Clarke Quay, Boat Quay and Thr Padang area

Hello all,

Today I decided to be positive about life so when another visit to the Apple Store resulted in no one being able to help me I just smiled and moved on. It was suggested that my blogs would be easier to compose, edit, shift around and add photos if I did it on a desktop. Unfortunately carrying my laptop around while I flashpack my way round Asia is not really an option.

Clarke Quay reminds me of a cross between Camden Market and Paddington Basin, but much tidier and cleaner, this is Singapore after all. It is very touristy but if you venture away from the water you come across what I call the old Singapore: St Andrew's Cathedral, the Singapore Cricket Club and the old majestic colonial buildings now art galleries, courts, admin buildings and such like

Photos to follow, I can't caption them as I'm not clever enough but you'll see the various contrasting styles and eras. And Merlion with his water spout, always reminds me of the sculpture at the mouth of The Tagus in Lisbon ( well I think it's that, it could just be the head of the sea!)

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Over energetic followed by under energetic!

For my first full day in Penang I decided (for reasons that still escape me) that a trip to the Botanical Gardens was in order so that I could tackle the climb up to the Penang Hill Station. I read up on it and it mentioned that the first 1+km was steep. Ha, I laugh in the face of steep, I bet it's not as steep as they say! It's not, to be fair, it's considerably steeper than steep. I should have been alerted to this from the very beginning as each 100 meters warranted a distance check. I cannot remember ever in my whole life having to stop several times in each 100 metres and I'm not going to justify this by telling you that the heat was unbelievable even though it was. I'm not sure at which stage I made the decision that being intrepid was all very well but my heart rate seemed to be climbing even more alarmingly than I was and I was rapidly running out of water. Enough I thought, I'll turn back at 2.5km. Turning a sharp corner at 2.35km put paid to that ...

Sometimes it's better to remember things as they were

Today my goal was to revisit Batu Caves, just under an hour outside KL. these caves are considered a major tourist attraction as well as being the sight of a very important Hindu shrine. From my last visit what I remember most is the all encompassing blackness of the Dark Cave, the most extreme lack of light possible according to our guide. As someone who has always been afraid of the dark it is this aspect of Batu Caves that is most imprinted in my brain. Now the Dark Cave is closed for the foreseeable future, no reason given but I wasn't planning on going back in there anyway, once was more than enough! But I remember the massive cave shrine kindly, and I definitely recall that my companion and I were the only ones there the day we visited. Today the hoards were there en masse. The first shock comes in the walk from the train station to the entrance to the caves. There is an overwhelming stench of excrement and urine, and the hawkers and stalls and piles of rubbish do nothin...

Oh WOW!

Today has been spent as a typical tourist, not a state with which I'm overly familiar. Singapore is in places quite jaw dropping, a futuristic city that doesn't seem to have a hair out of place. Their MRT, the equivalent of our tube, is quick, clean, efficient and easily understood. Each station has a wealth of information about lines, exits, timings, and provides very clean public toilets. You would struggle to get lost travelling on the MRT, it's impressive. Travel etiquette is instinctive and I have yet to hear any raised voices or see any food being consumed on board, as for pushing and shoving it's just not done. London please take note. I'm still trying to remember that you stand on the left on the elevators, might take some getting used to. First port of call is Marine Bay. Oh my goodness, this is just awesome, like a vast Star Trek set, it wouldn't surprise you if some giant metal alien burst terrifyingly out of the water, scattering all aside i...

Flashpacking 2020

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