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Singapore & Malaysia 2020

February - March 2020
A 16-day adventure by Darren and Janet Read more
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  • Darren and JanetSingapore & Malaysia 2020
    1
    111
    Day 1

    Hot transfer and humid Singapore

    February 15, 2020 in Singapore ⋅ 🌙 28 °C

    We had a delayed flight from Adelaide to Kuala Lumpur, so our already tight 1 hour transfer window was squeezed to less than 30 minutes. Luckily we made arrangements on board and were moved to the front row of economy so we could be first off the plane.
    We were met at the gate by an airport official to escort us to the next gate... they were holding the flight for us, so he took off running! We jogged halfway across the airport, caught a shuttle train to the other terminal, and made it to the gate 10 mins before take-off. Good service Malaysian Airlines 🙂

    We arrived in Singapore and had some caches to find at the airport before we headed to our hotel - one was at Jewel, a $1.7bn entertainment and retail complex between the terminals, and home to the world's tallest indoor waterfall, the Rain Vortex.

    The train into the city must be the best value airport transfer anywhere - $1.87 each! When we got to the hotel we were temperature checked before we could go in (and every subsequent time we enter), then wandered down Orchard Road for dinner and supplies. There's still plenty of people on the street after dark, with the temperature still around 30 degrees , and rather humid.    Read more

  • Darren and JanetSingapore & Malaysia 2020
    Day 2

    Caching and the Botanic Gardens

    February 16, 2020 in Singapore ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    First activity for Sunday morning was a caching event we were hosting in a park across the road from our accommodation. Given there's so few tourists here, and only about 6 active cachers in Singapore, we weren't expecting a big turnout, so 1 person was ok!

    After a bit of a chat with ZacharyKZH, a local cacher with 130 hides, he offered to accompany us to a few caches, and we ended up having lunch with him and caching until 2pm. He led us down some shortcuts and backroads we would never have found by ourselves.

    After lunch we ventured into the Singapore Botanic Gardens, the most visited botanic gardens in the world (5 million visitors a year), which also has the world's largest display of orchids (1,000 species) and 250 species of ginger on display.

    It turned very humid late afternoon so we caught the bus back to our apartment and had a dip in the pool, before a thunderstorm rolled in.

    Dinner was at a small hawker centre on Orchard Road, with only a handful of other diners.    Read more

  • Darren and JanetSingapore & Malaysia 2020
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    Day 3

    Day by the bay

    February 17, 2020 in Singapore ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

    With fine weather forecast today we decided to walk around the bay area. We caught the bus to Marina Bay Sands, passed the obligatory temperature check (most public buildings undertake temperature checks when entering) and headed to the rooftop observation deck for spectacular views of the bay area. Most of the people up there were cruise passengers from one of the few cruise ships still plying Asian ports.

    We then headed into Gardens by the Bay, had lunch at Satay by the Bay (but had falafals instead of satay), and walked a circuitous route following the caches, visiting the waterfront, drinks at the Fullerton Bay Hotel, the Merlion and National Gallery of Singapore.

    On the walk back to Orchard Road we detoured via Fort Canning Park. The park is the highest point in the city centre (48m elevation) and was formerly home to a Christian cemetery. The cemetery continued to be used until 1865 when it was declared full and closed, but by the 1970s it was in such a state of disrepair, the cemetery was exhumed and many of the surviving tombstones were embedded in the surviving walls.

    Dinner was at a 24 hour outdoor eatery near our apartment.    Read more

  • Darren and JanetSingapore & Malaysia 2020
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    Day 4

    Big fountain and Little India

    February 18, 2020 in Singapore ⋅ 🌧 29 °C

    With 80% chance of rain today, we had a plan up our sleeve to do some indoors activities, but as the morning looked promising, we caught the local bus to the Fountain of Wealth.

    The fountain is built among five tower blocks which represent the fingers and thumb of a left hand emerging from the ground, and the fountain is the palm of the hand. With an area of 1680 square metres, it was the largest fountain in the world until 1999. During certain periods of the day, the fountain is turned off and visitors are able to walk around a mini fountain at the centre of the fountain's base, three times for good luck. We were there during one of these downtimes, so did our laps.

    Next stop was Raffles Hotel, home of the Singapore Sling. They quite often have a queue out the door of punters keen to hand over $44 for one drink, but at 11am on a Tuesday you could choose your seat. We wandered in for a look, but didn't partake (a local beer was $28 if you prefer!)

    The rain still hadn't arrived, so after lunch and a quick look around the National Library, we headed to Little India, an eclectic mix of restaurants, temples, churches and mosques. We caught the bus back to our accommodation and had a swim, before tea at the local outdoor cafe again.    Read more

  • Darren and JanetSingapore & Malaysia 2020
    Day 5

    Palau Ubin by boat and bike

    February 19, 2020 in Singapore ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    We headed north today to Changi Village, about 1 hour by bus. After lunch in the hawker centre, we caught a bumboat to Palau Ubin, an island off the north coast of Singapore (10 min boat ride, $3 each - there's no timetable, just wait at the ferry terminal until a full boatload is ready, 12 people).

    During World War Two, Palau Ubin was a landing point for Japanese troops, which drew a huge influx of Allied troops to defend Singapore. This was a decoy move by the Japanese who then invaded the west of Singapore with ease.
    Previously home to a granite mine employing 2000 people, Palau Ubin is now one of the few undeveloped areas of Singapore, and home to just 38 residents.

    On arrival in Palau Ubin there are bike hire places lining the main street, so competition is keen. All day bike hire is $8 each. We got our bikes and spent a very pleasant 4 hours riding and walking the hills and dirt tracks of the island, collecting a number of caches on the way. We saw wild boars and monkeys close up, but only spotted otters and hornbill from a distance (much to Oliver's disappointment).

    We caught the bus and MRT back to the city and had dinner on the riverfront at Clarke Quay, followed by a walk around the area, and our first ice cream wafer from a street vendor.    Read more

  • Darren and JanetSingapore & Malaysia 2020
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    Day 6

    Michelin Star restaurant - tick!

    February 20, 2020 in Singapore ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    Our last full day in Singapore began with an MRT trip to Chinatown, perusing the many stalls, architecture and street art (and finding some caches on the way), before heading to the hawker stalls for lunch.

    One otherwise non-descript stall in the middle of the market generates a lot of attention - Hawker Chan was awarded a Michelin Star in 2016 for his soya sauce chicken rice, and is the world's cheapest Michelin-starred meal, at $2.80 a serve. We only had to line up for 20 minutes (the wait can be as much as an hour), and it was melt-in-the-mouth delicious. He marinates 180 chickens overnight in his secret soya based marinade and sells out every day.

    After a bubble tea and egg tart, we headed back to our apartment via Emerald Hill, an area of of double-storied terrace houses off Orchard Road built in the 1920's by Chinese immigrants. The style is known as the Straits Eclectic Style, combining components of Malay, European and Chinese architecture - half doors outside the main door to allow ventilation within the house while still maintaining privacy, European half-columns and Chinese-inspired reliefs.    Read more

  • Darren and JanetSingapore & Malaysia 2020
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    Day 7

    Road to Malacca

    February 21, 2020 in Malaysia ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    We got picked up at 8am for our drive to Malaysia. Our Malaysian driver is officially a taxi driver, so he can't drive in Singapore, so we were collected by one of his colleagues who has a private limousine licence and can drive both countries.

    The border was very busy with workers on motorbikes travelling home to Malaysia after working nighshift in Singapore - the bikes have their own lane and they were lined up 3 abreast for over a kilometre! We got through in 30 minutes, but it can take up to 2 hours at peak time.

    Our driver, Rosli, was waiting in the border city of Johor Bahru. We made a brief stop at the Sultans palace (to find a cache of course), then travelled via the motorway to Malacca.

    Malacca has a rich trading history and mix of architecture, with Indonesian and Chinese influence before being colonised by the Portuguese, Dutch then British, before Malaysian independence in 1963.

    Our hotel is in the old town, one street from Jonker St, which turns into a night market after dark.    Read more

  • Darren and JanetSingapore & Malaysia 2020
    1
    Day 8

    Walking the cape

    February 22, 2020 in Malaysia ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    We took the road less travelled today, from Malacca to Kuala Lumpur via the coast road.

    The coast road is an almost unbroken string of connected villages for 80km, with countless local eateries, and small scale rubber plantations. First stop was Tanjung Bidara beach, a popular local recreation spot, where we had morning tea of roti and pulled tea (tea with condensed milk, poured with a high arm action to aerate it, and cool it slightly).

    Next stop was Fort Supai, an abandoned Dutch fort at the mouth of the Linggi River. The fort is difficult to access now as a local developer has put a gate across the road to build his resort, so we walked along the beach to view what little is left.

    The main walk for the day was at Cape Rachado, a sweaty trek through a forest reserve to the lighthouse, the oldest still operating in Malaysia. Our shortcut on the way back turned out to be anything but... as they usually do, but we saw plenty of great scenery.

    Lunch was at a roadside restaurant, 3 mains and 3 drinks for 22.50 ringgit ($7.50), followed by dessert of mangosteen and jackfruit from a roadside vendor (both delicious)

    Nearby Port Dickson is a resort town for locals, and home to the Army Museum, an interesting collection of motorcycles, planes, cannons and an armoured train.

    The drive to KL was mostly freeway, passing Sepang Grand Prix track on the way to our accommodation on the outskirts of the city.    Read more

  • Darren and JanetSingapore & Malaysia 2020
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    Day 9

    Up to the highlands

    February 23, 2020 in Malaysia ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Today we are headed to the Cameron Highlands, a popular holiday destination for locals and international tourists, as the temperature rarely gets to 30 degrees, and humidity is low.

    On the way out of KL we visited the Blue Mosque: capacity 24,000, claim to fame: the largest religious dome in the world.

    The Cameron Highlands is a collection of small towns which became popular among the British in the 1930's as an escape from the tropical heat, but is now famous for it's tea plantations, strawberry farms and honey production.

    We stopped at an indigenous local's house on the way, a friend of Rosli known as Michael Jackson, for his uncanny resemblance... he invited us into his single room house for a chat, and his brother was happy to demonstrate his prowess with a blowpipe and poison dart!

    We visited a couple of tea plantations (quite touristy, so we didn't stay long), but did a short hike to lookout with spectacular views over the valley.

    After a late lunch we checked into our hotel before a dusk walk... and put a jacket on for the first time this holiday, as the temperature dropped below 20 degrees!    Read more

  • Darren and JanetSingapore & Malaysia 2020
    1
    Day 10

    Mossy Forest and Butterfly Farm

    February 24, 2020 in Malaysia ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    We had a full day touring the highlands today, with a second night at the same hotel.

    Our day began with a drive to the Mossy Forest, on a road not for the fainthearted! Apart from being steep and winding, large sections of the road were in disrepair, and most of the journey was single lane - on blind corners drivers sound their horn on approach and if they hear a return beep, someone has to pull across to let the other pass.

    The Mossy Forest is a high altitude region where low cloud means the area is usually covered in mist and moisture, and today was no exception - the view from the top was non-existent, but we found the path was closed just after the peak because of recent rains... all in all, not the most successful outing 🙄

    By the time we journeyed down the mountain the weather had cleared slightly, so we stopped at some of the lookouts again to view over the tea plantations.

    We had lunch in Brinchang, then visited a butterfly farm, strawberry plantation, cactus outlet, local market, waterfall and Buddhist temple on our way back to Tanah Rata for the evening.    Read more

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