NZ10+ : Day 02 : SINGAPORE
Tuesday 18/03/08
(Writing 18/03/2008)
Was tempted by the McDonald's
next to where the pick-up bus was, however, was unsure how to order a plain
burger in the local language. Bus left immediately anyhow.
Sun coming up, don't want to
write too much now as I'll miss looking at the sights on the way in. Not at
this second tired; that will probably change the moment I see a bed. (NOTE:
"Local" driver. Love the "floral" shirts.)
(Writing 19/03/2008)
Got to the hotel and I was too
early to check in. So, I stowed my baggage with concierge and went to see if I
could still have breakfast.
I have no idea how much I am
spending in terms of british-pounds, but the half price / guest rate breakfast must
have appealed to me. Tried a few new things. Some curious ham, which was
processed gammon I think, some noodle-y stuff, and chicken sausages. The latter
was much nicer than you would have thought. Vendors in hotel and food stalls are
quite "pushy", wanting to take your order before you're close enough
to see what is on offer. Either that, or I do need glasses.
Lugged my over-stuffed hand
luggage around for a while as I went for a wander. Man, it is humid! Had a mild
sweat on.
Finally got into room after
9.00am and tried to sleep… Only for the Singapore Airplanes Rep to telephone my
room in order to book my coach back to the airport in two days’ time (fair
enough) and to also urge me to buy my way onto a day trip of some sort (not so
appreciated…) Succumbed at 4:30pm and bought a ticket to the Night Safari… An
actual rainforest zoo lit by artificial moonlight.
The Safari was Amazing stuff.
Couldn't take a decent picture without a flash though. Otters, deer, rhino,
hippo, elephant, lions, wolves, all kinds of cats and tigers. After we got off
the electric tram that drives you around the park, I tried to find the burger
bar, which was next to the Polynesian Fire dancers. I started to take a picture
of one of them, when another one grabbed me!
Thought I was in trouble for
something, but he got me up on stage (where I proceeded to dance "like a
Manc") and he wanted me to feed another dancer a metal stick that was on
fire (like a sword swallower). I did that no problem, and then he told me to
get on my knees and to do the same…
Bizarrely, I went along with it,
which they thought was hilarious (I think). Why did I assume it was ok for me
to eat fire? Partly because the lack of sleep, the suddenness of my being
dragged up on stage, and lack of overall common sense all convinced me that I
could! Luckily, they sent me back before I actually tried to do it…
Felt very weird not having
anyone I knew around to see it, or talk to about it afterwards. You have an
anecdote, and you want to immediately share it, but can’t.
Went for a curry and a beer
before having another go round the rainforest, but on foot this time, then
headed home for much needed sleep.
NOTE: Have I over packed? Will
try money-belt tomorrow and the lighter satchel.
SOUNDTRACK: Welcome to the Jungle (Guns & Roses)
BECAUSE OF: The Rainforest.
COMMENTARY:
I do remember being hit by the overwhelming humidity of Singapore; I’d
never been in a climate like that before, and it really did feel like I’d hit a
wall of warm air, which took some
getting used to. But the city itself was stunning, and after an hour or so, I became
acclimatised to the tropical atmosphere.
I remember thinking it was an incredibly modern city, which was very
clean looking. I don’t think I had much time to actually explore in the
morning, as the jet-lag hit me pretty quickly. Up until this trip, I think I’d
wrote jetlag off as some sort of myth. But because I had not actually slept at
all on the flight (I’m a terrible sleeper, especially on a moving vehicle) and due
to the fact that I was too early to the hotel to check in initially, it meant
that when I did get into my room, I hit the deck hard. So, a subsequent phone call at 4pm from the Rep, waking me up
to book tickets to the Safari, really wasn’t appreciated!
However, the point of this trip was to embrace things thrown at me, and
so I took the chance and booked onto the night safari there and then,
especially as it had been recommended by a friend before I had left (Thanks
Zoe!)
A coach collected us from the hotel, and on the drive to the Safari we
actually got a little commentary and tour of the city. This was massively
useful in hindsight, as in my eagerness to get to New Zealand, I really had not
researched Singapore at all. In some
ways this was great, as everything I did there was new, but in other ways it
was a bit restrictive. I couldn’t even find Singapore on a map, and yet there I
was!
The Night Safari itself is not done any justice by my pictures, and so
I’d encourage a Google search to see more detail. Essentially an open-air
safari park, in which special floodlights are setup that allow us pesky humans to
see the animals in their natural nocturnal environment. The lights are filtered
in such a way that they don’t affect the animal’s normal routine, or cause them
to run away and hide. You are driven around the safari on an electric tram for
45 minutes or so, and then you have an hour or so to yourself, to revisit some
of the enclosures on foot, to get a bite to eat, or watch the shows, which
included the Polynesian Fire Dancers…
After the tram had driven us around, I decided to take a short walk to
revisit some of the animals, including the Wolves. The path and tramway is
separated from the animals by a large ditch, about 12 feet across and half as
deep. In the dark, and without the safety of the tram (nor the company of other
people) the ditch didn’t actually seem big enough to keep the wolves at bay! However,
in innocent naivety and trust, I decided it must be enough to deter any hungry
wolves from making the leap, and so I strolled through the enclosure on my own.
I took in the amazing sight of 20 or more Wolves, perched on their various
mounds, or snoozing on the grass. As I entered, I spotted a local family
leaving the enclosure at the opposite end of the path from me. As soon as this
family disappeared safely around the corner, all of the Wolves immediately turned their heads to me. Even the
ones who had (apparently) just been asleep!
Twenty pairs of glowing eyes in the dark, and maybe a few salivating
tongues - all quite chilling. I believe I was being sized up … I’ve always
considered myself a dog person, and felt I had an affinity with them, but at
that point I only felt like I was a possible late-lunch. Though I’m sure the
park has a perfect safety record, I wasn’t taking any chances on the first day
of my trip, and so I didn’t hang about!
The incident described above with the fire-dancers, along with my
naivety in believing that I would be able to (and allowed to) swallow fire on-stage,
obviously only hit me as being ridiculous after
I had gotten off stage. As noted, not having anyone immediately there with me,
to turn to and say “that was a bit mad wasn’t it?” felt very, very weird. I
think this was the first point at which I realised I truly was doing this trip
solo, and that any and all banter, anecdotes or stories would have to be saved
until much later.
The adrenaline from my sword-swallowing near miss kicked in not long
after I left the stage, and I tried to walk it off by heading to the food
court. I ordered a curry and a beer (just like home?) and thought that I could
at least calm down and maybe laugh off my near-death experience, now that I had
some relative peace and quiet. But no.
Clearly, having not embarrassed me enough, the entire troop of Polynesian fire-dancers decided to carry on their
final performance, with a warrior dance that led them into the food court. Sat
by myself, they immediately singled me out, and became literally encircled by a
group of grass skirted, fire-breathing warriors, chanting and dancing as I was
just trying to eat a simple curry. This was all incredibly intimidating,
exhilarating and tiring in equal measure. Even at the time though, I did think
this made for a pretty cool memory, and must be how Kings of Old felt?
I raised a glass, saluted the warriors, and after a huge final cheer,
the crowd dissipated and I was left in peace to eat. The curry itself wasn’t
actually that nice at all, certainly not doing the otherwise amazing Singapore
reputation for food any justice. But the ‘court’ of tourists and dancers that
had gathered to watch me eat it, more than made up for the taste.
After getting the bus back to the hotel, I imagine that I probably tried
to finish the night off in the bar. Or perhaps with the little bit of jet lag I
had left, I maybe hit the hay as soon as I could.
It is worth noting that as part of the flight deal with Singapore
airlines, this two-night stay in Singapore (at the Orchid Hotel) had
only cost me £50.00 and the hotel room was lush.
It was gorgeous, massive, and had a decent view of the city. Assuming you get the equivalent rates, worth checking out today.
A quick note on the bus that took me to and from the Safari – it was the
closest I ever came to having a tour of Singapore. The commentary provided by
our driver (which was unexpected, but most welcome) told me pretty much
everything I know to this day about Singapore. I was so unprepared for staying
there, considering it a mere stopping point on my way to Middle Earth. In
retrospect, tour buses, boat trips and the like, whether they be unofficial,
impromptu or organised, are all very useful things if you want to learn more
about the place you are in. They also all work to help build stronger memories,
particularly if like me, you hadn’t done any homework!
