2025 Long Cruise
Today I was scheduled to go on a highlights tour of Ko Samui but instead I just stayed on the ship for most of the day. I was worried I was getting a cold/flu but after lots of rest and fluids I was fine.
In the afternoon, I took a tender to Ko Samui, took a very short walk around town and then took the tender back to the ship (after purchasing a t-shirt).
Today we’re at sea from Singapore to Ko Samui, Thailand
Another day without an official excursion. I took the Mass Rapid Transit trains to Gardens by the Bay park to visit the Kingfisher wetlands again and to see more of the park.
While in the MRT station, I took out my phone and took a picture of the route map and almost immediately the loud speaker came on and said, to paraphrase, “no photography allowed and you could go to jail”. I don’t think it was a coincident that the announcement was made just after I took the photo as there are CCTVs all over the place.
The MRT was amazing- it was fast, clean and easy to use. The signs were easy to follow and there were multiple levels underground to support all the lines going in different directions. I just used my Visa card to tap in and out to pay the fare- I didn’t have to get a ticket or special travel card or anything.
The Kingfisher wetlands opens to the public at 5AM and does not require a ticket. I didn’t get there that early but definitely earlier than 9AM when the rest of the park opens. Still didn’t see any kingfishers that weren’t sculptures but I did see a large monitor lizard swimming in the pond.
It had rained earlier in the day and since it was early in the morning it was very pleasant, not too hot and not crowded.
After the Kingfisher wetlands I went on the Supertree skyway which is an aerial walkway 60+ feet above the ground and winds between the tops of two Supertrees. There were very few people on the walkway so I could take my time- although I didn’t because it was a bit scary. The entrance sign asks folks to limit their time on the skyway to 15 minutes.
After the skyway, I went to the Supertree Observatory. It’s a viewing platform on one of the tallest Supertrees. I had a delicious breakfast with a view at the small coffee shop in the Observatory. The views of the bay and Singapore were amazing. I enjoyed the time on at the Observatory and the outside deck.
I wasn’t particularly hot but wanted to cool down a bit so rode the Big Bus about 30 minutes to the Raffles hotel and went to their famous long bar and ordered the custom drink they created in 1915: the Singapore Sling. It contains gin, curaçao, lime juice, pineapple juice, and Bénédictine. It was so delicious I had a second one! The drinks were very expensive but worth it. When I left there was a line out the door of folks waiting to get inside.
From Raffles hotel I took the Big Bus back to Gardens by the Bay to visit their cloud forest exhibit. It’s a large glass enclosed area that has a 100+ foot indoor waterfall and plants native to cloud forest habitats. It was kinda odd because there were no bugs or animals- just plants. It’s like a giant terrarium. I didn’t spend too much time there because there were so many people and it was crowded.
Since the ticket to the cloud forest included the flower dome, I visited it too. I spent even less time there because of all the people. It’s another giant terrarium but filled with dessert adapted plants and a special exhibit. This season’s special exhibit included lots of cherry blossom trees. Many folks were doing photo shots of themselves with the cherry blossoms.
Singapore is a tidy, clean and safe city where everyone follows the rules and CCTVs are everywhere.
Today I didn’t take an official excursion during the day but purchased a two day Big Bus ticket. It’s not called a HopOn HopOff bus but they have a fixed route and you can get off/on at any stop. Since I particularity wanted to see the city and to visit Gardens by the Bay park, it worked perfectly.
I took a taxi with friends from the ship to the starting location of the Big Bus tours and after riding around on both of the bus loops, my friends left and I remained on to get off at Gardens of the Bay for a visit.
I went to the Kingfisher wetlands at Gardens by the Bay because I wanted to see Kingfishers. I did see one flying past at the speed of flight but that was it. The signs at the Kingfisher wetlands indicated I could have seen 9 species! I personally believe it’s called Kingfisher wetlands because it has statues of kingfishers not because it has lots of live kingfishers.
There are thousands and thousands of motor bikes on the roadways. The riders mostly wear helmets but have very little protective wear. I’ve seen them smoking, eating and using their cell phones while driving their motorbike. More than once I saw them wearing their jacket just on their arms. I’m guessing it’s for sun protection.
In the evening Jennifer and I went on an evening tour and to the Gardens by the Bay light and Sound show to see the super trees lit up. The show was more crowded than usual as the second show was cancelled to reduce electricity use in observance of Earth Day. We sat on the ground to watch the show. Thank goodness someone helped me up as I was pretty stiff after sitting thru the waiting for the show to start and the 15 minute show.
It’s been beastly hot and humid the last couple of days and my clothes get soaked with sweat before I’ve walked very far. I spend quite some time figuring out where I might find a breeze or an air conditioned space. Almost all of the stores are air conditioned- another reason to shop! Families go to the malls and wander around during the day as a way to stay cool since many don’t have air conditioning in their homes.
Today Jennifer and I booked a car with driver and guide so we could visit Batu Cave, the Kulala Lumpur bird park and the textile museum.
Batu Cave was on my ‘must see’ list of temples to visit on this trip and it didn’t disappoint. After walking 272 steps, you enter a giant cave with a temple inside of it. It’s amazing.
Kulala Lumpur Bird Park, KL bird park as it’s known, was also fun- they have large nets that keep the birds inside and they are flying and walking all around you during your visit. We had lunch at the Hornbill cafe and, by golly, a hornbill sat on the tree just outside while we were eating. When the nearby mosque gave the call to prayer, the hornbill joined in. I thought I recorded it but I was too enthralled to hit the right buttons.
The textile museum was great too. It would have been even better if the air conditioning worked! It showed how the fabric was made years ago-it looked very complicated. The patterns were amazing and beautiful.
Today I went on another “highlights of” tour and visited the Georgetown historic UNESCO world heritage site with it’s Chinese clan houses. We visited one of the richest clan homes and one of the poorest. Plus we visited the Chaiya Mangalaram Buddhist Temple with it’s reclining Buddha and The Penang Malay Gallery showcasing the Malay culture.
Today I visited a rubber plantation, PromThep Cape(famous sunset overlook of the Andaman Sea and elephant temple), a cashew processing plant, a Buddhist temple (Wat Chalong) and a Chinese shrine at Sapan Hin. Thailand is famous for some of it’s beaches too but I didn’t visit any of them.
The rubber plantation was along side the road and a women came out of her building/home and showed us how she cut the tree and the sap/rubber ran into a little bucket. Unexpectedly, the sap moves slower the hotter the tree is. The price of rubber has dropped from 100 bhat/unit to 30 bhat/unit so many plantations are moving to other crops or selling the land for buildings.
I wasn’t impressed with the overlook but we were there during the peak of the day and it’s supposed to be amazing at sunset but the elephant temple was pretty amazing. If you make a wish at the elephant temple and it comes true you bring an elephant figurine to the temple. There were lots and lots of elephant figurines of every size so many wishes have come true.
The cashew net is at the end of a piece of fruit the size of an apple. After the fruit is picked and the nut removed from the fruit, the nut is dried a little bit and then the outer skin/shell is removed by hand. It is a source of income for women and families. The ‘factory’ gives them a bag of nuts with their outer skin/shell which the women take home. In the evenings they remove the outer skin and when they return the skinned nuts to the factory, they are paid.
Notes on Thailand
One of the places I really wanted to see on this cruise was Phang Nga Bay and today I got to see it.
We took a hour and 45 minute bus ride to the pier were we boarded a propeller boat. We cruised the bay, had lunch at a floating Hindu village and then headed back to the ship.
Another relaxing sea day- today’s special treat was a cupcake themed high tea.
A relaxing sea day today- the special treat was brunch. Delicious spread of food and free mimosas! I didn’t do much of anything else.
