As an island in Southeast Asia, Singapore has a unique character.
Since its early independence, it has had to fight for everything, even relying on neighbouring Malaysia to supply its water.
So you would be forgiven for thinking that, being quite small, it has to utilise every inch of land at its disposal to generate a self-sustainable economy.
It would have little time left, let alone space, to protect and keep some of the most beautiful nature reserves as well.
But with a few small islands around the mainland, Singaporeans have many options to visit and enjoy nature, and one such is Pulau Ubin.
(just off the north-east coast and close to neighbouring Malaysia)
Here you will find beautiful walks and bike trails which will take you back to one of the last places you can see the old Singapore of the 1960s
Kampong lifestyle, which was the native village in many countries across Southeast Asia
Preserved a Chinese Kampong house
A kampong house
Just a thatched hut by the stream,
But it stays long in my lingering dream.
A kampong house that gazed upon the sea,
Obscured by blossoms and bushes under a tree.
*****
Along the old Changi beach at night,
I strolled in solitude with silent feet,
And saw new houses, flashing in floodlight,
Mock a lost kampong on a dim and dusty street.
*****
And men will dream, and dream and forever dream,
Of the carefree kampong and its old-time grace.
Some grew weary, watching the towering city gleam,
Seek the kampong magic in the old kampong place.
I love the poem, and it beautifully captures the contrast between the island and the mainland, the old and new of Singapore.
A great place to stop for a drink; the guy has lived here all his life.
TIP OF THE POST
“Bring cash as there are no ATM’s or places to pay with card, also good footwear and a hat to help with the heat, I also recommend renting a bike as the trails go off into the hills and its worth it for the easiness of getting back to the boats”
Graham, October 2018
It is also a great place to camp at night; it has some beautiful, clean beaches on the other side of the island overlooking Malaysia.
But it is worth letting the authorities know you intend to camp overnight, just in case there are any emergencies.
One night in Bangkok and they say the worlds your oyster?
Well, I can see why it has pretty much something for everyone. Culture, food, excitement, music, history, and entertainment.
A city of contrast, from some of the most beautiful temples and statues of Buddha anywhere in the world, alongside some of the most vibrant bars and clubs in the whole of Asia.
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
Wats or Temples are plentiful in Bangkok. The most popular ones are listed below, but go off track, and you are sure to find many that aren’t as busy with tour groups. These can give you as much opportunity to take some good photos as the others.
Wat Chakkawat Rachawat Woramahawiharn found somewhere near Chinatown
Where to start?
New to Bangkok? I recommend visiting Bangkok.com website and spend time exploring this site before committing to where you want to see.
Be mindful that there top 10’s may be fine for you. But also delve into the site a bit more as there are many things on offer that may be of more interest than what they recommend. Look to find ways to get there as the tours they offer can be pricey and can be accomplished much cheaper if you feel confident enough to “go it alone”
There is no definitive top 10, as everyone will look for different things, but below is a list of many choices that should please almost everyone
The Grand Palace and the Emerald Buddha
Wat Arun (The Temple of Dawn)
Wat Po- by far the best temple to visit
Asiatique -lose yourself shopping in a huge market as well as a mall together along the riverfront
Chinatown- shop, bargain and eat
Khao San Road- part of the old city and a backpackers paradise
Terminal 21- a very big shopping mall
Soi Cowboy- bars and restaurants and girls
Chao Phraya River & Waterways- The river is the lifeblood of the city
Visual Stimulus
During the day, you’ll find many temples, statues, and surrounding buildings, giving you plenty of photo opportunities and letting you enjoy the colourful sights. At night, markets, shopping malls, and street views offer the same. Take advantage and snap away.
Part of the old city, great for hostels
TIP OF THE POST
Make sure you have a few days free to explore and see this wonderful city, I spent 4 packed days and it still wasn’t enough. Give yourself time to enjoy the place as well.
Graham, 2018
If you can capture the Temples against the sun it can be quite breathtaking, this photo doesn’t do it justice but hopefully gives you an idea.
On my first visit, I was taken aback by the smell of everything- food, cars, pollution; some pleasant, some not so- but as you walk around the city, you get used to it all as it mixes together, and the people give a realness to the place.
… Try the street food vendors are everywhere.
Whether it is for a drink, Ice cream, pork satay, squid sticks, or fried banana, street vendors offer many choices from their mobile stalls.
They are definitely popular! When you browse the weekend market outside Cosmo in Muang Thong Thani, you can easily see that it’s a well-frequented stall. I recommend trying the silkworms. Although they are hollow and quite plain in flavour, when fried with a bit of sugar, oil, and spices, they taste great.
Grasshoppers are another favourite, along with crickets, bamboo worms, and ants. They’re all crunchy, and if you can get past their appearance, they are truly a delicious treat.
I recommend the silkworms; although they are hollow and quite plain, you don’t need to worry about the taste, and fried with a bit of sugar, oil, and spices, they go down well.
The plan for this month is to move to Bangkok for a 4-day city visit, where I aim to visit all the main temples and the Grand Palace
Travel to the south to attend a traditional Thai wedding, stopping off to visit a temple on a mountain and nearly get attacked by wild monkeys.
Visit a friend in the south near Pattaya, which is infamous for sex tourism but still has some of the best beaches in Thailand if you know where to look:)
All of this before leaving for Cambodia at the start of December.
TIP OF THE POST
If you want to visit the temples in and around Bangkok, of which there are many, then staying close is your best bet, I chose a hostel close to the Grand Palace and Wat Po, called Once again hostel which a fully recommend, great value and excellent service meant even when I was not temple hunting I could chill out with other travellers either in the spacious reception area or on the roof top garden. Added to that they arranged mini tours to see local attractions including the Temple Mount which is close by, makes it a highly recommendable place to stay.
So Thailand is a big place, and you don’t know where to start? If you are near Bangkok, then visit here, as you can view all of Thailand in one place 🙂
OK, not quite, but it has replicas of many of Thailand’s historical sites, which is probably why it’s been dubbed the largest outdoor museum in the world.
Set on over 100 acres and shaped like Thailand, you can explore many years of culture in one place, packed with temples, shrines, and ancient ruins where you can take great photos and find amazing views over the park; it is a good place to visit.
With plenty of places for food, including air-conditioned restaurants, food stalls and a market where you can buy souvenirs and clothing at a great price.
TIP OF THE POST
“I recommend arriving in a car, but if you don’t have one, then you can rent a little buggy to drive around (similar to a golf cart) just make sure you have a driving license. The place is huge and is too big to walk around, however, you can hire a bike if you feel you need the exercise” 🙂
Graham, November 2018
You can spend hours walking around the grounds, visiting each area and learning about the history dating back hundreds of years.
TIP OF THE POST
“They have audio devices you can borrow for free and as you walk around they give you information relating to the history of the place. Well worth it”.
November 2018
Prices for non-Thai adult visits ฿700 baht per person, however if you book online at the website I believe its ฿ 600
Childern ฿350
Buggy hire ฿350 for the first hour ฿200 per hour afterwards
So, after a month in Singapore, I felt quite at home.
I would happily catch a bus, ride the MRT and be comfortable finding myself where I wanted to be.
I would walk around and find a nice place to eat, and ask someone for help or directions.
…But it wasn’t always like that
Below is a list of some funny, some not, of my mistakes in Singapore
My 7 mistakes
Walking into the wrong toilet
Catching the wrong bus
Afraid to ask someone to take a photo
Not giving myself enough time to apply for a visa to Thailand
Losing my phone
Only wearing shorts and a T-shirt when visiting the cinema
Not checking my photos before leaving somewhere you have to pay to visit.
Walking into the wrong toilet
I would like to point out that I don’t make a habit of this.
In fact, during my time managing office buildings, I had to deal with this type of incident many times over.
When men thought it was okay to go to the ladies’ toilet because, and I quote, ” the cubicles in the men’s toilets were full”
But Asia is a funny place
But, Asia is funny and many signs are I feel are added as an afterthought.
I have seen toilets where they have a cupboard which, if opened, completely obscures the sign for Ladies.:)
Watched with fascination how many guys just wander in, oblivious to where they are going.
For me, the idea that after looking for a toilet in a shopping mall,
(you sometimes have to walk through service areas reserved for staff to get to them)
and watching a woman walk into the left-hand side of the entrance was enough to automatically go right.
However, what I didn’t realise was that the woman, an elderly lady, was too busy on her phone to notice she had actually walked into the Men’s.
Upon realising her mistake, she went into the correct toilets, only to find me.
To which she then decided to shout rather loudly that I was in the wrong one.
(Trying to explain that it was her fault that I had ventured into this side wasn’t going to cut it somehow).
Catching the wrong bus
“I did this several times before I figured out that it is worth checking the timetables and destination before just getting on a bus that looked like the one I catch and was in the same spot and had the first 2 numbers of the bus I needed ( Meatloaf once sang two out of three ain’t bad) so couldn’t be too much of a problem right?”
Lost in Singapore, 2017 and 2018
Erm…wrong!
Firstly, it turned off in the opposite direction shortly after pulling out.
Then when I thought we were going back to where I needed to be, it turned again.
The lesson here is to ask the driver; most speak good enough English, and even if they don’t, they will probably understand where you are going enough to say yes or no.
Afraid to ask someone to take a photo
I am sure we have all been here, you find a great place on holiday and whilst by yourself fancy taking a good photo.
Selfies just don’t cut it when you have a beautiful landscape you can stand in front of and just need someone to help.
You look around and eye up the prospective candidates; a few look like they will run off with your camera if you give it to them.
A couple who look like they don’t speak English, and you can imagine the fun that will be.
Firstly, pointing in some Asian countries is disrespectful, and secondly, you will probably look silly in the photo anyway.
Why do we older guys just struggle to look good in photos on our own? (A bit like Dad dancing at a wedding; we never seem to pull it off)
Then you spot the beautiful lady on her own, who seems to be enjoying the view as much as you are.
You think for a minute, then decide that she may panic if you (an older guy also on his own) start walking over to her, and you stop!
Suddenly imagining her pulling out pepper spray from her bag, and the next minute you are lying on the floor.
Whilst the oriental couple who don’t speak English are pointing their camera at you, suddenly happy that they have something to take photos of, other than the view.
At the same time, the 2 dodgy looking younger guys make off with your camera while you are rolling around on the floor crying like a baby.
After that brief insight into the future, you forget the beautiful scenery and walk off without trying.
Which is a shame because she can only say no, but maybe, just maybe, she is also standing there thinking the same thing (although whether she has pepper spray is still a mystery).
Might it have looked better with me there?
Some of the places I seem to be missing?
Not giving myself enough time to apply for a visa to Thailand
This one should be obvious: you decide you want to visit another country while in another country, so you go to the local embassy of that country and apply for a visa.
Lesson one
Do the research, check how long it takes to apply, and how you apply before starting.
Don’t do what I did: decide a week before you want to go that you will apply, only to find out it takes a week to process (assuming everything goes right the first time), which of course it doesn’t.
For non-Singaporeans applying for visas to Thailand, you need to do it online, which means gathering all your documents and uploading them after creating an account on the embassy website.
They ask for the obvious, like accommodation, flights in and out, and confirmation that you have enough money to live in Thailand for the duration of your stay.
All straightforward, but here is where it gets to be fun. If you apply for a visa to go to Thailand (currently) you are applying for 60 days by which time you have to leave and therefore produce flights out of the country.
But once you are there, you can ask for another 30- day extension, which I believe is reasonable to get.
So I decided to send them an itinerary of my flights, without booking the actual tickets, because if I want to stay for 90 days, then the flight out in 60 days will be worthless, right?
So why book it?
Nope!
They reject your visa application and email you telling you that you need to send the correct documents.
So I panic and book the flights I was going to take before realising that not only have I now committed to staying in Thailand for a minimum of 60 days (without having my visa confirmed), but I now fly in 4 days, and I have just started the whole 7-day visa process again from scratch!!!
In the end, it all worked out well, and I collected my Visa the day before my Flight.
But it might not work like this every time, so give yourself plenty of space … NEXT Visa application Cambodia
Where I explain in detail how a change in clothing can dramatically affect one’s life!
Only wearing shorts and a T-shirt when visiting the cinema
This may seem silly, but when the average temperature is 30 degrees and the climate is humid, you get used to wearing as little as you can.
But when you decide to visit the lovely air-conditioned cinema, remember the temperature won’t be as hot!
In fact, it is going to be very cold considering what you are used to, so be aware; they do sell, however, very good Hot coffee 🙂
By the way, go see Crazy Rich Asians; it is a great film.
Forgetting to check your photos before leaving somewhere you have to pay to visit.
“I am a Man, therefore I do everything right the first time… ‘was the answer I always got when I quizzed my father about checking anything”
unknown, around 1980s
He had many sayings like this, but none made any sense, and I always ignored him, so why did I not check that I actually took the photo I wanted before I left the place?
It is worth pointing out that both my phone and camera are new items I purchased before embarking on this trip, and like all men, I didn’t read the instructions, as I can figure it out when I need to.
But after paying to go to the Skypark observation deck on top of Marina Sands Hotel, I really should have checked the photo quality before coming down!
Currently awaiting my cousin to provide better shots from his camera 🙂
So there you have it! My first list of mistakes made whilst travelling, but trust me, they won’t be the last:)
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A great place to stop for a drink; the guy has lived here all his life.
