I was going to pop over to Pulau Batam, Indonesia (a 45 minute ferry ride) for a few hours today, but not in this weather. Visa-on-arrival for US$10 for 7 days (slightly more for a longer visa) for many nationalities at many ferry terminals and airports in Indonesia.
Though it may clear up a bit around lunchtime, in which case it will still be doable…
This island was suggested by Singaporean Sue and her friends at dinner last night (no, she does not go by “Singaporean Sue”, that’s just how the sentence ran since it’s a shorter ferry ride from a more convenient ferry terminal (vs the 2 hour ferry ride one-way I was considering to Pulau Bintan).
Last night I checked out Clarke Quay, which is a popular, modern resto/bar area on the Singapore River. Expensive food and drinks, although Happy Hour helps a bit. S$10/US$8 for a beer bottle, really?
And do we really need a Hooters there (an “American Concept Restaurant”) according to the info map of Clarke Quay. This is wrong on several levels 😉
Picture a square with an X drawn between the corners (i.e. divided into four triangles). Two of the outer sides of the square are on the river, and in the middle of the square is a big courtyard. Along all the lines are restos and bars. That’s Clarke Quay. Also a funky reverse bungee jump thingee, with a 3-person seat that slings out over the river.
Anyways, It happened to be the second of two nights of Maifest, a German spring celebration, complete with dirndl-wearing Asian hostesses, a band (doing American rock n roll) and, to their credit, signs explaining about this tradition. This was in the centre courtyard of the Clarke Quay complex.
Riverside part of Clarke Quay viewed from other side of the river (lots more bars/restos in the outdoor complex)
Maifest in centre of Clarke Quay complex
Asian hostess in dirndl
Octapas (Malaysian spelling of Octopus) resto – didn’t eat there on Clarke Quay, I just liked the logo
As in high of 32 C, feels like 42C. Low of 27 C !!!
(that’s hi 89 F feels like 107 F, low of 80 F for the Celsius-challenged)
Wow. Even in the evening – it doesn’t cool off nor get less humid (esp. compared to NYC/Toronto in the summer). thought it wouldn’t bother me, but wow.
A/C never felt so good. Especially after slogging up and down Mt Faber well, Mt is an exaggeration – really it’s a hill).
Today it was a little sunny this morning, which made it feel hotter (if not in the shade). And very humid. Then a nice refreshing pre-storm breeze kicked up and it was like god (little ‘g’) turned on the A/C – both the temp and humidity improved, even while it was pouring down. So I ducked into a cafe for this flavourful and colourful latte (and a little snack), and bonus, they had wi-fi. Yes, I did have my netbook with me – for all my complaints about it being slow, it is small and light, barely noticeable if I’m carrying a knapsack anyways.
Matcha Tea Latte at SoHo Coffee in the Colonial District
Did a little bit of blogging, eating and shopping this morning. Well, it’s 2pm now, how did that happen. I’d better get sightseeing…
In Mustafa, the huge 24-hour Indian department (mega-)store in Little India, they have funky imported foods (I bought some snacks and an Indian pizza slice), and random things like 3 rows of suits for 4-year-old boys (I’m guessing the age – i.e. they’re really small).
On the street I saw a “Remittance Kiosk” for Indian Overseas Bank, which clearly states it is not an ATM but only for remittances back home to India.
And I saw some serious laundry lines (poles?) on the apartment building above Tekka Centre, which houses a wet market (fresh fruit/veggie/meat/fish) and hawker stalls right next to Little India MRT.
While eating at the food court, I began to notice the Malaysian menu items, having just come back from Penang and learned a teeny bit of Malay (esp. food items). Ironically I saw the two items I was trying to find the previous day, teh narik (milk tea) and nasi lemak (rice in a coconut sauce with toppings).
Note: Malay is the largest ethnic group in Malaysia, and Malaysian is one of the 4 official languages (the others being English, Mandarin and Tamil).
Indian Remittance Bank – screen says “this is not an ATM, only for remittance” (back to India)
Cup of ice cubes at 7-11 for S$1.20/US$1 (I think there were 6 or 9 ice cubes in there)
Serious laundry “lines” (bamboo poles) on an apartment building in Little India
Indian Pizza – or rather pizza with Indian toppings in the grocery store part of huge 24-hour Mustafa Dept Store
Tip: this website has a useful text description, plus google maps, of all the bus routes on the island. I wish I had seen that before someone sent me to wait on the wrong street for a bus!
Misc notes:
Penang is both an island and a chunk on the mainland (most people don’t know about the latter)
The core of Georgetown is a World Heritage Site
Penang is multi-cultural, with a noticeable South Indian and Chinese population, and you see churches, Buddhist temples, Chinese temples and of course mosques.
At Penang airport, there is no separation of arriving and departing passengers in the gate area, presumably because it’s a smaller airport (undergoing some renovation and/or expansion)
Staff at the inn/hostel were all local and smiling and friendly/polite (yes, noticeably so, compared to my previous hotels/hostels on this trip)
Taxis have meters but never use them (the one I took even had an ironic sign on the door that says “insist on using the meter”). Besides the fixed fares at airport, you bargain the fare when you get in. Still, they’re pretty cheap compared to big cities.
There are lots of scooters and motorcycles, and they all wear helmets (and jackets on backwards, so that their arms are still covered). They also drive on sidewalks (when there are some)
I saw a number of cards with “McDon@ld’s drive thru VIP” stickers in the windshield. Now that’s scary.
7-11 seems to be staffed exclusively by Muslim women wearing western clothes with a head scarf (and the store may or may not sell alcohol)
A number of bus drivers were small Muslim women
Some buses have free wi-fi, and they are testing smart transit cards on a few lines
Passed a “World Red Swastika Society – Penang Branch” building on way to airport from Penang Hill, a Taoist religious charity organization, similar to Red Cross and Red Crescent, founded in China in 1922
Saw buildings (factories) for AMD, Western Digital, Bosch and Blaupunkt near the airport
Well, just about everywhere there are significant Chinese population, it would seem (recall he is the founder of “modern China” who overthrew the last Chinese emperor).
There are monuments/memorials/roads/historical sites in honour of Dr Sun Yat Sen in Taipei (Taiwan), Maui (Hawaii, USA), Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore and Penang (Malaysia)!
Given the large Chinese community in Toronto, I just googled it and found this memorial statue in Riverside Park.
Mostly everything a modern subway should be: goes everywhere, clean, air conditioned, wide concourses
Definitely buy an “ez link” transit smart card (there’s a S$5/US$4 non-refundable deposit), but after Macau, trust me, you really don’t want to futz with change and figuring out fares
Goes to Changi Airport (but not if you have a late arrival or a super early departure)
I like the way stations are named and numbered (and colour-coded) by the line designation, e.g. NE7 Little India is the 6th station on the purple NE (northeast) line.
mobile phones work in stations and trains
Does have washrooms in unpaid area of stations (unlike Hong Kong which is shameful), but they are very dirty
Full glass walls on the edge of the tracks; it occurred to me that besides the obvious safety benefits (can’t jump or be pushed by crowds onto the track), it makes air conditioning of the station platform area more efficient.
There is a local area map in the station, both in the main concourse and, what I find noteworthy, in the middle of the platform as well (this lets you head in the right direction off the platform, which would have have been more useful in Hong Kong since the platforms are twice as long and the exits more spread out)
Trains less frequent than Hong Kong – about every 5 minutes
The floor markings by the train doors have a really wide “let them off” marking, i.e. you Q on the side (Q = queue), unlike Hong Kong where the exit lane is about 1/3 the width of the doors (too narrow!)
Some lines indicate on which side the doors will open, some don’t
General related notes:
Cars drive on left side of the road (former British colony), just like in Hong Kong and Macau
Escalators in the MRT stations usually follow the same pattern, i.e. keep to the left, and you stand on the left on the escalator (in Hong Kong this was totally random)
Wide berth for letting people off the MRT train
Stay Safe sign in train – I guess they have a groping problem in Singapore? That’s surprising – I’d think that would be an offence worthy of caning…
since it’s a shorter ferry ride from a more convenient ferry terminal (vs the 2 hour ferry ride one-way I was considering to Pulau Bintan).
