Day 244, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Singapore
We packed up, said good-bye to the Kuala Lumpur skyline, and went to catch the bus to Singapore. The day was off to a bit of a rough start since both of the girls weren’t feeling great. Those of us who were up to it had breakfast at the hotel where we were catching the bus. The breakfast buffet is always full of interesting food. But one needs only look at the people in the dining room to understand why. Mostly you have Malay, Chinese, and Indian people. One of our waiters was excited to meet Canadians for the first time. Pretty scary we’re representing the whole country.
The Aeroline Coach that we chose among many options was a double decker bus. On the first floor was a lounge and the bathrooms. The second floor has seats, two on one side of the aisle and one on the other. The seats were very wide and comfy. You could recline them way back, and put up your feet. There were screens on the back of each seat, and the movie choice was extensive enough to keep everyone amused. Even Russell Peters made the cut.
We had drinks, one meal, and one twenty minute break. The meal came in a tray divided into sections. The main section was rice, there was one section with a very spicy mystery red sauce, another with little bits of dried shaved fish, and other unknown food entities in two more sections. I ate everything but the mystery dessert. I usually draw the line there. Today the mysteries were good. Cali’s vegetarian meal was a bit unidentifiable to us, except for the rice. Madi was still feeling sick and slept the entire trip.
At the rest stop, we stopped at a little shopping mall. It had a food court bordered by little stalls making home made food. Many whole cooked fish were being eaten. People would pull them apart and eat them piece by piece on the table.
There was also a fresh fruit section, which I enjoy, since there are always mystery fruit.
Remember this sign that we saw in the hotel in Malaysia?
One fruit mystery solved. We finally saw the Durian fruit, the one forbidden in many public places, including Singapore, where we are going, because it smells bad.
But there was a new mystery fruit, which I have seen before. This large green bumpy fruit shown in the lower right of some of the pictures is called Jackfruit or Jak. It’s said to taste like a combination of apple, pineapple, mango, and banana and is a good source of fiber. In Thailand they often can it in syrup, and I do remember seeing pieces in bags. I’ll have to try some of that mystery fruit when I see it next time.
We stopped at the Malaysia/Singapore border and it was incredibly fast. We were told that since it’s Chinese New Year today, the airports are crazy. That was another reason we decided to take the bus, and it was a great choice. The five hour ride was relaxing, quiet, the border crossing took 10 minutes.
The bus dropped us off at the port, which seemed appropriate since it has played such a significant role in the history of this city. There was a ship with little gondola’s overhead. From there we got a taxi to our condo, everything went smoothly, not a glitch.
Our first impression of Singapore is that it’s an extremely well organized, clean, and affluent city. We knew before we arrived. There is English everywhere, which always makes it easier for us. Singapore was under British control since the early 1800s. They became an independent republic in 1965, a good year for me and Singapore. Today the country is one of the most prosperous in the world, a foreign trade and investment hub. It’s located one degree above the equator, the closest we’ve ever been. The weather is wonderfully tropical, my favorite.
Our apartment is comfortable and homey. Singapore must have an Ikea. It’s the first Airbnb that we’ve stayed in that is someone’s actual home and not a rental. Our host left us a detailed booklet of tons of helpful information. So helpful. Any question a newbie to Singapore and her apartment would have, were answered by the book. The kitchen is so well equipped that we will do some cooking. We have a little balcony and table for two.
Here’s the view from our window. Seems fitting to have both the traditional and modern architecture.
Each day we understand more about Chinese New Year. Today is New Year’s Eve. Tomorrow is New Year’s Day 1, and the next day is New Year’s Day 2. It’s a three day event. We were going to to out to eat for supper, but the restaurants are closed today and tomorrow. Some will reopen on day three while many others will not. We ate in.
After that we went on the roof top garden on the 24th floor to look at the amazing view on the city. Another spectacular city. These is the water feature on the rooftop garden, with iron sculptures of three birds.
As we were sitting on the couches above the city, wondering if they do fireworks here, a solitary red lantern with a candle in it floated by. It was surreal. We had asked one of the taxi drivers how most people celebrate New Years he said, it’s low key. You spend time with your family, then eat, then spend more time with your family. That’s what we do. So as we were sitting on the couches with our family, the one red lantern floated by reminding us that we were doing Chinese New Year’s the correct way, with family.
