Farewell SE Asia

Three weeks of marvelous fun. It was wonderful to visit Hong Kong again to revisit some favourites and find new hidden gems.There was great diversity and excellent things to see and do in Bangkok and Singapore. Our G Adventure tour in Northern Thailand with a super group of 12 was amazing,  with great activities, especially the home stay. We ate and drank new and delicious cuisine, visited many cultural and religious places, pampered ourselves with invigorating Thai massages, swam in beautiful pools, shopped with abandon, and sweated like crazy. We’ve had a magnificent time in SE Asia. Tonight we take the long flight back from Singapore to Hong Kong, Vancouver and Victoria. We’ll be exhausted from the flight and the 15 hour time difference but for sure we won’t be sweating in Victoria.

****Watch for the next adventure in summer/fall 2017****

Lovin Singapore

Today we did some serious shopping that will put a bigger bulge in our luggage. For lunch we went to a sushi train restaurant. It’s all automated. You pick out your selection on a computer screen and within a few minutes the train shoots the item out to your station. Best sushi ever. Tonight we made our way back to the Gardens by the Bay for the light and music show in the grove of Super Trees. It was absolutely spectacular with a dazzling array of colours and sparkling lights.

 

Singapore Architecture

The old and new, innovative and striking, tall and taller, green and greener, all mix well making Singapore such a beautiful city. The elegant colonial style Raffles hotel opened in 1887 where the famous Singapore Sling was first created in 1915.

 

Pulau Ubin

The island Pulau Ubin northeast of the mainland is compared to what Singapore was in the 60’s. We traveled by metro and bus, then took the 10 minute bumboat ride to the island. It was like being in another world. We rented bikes to get around, past mangroves, fruit orchards and a large lotus pond, all the while biking through the lush tropical forest roads. I climbed the 20 meter high observation tower where I was rewarded with a view of Malaysia across the Straits of Johor. On the way up a monkey followed me for a while and I spotted a hornbill feeding in a tree. The elevated walkway at the Chek Jawa Wetlands leads you over the water for some pretty amazing views. We also spotted a 1.3 meter water monitor (lizard) and an adult and baby wild boar in this wildlife paradise. Needless to say it was hot and humid and we sweated up a storm. The reward was a fruit ice cream and a long dip in the 7th floor infinity pool.

 

Gardens by the Bay

This garden is the most beautiful I’ve ever seen in all my travels. It’s 250 acres of lush and tropical greenery are jaw dropping. The futuristic, up to 16 story tall, vertical gardens of the Super trees and the 128 meter walkway joining two, the two armadillo shaped domes of the Cloud Forest with the largest indoor water fall and the man made mountain of tropical plants and orchids and the Flower Dome with trees, plants and flowers from all major areas of the world, leave you breathless. The gardens are self sustained and a marvel of garden artistry. We’ve seen them by day and will be going back again to see them lite up at night.

 

 

Arrival Singapore

An island city state located off southern Malaysia, Singapore has a tropical climate, a multicultural population of over 5 million and is a very green city with vertical and horizontal greenery at all levels. The city is constantly buzzing and here shopping seems to be a serious sport. The malls are open late every night and the large, crazy covered market is like a maze, full of shoppers. There are eateries of every kind, from swank to the hawker food centers, Singapore’s legendary street food. You just can’t help but get caught up in it all.

 

Faces of Thailand

The Thai are very friendly and willing to help, with a smile. They often show humility. They are devout in their faith and loyal to family. We’ve had the pleasure of meeting many on our trip through Thailand.

Kingdom of Thailand

The Thai revere and mourn their late king who passed away in October 2016. Memorials to him are literally everywhere in the country, in temples, billboards and throughout the streets, draped with white and black fabric and images of him in ornate framing. He brought the country into modern times in agriculture and infrastructure and his subjects are eternally thankful to him, as he was a king of the people.

 

Night Scenes

The Bangkok streets are busy at night with food vendors. The roof top pool looks nice at night as well as a city view from up there.

 

Canal Tour

Another super hot day, but it didn’t stop us from venturing out, sweating all the way. The Chao Phraya river runs through Bangkok with khlongs (canals) that flow out of it through the city. We hopped on a long boat and took a 1 hour canal tour. It certainly showed another side of Bangkok – houses on stilts in the water, nice homes and not so nice homes, agricultural gardens, a market and numerous Wats (temples). It was enjoyable boating, the wind keeping you cool and the occasional spray of brown water (yuk).