their atomic bombs forced them to surrender, but in that time they managed to inflict considerable pain and suffering on the residents, with thousands of Chinese were simply killed rather than imprisoned. This part of Singapore's history is something that we were quite interested in, and so the next morning, we headed to the Changi Prison Musuem in the hope we could become informed.

Changi was the prisoner-of-war camp in Singapore where more than 100,000 Allied soldiers were incarcerated by the Japanese Imperial Army. The museum, which sits just outside the gates to the prison of today (still in use), depicts the struggles and treatment of these men using quotes, soundbites, and imagery from the time, showing how the constant struggle against humilitation, loss of freedom, hunger and disease became part of everyday life. We spent a good hour or so here reading the stories of inspiration and heroicism during a time of unthinkable adversity, and digesting the horrors that these men and women had to endure for three-and-a-half years. When anyone mentions WWII, first thoughts turn almost automatically towards the Nazi's, while the side of the war being fought on the other side of the world is largely forgotten about. This was a good insight into how events unfolded here.

While on this side of the island visiting the musuem, we thought we would take the opportunity to see something outside of the city and visit one of the surrounding islands. We took a 'bumboat' over the Pulau Ubin, a small island to the north-east of Singapore. Silly girls in skirts do not make for a nice afternoon pedalling your way around a small jungle island, and so we were condemned to trudging around on foot in ninety-eight percent humidity, something I think Jan (and her love for a trek of any kind) had secretly engineered to her advantage. The walk itself wasn't hugely entertaining, but it made a change from the high-rise towers we'd already grown a little tired of, and gave a little insight into the way the traditional people of Singapore lived. A large downpour about half-way through our stroll meant we had to take refuge under a rather handily placed shelter. It was here that we were approached by a dog sniffing around for scraps. No-one took any notice to begin with, but suddenly I noticed something a little disturbing. Namely, a large chunk of half-inch-deep flesh (about the size of a human hand) missing from just above his right leg, which left us with a confusing mixture of sympathy and revulsion. It was actually gaping open to reveal some of the little fella's inner workings, but he seemed to be wandering around as if there was nothing there. More importantly, we were all left wondering exactly what may be responsible for such a vicious attack, and made a qiuck retreat back to the jetty.

Today's Singapore is a thriving commercial centre, on par with many of the other major cities in the world. The modern office-blocks combined with old-style colonial architecture exudes wealth, while the amazing cleanliness simply adds to it's appeal. Ultra-modern train and tube systems carry its inhabitants on their journey, clad in designer-label garments and boasting the latest in mp3/mobile phone technology. The Chinese majority (76%) are Buddists or Taoists, with Chinese cutoms and superstitions dominating much of their social life. For Malays (14%), Islam is the guiding light, while 'Adat' (customary law) takes precedent at important ceremonies and event such as birth and marriage. Singaporean Indians (8%) generally come from the south of India, and bring many of their important customs and festivals with them. Expats (other foreigners from the UK or Australia) make up the other two percent, but are generally only a visible group if you visit the more expensive bars.

Back in the city for the evening, we went out for dinner with our room-mate, a rather deep and meaningful Canadian chap called Fuz. With us all feeling a little tired, we thought we would stick with Little India and search out a decent curry. This wasn't likely to be hard when every other doorway opens up to reveal an eaterie of some kind, and the one we chose actually turned out to be a particularly good choice, and for once stopped us harping on to foreigners about the niceties of Brick Lane.

For our final day in Singapore, we headed over to the tourist magnet of Sentosa Island. Stupidly leaving the camera battery on charge in the room meant we didn't actually get any photo's of this, but in fairness, this wasn't a huge problem. With attractions such as Underwater World, Sentosa 4D Magix and the Skytower to grab our attention, this is a haven for kids and families, but not really for people looking for anything overly interesting. We ambled around for a few hours, checking out the beaches (with their stunning ocean views of, er, tankers - this is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world!) until the usual afternoon storm reduced visibility (and any mild enjoyability) to almost zero.

For our last evening, there was only one real objective. Getting ripped off, tourist-style, for a Singapore Sling cocktail in Raffles Hotel. Expecting something grand and alluring, we entered the hotel's 'Long Bar' to discover a saloon with monkey-nut shells all over the floor. The old-skool ceiling fans and dark wood interior give the place a distinctly Imperial feel, although we felt nowhere near as underdressed as we'd anticipated. Every table in the place was full of like-minded visitor's, sipping at their (eight quid!) bright-red Sling's and, probably like us, marvelling at how they'd fallen for it all. Knowing when it's onto a good thing, the staff can't even be bothered to make the drinks from scratch any more, and simply fill glasses from an industrial sized pitcher which has been pre-prepared 'somewhere out back'.

With our mission fulfilled, we headed on to Clark Quay and the more affluent part of Singaporean nightlife. Filled with restaurants, trendy bars and the odd club (Ministry of Sound to name but one), we headed for the riverside for dinner. Finally with some seafood-appreciating company in tow, myself and Jan indulged in an amazing platter of fresh Lobster, King Prawn, Shark, Seabass, Mussels and Clams. It may have been a little over budget (alright, probably alot), but it was worth every penny. The night continued with a few drinks in one of the many bars in the area, and a local band playing English and American covers with surprising success.

The vague memories I'd had of Singapore had been slightly reinforced, but I remember feeling much more awed last time than than I did on this occassion and perhaps that's down to the amount of similar places we've encountered in our seven months away from home. City-life had yet again taken it's toll on both our wallets and our patience, and so we took a bus out towards Malaysia the following morning in the hope we could find something a little less metropolitan.

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First impressions of Bali do not necessarily match up to the preconcepted ideas of a tropical paradise that one might expect. Luckily, we were spared these first impressions by the fact that we flew into Denpasar International airport late in the evening and were whisked briskly to our accommodation in southern Kuta. As we strolled past the large pool, flanked by it's array of stone-carved elephant statues and flowering Frangipanni trees, and entered our relatively lavish room, we were oblivious as to what lay just outside the hotel gates.

The inclusive early morning breakfast only served to lull us into a false sense of security even more, and after a couple of hours of relaxing around the pool, we decided to venture out into town, unaware of the mayhem that awaited. Usually, taking a flyer from a roadside promotional representative isn't a problem, and within moments we had been approached by just such a fellow and each taken one of his proferred leaflets. Big mistake. In the pleasant Balinese manner, our names were asked and given politely, chit-chat of where we came from was exchanged, and it was only then that he hit us with the 'big sell'. The cards we had unwittingly accepted were actually 'gamecards' which of course made us the lucky winners of any number of prizes. Beaming smiles, handshakes and congratulations took up another five minutes while I urged Sarah to walk away with sly eye gestures. Of course, to cash in on our prizes, we were obliged to go with the enthusiastic rep to his newly renovated property for a zero-obligation tour. Truly suckered but not out-done, we eventually managed to drag ourselves free as tales of families-to-feed and bills-to-pay were heart-wrenchingly delivered in dramatic style.

Wandering further up the main drag, it took only seconds to be harrassed yet again, this time to come and look at the goods on some of the street-sellers stalls. This was something that would for the next thirteen days become part of everyday life. Unfortunately for the people here, ninety percent of local livelihoods rely soley on tourism, and since the terrorist bombings of 2002 which killed 202 people (with 300 injured) the Balinese tourism industry was almost ruined overnight. Just as they thought they may again be getting back on their feet, a second spate of suicide bombs killed 26, and the people were yet again despairing as visitor numbers dwindled. With Australian holiday-makers accounting for the majority of this tourism, and their government still warning not to visit Bali, the island's economic recovery is likely to remain in jeopardy for some time to come. An abundance of stalls still line the street however, far too many for any sole business to really flourish, and all selling the same items of rip-off Billabong, slogan t-shirts and local wares. This is a similar problem throughout the island. If one stall sells stone carvings or paintings, every stall in that street will follow suit, flooding the market. If one bar has a sunday night singer, the rest get a similar kind of entertainment for the same night.

Unfortunately, the whole industry suffers and not just the streetside businessmen. Drivers, who make their living from giving tours or "Tranport?" from the visiting tourists stand around offering their services with mock steering-wheel gestures throughout the day and night in case just one group should require it. Local restaurants and food-stalls sit mostly empty while the plusher eaterie's clean up, and a truly amazing number of taxi's meander up and down the streets, tooting you as they drive past to inform you that they are free. Most are free, and that makes for alot of tooting, none of which actually persuaded us that we needed a ride.

It took us a good couple of days to adjust to the persistant hawking and become accustomed to the varying selling techniques being displayed. Kuta itself is a reasonable size town with a couple of surf-beaches, markets, and a large water park. The road we inhabited however was dominated by the huge 'Centro' shopping mall, an Americanised air-conditioned building containing the usual suspects of KFC, Krispy Kreme, and strangely, Top Shop and Marks & Spencer. We had intended to spend a couple of days here and spend the rest of our time travelling around the island, but after discovering that buses have become a rather difficult way of getting about since the lull in tourism, we decided to use Kuta as our base, the lure of plotting up in a cheap but smart hotel proving too great. Throw in a complimentary two-hour reflexology and massage session for good measure and we were completely won over. Oil us up ladies...

After talking to an Australian family we'd ever met at the hotel, we were introduced to a local guy called Sam, who would then take us out on our first day tour. We'd asked him to get us as far north as possible whilst taking in some of the highlights along the way, and he duly obliged with a full day itinerary. First we dropped into a traditional Balinese show called "The Barong and Kris Dance", a representation of the eternal fight between good and evil spirits. Next up we were taken to both a silver factory and a place where they weave traditional Indonesian garments such as sarongs, shirts and bed linen. Next up, we requested to go to the Monkey Temple, but after being surrounded at the gate and clambered upon by some rather boistrous little primates, decided to give it a miss. Next up was Ubud, and the largest market on the island. Hawking once again became the order of the day, but after an hour or so of wandering the identical stalls we gave up and returned to the car.

The afternoon consisted of a lengthy drive up into the hills to the small village of Kintamani, and a restaurant with stunning views of Mount Batur volcano which stands guard over Lake Batur, our first glimpse of real scenery on the island. After a quick buffet lunch, we were back in the car and heading back down through some of the tiny villages which line the road leading back into the lowlands. Today was a particularly special day for the Hindu Balinese inhabitants, highlighted by the hordes of people in costume and religious attire who were walking enthusiastically to their places of worship. The 1st of April marks the celebration of Nyepi, a twenty-four hour session of almost complete inactivity at the end of the lunar cycle (Balinese New Year), so that when the evil spirits descend upon the island they see that it is deserted and leave well alone for another year.

Our final stop was in the northern part of Kuta, where Sam emotionally explained how the bombings have affected the people here and took us to see the striking memorial which sits at the site of the 2002 explosion. One of his close friends was killed during this particular attack, and it was clear that the painful memories are still very prominent.

Back at the hotel, we lounged around for a couple more days before taking our next journey, this time a sunset tour to the temple of Tanah Lot, with a bunch of kids from the hotel who didn't belong to us. Again a place of worship, this temple sits out on the sea-bed, at times surrounded by the incoming tide. Tonight the tide was out, and so we could get up close to the eroding structure which makes for one of the most photographed in Bali. We had the chance to be blessed with holy water and rice, and explore the caves and inlets around the base of the temple, one containing the 'Holy Snake' which could be touched for good luck. Of course, this whole spectacle would not be complete without the scores of market stalls lining the streets and alleyways.

Lounging around the pool, eating cheaply in local restaurants which looked like they needed the business, and hanging around the hotel bar with the cheery waiters was about all we managed to accomplish in the following few days. Our next trip came when we went with the Aussie family and a couple of their new friends to Jimbaran Bay, an idyllic sandy inlet stretching for two kilometres and adorned with a huge variety of fishing fleets. Unsurprisingly, seafood is the catch of the day here, and a selection of twenty or so restaurants line the shoreline in the hope of enticing hungry tourists onto their tables which sit out on the sand. The spiced Snapper, King Prawns and Mussels which were served were more than worth the slightly inflated cost, and the Bintang's were flowing nicely which all made for a pleasant evening in a beautiful setting.

With our last few days, we explored the area of Seminyak to the north of Kuta, and other parts of the town which we'd lazily omitted from previous strolls. Lastly, we found the energy to venture into the markets of Poppies Gang 1 and 2 to hard-bargain (but not too hard, we figured they need it more than us) for some souvenirs. Admittedly, we'd been a little lazy in our approach to Bali, but we hoped that we could reap the benefits of feeling relaxed and refreshed for our stint through the rest of South-East Asia.

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