Hello Singapore !!

GoodBye Philippines ... Hello Singapore !

Why Singapore?   ...there is no snorkeling there !
when i was at Peter’s Dive Resort in S. Leyte the first part of February, i met Claire.   She is from Virginia, but on a 3yr contract teaching 5th grade in one of the International Schools in Singapore.   i was telling her about my ‘visa dilemma' of having to leave Philippines by 12 Mar, but not being able to arrive in Indonesia until the 14 Mar.   she suggested i come to Singapore and stay with her a couple days. WoW ! …how awesome was that?   so that became the solution to my problem ... and another adventure !


why is air travel so expensive in the USA ?
i bought a ticket from Cebu, Philippines to Singapore for US$80.07.    that included the extra charge for my large bag, a meal on board (no food is included in the base price), and travel insurance.   it was a 3.5 hour flight !!!!   can you fly anywhere in the USA for that little ?   it’s ridiculous what we have to pay for air travel in the USA !


i got a taxi from Kevin’s to the Port; the 11am ferry from Bohol to Cebu. shared a taxi to the airport with 2 local women; and was there in plenty of time for my 5pm flight.   i don’t like to be stressed about getting anywhere (travel can be so unreliable); so i’d much rather be early; and it’s air conditioned in the airports :)   it’s become very hot and humid here.   a lot of you probably wouldn’t like it.   although it can be a bit uncomfortable, i far prefer it to the cold :)


i did have a surprise when i got to the airport to find out there was a US$15 Airport Departure tax that was not listed anywhere :(    thankfully i had enough pesos left, because they only took cash.   

so you can add that to the US$80.07 flight cost … still a bargain.

Singapore is a BIG city; this was not an island destination. so a big stretch for me and way outside of my comfort zone ! but i had Claire, my own personal travel guide, and we had been communicating back and forth with things i needed to know. i would not have done this without her.

the Singapore Airport is amazing, this is the baggage claim area…. yes those are live plants.

the bathroom was spotless and huge (a shock coming from Philippines).    they have small kiosks all over the airport, where you scan your passport and they give you the WiFi password !    this is Hi-Tec.   i got $S from the ATM and bought my sim card for my phone ... all a piece of cake !

the flight had left late and by the time i got to her flat it was after 11pm … and she had to get up at 5am to get ready for school :(     we still visited a bit and she gave me the quick instructions on how to get into her complex, and her flat code number, and how to get to, and use the MRT (the subway) … just the thought of that gave me anxiety !     and all kinds of options of what all i could do. 
she told me a lot, and my head was spinning.    but hey, i have a smart phone, and i put all the important info in there.   in the morning, i ‘dilly-dallied’, which i knew was an avoidance technique of actually going out into the big city.

some of you may find this unbelievable that i can travel around 3rd world countries with frustration, but little anxiety.    but when it comes to ‘cities’ … i’m a total wuss !


i looked at the MRT ‘maze’ (map) and decided that i would enjoy the Botanical Gardens, and… it looked like the easiest place to get to.
....let’s just say i met a LOT of people, who were happy to try to help me:   first, the nice looking Australian guy who helped me get out of the building and on to the street; the unknowing couple who i followed in hopes they were going to the MRT; the 6 people i talked to before getting on the MRT, through escalators up and down and up again, down long clean well-light walk-ways, and more escalators.    then 1 more person on the train to make sure i was getting off at the right exit and onto the next train; and the woman who explained to me that i didn’t need to get another train, i just needed to go through ‘that' door and i would be at the Botanical Gardens.    in my own defense, i will say that the MRT map that Claire gave me was from 2015 and did not have all the new lines on it :)    i now had an up-to-date map ;)

it took me over an hour to get to the Botanical Gardens, which is actually a 20min journey.   the next time i took the MRT, i was much more relaxed and better at it… but that first time was stressful.

the Botanical Gardens were awesome, highly recommend if you love being outdoors, plants, flowers, gardens, color and fragrances.

the Giant Dutchman’s Pipe emits an odor that attracts insects/flies for pollination.   it has hairs inside the plant to prevent the insects from escaping until it’s been pollinated, the insect can escape when the hairs relax and the pollen is released

this bud looked like our peony, but opened like this ... interesting

this was a tree with huge bright yellow flowers

this is a 75ft CannonBall Tree. the flowers bloom throughout the year and are used to scent perfumes.   the fruits are huge brown ‘cannonballs’, which are eaten by animals when they fall to the ground.  the empty shells are used as containers.

they even have a ‘reflexology path’ you walk on with barefoot. i did this to become ‘zen'

you know how i am with my camera underwater; flowers are no different.   however, by 1pm my iPhone battery had died (too many photos?).    i had my cable with me (i thought i was prepared) … and went to the Visitor Center to get it charged.

during this time i visited the Orchid Garden, which was fabulous !   fortunately for you all, i had no camera; or this blog would be much longer.

i returned in 1hr to retrieve my phone; only to be told that it would not charge.   they checked my cable and it worked fine on other iPhones, but my phone was dead !

i was supposed to be communicating with Claire (texting, messaging, whatsap), so we could decide where to meet when she finished working.   her phone number, apartment code, address ... everything ... was securely locked inside my dead phone … obviously panic set in :(

my only recourse was to try to find my way back to her place and plead with the guard to let me, so i could access my lap top and contact her.

i knew i entered the MRT  at ‘Little India’ exchange, i easily managed my way back there... whoop whoop.    i had made a mental note of a 'small parking lot' across the street from the entrance so i thought i could find my way back.   as i exited the MRT there was no 'small parking lot' in sight.     i walked up and down the street, around the corner … nothing.   i saw some ‘workmen’ and asked them if there was more than one entrance to Little India … yes … there were SIX !  ..... and that doesn’t mean 6 doors to one building… it means 6 different buildings, ...spread all over a very wide area, ...possibly several blocks apart.   i now realize this is typical, but i sure had no idea!   i remembered the name of her street and asked them, but they had never heard of it.    i found a map and saw the street, asked them again, and he ‘pointed me’, across that street and ‘over there’.   i walked and looked and nothing looked familiar. in an office building, i asked again.   the guard was very nice and walked me down the street and said, ‘go in there, and out the other side'.   it was an underground parking structure with a sliding iron gate, but a couple had just walked through, so i slid through too.   i walked to the other end, hoping to exit … but of course the door was locked. and now, the big iron gate had closed as well.    i was locked in an underground parking lot :)    …it was hot, i was sweaty, and frustrated.    i walked around the garage and found another workman who, stopped what he was doing, and walked me to the gate and unlocked it for me ….. and ‘pointed’ across and down the street.  as i walked, i recognized a couple of things and eventually found her apartment complex, and the guard house.   i showed them my ‘electronic entrance card’, and explained the situation that i did not know the code to her apartment, nor did i know her phone number.  they kindly called her and told me that she would text me the code … to my phone …. that was dead.    this was such a comedy of errors !     they called her back and finally told her the number.    the guard walked me to the pool area where i could use my ‘card’ to get in the door.    of course, my card did not work, just to add another amount of frustration.   i finally found someone in an office who reprogrammed the card and let me in.   i got home about 15 min before Claire, plugged my phone in and said a little prayer.

that was an adventurous day number one  !

we left and took the MRT to an restaurant in a huge mall and had the most wonderful meal.  these guys were making dim sums, rolling out 3” circles, another guy was gathering the dough into precisely 9 folds, anotyer was filling them.    they were out of this world ...they melted in your mouth !

then we walked to Marina Bay, an area of parks, restaurants, bars, people running, and enjoying the evening, and this great art exhibit.

this area is where the famous Marina Bay Sands Hotel is located, 3 towers, 57 floors up, ... to the ‘boat’ that houses restaurants and a swimming pool !

we had a drink and watched the light show over the Bay.   it was impressive !

that was a lot of excitement for my first day in Singapore.   it is an amazing city, so clean and well organized.   a long long way from the Philippines !

the next day i ventured back to the Marine Bay area, using my now-well-honed MRT skills :)   check out how beautiful this MRT is !

i wanted to visit the Garden by the Bay, including the Cloud Forest Dome, and the Flower Dome.

the bridge getting to the Gardens offers a great view of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel ....impressive

Gardens by the Bay is part of a strategy by the Singapore government to transform Singapore from a "Garden City" to a "City in a Garden".  the stated aim is to raise the quality of life by enhancing greenery and flora in the city.

this is FABULOUS !
these metal structures are called ‘SuperTrees’ and are 82-160 ft tall. 

they are fitted with environmental technologies that mimic the ecological function of trees:
--they have cells that harness solar energy they use for lighting, just like how trees photosynthesize
--they collect rainwater for use in irrigation and fountain displays, exactly like how trees absorb rainwater for growth
--they also serve air intake and exhaust functions as part of the conservatories' cooling systems.


the base of the trees are covered with plants and there is a WalkWay at 70 feet high, which is as high as the canopy in a rainforest

from there i went to the Flower Garden Dome.   it was 61F in there !     FREEEZZZZING !   i was really surprised, i didn’t bring a wrap because i figured i’d be in hot environments all day.

it was huge and impressive

it had Boab Trees

and had many sculptures made out of drift wood,…. i think i was most impressed by them

and some unusual flowers,…… these were in the ‘Australia Gardens', and are called Kangaroo Paws

other than that, i was ready to leave

next was the Cloud Forest Dome; which obviously mimics the atmosphere of a Cloud Forest… now,  ... THIS was impressive.     it was cool in there, but not cold.    you are greeted by the ‘world’s largest indoor waterfall’ ... at 115 feet

it mimics conditions at 9800ft above sea level, a 138 ft ‘mountain’ … you can see the ‘mist’

the entire 7 floors were covered in flowers and foliage. loving gardening the way i do, i can’t imagine what it must take, and how many workers it takes to maintain this … mind-boggling !

this is from the ground floor looking up at the walkway, which spirals down the ‘mountain’

 another cool driftwood and clay sculpture

this is on the walkway

there were hundreds of orchids, i could fill an entire blog entry just with photos of orchids !    here are just a few

another view of the walkway as it spiraled from top to bottom

all the flowers and plants here are representative of a Cloud Forest.     because the soil at high altitudes is rocky and poor, many plants have had to adapt to survive.    so there was an entire area of carnivorous Pitcher Plants.    the ‘pitchers’ lure small animals into a pool of water and enzymes that digest the prey creating liquid fertilizer for the plant

there were also Venus Fly-Traps that close instantly when flies land on them, and then are digested as well.


i could post many many photos of flowers, here are just a few

my next goal was to get up to the top of Marina Bay Sands Resort.  at it’s opening in 2010, it was billed as the worlds most expensive standalone casino property.    a 2,561 room hotel, convention-exhibition center, mall, museum, 2 theaters, restaurants, and the wolds largest atrium casino. and … topped by a 1,120 ft Sky Park and a 490 ft infinity swimming pool, set on top of the world's largest public cantilevered platform, which overhangs the north tower by 220 ft

i just wanted to see the swimming pool that towers over most buildings and goes right to the edge of the building.   i didn’t have to sneak in, just found a couple elevators to take me up and had a bite to eat and a tropical drink.

obviously the deck and pool is reserved for their guests, who pay dearly for the privilege of staying there.
but i did get a good look .....

and you can see what i am talking about.     i wonder what it is like to swim to the edge of that pool   ... WoW

the view on the other side was nice as well, .... on the left are the Flower and Cloud Domes, bottom right are the SuperTrees ... and boats ... so many boats-ships in the harbor

it was 3pm and it took me 30min to find a taxi to take me to an artist-friend of Claire’s.    after more great local food

we took the ‘double-decker-bus …. 'with-no-driver-on-the-top’.    some of you might recognize those lyrics from Joni Mitchell.    this is Claire, what a great smile !

 had another cocktail  .... :)

and walked around China Town

it’s the Year of the Dog, lots of these lighted 'creatures' along the streets ... sorry i couldn't get more photos

Claire has a fabulous apartment on the 8th floor and right outside her balcony is a huge tree.    she told me that maybe i would see a HornBill flying around.    and, my last morning he was kind enough to pose for me for 20min, right on a limb with no leaves blocking the view !

check out that ‘bill’ over top of their beak … strange !

interesting bird, ....the Oriental Pied-HornBill !
-they are 22” from head to tail, with a 10-14” wingspan
-omnivorous, in addition to fruits, they eat insects, lizards, small birds, rats, fish and crabs.
-they do not make their own nest, but use others they have found
-they are generally monogamous
-when females select and enter the nest, they seal the cavity with a saliva, mud, fruit, droppings and tree bark, leaving only a small opening through which food may be passed in
-the male forages for the female and chicks, which remain inside the nest with the female for several months ! …talk about CABIN FEVER !
-all hornbills went extinct in Singapore and the Oriental Pied-hornbill is the first one to make a comeback.

there … your lesson on the Oriental Pied-HornBill


i used the MRT to go back to ChinaTown.     i told Claire last night that, although i am enjoying the local and sophisticated foods of Singapore; i’d really love a burger.     it’s been 2 months, and it will be another month before i can enjoy great beef.    she knew just the place and showed me last night.    i was quite proud of myself for finding it on my own.    it’s on a back alley, with no sign except this

the 'Burger Joint New York' is just a hole in the wall, which replicates it’s orignal branch in NYC, with Nebraska Angus Beef flown in monthly.    it was delicious, with fried onion rings and a Dr Pepper …

and, the bonus was that they were playing good old time rock and roll from the 70s and  80s.   i could have stayed there all afternoon.


i walked around ChinaTown until it all started to look the same.     i tried to meet Claire somewhere around there, and in the process got myself turned around (lost) again.    more kind ‘friends’ helped me find my way back to her place.     we had a nice farewell dinner, and i left around 7pm for my 9pm flight


in the Airport waiting for my flight i saw these sculptures … anyone that's been to the Kzoo Airport ... do they remind you of ‘Stephen Hansen’s sculptures'  ?

i also had a Singapore Sling before i left … not my favorite drink

and now, on my way to North Sulewesi, Indonesia where i am anxious to get back in the water !


i really enjoyed my stay in Singapore, thank you Claire for your friendship and generosity !