Tag: Singapore

“THE RETIREES GO AROUND THE WORLD – Heathrow overnight and arrived in Singapore“

The trip from Dover was to prove a disaster. The American couple behind us shared their germs with the whole bus. They hacked and coughed the whole journey. We thought we may have avoided any of the contagion but this proved to be mistaken.

Our plan had always been to overnight at Heathrow so that the trip to singapore did not feel so rushed. Our hotel had a convenient roof top bar with views over the runway and a direct connection with the Terminal for our departure. We took advantage of the rooftop bar but I was oblivious to the signs that camers were not permitted until too late when the steward brought it to my attention in a most public way. Anyway I got some good photos which are below. Yes it does look like Concorde!

The flight to Singapore took about 8 hours and we arrived in Singapore in the late afternoon. One of the objectives was to stay in Raffles Hotel but a 6 day stay was absurdly expensive. We opted for the Park Royal Collection in Pickering near to Chinatown. We thought we would be smart and take a two day package at Raffles which included a chaufeur driven limo to or from the airport and stay the rest of the time at the Park Royal – which is not a shabby hotel by any means but a third of the cost.

The Park Royal Collection at Pickering is designed to minimise environmental pollution and they have achieved this in many ways included bedecking the hotel with trees and plants. When the cab from the airport arrived at the hotel we were taken back by the green environment encasing the concrete hotel. We were not disappointed by the hotel. The foyer and reception was modern with the general dining area just off the reception. To get to our room involved passing through some of the gardens and water features where we were actually outside the hotel 6 stories above ground. The room was very comfortable with large windows allowing excellent views across the local area. The bathroom and shower was particularly exposed to receive the views and I wondered how many people may be viewing us.

We were also surprised at how well located the hotel proved to be. The Hop on Hop off bus stop was across the road at Hong Lim Park in Pickering St and the 3rd last stop before the terminus. This meant the first bus came to the stop at 9.40am – very suitable for getting a sleep in then breakfast. And so it was that we caught the bus paying a 1 day fare. The bus drove down to Old Customs House on Marina Bay around the corner to the MBS Convention Centre which is across the road from the iconic Marina Bay Sands hotel, famous for its massive ship-like structure, the Sands SkyPark, perched on top of three towering hotel buildings, featuring an infinity pool, observation deck, restaurants, and bars with stunning city views. From there we went onto the Suntec City Mall and the terminus. Only then did I pick up my camera as we journeyed through Little India, passed the Raffles Hospital, the Parkroyal on Beach Rd, round into the Muslim enclave of mosques and heritage centre, past the retail shops of Raffles Hotel, down past the boat quay into Chinatown and then back to the MBS Convention Centre where we got off the bus to explore further.

The convention centre can best be seen from the otherside of Marina Bay. In my photo below you will see the lotus shaped Art Science Museum. Behind is the convention centre and behind that the Marina Bay Sands Hotel. The convention centre includes a shopping mall easily the size of Indooripilly Shopping Centre here in Brisbane and three stories high. Exploring this area was amazing. The design and shape very rich and speaking of wealth. It had an indoor canal system emulating Venice, outstanding orchid displays, inteeresting shop fittings and a massive curved ceiling of glass to let in the light. From the outside of the Art Science Museum I was able to get a clear photo of the Sands Sky Park and the Lionheaded serpent; the symbol of Singapore.

The Sands Skypark offers (for a fee) a trip to the top of the hotel to look around the sights of Singapore so we made our way across the road scrambled through the mall under the Marina Sands Hotel towers and around to the elevators transporting us 56 levels above ground to view Singapore, and the exclusive areas enjoyed by hotel guests.

I took the next photo to show the ships at anchor.

And another panoramic photo this time of the CBD.

Behind the hotel is Gardens by the Bay an enormous botanic garden. Its website describes it as “Gardens by the Bay is a showpiece of horticulture and garden artistry that presents the plant kingdom in a whole new way, entertaining while educating visitors with plants seldom seen in this part of the world, ranging from species in cool, temperate climates to tropical forests and habitats.” It is so big that golf cart type transport is available and in the climate of Singapore and being on top of the Equator, they are necessary but not free. The bar was not open and we could see the residents were enjoying themselves so we decided to go and see the gardens.

We returned to the ground to make our way through the crowd back to the exit to the gardens. We walked through the shopping mall again. At the reception to the hotel we came across a magnificent bouquet of flowers pictured below and there after my photos take you on the journey we followed just to find our way around the gardens.

Although we did not get to see a great deal of the gardens, we were both tired and happy to return to the hotel and rest. We caught the bus back to the hotel planning to rest then walk to the bay for dinner and the light show. All went well and we were back at the old Customs House seated in a harbourside restaurant called Superloco to await the light show which we had been told would start around 7.30pm. After dinner we moved around into the adjoining park. My photos show our restaurant and the light show. When walking to the hotel we came across and illumination of a tree but it certainly was not yet Christmas.

Back in the hotel we rested till the following day. Catch up with Day 2 in Singapore when I post “THE RETIREES GO AROUND THE WORLD – Singapore Day 2“

The Retirees Go Abroad – Brisbane Singapore Helsinki & Berlin

Things are different now. Our holidays have to fit in with the other things in life whereas it was the other way around when we were living in the UK. We both miss that time but it was too good and we knew it could not last. So, we had our New Years in Sydney and our tour of the N.S.W highlands at Xmas/New year and we have done a few odd things thereafter (odd as in various not “odd”) and now we are preparing for the “big trip” – 25 days in the Scandinavian regions and central Europe.

As we pack, I pull out my copy of the “Ghost Empire” by Richard Fidler. A thick tome all about the Byzantine Empire and the author’s bonding with his son on a trip to Istanbul and back in time to Constantinople (the Second roman empire of the East), I have put off reading due to the business of life. I expect some of you reading this will know Richard – he was host of “Conversations” on ABC radio. I found his show fascinating and did not listen to it often enough.

Our trip to the airport and our wait for the plane gave me the opportunity to start reading. From the moment I read the Acknowledgements (who does that?) I was hooked and did not want to put it down. Knowing the author’s voice, I felt as though he narrated the whole book to me. At the airport in Brisbane, on the plane to Singapore, in the airport at Singapore, on the plane to Helsinki and then on the plane to Berlin I read the book lost in the world of the Romans from the time of the Assyrians through the birth life death and resurrection of Christ to 330AD when Constantine I founded and built Constantinople. I did have dialogue with Kerry and I did commune with the world but always I could not wait to get back to Constantinople.

Thirty-eight hours of travel and we landed in Berlin. We had a brief stopover in Singapore and then in Helsinki where we boarded an EasyJet to Berlin. Our travel plans worked well, but all seemed to unravel when we land at Tegal Airport in Berlin. We caught up with Kerry and Rod Hayes who were to be our travelling companions. Kerry H had booked a taxi for us at Tegal but the driver was not waiting with his sign for us when we exited the terminal. Low level panic ensued with all of us searching the terminal and Kerry phoning him. Thirty minutes later our driver presents – he did not have a cab and therefore had to park some distance from the terminal at another terminal. Of course, we made it to Flowers Apartments in Mitte the centre of Berlin.

Berlin is strange in that it does not have a central business district. This may be a result of the city being divided after the Second World War. The east is being revived and the west is somewhat stagnant. Our apartment was large for a studio apartment. It was long and narrow, so we got the benefit of many windows pouring in daylight. This proved somewhat of a trap in that the sunset was after 8.00pm at night. Knowing we were only here 5 nights we got the necessities from our suitcase showered and changed into fresh clothes and set off exploring. Strangely there were a number of empty blocks around the city. Immediately across the road from us was an overgrown vacant block, at the end of our street Mulack Strasse. Where it joins Alte Schonhauser Strasse, is a street with tram lines and no tram except in emergencies. No traffic either. Really strange for the centre of the city. The buildings are all low rise but 20th century architecture – this once was East Berlin.

Everywhere there are push bikes. Some have been abandoned. There are scooters lying about like drunks just as we have them in Brisbane and community motor scooter/bikes and cars sitting around waiting for the next driver. We walked along Alte Schonhauser Strasse to Weinmeister  Strasse in the general direction of Alexanderplatz one of the major squares in Berlin where we found the Metro which would be handy later on and Rod and Kerry discovered Father Carpenter their favourite coffee shop. It is tucked inside a small square at the end of an alley. At the very end is evidence of the old East Berlin.

 

Our goal was in sight – Alexanderplatz has a major television tower planted in the middle of it and it stands as a directional landmark above all surrounding buildings. In the square it is market day (Saturday and Sunday the markets set up to tap into the tourists milling through Berlin). Food is a central theme. Huge wok like frying pans containing prepared sausage dishes to mushrooms to chips are available at reasonable prices. A few vendors provide the foods in a bread shell. It can form part of your meal or if discarded it does not pollute the environment but feeds every kind of bird. There were the traditional BBQ and deep fried something stalls but no strudel stalls. How disappointing.

We decided to have a more substantial meal and went back towards Weinmeister Strasse encountering Bistro Kneipe. A small establishment brewing its own beers and providing pub meals. Rod and I tried one or two of the beers and each of us enjoyed our substantial meals. Again, the price was quite reasonable.

I noticed that Berlin (in fact the whole of Germany) was in the midst of an election. Angela Merkel is retiring so the political advertising was everywhere. One of the things we went to the Platz to obtain was our public transport “Berlin Card”. Berlin has buses, trains and trams and this card for 30 euros each gave us travel on all public transport for 4 days. The key bus routes are the 100 and 200 routes. These routes terminate in Charlottenberg but there is an immense amount in between – the museum sector, the Teirgarten (Berlin’s Central Park), some embassies (the picture of the Aeroflot Building hides the Russian embassy), and the Brandenburg Gate ( close by the American embassy, beside it the French embassy and around the corner the British embassy). The 100 line bus takes its passengers  past the Reichstag and Bundestag through the Terigarten past Charlottenberg Schloss (palace), past the memorial to the unification of Germany by Bismarck to Charlottenberg whereas the 200 line skirts the Teirgarten passing through Pottsdammer Platz and the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe back to Brandenberg Gate and onto Aleanderplatz.

Charlottenburg is now a suburb of Berlin. It is home to the Berlin Zoo and includes a remnant of WW2 in the form of the shattered remains of a church. However, our goal was to find the Monkey Bar. We circled around a bit before realising any place that advertises it is open 25 hours a day has to be monkeying around. A non descript hotel concealed on its top floor a bar with fabulous views back towards Mitte overlooking the zoo and the Teirgarten. But this was not all half of the floor included the restaurant “Neni” with similar views and atmosphere. The food seemed interesting and reasonably priced but no booking available. We decided to return to our apartments crossed the road to pick up the 200 line bus and while waiting entered an arcade to find a weird water clock. We arrive 5 minutes before 12.00 noon so we could wait to see the culmination of 12 hours of water dribbling into various flasks and beakers.