Traveling back to Maggie

Orchard Road Shopping Centre - with Monkeys!

Chinatown

Even the plants at the Garden Conservatory had a Monkey theme!

Spectacular setting for the Singapore Open - The Serapong course at the Sendosa Golf Club

Sunday Service at a Bhudist Temple

Singapore skyline

Traveling back to Maggie

February 2, 2016

We are now back on board Maggie in the marina at Nongsa Point, in Batam, Indonesia. It seems strange to be writing a blog when we haven't gone anywhere. But we have seen many interesting things on the way here and have started the necessary preparations. Right now it is raining and the wind has been fairly strong from the northeast. This is a different season from when we left in early Dec. At that time it was calm and hot. For the next few months we will be in the northeast monsoon season. We are happy to be getting some breeze into the boat as we adjust to the heat.

We left Toronto last Monday and flew via Brussels and Abu Dhabi. We can at least say that we have circumnavigated by plane as we flew home eastbound via Shanghai. We were lucky to land in Abu Dhabi at sunset on a clear day with a window seat. It was interesting to see all the sand dunes dotted with oil rigs across the Arabian peninsula. And then to see the city areas much more lit up than other cities. It was a 6 hour flight overnight to Singapore. We lost 13 hours over the 3 flights.

The plan had been to stay in Singapore for 2 days to pick up some more marine supplies and do some more sightseeing. But we noticed banners advertising the golf tournament, The Singapore Open, was starting Thursday with Jordan Spieth as one of the players. Too good an opportunity to miss!  It felt good to be in "cruising mode" and just change plans to stay 2 more days. It was good to have a few more days with air conditioning as we recovered from the jet lag.

The tournament must make its money on TV coverage as it only cost $15 to watch on Fri. (The beer was $12) And the crowds were very light except for a group following Spieth. They were not strict about how close you could be to the players so it was fun to be there. We got rained out for the rest of the day at 3 pm so they were playing catch up every day since. More rain Sunday has meant the finals won't be completed until Mon-haven't heard results yet. We enjoyed watching the coverage in the hotel but it in not on TV in Indonesia.

Next weekend, Feb 8, is Chinese New Year and the city is well into celebration mode. I have never seen so many versions of a monkey, as it will be the Year of the Monkey. Everything from carved wood, flowers and plants covering a frame, plastic inflatables, and kids toys-by the hundreds. On Sunday we revisited Chinatown just to see the decor. By the afternoon you could hardly walk with the crowds. In the morning there was a service in the Buddhist Temple that you were welcome to watch. The temple is also a museum with its many relics and outstanding architecture.

We treated ourselves to a day on the "hop on hop off" bus. The included audio tour gave some good background to the city and its highlights. You could walk most places downtown but it felt good to have a break. The population is mostly Chinese, Indian, and Malaysian, and they each have an ethnic area that is preserved. In colonial times they were not allowed into the city business center. It was interesting to hear how the government tries to keep a crowded city functioning. They invest a lot on public transit and make it very costly to operate a car. Only a set number of private vehicles can be driven and it costs $50,000 for the permit after you wait for a spot. The price of the cars is heavily taxed. Almost everyone lives in an apartment, $250,000 for public housing if you qualify, or starting about a million for a private one. The few private homes are many million each. I was surprised to see everyone waiting for a green light to cross a street. And no food or drink is taken on the trains and buses. When new projects are built they bring in all the sand and soil and use the reclaimed land. The city has physically grown by 25%. The island with the golf course, also has a complex like Disneyland and Universal Studios with hotels and beaches.

We stopped for an afternoon at "Gardens by the Bay", a huge garden park with 2 conservatories, one with a rain forest climate, and the other Mediterranean. Spectacular! The interspersed art and sculpture was worth seeing on its own. The entire project also includes a shopping mall and the Marina Bay Sands hotel built on the man made island for about $5 billion. The room rates start at $750, then $1500 and up per night.

We managed to get our 4 bags of luggage each weighing just under 50 lb all the way to Singapore without any extra charge. But they cost us $47 to go the last 20 miles on the ferry. They have a 20kg limit per bag. Now we are working trying to find a home for all those things. We hired a marina worker, Acok,  to watch the boat and he had washed it all for us and opened it up for a few hours before our arrival. Things look and smell ok. Usually when we return to the boat something has stopped working. So far the only issue has been the zippers on the dodger and bimini. Some are broken and most will not open or close. We should have taken them off. Some food was in ziplocs and in a Rubbermaid bin, but there are still weevils inside. We are eating out of cans as the closest grocery store is a 3/4 hr taxi drive away. That trip is scheduled for this afternoon. In the meantime we are at a resort and can take a break at the pool or in the air conditioned bar.

Next stop, Malaysia. We just need to do some planning on when to start, where to stop, and check out of the country. Hopefully, sometime this week.