Singapore

We left for Singapore on Saturday afternoon. Taking a late flight and touching down at Changi international airport at around 8:45pm 5 armed forces greet you on patrol with mp5 and another large caliber weapon, clearly they mean business.

We had decided to take a taxi as we were new and they would be able to get us directly to the hotel and also some information. Arriving at the hotel with extra knowledge of transport also factors like the weekend being an offpeak time in the city as people tend to stay home. Also the free bus service operating on weekends and public holidays only to little India and Chinatown from the major interchange stations of the MRT (which is the company whom operates the sky and subway train service in Singapore. Now this was an experience, such a great way to get around the city. Smooth and efficient and cheap to boot. Initially we got around by foot however eventually the heat gets to you and we found out where all the people were. Entering the underground there they were not a sole but tourists in the street…underground however was a different story. It’s a maze of malls and airconditioned passageways that allow you to move between stops with ease.

Midafternoon we took the gondolla across to sentosa island just off from the Singapore port. It gives the best view of the city and also the islands neighbouring. On the island we found more tourist attractions there was a snake charmer with two python which we passed on the way to the bigger statue of the merlion (it’s a half lion half mermaid….hence the name) it is apparently the symbol for Singapore. As in the picture of the Singapore skyline there is a smaller white fountain which spews into the bay on the waterfront of Singapore and also the larger which glows at night with lights dotted all over it.

After the sentosa we headed back for a spot of shopping as Singapore is deathly cheap for authentic merchandise. Unfortunatly we were too early for the annual mastercard sale as the shop attendant informed us. Spanning from the 25th of may to the 25th of june the sale is practically citywide and invokes insane discounts in all major department stores. One could spend their life away in this city.

Singapore is defiantly a nice city. I would like to live there one day I think. It is very clean in the city and the $500 fine for littering is probably the main factor for this. Maybe it was my luck however I struck nothing but kind and helpful people who were more than happy to give directions. The ability of most to speak a little if not fluent English is a big plus. Thailand is still number one on the list however as it is cheaper. Singapore is cheaper than New Zealand though about 20-30% given the exchange rate. A large bigmac combo is around $5.50SGD however at a street eatery it is around $2.50SGD for plate which is really good value and something out of the ordinary fast food. The most common drink is iced tea and coffee as there is a big middle eastern influence.

All in all it was a great trip. Sites shopping and easy to navigate.

Pattaya 2

This trip was in aid of a second songkran that I talked of earlier. Before the festivities we headed to a temple, which has a huge drawing of Buddha on a mountain face. They used lasers to stencil the image and then concrete was layed to ensure its longevity.

Now once again I had decided to stay on as AL had to return to BKK for work. So I booked into a decent but cheap hotel (400Baht per night fridge, aircon and cable) very reasonable considering this was the high season in pattaya. So all settled in I set off to find a local. Easyriders was the place where I would celebrate songkran in pattaya. They have live music which it was great to hear some classic rock for a change. The bands are really good and are more than happy to have a chat between sets.
Having a day spare before songkran hit full swing I decided to had down to walking street and get onboard the submarine….that’s right a yellow submarine. Pattaya is home to Thailands only private submarine service which operates 3 times daily and for 1800baht per person. Which considering the speedboat rides and also the freebies that come with it is very reasonable….and did I mention it was a real submarine. Electronically propelled the german designed and assembled sub is very cool. Unfortuantly the pictures from the dive were not too great as there was a strong currant which was sturring up the sand. However it was a great experience. The dive takes around 30minutes from start to finish and with speedboat trips to and from the dive point the whole trip takes around 2-3 hours depending on conditions. The dive point is situated about 1.5km off the beach of koh larn which I visited earlier.

Songkran

Well finally the festival I had wanted to see had arrived. Songkran is the Thai New Year. The New Year is rung in by a 5-day holiday, which everyone (and I mean everyone) is involved in a no holds barred water fight nationwide. Like any event it has its hot spots. Chang mai, pattaya and phuket are said to be the places to visit during this time. However as I launched myself into the festivities you could see unhappy tourists everywhere….lack of research clearly.

I had a blast in any case. I managed to get two songkran parties in as pattaya (being a tourist Mecca) have their songkran after the rest of the country and hence tourists flock to get another taste. Its quite a unique experience really I spoke to other tourists and they had not seen anything like it anywhere in the world. The streets become filled with utes packed with people and 40-gallon drums filled with ice water. Bowls are filled with water and chalk to make a paste which is smeared all over passing people, cars and anything that moves. I was covered head to toe when I had to walk down the road from a bar that I was partying at to get supplies. Though it’s not too bad as water is close by to wash off.

In addition to the water fight which is mainly for the younger generation. The elders have a more traditional ceremony, which I was luckily able to experience. AL’s grandmother and other respected elders of the family sit lined up and the younger children give posies of flowers and pour water over the hands of the elders while the elders give blessing. Was a great cultural experience.

Like any New Year celebration AL and I returned home and drank beer for the remainder of the day. Nice.

Ancient City

Now before I get too far ahead of myself. I had forgotten (and I don’t know how) to tell you all about my experience at the ancient city in samut prakarn. Now this is not a real ancient city however it is your one stop shop for all the ruins a tourist would want to see in Thailand. Sure there are plenty of miniature Thailand (mini Siam they are generally called) scattered around the country however this is it. The city has scale models of all the major attractions some are 1:1.
If you don’t have a spare year to individually visit each of the ruins, temples, palaces I defiantly recommend coming here. It is amazing the detail this privately owned park has gone into the display of each piece. On top of this there is a floating market and also a replica village both of which double as refreshment and souvenir shops.

Croc farm

Today was a trip to the Samut Prakarn Crocodile Farm. Here they boast the largest living croc in the world at 1.114 tonnes and 6M in length. They also have over 100,000 living crocs which is the most in the world. After feeding some rather large crocs it was time for my first croc show where the entertainers preformed tricks such as putting their hands, heads and also retrieving the tips they received from the crowd from the crocs mouth. One even opened the throat of the croc and reached the length of his arm inside the croc. Its enough to turn the stomach with over 6,000 psi of clamping pressure looming around the performer. After the show I headed around the rest of the zoo they have snakes, tigers, hippos and a few other animals. I managed to get some good snaps of the elephants too. We stopped for lunch which we had croc kebabs, hamburgers, croc-meat with garlic and AL had croc-meat fried rice, Classic.

After the farm we took a tickey tour around Samut Prakarn as AL had not been to this part of his city. Going past the museum which has the 3 headed elephant on top. We were killing time before his interview for his MBA in Logistics.

Pattaya

Today we set off for pattaya beach. Was an early start as we had to catch the boat to an island at 9am and we were not sure if traffic was with or against us. After an hours drive on the new highway we were in pattaya which is home to 5 star hotels and go-go bars. The luxurious Hard Rock Hotel and Sheraton nestled in the Pattayawood hills.

Koh Larn was our destination, an island just off the coast from pattaya city. It was a nice boat ride there in just under 40mins it was the first time for both of us. We landed on the beach via a long tail boat and the coordinator informed us of the activities. Immediately the display of assault rifles and handguns in the picture of the booklet caught my eye. I asked AL to confirm that we could infact fire live rounds from real assault rifles with confirmation we were shortly on our way up the hill and over to the otherside of the island. On arrival in true Thai style was the firing range broken down and like something out of a movie. Sure enough there they were shotguns, m16’s, magnum’s, .38’s, 9mm all the colours of the rainbow. With some kind words from AL’s we were allowed to take some snaps for free with the guns.

After firing off a few rounds and playing Rambo with the guns it started to pee down. We were stuck at the firing range and had a conversation with the locals about the island. We also got some tips about some good diving spots on neighboring islands. We headed back to the beach for a feed and some beers. The rain had stopped and the sun was shining, hence the beach was dotted with bikini clad tourists. Unfortunately for me they were unable to speak English. Still I managed to get a few snaps. After a few hours we were back on the boat to pattaya. We picked up AL’s girlfriend and headed for some dinner then we checked into the resort. This was really nice, with soft bed tv and also a hot shower….now you may ask why I would want a hot shower? Well believe it or not but it was rather refreshing. The warmish cold shower for some reason just doesn’t cut it. After a dip in the lagoon pool and a good nights sleep it was back to pattaya city for some lunch on the beach and then hit the shopping mall which most sporting and label producers have an outlet store. Managing to pickup some nice threads and another visit to the markets it was goodbye to beer and back to BKK.