I always look forward to the weekends here on Simeulue, but with
mixed feelings; it’s a nice time to relax and not think about work, and I
have loads of fun with the group of expats here, but I inevitably end
up spending time by myself at home when the rest of the crew are busy
doing other things. Still, a weekend in Simeulue usually involves an
early morning game of tennis with Nam, sometimes Jon and Steph (who are
both learning to play), and a bit later on in the morning some of the
government guys.
We get up to all sorts of fun
activities: at night we usually watch DVDs, drink G and Ts, play
cards. The days are spent hanging at the beach, kayaking out on the bay,
a mammoth bike ride, a coffee at the little waterside café, or going on
a boat trip to one of the nearby islands. I haven’t actually
experienced this latter adventure yet, last time due to the
disappearance of our captain on the day, but I hope to do it soon. The
islands are apparently beautiful and perfect for swimming and
snorkelling. And with no-one around we might actually be able to enjoy
swimming just in our bathers! Heaven (or in this case, Allah) forbid!
My
boss, Paul, is a big bike riding fan, and often goes on mammoth cruises
around the island in the heat of the day. He used to be a professional
road bike rider and is a riding machine! He loves getting out and
tackling the mammoth hills on the island. On Friday we drove up to
Salang, our project area, and he biked it back to Sinabang. It’s a 2+
hour drive, let alone biking, but you can probably go relatively fast on
a bike considering you can ride around all of the potholes! Paul’s bike
hikes are usually a bit too much for me, as I try unsuccessfully to
keep up the pace and end up getting exhausted! It’s good when the others
come along, as they are usually interested in the more leisurely rides
along the relatively flat coastal road.
We often drive
for an hour to a lovely place called Alus Alus, which is the south east
coast of the island, and overnight at ‘Jock’s shack’, a beautiful wooden
beach house that is owned by – well, I think you can guess. He no
longer works in Simeulue, but he has rented the house to us.
Unfortunately due to a lack of security and our patronage limited to
weekends, the house has recently been the victim of a spate of
vandalism. Each time we’ve ventured to Alus Alus, something else has
been destroyed. First it was the electricity, followed by the water
supply system; then the toilet was smashed up; then they broke in
through the port holes and roof, and stole things from inside.
The
last time we went, the place was a mess. The little that remained of
the water supply (a hose from the water supply at the mosque across the
road) was totally gone, the front window was totally smashed out, half
of the wooden fence was gone, and they’d even started removing panels of
wood from the walls of the house. The toilet, which was smashed last
time, was now totally wrecked and the room that housed it almost all
removed. People had scrawled graffiti on what was left of the walls that
basically said, ‘destroy this place, we don’t want foreigners here.’ It
was really sad. I don’t think there was any animosity between Jock and
the Alus Alus locals, and there certainly hasn’t been while I’ve been
here. What was most annoying that people clearly have done this to
profit themselves; I’m guessing all that nice wood has been used to help
people build their own houses! Even the mosque across the road has two
planks of wood across the gate, which seem to have been plundered from
our fence! Last week we went and spoke with the head of one of the Alus
Alus sub-villages, in an attempt to prevent further damage but I think
it’s too late. My guess is that it all started with local kids looking
for something to do, and has escalated into a free-for-all. I guess
eventually the place will be dismantled.
Which is a
real pity, because it’s a lovely place to sit out on the balcony
watching the waves crash onto the shore, to read your book or listen to
music. We’ve had lots of fun cooking meals there by torch or
candlelight, boogie boarding, swimming and generally relaxing. It’s been
a good place to get to know the crew. I just hope that we can continue
to enjoy it, even in its dilapidated state. Waking up to the sound of
waves on the front balcony is a nice experienc.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Tennis!
Tennis is an elite sport in Indonesia, and it seems that only people
that have money have learned to play. The most popular sports here on
Simeulue are volleyball, badminton and soccer. The former is played by
women as much as men, and seems to be the only sport women play
comfortably here. I can’t imagine having to play sport in a hijab, I
have enough trouble playing in ¾ pants as it is!
There is one tennis court here on Simeulue, and it is a godsend. It’s not in the best shape; the surface is cracking and coming off in places, revealing the wood (? weird) and concrete beneath it, and it’s a shabby looking court that’s slippery at the back because of the mildew, but there is a dedicated group of old guys that play regularly and maintain it somewhat. I helped them paint the spectators’ shelter the other day; four or five of the front panels were rotten from termites, but we painted them anyway! Would have made more sense to replace them first...
The guys that play mainly work for the government. One of them is the head of PMI (Indo Red Cross), whom is good for me to know! In fact playing tennis has given me a bit of good exposure on Simeulue because many of the important people know who I am. It also helps that I happen to be able to play tennis OK, and am the only female on the island that they’ve seen play competitively … which means they all want to play against me. This means I really have to be on my game, because a large number of rockets come my way, especially when I’m standing at the net!
There’s even a Simeulue tournament! Held in August every year, it’s men’s doubles only, but already I’m building a case to play… hehe!
Without tennis, I think I would struggle to find an equally enjoyable form of exercise that I can maintain. I play 4 or 5 times a week, mostly early in the morning (around 6:30am) because it’s just too hot after about 8am. It’s a good way to start the day and because Indonesians like to sleep in, often it’s just Nam and I on the court. Sometimes we go out after work, and that’s when we play against the other guys.
I have got to know Nam quite well because of tennis. He’s a lovely guy, and is also a WatSan engineer that works for CordAid. He has just had his first child, who he has named Viet … and with the last name of Nam, it’s a lovely but slightly bemusing name! He only gets to see his family in Vietnam every few months. Tough gig for a new father! He misses them a lot.
This week we have spent quite a bit of time watching the Australian Open. Four hours on Saturday morning! Today we witnessed the rather unfortunate exit of Lleyton Hewitt from the tournament. But hey, that’s how it goes. Finding an equally enthusiastic tennis player has been great. It gives me something to do, provides me with some company (which I often crave, living alone) and is a great source of exercise. We are quite evenly matched on the court, and lots of fun games and good practice have ensued!
There is one tennis court here on Simeulue, and it is a godsend. It’s not in the best shape; the surface is cracking and coming off in places, revealing the wood (? weird) and concrete beneath it, and it’s a shabby looking court that’s slippery at the back because of the mildew, but there is a dedicated group of old guys that play regularly and maintain it somewhat. I helped them paint the spectators’ shelter the other day; four or five of the front panels were rotten from termites, but we painted them anyway! Would have made more sense to replace them first...
The guys that play mainly work for the government. One of them is the head of PMI (Indo Red Cross), whom is good for me to know! In fact playing tennis has given me a bit of good exposure on Simeulue because many of the important people know who I am. It also helps that I happen to be able to play tennis OK, and am the only female on the island that they’ve seen play competitively … which means they all want to play against me. This means I really have to be on my game, because a large number of rockets come my way, especially when I’m standing at the net!
There’s even a Simeulue tournament! Held in August every year, it’s men’s doubles only, but already I’m building a case to play… hehe!
Without tennis, I think I would struggle to find an equally enjoyable form of exercise that I can maintain. I play 4 or 5 times a week, mostly early in the morning (around 6:30am) because it’s just too hot after about 8am. It’s a good way to start the day and because Indonesians like to sleep in, often it’s just Nam and I on the court. Sometimes we go out after work, and that’s when we play against the other guys.
I have got to know Nam quite well because of tennis. He’s a lovely guy, and is also a WatSan engineer that works for CordAid. He has just had his first child, who he has named Viet … and with the last name of Nam, it’s a lovely but slightly bemusing name! He only gets to see his family in Vietnam every few months. Tough gig for a new father! He misses them a lot.
This week we have spent quite a bit of time watching the Australian Open. Four hours on Saturday morning! Today we witnessed the rather unfortunate exit of Lleyton Hewitt from the tournament. But hey, that’s how it goes. Finding an equally enthusiastic tennis player has been great. It gives me something to do, provides me with some company (which I often crave, living alone) and is a great source of exercise. We are quite evenly matched on the court, and lots of fun games and good practice have ensued!
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Sunday
Boo!
I was taking my kayak out on the bay around Sinabang, and had driven around for ages to find a good place to launch. I didn’t find one, so I headed out to where some fishing boats were, thinking the locals knew the place and would stash them in an easily accessible place.
But they obviously aren’t averse to sinking mid-calf deep in black smelly mud! I traipsed onto – and then into – the mud, with the kayak in one hand, trying unsuccessfully to balance with the much lighter paddle in the other hand, and started sinking very quickly! So, looking for harder substrate to walk on, I headed to the coral and the unfinished high tide (possibly tsunami-preventing) wall that was being constructed on it, not far from where I set out, as it had concrete footings and I figured I could use these to my advantage.
But with a construction site comes other dangers that you don’t notice when you’re carting a kayak around, so I didn’t see the piece of wood on the ground with the nail protruding from it. Let’s just say I was VERY thankful I didn’t remove my flip flops after repeatedly getting bogged in them … they buffered most of the nail from my foot, and it only went in a little way. Still, it was so painful, and surrounded by mud, a prime habitat for water buffalo, I didn’t have a very hygienic place to wash the wound!
But I’d laboured so long to get the bloody kayak out to the water, being my stubborn self, I decided I would worry about checking tetanus shots and getting antiseptic later and headed out onto the water. I’m glad I did – it was a beautiful day, the water looked like glass, there was very little wind and many amazing clouds, and it wasn’t too hot. I ended up kayaking around the little bays and coral quays for around 3 hours. An awesome way to spend a Sunday morning.
Anyway, so the upshot of it is that I had a lovely Sunday of kayaking, but now have a very sore foot. It’s frustrating not being able to play my usual games of tennis or go for a walk in the mornings. Still, hopefully it will heal in the next few days, before I go home to Oz! Can’t be injured with all the things I have planned…
I was taking my kayak out on the bay around Sinabang, and had driven around for ages to find a good place to launch. I didn’t find one, so I headed out to where some fishing boats were, thinking the locals knew the place and would stash them in an easily accessible place.
But they obviously aren’t averse to sinking mid-calf deep in black smelly mud! I traipsed onto – and then into – the mud, with the kayak in one hand, trying unsuccessfully to balance with the much lighter paddle in the other hand, and started sinking very quickly! So, looking for harder substrate to walk on, I headed to the coral and the unfinished high tide (possibly tsunami-preventing) wall that was being constructed on it, not far from where I set out, as it had concrete footings and I figured I could use these to my advantage.
But with a construction site comes other dangers that you don’t notice when you’re carting a kayak around, so I didn’t see the piece of wood on the ground with the nail protruding from it. Let’s just say I was VERY thankful I didn’t remove my flip flops after repeatedly getting bogged in them … they buffered most of the nail from my foot, and it only went in a little way. Still, it was so painful, and surrounded by mud, a prime habitat for water buffalo, I didn’t have a very hygienic place to wash the wound!
But I’d laboured so long to get the bloody kayak out to the water, being my stubborn self, I decided I would worry about checking tetanus shots and getting antiseptic later and headed out onto the water. I’m glad I did – it was a beautiful day, the water looked like glass, there was very little wind and many amazing clouds, and it wasn’t too hot. I ended up kayaking around the little bays and coral quays for around 3 hours. An awesome way to spend a Sunday morning.
Anyway, so the upshot of it is that I had a lovely Sunday of kayaking, but now have a very sore foot. It’s frustrating not being able to play my usual games of tennis or go for a walk in the mornings. Still, hopefully it will heal in the next few days, before I go home to Oz! Can’t be injured with all the things I have planned…
Friday, January 18, 2008
Duuuuuuuuuuurrrrrrrrrrriiiiiiaaaaaaaaaannnnn!
I tried durian for the first time today. This notoriously smelly,
extremely spiky fruit is a delicacy in Indonesia, and the locals LOVE
it. Not sure why. It’s banned from buses and hotels due to the pungent
aroma it gives off, which is a heady mix of vomit, rotten fruit and
shit. Delightful! There is a sign on the counter of the Novotel in Medan
that bans durian from the building!
You crack it open and inside are a number of little ‘chambers’ of custard yellow, gluggy fruit, in fact the consistency is actually a lot like custard. The taste: well, hard to describe; nothing like I’ve ever tried. Only enjoyable to a certain extent, then the texture and strange taste kicks in. I wouldn’t say I didn’t like it, but it sure is something I wouldn’t eat very often!
And it’s quite expensive, because it is so rare and such a prized food. It was 30,000 Rp for one, which is about A$5. Still, worth it for a taste! The rest I palmed off to our staff who were more than happy to help devour it.
You crack it open and inside are a number of little ‘chambers’ of custard yellow, gluggy fruit, in fact the consistency is actually a lot like custard. The taste: well, hard to describe; nothing like I’ve ever tried. Only enjoyable to a certain extent, then the texture and strange taste kicks in. I wouldn’t say I didn’t like it, but it sure is something I wouldn’t eat very often!
And it’s quite expensive, because it is so rare and such a prized food. It was 30,000 Rp for one, which is about A$5. Still, worth it for a taste! The rest I palmed off to our staff who were more than happy to help devour it.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Melaka up ya clacker ... sorry... couldn't resist
On a bus. From Singapore to Malaysia. At least such a long journey (4
hours) was more comfortable this time. In fact, almost too comfortable –
why do they always put the aircon on full blast and have you shivering
the whole way there?
Anyway, so after getting off the bus at Johor Bahru, border city to Malaysia, getting through customs on both sides of the border, then accidentally boarding a Japanese tourist bus, I made it to Melaka. Hehe! I was booked into a great little hotel in Jonker St, which is the main drag of the old town. It is adorned with beautiful old colonial Dutch shophouses and has retained a lot of its original architecture. Many buildings now contain tourist junk, cafes, restaurants or antique shops, some are now museums, but most are now Chinese shops; it’s a real contrast.
This cultural mix reflects the history of colonial Dutch, Portuguese and British occupation and strategic location on the Straight of Melaka, which attracted huge numbers of Chinese and Indian traders and labourers, expanding the cultural mix of the original inhabitants. There are traditional Chinese pharmacies dotted around the old town, and in the Chinese quarter, some amazing old Chinese temples. Add to this a few mosques and churches, and you have a really interesting city.
The town square is traditional Dutch architecture and has an old church and Stadthuys (town hall used for local governance), and the Melaka river has nice little restaurants and old buildings along it. Not to mention the tourist tour boats that ply it! There is an old church on the top of the hill behind the town square, which was converted into a fort, which has many graves of the early colonialists there. Then back further, in another part of town, is Bukit China – China Hill, the largest Chinese cemetery outside of China, with the graves of 12,000 Chinese merchants. It’s a nice place to wander, a huge, green, leafy expanse of undeveloped land (and there’s an ongoing dispute about developing it) with probably the last remaining fauna in the area! Good for spotting birds and monitor lizards, as well as reading your book in the shade. A replica portuguese ship rounds off the sights and houses the maritime museum. There is a great old original traditional Malay house near the river, the tour of which is given by the grandson of the original owners, who is a legend. Almost nothing has changed inside it since it was built. It's a beautiful old wooden bungalow with a traditional wedding suite inside and a heap of historial and family treasures inside. In fact he was such a legend I 'married' him on the wedding furniture (for the cameras, anyway - given I was the only single person on the tour!)
The rest of the city is the usual chaotic urban jungle with massive shopping malls and relatively poor neighbourhoods mixed with rich ones. The ocean water front, while a massive swamp, is undergoing a massive development with upmarket hotels, malls and restaurants. Ugly as sin! I avoided all of that most of the time.
So apart from wandering around the city for the three days I was there, the other main activity was drinking buckets of Tiger beers and playing Texas Holdem Poker with the crew from the hotel. The 5 of us (2 Aussies, a pom and an Irishman) had a great time spending 5 Ringgit a round (about $2), ultimately losing every time to Damian and Claire, who were the kings! It’s always good to have a fun crew to hang out with at the end of the day. The two UKers, Claire and Finton, were off to Singapore and then Australia, while the Aussies were off to Thailand, both on round the world trips. I was very jealous!
In the end, Claire and Finton came back to Singapore on the same bus as me, our Friday night spent hanging out at the street market on Jonker street, trying out all the local fare and laughing at all the little knicknacks on sale. Claire and I got our sale of the century: NKOTB badges for $1 each! yah!!! Now proudly adorning our bags :)
We went out for dinner on Saturday night in Singapore, with Jon & Steph from Simeulue. The highlight of the night was getting our fortunes told by the Mouth of Truth, a dodgy Italian statue inside the foyer of the Malaysian restaurant we dined at in Clark Quay. Let’s just say I only got 3/9 stars in the ‘sex’ category. Strangely accurate…
A day of shopping in Medan ensued on Sunday, with a sushi lunch with Paul, Popi and little Adrian, to wrap it up. I actually enjoyed shopping in Sun Plaza in Medan more than in Singapore! And bought some cool stuff too J
So it’s back to work on Monday, not really looking forward to it actually! But only 3 weeks til I’m back in Oz…. Cricket! Big Day Out! Friends & Family! Coopers!!!!! Bring it on! Can’t wait.
Anyway, so after getting off the bus at Johor Bahru, border city to Malaysia, getting through customs on both sides of the border, then accidentally boarding a Japanese tourist bus, I made it to Melaka. Hehe! I was booked into a great little hotel in Jonker St, which is the main drag of the old town. It is adorned with beautiful old colonial Dutch shophouses and has retained a lot of its original architecture. Many buildings now contain tourist junk, cafes, restaurants or antique shops, some are now museums, but most are now Chinese shops; it’s a real contrast.
This cultural mix reflects the history of colonial Dutch, Portuguese and British occupation and strategic location on the Straight of Melaka, which attracted huge numbers of Chinese and Indian traders and labourers, expanding the cultural mix of the original inhabitants. There are traditional Chinese pharmacies dotted around the old town, and in the Chinese quarter, some amazing old Chinese temples. Add to this a few mosques and churches, and you have a really interesting city.
The town square is traditional Dutch architecture and has an old church and Stadthuys (town hall used for local governance), and the Melaka river has nice little restaurants and old buildings along it. Not to mention the tourist tour boats that ply it! There is an old church on the top of the hill behind the town square, which was converted into a fort, which has many graves of the early colonialists there. Then back further, in another part of town, is Bukit China – China Hill, the largest Chinese cemetery outside of China, with the graves of 12,000 Chinese merchants. It’s a nice place to wander, a huge, green, leafy expanse of undeveloped land (and there’s an ongoing dispute about developing it) with probably the last remaining fauna in the area! Good for spotting birds and monitor lizards, as well as reading your book in the shade. A replica portuguese ship rounds off the sights and houses the maritime museum. There is a great old original traditional Malay house near the river, the tour of which is given by the grandson of the original owners, who is a legend. Almost nothing has changed inside it since it was built. It's a beautiful old wooden bungalow with a traditional wedding suite inside and a heap of historial and family treasures inside. In fact he was such a legend I 'married' him on the wedding furniture (for the cameras, anyway - given I was the only single person on the tour!)
The rest of the city is the usual chaotic urban jungle with massive shopping malls and relatively poor neighbourhoods mixed with rich ones. The ocean water front, while a massive swamp, is undergoing a massive development with upmarket hotels, malls and restaurants. Ugly as sin! I avoided all of that most of the time.
So apart from wandering around the city for the three days I was there, the other main activity was drinking buckets of Tiger beers and playing Texas Holdem Poker with the crew from the hotel. The 5 of us (2 Aussies, a pom and an Irishman) had a great time spending 5 Ringgit a round (about $2), ultimately losing every time to Damian and Claire, who were the kings! It’s always good to have a fun crew to hang out with at the end of the day. The two UKers, Claire and Finton, were off to Singapore and then Australia, while the Aussies were off to Thailand, both on round the world trips. I was very jealous!
In the end, Claire and Finton came back to Singapore on the same bus as me, our Friday night spent hanging out at the street market on Jonker street, trying out all the local fare and laughing at all the little knicknacks on sale. Claire and I got our sale of the century: NKOTB badges for $1 each! yah!!! Now proudly adorning our bags :)
We went out for dinner on Saturday night in Singapore, with Jon & Steph from Simeulue. The highlight of the night was getting our fortunes told by the Mouth of Truth, a dodgy Italian statue inside the foyer of the Malaysian restaurant we dined at in Clark Quay. Let’s just say I only got 3/9 stars in the ‘sex’ category. Strangely accurate…
A day of shopping in Medan ensued on Sunday, with a sushi lunch with Paul, Popi and little Adrian, to wrap it up. I actually enjoyed shopping in Sun Plaza in Medan more than in Singapore! And bought some cool stuff too J
So it’s back to work on Monday, not really looking forward to it actually! But only 3 weeks til I’m back in Oz…. Cricket! Big Day Out! Friends & Family! Coopers!!!!! Bring it on! Can’t wait.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Singapore or bust!
Boxing Day, after an awesome sleep-in and swim at my luxury hotel (it
doesn’t happen to me very often so I loved it!), I headed to the
airport and jumped on a plane to Singapore. I was meeting my Aunt and
Uncle and couple of cousins, Sam and Carl, who were there on their
annual Boxing Day holiday. So I went and joined them at their hotel, the
Raffles Plaza, another luxury hotel – awesome pool area, nice big
brekkies, close to everything… unfortunately I wasn’t able to bunk down
in one of their rooms as planned, as they were too small.
However, I did manage the next best thing: pretending I was staying there. Let’s just say I spent a fair chunk of my time eating their buffet breakfast and lying by the pool, cocktail in hand! Spent some time with my family members on their shopping entourages, nice (expensive) restaurant dinners and city walks. Not my usual sort of holiday, but nice to experience and good to have some family company around Christmas.
My hostel was located in Little India, about 20 minutes walk from the hotel, which was perfect. It was located in a busier, less sanitary part of town, which I like a lot more than the high-rise glitz of the upmarket CBD. Great markets filled to the gills with Indian trinkets and carvings, awesome local Indian restaurants and little cafes. I loved it.
We spent a day cruising around Sentosa Island, Singapore’s recreational playground. We took the cable car over to the island and then the theme parks are there for the taking! Not really my cup of tea, in fact totally the opposite: too over-the-top-touristy for me. Instead of doing all the parks, we just went to the island and cruised around on the free buses. It was interesting to have a look, but we really just did it for the cable car! The views were pretty cool. But then we got stuck at the other end of the cable at the randomly-named Jewel Box building (not even sure what it is or what the name is supposed to signify!) – there was an hour long line-up to get back down to the city and we couldn’t be bothered waiting, so a taxi it had to be. Boo! Shouldn’t have got off there…
I also spent a bit of time on Orchard Road, king of amazing designer shops. I found it all a bit in-your-face but I actually enjoyed strolling down the beautiful tree-lined wide boulevard and taking in all the amazing Christmas decorations that adorn the entire road. In fact I actually liked Singapore a lot more than I expected: once you get past the big, brash, clean, efficient façade of designer shopping malls, efficient MRT system and expensive hotels and restaurants, the city has a really interesting ethnic mix, great museums, a nice river boulevard and bustling Chinese, Indian and Islamic centres. It’s clean and easy to get around on foot. The Quay area is rejuvenated and modern and the restaurants lining the river are great. I actually liked eating at the Hawker Centres most – so much cheap yummy food!
My mates from uni, Shannon and Mark, fortuitously had a holiday in Singapore after Xmas as well, which was wicked! We hung out for Tiger beers and local Indian food, and cruised to the Night Safari. Talk about the most overrated tourist attraction EVER. It’s the “first and best Night Safari” apparently, but it is just so popular (well our timing was lousy; Christmas and school holidays, but regardless, it was packed). We got there really early, but still spent about 75% of our time in line-ups. Line-ups for the ‘Creatures of the Night’ animal show (disappointing display of not so exciting animals doing tricks at the call of their trainers), line-ups for the tram to shuttle you around past all the animals that look like stunned mullets in their ‘habitats’ under the spotlights (so much for seeing nocturnal animals; most of them wanted to sleep!), and line-ups for more line-ups. I think the best part was when we got off the tram and did a night mangrove walk, where we went into a cage of kamikaze bats. The yelps and screams of Shannon and Mark (and everyone else) as they got swooped had me laughing the whole way through! In summary: not worth going to. Too much lining up! At least we had awesome laksa at a nearby hawker centre at 11pm that night, after the ordeal was over J
On New Years Eve, all of us went out for dinner at Clark Quay. It was cool having some family members and good mates all in the same place! After a yummy dinner, a few drinks and a stroll around the quay, Shan and Mark left early due to a possible dodgy dinner, and so I decided to join the boys in that well-known establishment: Ministry of Sound. After lining up for about 30 mins, paying too much and waiting too long for my free drink, it was 11:45pm … too close to midnight for my liking, particularly as I couldn’t find Sam and Carl anywhere! It is a cavern of a place, a gigantic club with a massive rotating dancefloor and great upstairs with a bunch of little rooms playing all sorts of music. After wandering around the whole thing looking for the boys, not finding them and seeing in the New Years with random strangers, I decided I would spend the next 4 ½ hours with more of them – and boogied all night with people I didn’t know. It was awesome! It was pumping, the music was great and while the bar staff were pricks and didn’t give out water to thirsty patrons, I managed to scam some from some friendly Aussies who worked in Singapore. Unfortunately they got too friendly at the end, and after enduring a bit too much arse-grabbing, decided my time in MoS was done, and I was outta there. A nice 30 minute walk home, complete with a free lime juice from a friendly New Years reveller finished the night off nicely (and allowed me to cool off!). A great night all round.
The next day I found out the boys piked it early at 2am; probably why I couldn’t find them! Actually it was more because the place was so massive. Hehe…
So I spent my last night hanging out with the Fergusons. We had a delicious dinner at a local Hawker Centre – and they’re probably still talking about how cheap and good the food was! And that I’m a bit weird for eating tofu and trying the ‘deep fried carrot cake’! but who cares - before cruising to my next destination: Melaka, Malaysia.
However, I did manage the next best thing: pretending I was staying there. Let’s just say I spent a fair chunk of my time eating their buffet breakfast and lying by the pool, cocktail in hand! Spent some time with my family members on their shopping entourages, nice (expensive) restaurant dinners and city walks. Not my usual sort of holiday, but nice to experience and good to have some family company around Christmas.
My hostel was located in Little India, about 20 minutes walk from the hotel, which was perfect. It was located in a busier, less sanitary part of town, which I like a lot more than the high-rise glitz of the upmarket CBD. Great markets filled to the gills with Indian trinkets and carvings, awesome local Indian restaurants and little cafes. I loved it.
We spent a day cruising around Sentosa Island, Singapore’s recreational playground. We took the cable car over to the island and then the theme parks are there for the taking! Not really my cup of tea, in fact totally the opposite: too over-the-top-touristy for me. Instead of doing all the parks, we just went to the island and cruised around on the free buses. It was interesting to have a look, but we really just did it for the cable car! The views were pretty cool. But then we got stuck at the other end of the cable at the randomly-named Jewel Box building (not even sure what it is or what the name is supposed to signify!) – there was an hour long line-up to get back down to the city and we couldn’t be bothered waiting, so a taxi it had to be. Boo! Shouldn’t have got off there…
I also spent a bit of time on Orchard Road, king of amazing designer shops. I found it all a bit in-your-face but I actually enjoyed strolling down the beautiful tree-lined wide boulevard and taking in all the amazing Christmas decorations that adorn the entire road. In fact I actually liked Singapore a lot more than I expected: once you get past the big, brash, clean, efficient façade of designer shopping malls, efficient MRT system and expensive hotels and restaurants, the city has a really interesting ethnic mix, great museums, a nice river boulevard and bustling Chinese, Indian and Islamic centres. It’s clean and easy to get around on foot. The Quay area is rejuvenated and modern and the restaurants lining the river are great. I actually liked eating at the Hawker Centres most – so much cheap yummy food!
My mates from uni, Shannon and Mark, fortuitously had a holiday in Singapore after Xmas as well, which was wicked! We hung out for Tiger beers and local Indian food, and cruised to the Night Safari. Talk about the most overrated tourist attraction EVER. It’s the “first and best Night Safari” apparently, but it is just so popular (well our timing was lousy; Christmas and school holidays, but regardless, it was packed). We got there really early, but still spent about 75% of our time in line-ups. Line-ups for the ‘Creatures of the Night’ animal show (disappointing display of not so exciting animals doing tricks at the call of their trainers), line-ups for the tram to shuttle you around past all the animals that look like stunned mullets in their ‘habitats’ under the spotlights (so much for seeing nocturnal animals; most of them wanted to sleep!), and line-ups for more line-ups. I think the best part was when we got off the tram and did a night mangrove walk, where we went into a cage of kamikaze bats. The yelps and screams of Shannon and Mark (and everyone else) as they got swooped had me laughing the whole way through! In summary: not worth going to. Too much lining up! At least we had awesome laksa at a nearby hawker centre at 11pm that night, after the ordeal was over J
On New Years Eve, all of us went out for dinner at Clark Quay. It was cool having some family members and good mates all in the same place! After a yummy dinner, a few drinks and a stroll around the quay, Shan and Mark left early due to a possible dodgy dinner, and so I decided to join the boys in that well-known establishment: Ministry of Sound. After lining up for about 30 mins, paying too much and waiting too long for my free drink, it was 11:45pm … too close to midnight for my liking, particularly as I couldn’t find Sam and Carl anywhere! It is a cavern of a place, a gigantic club with a massive rotating dancefloor and great upstairs with a bunch of little rooms playing all sorts of music. After wandering around the whole thing looking for the boys, not finding them and seeing in the New Years with random strangers, I decided I would spend the next 4 ½ hours with more of them – and boogied all night with people I didn’t know. It was awesome! It was pumping, the music was great and while the bar staff were pricks and didn’t give out water to thirsty patrons, I managed to scam some from some friendly Aussies who worked in Singapore. Unfortunately they got too friendly at the end, and after enduring a bit too much arse-grabbing, decided my time in MoS was done, and I was outta there. A nice 30 minute walk home, complete with a free lime juice from a friendly New Years reveller finished the night off nicely (and allowed me to cool off!). A great night all round.
The next day I found out the boys piked it early at 2am; probably why I couldn’t find them! Actually it was more because the place was so massive. Hehe…
So I spent my last night hanging out with the Fergusons. We had a delicious dinner at a local Hawker Centre – and they’re probably still talking about how cheap and good the food was! And that I’m a bit weird for eating tofu and trying the ‘deep fried carrot cake’! but who cares - before cruising to my next destination: Melaka, Malaysia.
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