Wednesday 9 January 2013
Singapore and Kuala Lumpur
After Ella we travelled to the beautiful seaside resort of Tangalla. It was where we were to spend Christmas.
The place we stayed, Lagoon Paradise, had been pre booked and was luxurious. It was right on the beach, next to a lagoon, and had a nice pool. Perfect for Christmas celebrations. We spent Christmas Day entirely by and in the pool. The weather was perfect and we had the most relaxing day ever. In the evening we went down to the beach bar for supper. We made a big table with our friends and enjoyed good food, nice drinks and lively conversation into the small hours. Boxing Day was spent recovering and finished off with a vigorous game of beach volleyball at sunset.
Between Christmas and new year it was pretty non-stop. We travelled clockwise around the coast of Sri Lanka stopping off at Hikkaduwa and Negombo which are fairly soulless beach resorts that people frequent because of their good surf and proximity to the airport. As they were on the west coast the sunsets were spectacular.
We flew to Singapore and were very excited about doing so. The comfort and excitement of a huge, cosmopolitan city were long overdue. We just hoped it lived up to our high expectations.
After spending 5 days in Singapore I can happily say that it did indeed live up to expectations. The city itself is a slickly run hybrid of western and eastern influences. The sheer cleanliness of the city in itself is staggering. Huge skyscrapers generating billions of Singaporean dollars tower over little, ethnic districts. The heart of any trip to Singapore is how you eat. Raucous, brightly lit hawker canteens serve up a myriad selection of cuisines from its various windows. Cantonese sits next to Japanese sits next to Thai and Malaysian. And all of this being served up for next to nothing.
The skyline of Singapore is a piece of art. A piece of art best viewed from the worlds biggest observation wheel! Called the Singapore Flyer, it stands 150m high and affords you some spectacular views of the city and the South Chinese Sea. We managed to get on at dusk, which was the perfect time to see the city in all it's dramatic beauty.
New Year's Eve in itself was a highlight of Singapore. We kicked off festivities at Raffles Hotel with a Singapore Sling. I can honestly say it was as tasty as it was pricy! The Long Bar is drenched in colonial atmosphere, and the monkey nut shells on the floor are a quirky touch that add authenticity. The crowds around the marina were jolly and vast in number. After the countdown to midnight we were treated to an impressive display of fireworks. The oohs and aahs rattled up and down the promenade. The setting was magical, and it was a fantastic start to the year.
We wisely left straight after the fireworks before the majority of the crowds, and beat a path back to little India where we were staying. It is one of the largest districts and was teeming with revellers. We settled in a roadside bar and celebrated the beginning of 2013.
A worked out the metro and bus system pretty rapidly so were able to explore the city with ease. Our days were spent exploring the futuristic malls and little districts that join them together. Orchard Road houses many, many malls, but the little districts such as Chinatown and Geylang (the red light district) are just as interesting. One mall, down by the marina even has a canal in it, complete with gondolas. The Singaporeans are certainly not shy in expressing their wealth!
We were both loath to leave Singapore as we loved it so much, but agreed we would definitely be back! It really is the best bits of western organisation, cleanliness and transport with the culture and the colour of the east. Perfect! Singapore is an amazing city, it has the best of everything. The religious hotbed, the flavours from every corner of the world, a cheap, easy to navigate bus and tube system, and so, so much money to make everything pleasant and futuristic.
After an 8 hour night train journey, taking us north into Malaysia, we arrived in Kuala Lumpur. A nasty cut on my foot meant that we decided to head north to chill out on Pulau Pangkor, a small island off the west coast. The island was clearly very beautiful, but the injury on my foot meant I couldn't see any of it. In the end we had to head back down to Kuala Lumpur to get some medical treatment.
5 days later and we are still convalescing in KL. The plan was to go to Borneo, but we have had to change plans somewhat.
The bits of the city I have seen have been mostly from a taxi window. Short walks are possible so I have been all around Chinatown. KL is home to the Petronas towers, which until 2004 was the tallest building(s) in the world. Towering over the city, these huge buildings look other-worldly with their blue and white lights and super high antenna. When my foot is better we are going to go to the observation deck, a whopping 360m high!
As expected, the food in Malaysia is a gastronomical adventure! Hawker centres supply hot, good food for peanuts. At night restaurants pop up along the street where you pick from a huge selection of kebabs and then cook them in a boiling vat of water in the centre of the table. So healthy and yet so much fun! Chinatown is a great place to be stuck in for a few days. The people and the food and the way of life are so vibrant. Something is always happening and it is always exciting!
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