Blogs from Chinatown, Singapore, Asia - page 10

Went for a wander around the museum last night, however foolishly turned up about half hour before closing time. Luckily as we were turfed out of the Relic Museum we wandered into the nearby Hindu temple in time to watch a ceremony accompanied by drums and painted men. So last evening wasn't a completely wasted venture! Learning from out mistake we got up earlier, and headed straight for Chinatown for round two of the Tooth Relic museum. Well the temple is absolutely beautiful. Gleaming red and gold walls, hangings and chairs, all focused on three huge golden depictions of Buddha. There was an area to purchase candles and incense as offerings and also scriptures at the desks for devotees to study. The museum begins on a higher level, so we got the lift up and walked ... read more

Clark Quay Think relaxation is overrated? Are you always burning the candle at both ends? Then Clark Quay is for you. After dinner at Boat Quay, well-heeled party goers stroll towards Clarke Quay. Night live here will keep anyone charged till dawn. Latin, Jazz, and Disco bars give head-spinning options. So, most people choose to go bar hopping here. This epicenter of nightlife has many themed bars and clubs. Clinic Bar features a hospital ambience complete with hospital wheel chairs, white linen room dividers, and operating room lights. The drinks are served from the dripping intravenous (IV) tube that is attached to a blood bag on a pole. The famous London based Ministry of Sound dance club is located here as well. On weekends, it is common to see Audi R8’s, Lamborghini’s, and Bentley’s parked here ... read more

Songkran is the Thai New Year festival and what a quaint ceremony is portrayed. It is celebrated by gently sprinkling your partner on their shoulder with water. Well may be a few hundred years ago but today gangs of youths block the road and tip dustbins full of cold water over passers by. Unfortunately our camera was just not equipped to deal with this nor our wallet. We eventually found a street cafe where we were able to shelter and watch this ceremonial drenching. We stripped off and carefully laid out our clothes, camera and money neatly out in the sun to dry. The money made it but I'm afraid even with CPR the camera didn't! This tale neatly leads us onto Singapore where we went camera shopping. Well according to the guidebook nine of the ... read more

SINGAPORE Well we had a nice comfortable flight to Singapore, with nice food and a few bottles of wine! We even managed to exchange the big pillows we were carrying around of a couple of smaller airline ones! Yeah! We brought our EZLink card for the underground metro system and jumped on the train to Chinatown. Walking along the road in Chinatown we spot the bar that is below the hostel and check in. Our room is three buildings along on the first floor next to the kitchen. It is above a shophouse so nice and quiet. But the room is small, enough room for the bed, a tiny wardrobe, dressing table and room for the door to open! I don’t know why they don’t take out the furniture, so we have room for our backpack! ... read more

Kia Ora :) Hope every one's had a great week. So last week I finished my second blog entry at the start of my first day alone, in Nuwara Eliya... Wednesday, 17 Feb - it was the first day I'd spent on my own during our trip. Nigel showed off his machoness by climbing Adam's Peak in TWO HOURS! Adam's Peak is 2,243 metres tall (7,359 ft) and it took Nigel two hours up and two hours down - very impressive! But with the bus journey there and back it meant I got an afternoon of Sari shopping and a nice walk around town. I really enjoyed the colder climate in Nuwara Eliya and met some cool people too. I was quite nervous that I'd get hassled without Nigel around but it was a pretty safe ... read more