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A Year of Living AwesomelyA Year of Living Awesomely
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A Year of Living Awesomely

January 2024 - January 2025
In which we take our last big trip. SE Asia and Europe Read more
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  • A Year of Living Awesomely

    First Night in Singapore

    January 10 in Singapore ⋅ 🌧 29 °C

    Our first day was spent traveling. We arrived at Sydney Airport at 10:00 after Peter, Maryanne and Hayley dropped us off. They are making good use of the trip by going on to look at dresses for a significant upcoming event (wink, wink).

    Because we are traveling without check-in luggage our first task is to navigate what happens when you are bypassing the check-in desk. A helpful Scoot crew member in the process of setting up tells us just to go on through to security and immigration. I though we would need to print out a physical boarding card somewhere.

    After taking the obligatory photo next to the Sydney sign we enter the restricted, no-turning-back-area. There are no departure cards to fill in anymore. This is new. Immigration is quick and easy and then it's on to security. We empty our water bottles as these aren't permitted through the scanners unless empty, place our bags in the trays, then proceed to get the full body scan. It's the way of the world now if you want to travel. Richard's case is pulled aside for having scissors. We have removed every possible item that we think can be confiscated and made a call to leave the scissors which are a pair of rounded tip, baby nail scissors, the blades are about 10mm long. He's allowed to keep them.

    And we're in. I have two things I want to do and I realise that I probably should have attended to one of them on the other side. I need to amend my mobile phone data plan as I won't be needing 100Gb of Australian data per month for the next 12 months. And the other thing is getting a prescription filled for anti-malarials as a just-in-case measure.

    We find a place to sit down and have coffee while I try to figure out the data situation. We discover that there is nowhere on this side of security that sells Sims so I am going to have to work out something with my service provider. I spend the best part of the next hour in a text conversation with the online chat representative but we land on an outcome that will suit finally and get it all sorted just in time to head to the boarding gate.

    During this time we have also grabbed a bite to eat, checked out travel adaptors for my laptop, (everything else is catered for with USB attachments but not my laptop) change money and get the script filled. I am about to buy a travel kit from the Apple range but they require my passport and boarding card which I had left with Richard so I give it a miss and decide to get something in Singapore.

    At the boarding gate our names are called. That's never happened before. It turns out that because we have bypassed the check-in counter they aren't even aware we are here and need to check our documents. I am still nervous about the combined weight of our bags which we have weighed and shuffled the contents of numerous times. It turns out they aren't even weighed. All that tension was for nothing.

    Scoot is one of those no frills budget airlines where the fares have been stripped back to nothing and absolutely everything must be purchased on board. We have pre-purchased a meal each, taken pot luck with the seating, filled our water bottles, charged our phones and back-up battery and are as ready as you can be for eight hours with no snacks or entertainment.

    The meals were okay, nothing to write home about, (this doesn't count). We spend the time alternating between reading, attempting to catch some sleep and occasional moments of standing for some relief. With three hours remaining and in the knowledge that we won't actually sit down to eat anything for probably five, we order some snacks to keep us going.

    It is 37 years since we were last in Singapore. Everything you've heard about Changi airport still doesn't really prepare you for the sheer size of this place. And we must have arrived at the furthest gate because after something like eight (I wasn't counting) travelators we finally reach a cluster of shops and I quickly buy a travel adaptor before we go down some escalators to immigration. The entry card details have already been registered so it's just a case of getting your photo and thumb prints recorded and you're good to go.

    It's pretty hard to miss the indoor fountain and we spend a few minutes marvelling at it. It really is quite something. I hope we get another chance to see it on our way out in a few days time. Seeing it at night under colourful lights was pretty cool though.

    We now need to organise transport and have already downloaded the Grab app. I just need to add a payment method. I discover it will take PayPal which is perfect. Our driver arrives within a few minutes and it's about a fifteen minute ride to our hotel.

    We are staying on Joo Chiat Road which is in the heart of a traditional Peranakan area. These were the original Straits Chinese, a blend of Chinese, Malay and Western cultures. I am looking forward to discovering more about that tomorrow.

    Our room in the Hotel 81 Sakura within a traditional shop house building is basic but roomy enough. It has no windows and is a bit musty but I tell myself it is only four nights. We'll manage. We freshen up before heading back out to find somewhere for dinner. We are on a street with lots of restaurants, some are already closing while others are a bit out of our price range. We check out menus for one places that include frog, Singapore Crab, and hotpot before settling on a Vietnamese noodle soup place. It's very good but Richard adds a touch too much chilli to his.    Read more

  • A Year of Living Awesomely
    Day 1

    Breakfast, Neighbourhood and A Shoot

    January 11 in Singapore ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    Up at sunrise to explore the neighbourhood and find somewhere to have breakfast. This whole area is home to the most beautiful decorative traditional Malay Chinese, otherwise known as Peranakan houses. Typically two storey and featuring large French windows often with storm shutters on the upper level. These are ornately decorated with tiles, coloured glass and decorative finishes to the posts and arched lintels. Every house is a different colour but mostly tending towards pastel in tone.

    We make our way to the Dunman Food Centre where at this time of day, before 8am, only a few of the food stalls are open but that’s all we need for our first breakfast in Singapore. We have chicken rice and chicken rice porridge before Richard samples a prawn vadai and we both finish with coffee on condensed milk.

    On our way back to our room I decide to call in to a small temple I had seen earlier and then feeling adventurous I seek out the Intan. This is a unique property housing an incredible private collection of mostly Peranakan ephemera. I know about this place because the owner, like me, was once a Heygo guide and I hope to be lucky enough to catch him there and free to see me. On finding the address I encounter two women waiting out front and get talking to them. It turns out that they are from the Singapore Tourism Board and they are here because they have connected Alvin with a film crew from Vietnam who are inside at this moment in the middle of a shoot. On explaining my connection they invite me to be part of the documentary they are filming. They really just want me to interact with Alvin as he describes the house and collection. What fun!    Read more

  • A Year of Living Awesomely
    Day 1

    Art & Religion, Mosque & Murals

    January 11 in Singapore ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    I return to the room after my wonderful encounter with Alvin and we decide to head out using the bus network and explore Kampong Glam, a colourful neighbourhood of small laneways in the shadow of the Sultan Mosque. The bus works beautifully, dropping us right alongside the Museum of Photography from where we waste no time diving right on in. We make a beeline for the Mosque and discover the correct door for non-Muslims to use to enter. This is my first visit to a mosque and I find it a very tranquil place.

    Next we spend a bit of time wandering through the laneways. There is a lot of street art and beautiful murals. One in particular replicates what these streets may have looked like when artisans and simple shopkeepers occupied this area. Another celebrates the vibrancy and vivaciousness of latin culture which feels a little out of place until we remember that Singapore really is a global city.

    We call into a tiny juice store for a cold drink before turning a corner and ordering Murtabak at a nearby Arabic eatery. We board a bus and head back to the hotel just as the rain starts.    Read more

  • A Year of Living Awesomely
    Day 1

    Glitzy Sights & Dancing Lights

    January 11 in Singapore ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

    We head into Marina Bay around 5:00 so we can arrive in time to see the sound and light show. First we go by the food centre planning to grab a bite to eat but we realise we are still so full from lunch time we just aren’t interested in eating.

    We hop on the 33 bus to Dakota then switch to the MRT to go the rest of the way to Bayfront by train. It took us a while to figure out how to get out of the station but we got there in the end. We ended up going through the Marina Bay Sands shopping centre with all the top brands featured. A lot of e-money passes through the ether around here I’m sure.

    There is even a short canal on the lower ground level and you can pay to be boated along it. At the very top is “the vortex” a swirling water feature that is quite mesmerising. We reach the waterfront with half an hour to spare and watch dusk descend over the bay as the city lights grow more intense.

    The show is spectacular and lasts around 15 minutes after which we make our way home via the food centre for the satay sticks we passed up earlier.    Read more

  • A Year of Living Awesomely
    Day 2

    The Rain That Never Came

    January 12 in Singapore ⋅ 🌧 27 °C

    Our hotel room has no window but we have the weather app on our phones of course and it’s telling us that it will very likely rain all day. So we are prepared with single use raincoats for an eventuality like this. Especially since the umbrella was one of the first casualties in the weight cull.

    We are heading to a different food centre today, this one is predominantly Malay whereas the one yesterday is more Nonya.

    Down to the street to a lovely fine morning and we head off. This food centre is much larger with lots more choices. And we are full of indecision, until I spy a man holding a plate containing something I recognise and ask him which stall he got it from.

    I have never had idli before but I’ve had egg hoppers and love them. I order one serve of idli and two egg hoppers or appom as they are known here. Really good! And washed down with teh tarik which is a tea with milk and sugar prepared using a long pour method.

    The food centre is part of a larger market with both fresh produce and clothing and household items. We explore the fish section which is extensive and the prices are so cheap.

    Today is laundry day and we have a laundromat nearby which is fairly easy to navigate and since we are travelling light it’s best done today. While waiting I notice a curious facility has been wheeled out onto the footpath in front of the shop next door: umbrella rental.

    Lunch is back at the Dunman Food Centre. I have an omelette, Richard goes for wonton noodle.    Read more

  • A Year of Living Awesomely
    Day 2

    Chinatown and Temples

    January 12 in Singapore ⋅ 🌧 27 °C

    Our plan for the afternoon was to head in to Chinatown, take a look around then make our way to Gardens by the Bay to see the music and light show at the Supertrees. We take the bus in which takes us past some of the older historic buildings as well as some of the newer trendier neighbourhoods.

    We're not sure exactly where we are when we alight the bus and so we just pick a street and start walking. I have a rough idea where there is a large Hindu temple I have earmarked but we may have overshot it so we keep going. We stumble on a small Hindu temple, it must be merely a few streets away from the larger one. This one is called Sri Layan Sithi Vinayagar Temple and is beautifully adorned in the typical square pyramid (for want of a better description) with deities covering its surface in all the colours of the rainbow. We note that visitors are welcome to enter so we remove our shoes and wash our feet before quietly entering a small courtyard with a structure in the centre where several people are taking incense and praying. Worshippers walk in an anti-clockwise direction around this structure. I have since learned that this is called circumambulation.

    Next we head towards the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple. On the way we pass many stalls selling durian. I now understand the whole thing about the durian smell. It isn't foul, just very strong, kind os sickly and quite pervasive. I am willing to give it a try at some point. Just not today.

    The Buddha Tooth Relic Temple was built in 2007 to house the "sacred Buddha Tooth Relic for veneration by our devotees". It is a solid and imposing structure dripping in symbolism. Inside the temple is exquisite. From the Hundred Buddhas Hall to the Universal Wisdom Hall every aspect is beautiful.

    We leave the temple as the rain begins to fall and find our way into the heart of Chinatown where every store is festooned in the red and gold livery of the approaching lunar new year festivities. We find a bar and stop for a short break. We have decided to give the Supertrees a miss as the weather has turned miserable and we have already done a great deal of walking. As we leave the bar I realise that we are quite close to the first Hindu Temple so we go in search of it.

    Wow! There really is no other word to describe it. The Sri Mariamman temple is astonishingly beautiful. My battery is low and my feet are sore but I manage a few minutes of video because it is just so incredibly beautiful. We are worn out and eager to get home so head for the bus stop to get us there. On reaching our neighbourhood we have just enough energy to grab some dinner of wonton noodles and chicken hor fun    Read more

  • A Year of Living Awesomely
    Day 3

    Orchids, A Forest Walk and Cendol

    January 13 in Singapore ⋅ 🌧 29 °C

    Breakfast this morning is back at the Dunman Food Centre. Richard goes back for chicken rice porridge and I have wonton noodle, all washed down with strong, sweet coffee. We decide to hop on a train and explore a random area near some parkland and a reservoir where there are nature walks.

    The train takes us to a stop called Upper Thompson where the houses are opulent and all have off-street parking. We walk along streets with gardens that spill out onto the footpath and through a park with red-trunked palms and encounter some lovely orchids, our first since arriving.

    A suburban street leads to a forest trail. A rustle in the undergrowth caused by a startled creature alerts my attention and I catch a glimpse of something large and rotund disappearing from view. "A pig!" I squeal. I literally squeal. Richard's response is dismissive. We stop along the trail to rest and listen to the forest and google wild animals of Singapore. Along with pigs, there are civets, small deer and saltwater crocodiles. Suddenly Richard is no longer keen to walk along a trail near the water's edge.

    We explore the food options near the station and decide the likelihood of finding value for money in this neighbourhood are probably slim so grab a train heading back towards our hotel and a food centre we have passed on the bus a number of times already.

    The Old Airport Road Food Centre is the largest we've visited so far. There are many choices of items we've not yet come across such as dishes that use various forms of pig intestines, chicken feet, and other ingredients we are unfamiliar with. Richard holds a table while I go to choose the food and I return with a pork and rice dish and a prawn omelette. We are sitting near a stall that serves cendol, a dish I've heard of but never tried before so we decide to share one.

    Cendol is a noodle and shaved ice dish. The noodles are a fine glass noodle flavoured with pandan and so are green. These are served over shaved ice with coconut milk, brown sugar and peanuts. It was a winner.    Read more

  • A Year of Living Awesomely
    Day 3

    Supertrees and Oh No!

    January 13 in Singapore ⋅ 🌧 29 °C

    We have settled into a routine of resting up in the afternoon so come 5:00 we head out. We are off to see the Supertrees that we called off yesterday because of the weather.

    Changing from bus to train at Dakota to join the Circle line we are firstly confused as there are no trains heading to Bayfront, then discover that at certain times this is not a direct route and we must change trains at Promenade. The trains coming through are all packed and we almost chicken out again but we adjust our demeanour and brace ourselves. At Stadium the train empties. Who's in town?

    The walk from Bayfront station to the Gardens by the Bay is well signposted and straightforward and goes via a wide tunnel with mirrored walls which amplifies the effect. Young dancers congregate to utilise the mirrors as they video their moves. At this point we decide it would be a great idea to video the walk. Just as I am attempting to mount the phone onto the gimbal it slips from my hands and lands jarringly, corner first onto the hard paved floor. And the devastating damage is immediately clear. I am able to access the camera but nothing else. Part of the screen is completely black, while some is affected by stripy lines so I am unable to see my battery level.

    We make our way to the Supertrees Grove all the same and for as long as I can take photos and video I will do so. I manage to film the entire sound and light show but I have no idea if I will be able to retrieve it or not.

    It's a long trip home moving along with the crowds which gradually disperse in different directions. We decide to stop at the Old Railway Food Centre once again and this time we queue for the Fried Kway Teow, an egg noodle dish with prawns that I am familiar with, followed by coral weed mango dessert, one I am definitely not familiar with.    Read more

  • A Year of Living Awesomely
    Day 4

    Arriving In Kuala Lumpur. What a View!

    January 14 in Malaysia ⋅ ☁️ 33 °C

    Our stay in Singapore has come to an end. We call a Grab at 5:30 and are at the airport by 6:00. Immigration is quick and easy and then we head for the food court to find something for breakfast. I find a place that does chicken rice and chicken hor fun, then change our remaining Singapore dollars to Malaysian Ringgit.

    The flight is really short and by 10:00am we are in Kuala Lumpur. Due to the fact I broke my phone we have set Richard up with all the apps we will need to get into Malaysia and to our accomodation. Our first challenge is the entry card that is needed to get into the country. I can't use my phone and am struggling with the airport wifi while queuing for immigration. Fortunately it is attached electronically to my passport in the system so that's one issue sorted. the second potential issue is onward travel. We are aware we could be asked for proof of onward travel but haven't booked anything as we wanted to remain flexible. It is possible to buy a confirmed reservation for $US16 each but we have decided to take a chance with the intention of booking on the spot if required. Fortunately we didn't need to as we both failed to successfully connect to wifi so that could have been interesting.

    Before we find our way into the city we want to ask about buses to Malacca so we head downstairs to the "Transportation Hub". We learn that the same counter that will sell us tickets into the city today will also be where we come back to on Wednesday. The bus is fantastic with huge plush recliner seats. The trip into the city is about an hour. It turns out that the bus station is a short walk from our accommodation, if we can follow simple directions on Google maps. It turns out we can't and we take a really, really long way around.

    We can't check in until 3:00 but we can drop off our bags and then go grab some lunch. Once we have checked in freshened up we head up to the 37th floor to check out the infinity pool. Wow! Wow! The pool faces north and the view is dominated by the Menara KL Tower with the Petronas Towers a little further away.

    Dinner tonight was just a sandwich in the room.    Read more

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