SPRING TRIP TO THE FAR EAST

In April we left Comox on a three week trip to Singapore, Bali, Ho Chi Min City and Japan.

We left late one evening on the Central Mountain Air flight to Vancouver where we were catching an Eva Air flight to Taipei en route Singapore.

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Comox to Vancouver

Vancouver to Taipei

As you can see we had a short layover in a very quiet Vancouver Airport.  The flight to Taipei is a long one taking about 12 hours.  The plane they use is a Boeing 747-400 and the upper deck is not the usual higher cost section but regular Economy.  It is like being in a single aisle 737, 3-3 seats.  It is very quiet up there.  Even with the take-off at 2.20 a.m they serve a full meal shortly after take-off.  It is altogether a very nice experience.  The route took us up the coast and North of Fairbanks Alaska before travelling down over South Korea and into the international airport in Taipei just as dawn was breaking, so 12 hours all in the dark.

We had a long layover and enough time to go on a free tour out of the airport.  The morning tour takes you to three places of interest, the town of Sanxia where the main attraction is the Zushi Temple, built in honor of Song Dynasty (960–1279) loyalist Chen Chao-ying.  

Zushi Temple in  Sanxia

Inside the temple

A typical school group

Second port of call was Yingge, where hand-painted replicas of elegant Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) vases, along with other types of artistic and functional ceramics, are produced.  Final stop is The Yingge Ceramics Museum, the first pottery museum in Taiwan and a street with a host  of pottery shops.  Tired as we were it was an interesting morning.

Pots for sale

To prove Robin was there

Back at the airport we boarded our flight to Singapore with Singapore Airlines, deservedly recognized as one of the best airlines in the world. 

On to Singapore

Airbus A330

We were met by David and Sam at the Singapore Airport - Changi  - and took a taxi into the city.  We had arranged to stay at the same hostel we had used before when in Singapore - the Hangout on Mount Emily. We had found this to be an excellent place, very reasonable in a very expensive city.  Only one slight disadvantage, we always had to climb up a long flight of steps to reach the hostel. 

End of Part 1 of 16 

DAY ONE IN SINGAPORE

On our first day we visited the Chinese and Japanese gardens in  the west part of Singapore island.  They are are joined together and form an oasis of quiet away from the hustle and bustle of downtown Singapore.  We hadn't been to either on previous visits.  

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A delicate bridge in the Chinese Garden

One added feature in the Chinese Garden is the live turtle and tortoise museum

Yes, Ruth was there too

A group of children feeding the turtles, which was encouraged

The Japanese Garden displays a different character and reflects their culture

In the Japanese Garden

A  resident lizard - about one metre long - but friendly

In the evening we met up with David and Sam who took us out to a chocolate and cheese evening at the Marina Bay Sands hotel.  This is a special restaurant on the 56th floor of the 57 floor hotel that affords fantastic views of Singapore.  The selection of cheeses and chocolate creations matches the view.

The view from above.  This shows part of the city where the Formula 1 race is run

  End of Part 2 of 16

DAY TWO IN SINGAPORE

Our second full day saw us walking on the Southern Ridges, a lovely stroll at the bottom end of the Island.  It starts at the top of Mount Faber and winds its way slowly downhill to the West.  Mount Faber is a favourite spot for tourists as it affords great views to the South.  We got there by the Metro and then took a cab, which turned out to be very inexpensive.  There were crowds galore but most just go up and then down. Not too many carry on on the walk.  

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An unusual building that we thought was an office tower

There are always ships waiting for a berth

The Henderson Wave bridge

 The bridge undulates along its length

Much of the walk is a sky walk well above the ground
It visits various little parks and a horticultural garden along its length and it has a nice restaurant where we stopped for lunch.

One of the beautiful flowers on the way

and another

This apartment complex looks like a stack of very large Lego blocks

That evening we went to David and Sam's apartment for dinner.

End of Part 3 of 16

DAY THREE IN SINGAPORE

In the morning we went with David to MacRitchie Reservoir Park, a favourite place for Singaporeans.  It is situated in a large area of parks and lakes that includes the Singapore Zoo.  We joined many others walking by the large lake

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The MacRitchie Reservoir

Quite a large fish

We took the bus both ways, the transportation system is excellent, one plastic card can be used on all forms of transport.  When we got off the bus we walked through one of the many large expensive looking malls on Orchard Road.

This 1950's AJS motorbike caught the eye as it was the exact same type of motorbike that my brother Don had many years ago and I had travelled quite a few miles as a pillion passenger.

For lunch we used some Groupon coupons for a meal in the Arab quarter in Bugis.  Over the alley were three young gentleman smoking (who knows what) using Hookahs.

 

In the afternoon we took a boat ride to one of the many islands that sit offshore Singapore.  This was to St. John's Island.

As we left we saw a cruise ship leaving from a nearby dock and it was the Celebrity Century.  This ship had just completed a round the world farewell cruise and it had been sold to a Chinese company, who were going to run cruises in South East Asia.  This was the same ship we had travelled in on our Alaska cruise some four years earlier.  It had been renamed SkySea Golden Era and was now owned by Ctrip which is a mainland China-focused travel agency based in Shanghai.

Celebrity Century

St. John's Island

Scenes on St. John's Island.  It was very hot we remember.

That evening we went to a Chinese restaurant serving Peking Duck, a famed delicacy which we had enjoyed on our trip to Beijing.  The duck is carved with great ceremony at the table side and then taken away to return on thin pancakes.

It was very good indeed. 

End of Part 4 of 16

 OFF TO THE ISLAND OF BALI

On previous visits to Singapore we have taken the opportunity to travel to other areas of South East Asia.  This time we spent four nights on the Island of Bali in Indonesia. Singapore is well served by many airlines and in addition to the major carriers a large discount airline industry has been developed.  For this part of the trip we used Indonesia Ar Asia.  Now you may have heard bad things about this particular airline because it had a major crash some time before we travelled (but after we had booked!). This plane was en route Singapore when it went down with total loss of life.  It turned out in a recent accident report that the airline was to blame because of improper maintenance.  Obviously we survived the flight which was pleasant, efficient and uneventful.

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QZ 505 to Denpasar, Bali

 We stayed at a guest house ( B & B) in the town of Ubud, known at the cultural capital of Bali an hour or so North of the airport at Denpasar.

Bali is a relatively small island and it is easy to get around.  It is volcanic and there are quite large mountains in the North as the map shows.  Public transport is, however, difficult and we hired a driver, Wayan Juli, to take us around.  We learned that Wayan is the name every first born male is given. He met us at the airport and took us to Ubud, where he lived.  We use him for two day trips and he also took us back to the airport. He was a real knowledgeable young man who made our visit very pleasurable.

Our guest house  (The Village Guest House) was situated on a quiet road quite near the centre of the town.  It was run by a family and there were many buildings inside a walled compound.

Our accommodation had been built at the bottom of the compound and consisted of three adjoining units, each with a large bedroom/living room and a bathroom.  Outside the units was a lovely swimming pool.
 

A large family lived in the compound including the grand mother of the owner.  She spent most of the afternoons making offerings for the gods who play an important role in Indonesian life.  Each morning she distributed these offerings around the compound.

Grandma with her tray of offerings

Our first evening we ate at an interesting restaurant - the Fair Warung Bale (warung means a small family run business).  This restaurant supports and funds a massive pubic health care program  It is run by a medical doctor and his staff are young people learning a job. They have had social, medical or economic difficulties.  The food is extremely cheap but extremely good.  The doctor spends each evening there after working in the village by day.  It was a heart warming experience - http://www.fairfuturefoundation.org/fair-warung-bale/.

Fish for the main course

The Fair Warung Balé has also a social side by helping young adults aged between 15 and 20 years old, to learn a job. They have had or have social, medical or economic difficulties, and being part of such a challenge contribute to solve some problems of their lives - See more at: http://www.fairfuturefoundation.org/fair-warung-bale/#sthash.zys04LkH.dpuf

The Fair Warung Balé has also a social side by helping young adults aged between 15 and 20 years old, to learn a job. They have had or have social, medical or economic difficulties, and being part of such a challenge contribute to solve some problems of their lives. - See more at: http://www.fairfuturefoundation.org/fair-warung-bale/#sthash.RqOEtkY5.dpuf

And Curry

Just one panic on the first day.  Our bank card was rejected wherever we tried to use it and we had no foreign currency.  There were a host of ATM's on the main street and a few banks.  The banks were of no help at all and we were unable to find a phone .  Fortunately the guest house let us use their phone to call CIBC Toronto where we were told that, in spite of letting them know we were travelling in South East Asia, they always stop the card and the VISA card as well (thanks a lot).  The cards were activated and we had funds.

End of Part 5 of 16 

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