by Judy Handley | Oct 29, 2008 | Sailing Logs Year 4, Singapore |
Day 7, Year 4: Embassies and Shopping
Date: Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Weather: Mostly Sunny, Hotter, Rain in the Early Morning
Location: One 15 Marina, Sentosa Island, Singapore
Orchard Road was the explore today . . . upscale shopping in one glittery mall after another on a strip that ends in Embassy row. We skipped the upscale shopping and headed directly to the Royal Thai Embassy. But once again our efforts were thwarted. We didn’t have all the paperwork with us that was needed. Yesterday we got there too late and today we didn’t have our boat documentation. So we will be going back tomorrow. Let’s hope three is a charm. From the Thai Embassy we walked further west on Orchard Road and found the Tanglin Mall. There was a supermarket in the basement of this mall that was amazing. It had most of the specialty items we were looking for: Cheerios for our grandson Sam when he visits in January, canned wild Alaskan salmon which is a mainstay on Windbird, stuffed olives, rice milk, and a new addition of packaged chapattis and great curry sauces. The supermarket close to us at the Vivo Center has lots of variety, but none of the items that I just mentioned, so I was delighted to find this place. The one thing I can’t find anywhere is rolled oats to make granola. That is another mainstay on Windbird, so I will keep looking. While I shopped in the grocery store, Mark walked across the street to the US Embassy. It was in a cluster of embassies and Mark was quite impressed with the security. The Australian, British, and US embassies are all together and according to Mark, they are formidably secure. He was checking on getting Social Security for me
starting in March if we do not make a trip back to the US and found that it is possible to activate from out here. He got the forms for me to fill out and send to Manila in Philippines. So that was another positive contact. Our next stop was at Borders Bookstore just to look at the books. We can’t afford to buy them here, but it is always a joy to just wander among the rows and rows of books. Our last stop was in the Ngee Ann City Mall for lunch at Sushi Tei. It is one of those “sushi on a conveyor belt” places, but this one was a cut above most. And the prices were quite reasonable considering that we were in one of the more upscale of the upscale malls.
We returned to One 15 Marina in mid-afternoon and enjoyed a long stay in the pool. It is so hot here that you can’t possibly wear clothes more than once and when you return from the city dripping wet with perspiration, changing into a swimsuit and getting into the glorious pool here is just a wonderful treat. Mark has spent most of the evening researching battery possibilities. We have to buy new batteries SOON and we had hoped to get AGM’s. These are maintenance free batteries that you never need to top up with water, but it is looking like the price tag is just too high. So we might end up with the same kind of batteries that we have had and we will just have to be more vigilant about checking the water level. We can’t afford to boil anymore batteries dry because replacements are just too hard to find.
Tomorrow we will go back to Orchard Road to the Thai Embassy and to do more shopping at the great supermarket we found today. We also hope to go to the Night Zoo tomorrow night. Everyone says this is the number one attraction in this city of many wonderful attractions. Then we have to figure out when we are leaving here and start working in that direction. We’d love to stay here to watch the US election returns, so we might actually be here for two whole weeks. No matter what we have to leave by next Thursday because our Visa expires, so that will probably be our exit date.
by Judy Handley | Oct 28, 2008 | Sailing Logs Year 4, Singapore |
Day 6, Year 4: Almost Heaven
Date: Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Weather: Overcast, Hot, but No Rain
Location: One 15 Marina, Sentosa Island, Singapore
Singapore is nice, but my log title is not indicating that we think Singapore is almost heaven. It is referring to John Denver’s song, “Almost Heaven, West Virginia.” I have mentioned before that I am a West Virginia mountain mama and it has amazed me that the one and only song that we have heard in every country we have visited is this John Denver classic. After a heavenly dip in the pool this morning, we headed to the embassies of Thailand and India, and then on to Little India. The hours we had for the Thai Embassy were incorrect, so it was closed for Visa applications by the time we arrived. We hiked to the India Embassy and found it still closed for Deepavali. But there was a sign telling us we could go to Little India to a travel agent and make our Visa application there, so we got back on the MRT and went to little India for the sixth day in a row. The short story is that we have to go back to the Thai and India embassies tomorrow, so we decided to have lunch in Little India before walking across to the Sim Lin Centre. We ducked into a little hole in the wall sort of place without looking at the name of the place, looked at the menu, and decided to stay. As we waited for our food to arrive, we realized we were listening to American country music. And then John Denver started singing . . . Almost Heaven. This was the last place in the world we expected to hear this song. So we started looking around and discovered that we were in The Countryside Cafe. There were posters announcing The Elvis Presley Show starring Elvis himself. So this place has been around for quite a few years and how we stumbled upon it we’ll never know.
From The Countryside Cafe in Little India we hiked over to the SimLin Tower to return the transformer we bought on Saturday. The transformer worked great, but not with our inverter. The whole point here was to find a way to convert Singapore’s 240 volt AC current to our US 110 so we can use the shore power in marinas in this part of the world, in fact in all of the world except the US and Canada. But we will have to try to find something in Langkawi in Malaysia as nothing here seems to do the
job. The shop where we bought the transformer was called Convert-Invert and the young man who sold us the transformer had to make modifications for us when we bought it. But thankfully, even with the modifications, they took it back and gave us 80 per cent of the initial cost. Most people bought a transformer in New Zealand, but we made it through without one until now. We are just going to have to buy one from a marine dealer that can install it and make sure things work. Until then, we just have to run the motor twice a day to keep the batteries charged and our system working.
We actually made it back to One15 before dark and enjoyed a late afternoon dip in the pool. One end of the pool has water jets that massage your aching muscles after walking miles around this town and we sure took advantage of those this evening. It’s a tough life out here, but somebody’s got to do it!
by Judy Handley | Oct 27, 2008 | Sailing Logs Year 4, Singapore |
Day 5, Year 4:Â Â Happy Anniversary to Us
Date: Monday, October 27, 2008
Weather: Mixed-Sunny Morning, Sprinkling Afternoon and Evening
Location: One 15 Marina, Sentosa Island, Singapore
It was another busy, busy day. We decided late last night to go with the Shirena crew to the Jurong Bird Park on the western side of Singapore. Robert wasn’t feeling well, so just Tina and Neil went. This was Neil’s last day as crew on Shirena as he is flying out late tonight. We left a little late, it took longer than we hoped to get there, and it took much longer than we expected to get through the park, but all of that said, it was a great day. The birds were magnificent.
We got back to the marina much later than we had planned and it was just about time to turn around and leave for our 5 pm “appointment” at Raffles to celebrate our 34th wedding anniversary. Raffles is the home of the original Singapore Sling drink and the crews from five other boats came to join us. Eric and Robin of Scorpedo, Judy and Dave of Freebird, Tim and Rose of Rendezvous Cay, Tina and Robert of Shirena, and Klinton of Scot Free II all joined us. We are all staying at the One15 Marina so it was great fun to be out celebrating together. We all had one of the world’s most expensive drinks and then we headed out to Clarke’s Quay on the Singapore River for dinner. We found a restaurant on the river that specializes in tapas, so we got into the South American mood and feasted on paellas and tapas and had a great time.
Tomorrow we have promised ourselves that we will begin in the pool and then decide what to do from there. We need to get visas for Thailand and inquire about visas for India in case we do decide to head to the Red Sea in January. Sri Lanka and Cochin on the west coast of India will be on our itinerary if we do that. So after the pool, it will probably become a busy day but hopefully we’ll make it back to the marina to enjoy the late afternoon in the pool as well.
by Judy Handley | Oct 26, 2008 | Sailing Logs Year 4, Singapore |
Day 4, Year 4: Fourth Busy Day in Singapore
Date: Sunday, October 26, 2008
Weather: More Sun, More Humidity
Location: One 15 Marina,Sentosa Island, Singapore
Some things never change. No matter how many times we promise ourselves that we are taking a day off and just relaxing, it doesn’t happen. We are doing wonderful things, but I feel a bit like I’m in a salad spinner. There is so much to do and see in Singapore and I don’t think there is any way we will really be out of here at the end of this week as we had promised ourselves. But it’s not Thursday yet, so we shall see.
I finally took the time to do the mountain of laundry that has accumulated since Kumai. Every towel and sheet on the boat needed to be washed and since there is only one dryer here that dries things very slowly, it literally took all day. I was, however, sitting happily in air conditioning and working on getting photos ready to put on the website. Mark was on the boat doing chores and when I got back to the boat after 2 pm, he was worn out from being so hot. We then changed gears, greeted friends from a number of boats that arrived here today, went up to take showers in the luxurious One15 changing rooms, and then off we went to Little India to have dinner and enjoy the last night of the Festival of Lights. It was so crowded that it was almost impossible to move. You had get in a flow of people and just go with it. We ate a lovely little second floor restaurant sitting on pillows on the floor around low tables. Rose and Tim of Rendezvous Cay were with us, as well as the crew from Scot Free II who just arrived this afternoon.
Now for the really important events in the last 24 hours . . . We talked to our grandson Sam via Skype last night and again tonight. We have to call Massachusetts late in the evening to catch Sam early in the morning and last night we called from the boat and had an on and off connection. But then we are trying to do two-way video and that complicates matters. Sam really couldn’t see us as we had to sit in the cockpit in order to have a strong signal, and the lighting there what you might call “mood” lighting. But we could see him and it was great fun to watch him. But we wanted to try again with better lighting so he could see us, so after returning from Little India tonight, we took the computer up to the laundry room and called from there. When we connected, Sam was developing a new game with a box and an old Sears credit card. He is one intent little guy and when he finished that game, he went to get some Legos to show us how he builds. Then he decided he wanted to read, so he went with his mom to get a couple of his current favorites. He seems to currently be fascinated with an alphabet book we gave him just before we left last spring. It is called Animalia and is by an Australian author. We tried to read this together. Heather would read and then he would indicate that he wanted us to read. So she would position the camera so we could see the page and then we would read. Early in the conversation, we were giving each other high five’s via the camera but he wouldn’t throw kisses. But when it was time to say goodbye, he threw kisses and even said the word “kisses” which surprised Heather and he had never said this before. Obviously, we were charmed. This little guy sure has won our hearts and we can’t wait to see him January when Heather, Jed, and Sam visit us in Thailand. Until then, Skype is our connection and we have had two wonderful contacts from here.
We are off and running again in the morning. We are going to Jurong Bird Park with Robert, Tina, and Neal on Shirena. We’ll stop for lunch at the Vivo Center and then spend the early afternoon in the pool here at One15. When we return to town to have our Singapore Sling at Raffles to celebrate our anniversary, Neal will be heading to the airport to return to Australia. Out here friends move in and out of our lives quickly, but because we have shared such wonderful experiences together, the ties are strong.
by Judy Handley | Oct 25, 2008 | Sailing Logs Year 4, Singapore |
Day 3, Year 4:Â Third Busy Day in Singapore
Date: Saturday, October 25, 2008
Weather: Partly Overcast Day
Location: One 15 Marina, Sentosa Island, Singapore
It is the beginning of the rainy season here and I don’t think the weather is going to get much better than it was today. There was no rain which was a nice change, but it was partly overcast all day. Once in a while the sun tries to peak through, but as hot as it is without the sun, it is probably a good thing that it is staying in hiding. We did not have the relaxing day today that I thought we would have, but it was a good day. Our friends Jean-Pierre and Collette left around 9 am and then I found out that Mark planned to go back into Little India to buy an AC converter. We looked at them yesterday, but I didn’t know we were really buying one. So instead of relaxing, we did a few chores on the boat and headed into the city. We took the free shuttle bus to the Vivo Center which is just across the bridge on the southern tip of Singapore. It really is only about a ten minute ride and it is great to be out here away from the hustle and bustle of the city but still be able to be there in just ten minutes. At the Vivo Center we checked out the Super Walmart style complex. It is a supermarket called Giant on the bottom floor, with everything else from clothing to automotive parts on the top floor with an adjacent pharmacy and smaller supermarket with fantastic meats and specialty items. I even found pretzels for Mark and that is something we haven’t seen since Australia, and barely there. We went to the bank and got dollar coins for the laundry that I have been putting off, had lunch at the food court, and then hopped on the subway for Little India. One of the boat supply places was closed, but we then walked down to the SimLin Tower, home of all things electronic, and purchased the AC converter. It was going to take an hour or so to get the wiring adapted for us, so then we went across the street to SimLin Square. This is like Best Buy times four. There are five, maybe six floors of cameras, computers, sound systems, you name it. We found the 320 Gigabyte hard drives we were looking for about $100US each, so we bought two. We will use those to back up our computers and to serve as a second back-up for all our photos and videos.
We hurried back to the Vivo Center to catch the 3:53 pm free shuttle back to the marina, but we missed it by a few seconds. We were both worn out, so we hailed a taxi and paid the $5.00 Singapore to get back to the marina. Mark has been working to get the AC converter working with our system, but he has been unsuccessful so far. The converter is working but the convoluted adaptations from US to NZ to Singpore plugs is confusing the issue. This is one of the travails of traveling around a world where nothing is standard.
Maybe tomorrow will be our day to enjoy the marina facilities. I finally took a shower in the marina facilities this morning and enjoyed the complimentary towel, the huge shower stall with a shower head that is at least a foot in diameter and liquid body soap in a dispenser. After the shower, I used one of the provided hair dryers, the Q-tips and deodorant, and even got to watch CNN news on a big screen TV while doing this. We still haven’t made it to the pool. Maybe tomorrow.
by Judy Handley | Oct 24, 2008 | Sailing Logs Year 4, Singapore |
Day 2, Year 4: Â Second Busy Day in Singapore
Date: Thursday, October 24, 2008
Weather: Overcast and Drizzle in AM; Clearing in the Afternoon
Location: One 15 Marina,Sentosa Island, Singapore
It is after midnight again and we just got home. We left early this morning and did the shop ’til you drop thing until mid-afternoon. We then came home for a couple of hours and then headed right back to Little India for a cultural performance that was being put on for the Festival of Lights. The performance started at 7:00, but it took us almost an hour to find the place once we got there. But it was well worth it. There were song, dance, and drum performances by groups from Sri Lanka and India, as well as a number of local presentations. I fell in love with the Sri Lanka drumming and dance troupes and would love to visit there to see more. The final presentation by a group from India was absolutely spectacular. It was telling the story of the Krishna’s love and it was beautiful. It was so late when we left the cultural performance that it was hard to find a place to eat dinner. We actually took the subway back to China Town and found a little street restaurant there. Then it was back on the subway to Harborside and then we had to hail a taxi. That is no easy feat. But we made it home and are looking forward to a day of rest tomorrow. Jean-Pierre and Collette of Safina will be leaving in the morning and I think we will probably spend the day on the boat and in the pool here at One15 if the weather cooperates.
We are anxiously awaiting a time we can talk to our grandbaby via Skype but we haven’t even had a chance to email to set up a time. So that will be a priority tomorrow. The other priority is to take advantage of the marina facilities. Staying here is like staying at a five-star hotel. We just can’t afford to eat or drink here, but we can enjoy the facilities. I’ll have to take some photos and get them posted on the web.
