(no subject)
Well my gosh, It has been crazy!!! Where did I leave you all?
Ah yes, We were off to the Botanical gardens and the zoo. What an intense day that turned out to be. We left the hostel early on and headed to the botanical gardens by taxi (Which I have to say is incredible cheap!!!) When we arrived we walked in the garden to find a group of people doing impromptu form of Thai Chi, so Tane and I joined in and enjoyed the informal class for the remainder of it course. We walked around the stuinning gardens for a few hours, Heading into the Orchid garden which was incredible. When we'd had enough of the plant life we jumped in another Taxi and made our way to the Singapore Zoo - Now if you are ever in Singapore this is a must!!! Firstly we walked past 'Fish reflexology' and I have been dying to do this for ages!!! It's where you soak your feet in a pool where 'Dr Fish' come along and nibble away all the dead skin cells on your feet and legs. We booked 15 minutes and I have to say I can't recall the last time I laughed this hard!
Every time we dipped our feet in the water the fish swarmed us and th feeling was just plain bloody weird. Tane likened it to the feeling of thousands of small bubbles being jetted up under your feet. It was so much fun. When we finally relaxed enough the fish did thier job and we had a very relaxing time.
Next we headed around Singapore zoo and I tell you it is no small zoo. The wild life is amazing and nothing is kept in cages. There are a heap of interactive ares and some brilliant micro environments tht you can road around in. Some of my highlights included feed a white Rino, The wild cats and the butterfly enclosure! We must have spent about 4 hours walking around and our time was only cut short (We didn't finish the last 1/4 of the Zoo) due to a torrential down pour accompanied with spectacular lightening and deafening thunder. The rain was so hard, so fast that the zoo started to flood.
We headed back to our hostel and relaxed for a bit. We got in touch with Neil (Tane's mate we bumped into) and arranged to crash at thier place for the night (We were super excited at the prospect of a comfortable bed to sleep in) so we packed up and check out a night early then headed over to Niel and Ruths.
Thier place is amazing! We took the kids out for dinner then relaxed before heading to bed (With very aching feet might I add.)
The next morning we woke and got ready then headed over to Sentosa for the day!! Totally crazy! How I imagine a mini Disney would be. We ate junk food, Followed the awesome mosaic water fountain, felt sick from yet more junk food, travelled around the Island and made off to learn about the war. Tane held a snake (Not the one in his trouser) the pics are brilliant! We ate cheap, tasty local food then headed back to the tram. Tane, Niel and I headed into Chinatown where we dicovered the local markets we had managed to completely miss on our first visit and I have to say we all went shopping crazy! Managed to haggle a few excellent bargins and left with too much to pack into an already bulging suitcase. Next we made our way back over to Niel and Ruths place.
We headed to the local hawker market where we dined on local cusine (Tane the famous Chilli crab, Me the Chicken Sambala and we both tried Neils Sting ray - Yummo might i add) then Tane and I had to collect our belongings and make our way to the Train station for our overnight trip up to Malaysia...
And so the fun begins. There was very little information about the whole Train process. We hopped on with our luggage to find that all of our possesions AND ourselves had to fit into our small sleep crib for the duration of the journey. Not an easy feat! We had to disembark 25 minutes into the journey to clear customs then it was onwards and upwards to Malaysia. The train ride was bumpy and on occassions sounded like we were on a crash course but we slept and made it in one piece so we can't complain. We arrive in Malaysia this morning at 6.30am local time. We taxi'd to our hotel and freshened up (But couldn't check in until later).
We then commenced the first of our two day tours. First up we headed out to the local Pewter factory and did a fascinating tour of the place. We even go to turn our hand to 'Beating' pewter... Sadly I wasn't offered a job! Next we went to the local Silk and cotton dying/ painting place (The term escapes me at the moment) After that was the incredible, breath taking and humbling Batu caves. I can not tell you how incredible this place was!! The limestone caves were so massive that the whole world seemed to dissappear. The entry to the cave was up 272 step stairs covered with cheeky (And occasionally agressive) monkeys so it made the walk up some what entertaining.
After the caves we headed back to the hotel, Checked in and I had a devine shower. Our hotel room is excellent, massive and comfortable, bath and shower, lots of free goodies and well located. If you ever make it to Malaysia then stay at the Melia hotel.
Next up was the town tour of the local sights including the twin towers (Malaysian ones of course) then back to the hotel for some much need food, Rest and this update.
So as it stands now we have tomorrow at the Sunway Lagoon water and theme park (Which should be a ball of fun) and I have a delightful evening so sleeping to look forward to tonight. Tomorrow however we are back on the overnight train to Singapore and then off to resort bound Bintan where we are going to sleep, eat and relax.
Take care and post soon,
Sarah
Ah yes, We were off to the Botanical gardens and the zoo. What an intense day that turned out to be. We left the hostel early on and headed to the botanical gardens by taxi (Which I have to say is incredible cheap!!!) When we arrived we walked in the garden to find a group of people doing impromptu form of Thai Chi, so Tane and I joined in and enjoyed the informal class for the remainder of it course. We walked around the stuinning gardens for a few hours, Heading into the Orchid garden which was incredible. When we'd had enough of the plant life we jumped in another Taxi and made our way to the Singapore Zoo - Now if you are ever in Singapore this is a must!!! Firstly we walked past 'Fish reflexology' and I have been dying to do this for ages!!! It's where you soak your feet in a pool where 'Dr Fish' come along and nibble away all the dead skin cells on your feet and legs. We booked 15 minutes and I have to say I can't recall the last time I laughed this hard!
Every time we dipped our feet in the water the fish swarmed us and th feeling was just plain bloody weird. Tane likened it to the feeling of thousands of small bubbles being jetted up under your feet. It was so much fun. When we finally relaxed enough the fish did thier job and we had a very relaxing time.
Next we headed around Singapore zoo and I tell you it is no small zoo. The wild life is amazing and nothing is kept in cages. There are a heap of interactive ares and some brilliant micro environments tht you can road around in. Some of my highlights included feed a white Rino, The wild cats and the butterfly enclosure! We must have spent about 4 hours walking around and our time was only cut short (We didn't finish the last 1/4 of the Zoo) due to a torrential down pour accompanied with spectacular lightening and deafening thunder. The rain was so hard, so fast that the zoo started to flood.
We headed back to our hostel and relaxed for a bit. We got in touch with Neil (Tane's mate we bumped into) and arranged to crash at thier place for the night (We were super excited at the prospect of a comfortable bed to sleep in) so we packed up and check out a night early then headed over to Niel and Ruths.
Thier place is amazing! We took the kids out for dinner then relaxed before heading to bed (With very aching feet might I add.)
The next morning we woke and got ready then headed over to Sentosa for the day!! Totally crazy! How I imagine a mini Disney would be. We ate junk food, Followed the awesome mosaic water fountain, felt sick from yet more junk food, travelled around the Island and made off to learn about the war. Tane held a snake (Not the one in his trouser) the pics are brilliant! We ate cheap, tasty local food then headed back to the tram. Tane, Niel and I headed into Chinatown where we dicovered the local markets we had managed to completely miss on our first visit and I have to say we all went shopping crazy! Managed to haggle a few excellent bargins and left with too much to pack into an already bulging suitcase. Next we made our way back over to Niel and Ruths place.
We headed to the local hawker market where we dined on local cusine (Tane the famous Chilli crab, Me the Chicken Sambala and we both tried Neils Sting ray - Yummo might i add) then Tane and I had to collect our belongings and make our way to the Train station for our overnight trip up to Malaysia...
And so the fun begins. There was very little information about the whole Train process. We hopped on with our luggage to find that all of our possesions AND ourselves had to fit into our small sleep crib for the duration of the journey. Not an easy feat! We had to disembark 25 minutes into the journey to clear customs then it was onwards and upwards to Malaysia. The train ride was bumpy and on occassions sounded like we were on a crash course but we slept and made it in one piece so we can't complain. We arrive in Malaysia this morning at 6.30am local time. We taxi'd to our hotel and freshened up (But couldn't check in until later).
We then commenced the first of our two day tours. First up we headed out to the local Pewter factory and did a fascinating tour of the place. We even go to turn our hand to 'Beating' pewter... Sadly I wasn't offered a job! Next we went to the local Silk and cotton dying/ painting place (The term escapes me at the moment) After that was the incredible, breath taking and humbling Batu caves. I can not tell you how incredible this place was!! The limestone caves were so massive that the whole world seemed to dissappear. The entry to the cave was up 272 step stairs covered with cheeky (And occasionally agressive) monkeys so it made the walk up some what entertaining.
After the caves we headed back to the hotel, Checked in and I had a devine shower. Our hotel room is excellent, massive and comfortable, bath and shower, lots of free goodies and well located. If you ever make it to Malaysia then stay at the Melia hotel.
Next up was the town tour of the local sights including the twin towers (Malaysian ones of course) then back to the hotel for some much need food, Rest and this update.
So as it stands now we have tomorrow at the Sunway Lagoon water and theme park (Which should be a ball of fun) and I have a delightful evening so sleeping to look forward to tonight. Tomorrow however we are back on the overnight train to Singapore and then off to resort bound Bintan where we are going to sleep, eat and relax.
Take care and post soon,
Sarah