Delhi Sights

We spent the day touring Delhi -- Humayan's Tomb (precursor to the Taj Mahal), the Red Fort and a drive-by of India Gate were the highlights. Thought we could reach most sites by the Metro alone, but quickly discovered we'd need at least a tuk-tuk to get across town. This was especially true after we found ourselves having to cross a particularly busy street where traffic is constant. Yikes!!

To Delhi

We leave Jaipur on the 6 am train to Delhi for a 3-4 hour ride. The train leaves right on time and is pretty much on schedule until we reach the stop just before Delhi. The train is delayed by fog so we are an hour late. Not bad when you consider it took 20 hours to travel from Varanasi to Agra. We arrive at the station and our ever-resourceful guide Singh has hired a porter to transport our big bags so we don't have to lug them over the bridge. Thank goodness! We walk through the station and to a minibus ready to take us to our hotel in Delhi, the “Hotel Perfect.” It’s in the middle of a jammed packed street where hardly any parking is available. Delhi is unbelievably crowded with a population of at least 17 million, and is India’s second largest city as well as the nation’s capital. After settling in, we join Singh for an orientation tour of the city. We will take the city’s Metro to our destination in old Delhi. The metro is three years old, very efficient, state of the art and even ISO 14001 certified for environmental compliance. It was first conceived in 1969 and construction began in 1998. It's hard to imagine the gridlock that would exist - not to mention the pollution - if the metro had not been built here. We found it pretty easy to use, with stops called out on each train, but most trains are jammed-packed - but no worries if you don't make your train, the next one will come along in 2-4 minutes. Before you can board, you go through security with separate lines for men and women and metal detectors. Each train has a separate coach for women only, and the police sternly warn the men who violate this rule. We transfer from the blue to the yellow line, then exit the station and catch bicycle rickshaws to take our orientation tour, stopping to take photos at Delhi’s Red Fort and a short tour at Delhi’s big mosque. Then we visit the old market area, with extremely narrow passage ways and all kinds of tasty treats and beautiful clothing. We then take the metro on our own to Connaught Square which is a fairly modern shopping area with all kinds of upscale shops. We stop for coffee, then decide we want to find the India Gate which Hoyt remembered from his 1974 trip. Instead we are diverted by a "friend" (who said he recognized us from the hotel; his brother worked there, right....)to a “no hassle” shopping emporium where we end up buying a marble box, miniature painting and three long shirts for me (on my list to buy). Even though we realize the diversion resulted in a commission for our friend the tuk-tuk driver, we're happy with our purchases - and guess what, the proprietors

were more than willing to bargain. After what we hope is the last shopping event of our trip, we return to the metro stop by our hotel, which is only about two minutes away from where we're staying. However, we exited the station on the wrong side of the street and were disoriented in the dark, so it took about 45 minutes instead! We reached our hotel at 7:25, just five minutes before the start of our farewell dinner. Singh took us to a wonderful continental and Indian restaurant a couple of blocks away where we toasted the culmination of our trip and shared contact information.

Tordi Gath and Jaipur in the state of Rajastan

We have a long bus and jeep drive today as we are going to visit a village in a remote part of the state of Rajastan. We take a bus for about four hours, then transfer to jeeps for the remaining three hour journey to Tordi. We were on the Agra-Jaipur highway for the majority of the time, which is two lanes in each direction and relatively smooth. Then, the roads changes to the usually bumpy and potholed ones we’ve become accustomed to. The terrain changes also, to high desert and palm trees, with some mountains. When we reach the village, we drive into a “heritage site” which is actually a former palace under the maharaja system with the owners being direct descendants. We took a camel cart ride to the dunes to see the sunset which was quite enjoyable and featured chai at the top! Then we were treated to a home-cooked meal by the owners, featuring many local delicious dishes including warm rice pudding. A roaring campfire and conversation rounded out the evening. A nice respite from dodging honking horns. We visit the village tomorrow. Tordi Gath part two The others woke at 5:30 am to take a sunrise hike to the fort high above the village. Hoyt and I opted to sleep in and take in essentially the same view from the hotel’s rooftop perch, giving us a panoramic view of the village. Smart move. We have breakfast at 8:30 followed by a village tour. About 3000 live in the village, where we saw various craftspeople at work including potters, cobblers and toolmakers. We enjoyed having our pictures taken with the local schoolchildren, who giggled when they saw their images in our cameras. There’s no printed directory for the shops; what they do instead is write their cell phone numbers on the walls of their business in charcoal. We return to the hotel and bask in the sunshine, returning to our rooftop perch where we could have easily spent the day. Two of our tourmates decide to get henna tattoos on their hands, and we are treated to a cooking demonstration by the landlady who fixed a tasty dish with curds, lentils and spices which we would have for lunch along with various other homemade treats. After lunch, we leave via jeep for Jaipur on the same bumpy road we took coming in. In about three hours we reach Jaipur, one of the first master planned cities in India and the location of one of the most impressive royal castles we’ve seen, with extensive inlaid marble and walls that seem to rival the Great Wall of China. At our hotel, we’re greeted with a flower garland and a mango lassi. The hotel is a former castle and it’s quite a journey just to reach our room, up and down various staircases and through beautiful courtyards. We try venturing out after dark for shopping and dinner, but it’s extremely chaotic so we decide to go back to the hotel, only to

find that their restaurant isn’t open for dinner, so we consult our guidebook for suggestions. We decide to take a tuk-tuk to a vegetarian restaurant and are on the way out the door when our guide Singh appears. We share our plans and he tells us about a restaurant just down the street featuring folk dancing, so off we go. The food is delicious so we’re quite happy.

Overnight Sleeper Train to Agra and the Taj

We have a leisurely morning on the day of our night train to Agra. Breakfast at 9:30, then back to our room to shower and get ready to check out by 12 noon. I always like to watch the local TV to get a flavor of local life and I find the Indian equivalent of the Food Network, “Food Food.” Although the dialogue is in Hindi, there are English subtitles, so I’m able to follow along with the recipes, which include a stuffed paratha and rice with curry leaves. There’s another personality, Amal’s Food Secrets, and Turban Tamal who reminded me of Emeril. We check out and I opt to hang around the hotel awhile while Hoyt explores the shopping area around our hotel and buys a miniature painting, which he’s told is going to be much cheaper than in Delhi and more authentic. I’m happy reading two daily papers and having lunch in the courtyard of the hotel. I enjoyed my chai but my falafel – well, let’s say I’ve had better. Hoyt also returns with a smoked chicken sandwich from a restaurant called “Brownie” which he says is just around the corner from our hotel. He convinces me that we should buy a second sandwich for the overnight train trip. Food is sold on board, but we’re told it’s of questionable quality so it’s best to bring your own aboard. Immediately after stepping out of the hotel we are bombarded with tut-tut and rickshaw drivers offering us a ride for 5 rupees, which is cheap. We opt to walk to the Brownie restaurant, which is more than “just around the corner” but Hoyt sees the rickshaw driver he used earlier in the day who’s agreed to take us back for 5 rupees. We need the ride because we’re due back at the hotel by 4 for our pre-train meeting. In addition to the sandwich we opt for two chicken parathas, which are delicious. Once back at the hotel, we learn our train is late. No surprise! A large group of New Zealand school boys headed by train to Delhi is back at the hotel because their train has been cancelled, so they will have another night in Varanasi. We learn that our train is going to be about three hours late, so we cool our heels at the hotel. Finally at 6:30 we leave for the station. The station has no waiting room and the pre-board platform is essentially a concrete and dirt floor. Hoyt sits down on a concrete pillar and notices a rat scurrying by. I figure that as long as there are no vermin on board the train, we’re good. At about 8 pm our train finally arrives and we settle in to our compartment. Six to a compartment, three berths, and Hoyt and I get the bottom one (a concession to our age, no doubt, which I gratefully accept). There are police escorts on board and we are advised to not accept any food from strangers (because it may have hallucinogens in them that could make us unable to protect our valuables) and to lock our bags, which we do. People get on and off the train all night. We actually get some sleep but it’s off and on. Right now it’s 9:20 am and I’m taking the opportunity to write this while we have about 2.5 hours to go until Agra. ……Update: it’s now 9:40 and we’ve had a bit of excitement on the train. Our tour mates, a couple from Munich and London (long distance relationship) lose their passports down the toilet of the train. Alan went to the toilet to clear some crumbs from his rucksack and didn’t realize that the couple’s passports were in the bag – so down they went on the tracks. Alan yelled “stop this train” and the emergency cord was pulled. We weren’t going all that fast, so the train stopped right away and both Alan and Renate jumped out the door, closely followed by Singh 1 and Singh 2 and about 25 other Indian men. It took about 20 minutes, but Alan finally found both passports on the tracks. The train was abuzz with “passport” on everyone’s lips! Glad this had a happy ending. Meanwhile, the estimated arrival time in Agra kept getting pushed out again and again. Fog was the problem, plus having to wait for other express trains to pass. Finally we reach the train station just before Agra at about 12:30, meaning that Agra was about 40 minutes away. We reach the train station, quickly get ourselves and our bags onto the platform and to the vans waiting to take us to the hotel. We grab a quick lunch at McDonald’s next to the hotel (veggie burger and McChicken sandwich) and return by 2:45 for the trip to the Taj Mahal. We had

until about 5:30 to spend at the Taj and it was spectacular, though crowded with many people. Unforgettable…

Mother Ganges

We took two boat trips on the Ganges yesterday -- one at dawn so we could see the sunrise, and the other at night to witness the prayer ceremony that takes place every evening around 6:00 pm. The city was almost quiet at 6 am, and the scene at the Ganges was surreal with all the fog. We were concerned we wouldn't see anything, but as soon as the sun peeked through, visibility improved. Every day at every hour, people bathe in the river. We also saw laundrymen washing clothes, each with their own assigned rock. On the night tour, we had the opportunity to light an offering and float it in the river; both of us wished for a safe and happy conclusion to our trip. We also saw more than a half dozen cremations taking place. Words escape me to describe this experience. The river is a peaceful and spiritual place, a respite away from the hustle and bustle of Veranasi city, yet full of life.

In between boat trips, we visited a series of traditional weaving centers. Varanasi is a center for intricate weaving of silk material used to create saris, shawls and decorative materials. Weaving takes place by hand (most time consuming and complicated) and also with cardboard cards that are used to automate the pattern. But in most cases, the weavers memorize their patters, which may take them years to master.

On the banks of the Ganges at night, students from from the nearby Sanskrit university are assigned prayer duties as part of their studies. Each of them stand on a platform and start out by blowing into a conch shell to create the "om" sound. Then they ring a series of bells, perform a series of movements with flaming items and something that resembles a feather duster (we need more research on the purpose of these items - hope to update you later). After the festivities ended, we traveled back to our hotel on bicycle rickshaw, then tut-tut and enjoyed a very nice meal at the hotel. Today we get a bit of rest while we wait for our overnight train to Agra at 4:30

Crossing into India

As we leave Lumbini, we are only about an hour from the Indian border. Once we reached the Nepalese border, we walked 20 meters to the Nepal customs office and once we completed the paperwork, walked another 20 meters to the Indian customs office, changed our Nepalese rupee notes to Indian rupees and off we went. Turns out our tour guide in India is the assistant guide; he'll be escorting us all the way to Varanasi, about an 8 - 10 hour ride by van. Unlike the spacious van we had in Nepal, we're crammed into this little van with all 12 seats taken and no more room for bags inside - they go on top. The roads seem very similar to those in Nepal; lots of honking, daredevil moves, stops and starts. I try to grab a little sleep but it's nearly impossible. We travel through a lot of flat land, rural areas, and a few large cities with the most unbelievable traffic jams we've ever seen. Cars, buses, trucks, cows, sheep, goats, bicycle rickshaws, bikes, motorbikes and pedestrians jockey for positions and somehow, we all make it through. When we reach Varanasi, we're pleased to see that we are staying in a very nice hotel, Hotel Suyra, which is in a very distinguished older building. We are even more delighted to see that the hotel has a reliable supply of hot water and a heater in our room! After the last four nights of no hot water and cold rooms, this is just what we need after being chilled to the bone. After an invigorating hot shower, we join our group for dinner and a nice cup of masala tea to discuss the itinerary for the rest of the trip. We are also treated to a wedding ceremony at the hotel. Turns out this is one of the last days of the wedding season. We

are looking forward to our tour of the Ganges River tomorrow morning, so get to bed early for our 5:30 am wakeup call.

Lumbini - Birthplace of Buddha and it's cold here in winter

We get a 7 am wakeup call at Chitwan, with breakfast at 7:30 to fuel us for our four hour trip to Lumbini, the birthplace of Prince Siddharta Gautama – otherwise known as Buddha. The temple complex features temples that have been constructed by Buddhists around the world including Japan, Germany and Vietnam. We cross the plains, head up into the mountains again and down again. The roads aren’t quite as curvy, but they are almost as treacherous. Yep, that's a tour bus in the ditch.

We pull into the Lumbini Buddha Lodge at 12:30 for lunch and our tour of the temple complex begins at 2:00. We saw many pilgrims from all over the world, chanting. As for the lodge where we are staying -- it is best known for bird watching, but with the cold and foggy weather, not many birds are out. This would be a great place to stay in the summer but in winter, not so much since there's no heat. Just a few weeks ago in Indonesia, we thought a tour of Iceland sounded so nice and we couldn't wait until the cooler weather!

Once we get to the Nepalese border tomorrow morning, we will bid goodbye to our Nepalese guide and meet our Indian guide for the remainder of our journey.

Elephants in the Mist

Hoyt woke up this morning with a sore throat and was not feeling well. He had signed up for the afternoon jungle walk but decided it would be best to opt out. Yet we both joined the 8 am elephant safari which was great fun. There were four of us riding on the elephant platform at one time for the two hour trip across rivers and through jungle flora and fauna. We crossed rivers and saw a few deer and some birds – no rhinos or tigers, I’m afraid, but enjoyable nonetheless. We bought a few bananas to feed to our elephant afterwards. After the tour, we returned to the hotel via a bumpy jeep ride for some R & R and Hoyt nursed his cold. I went down to the village for a cup of masala tea and shopping, buying a few items from the free trade store in support of the local skill-building program for women. I joined the group for our final night at Chitwan featuring a dinner and an excellent local dance group – actually, right outside our room where they are setting up the bonfire now. Because it was so chilly, Hoyt opted for his dinner in the room, giving him more time to rest and prepare for tomorrow's journey. Tomorrow it’s on to our final destination in Nepal before the crossing into India. We learned tonight that the crossing takes only 20 minutes but we've got another 10 hours to go by bus before our first stop in India. Yikes...

Kathmandu to Chitwan – Wild Ride Along the Road to India

Our guide strongly suggested that we leave this morning at 7 rather than 9 because although the ride to Chitwan National Park, where we were to spend two nights is only 50 miles or so, it can take all day to get there. We quickly found out why: it’s not exactly a 7-lane freeway. It is the main route into India, and there are many large trucks and buses in addition to the usual cars and, for those particularly brave or foolish, motorbikes. So we left promptly at 7, opting for breakfast along with way. It was good to leave the frenetic pace of Kathmandu, but to say the road is not good is an understatement. If an accident were to happen, or if a truck broke down and blocked the way, or if a landslide were to happen, the road could close completely. The road took us over a mountain pass and down into a beautiful valley. We stopped at a roadside restaurant that was surprisingly good: a full buffet of Nepalese goodies and masala tea. After breakfast, we were back in our bus, which didn’t have the best shock absorbers but our driver was a real pro. Several times, it was unclear how we would get past two oncoming buses coming our way, or whether we’d be squeezed out by a local bus trying to pass on a blind curve. Many of the trucks had signs on the back, “Honk Please” or “Now is the time for love.” (more like now is the time for luck or divine intervention!) And we saw a few vehicles that had landed in a ditch. But somehow we made it, and within four hours.

Chitwan National Park is a huge place with jungles and rivers, and people flock there to ride elephant safaris and try to spot a tiger or two. We learn that it can be very hot and humid in the summer, but it’s a bit on the cold side when we arrive – and being December, it’s low season. We’re staying in one of the many lodges near the park border, the River View Lodge. When we arrive, the manager is waiting for us with welcome drinks and a description of the activities for the next two days. After lunch, there’s a village tour and a visit to the Elephant Breeding Center, where we can see baby elephants with their parents, including two recently born male twins. For tomorrow, there’s an elephant safari ride, and an optional four-hour jungle walk. The manager goes into great detail about how risky this jungle walk is, and about the time a Belgian tourist was gored by a raging rhino. He claimed you could “see his heart and lungs” and that his jaw was broken in five places – but he is OK now. Then our guide chimed in and said that one time, a very large woman broke her leg and it took five men to carry her out, then hours to transport her to the nearest “good” hospital in Kathmandu. But of course, they told us, it is up to you – we are only your guides, it is your decision. So I opted for the village tour and Elephant Breeding Center for today, which turned out to be quite enjoyable. After we returned to the hotel that evening, the manager took us down to the river so we could see a rhino (behind a protective wall) and Hoyt captured some great shots of him. After an early dinner, we were quite tired so it was time for another early turn-in.

Pilgrimage to Boudhanath

While in Kathmandu, we visited the great stupa of Boudhanath, one of the most important places of Himalayan Buddhist worship. It is huge; large numbers of devotees (and tourists too) walk around it clockwise, spinning prayer wheels as they go. The stupa is commonly known as Boudha or Boudhanath, meaning lord of wisdom. The dome is approximately 120 feet in diamater, 1 hectare in width and 43 meters high. Tibetan refugees are the most dominant and active community of devotees.

Leaving Kathmandu - 5 Days of Sensory Overload

We haven't downloaded today's photos so I will have to upload them later, but I just had to report on the culmination of five extraordinary days in Kathmandu and hope my words can adequately express how I'm feeling right now. I'm sitting in the lobby of our hotel right next to the Christmas tree. When Hoyt and I returned from dinner, there was a group of Nepali pastors singing Christmas carols, which was totally unexpected and touched me greatly as it reminded me that we won't be home for Christmas this year. We're totally spent, as this is not an easy place to visit. Kathmandu has doubled in size since 1991, with a population of 16 million. Walking down the streets requires all your concentration, otherwise you risk being flattened by a vehicle of some sort. Places in line mean nothing and the little courtesies we take for granted at home don't mean much here, though people are very nice and tourists are well-taken care of. Pollution can tax your lungs. Hawkers are at every corner in the tourists areas. Yet, there's a sense of spirituality and wonder at every turn. Today we visited a large Hindu temple by the river and witnessed several cremations in graphic detail. The families handle the cremation duties, which occurs within hours after death. The body is washed, wrapped in a saffron-colored cloth and placed upon a platform, in a pile of wood. Cremations occur 24/7 and at all ours of the day. The government provides the wood and the space free of charge. For men, the oldest son circles the body clockwise three times; for women, it's the youngest son. How different this practice is from that in Bali, where cremations don't occur for two to three years after death, except in the case of royalty.

In the afternoon we took a taxi up to the "Monkey Temple" which gives an excellent view of the city of Kathmandu and of the mountains, except that it was very smoggy today. Hoyt remembers visiting this place in the 70s and having a full view of snow-capped Himalayas, but with such population growth, more pollution is inevitable. Nevertheless, it was not to miss.

Tomorrow we leave at 7 am for the Chitwan National Forest, and we'll be staying in a bungalow near the jungle. Internet connections may be spotty, so you may not hear from us online for awhile. We look forward to leaving the city behind and beginning our transition to India.

Exploring Kathmandu

We consider taking a trip to an outlying area for a look at one of the best-preserved temple areas, but decide against it because it will take at least an hour out and back, plus we want to see Kathmandu’s Darbur Square. And with our tour meeting tonight, we need to be back by 5. Turned out to be a good decision. As we were making our way down to the square, we noticed two things: one, there was little traffic.

Could this be Saturday morning light? Then we saw that the local people were dressed up in beautiful, colorful clothing with sashes and badges. We quickly learned that it was a festival day in Kathmandu, marking the beginning of winter and honoring the farming communities. The people came from all parts of the city, representing their schools and community organizations and playing musical instruments as they marched toward the temple. We stood at the major intersection in town and took it all in. A young man approached us and explained to us what was happening. As the parade started to dwindle, we followed the crowd down to the square. The young man stayed with us, showing us several offerings with beautiful flowers and sand drawings on the ground. We kept walking and he kept talking – and of course, we realized that he was becoming our tour guide and would most certainly expect a fee. Hoyt asked him what his business was today – was he here to find a job as a tour guide for the day? He said no, don’t think of him as a tour guide but just a guide and that he was doing it to help people learn. He added, if you want to buy me some food that would be OK. So, we stop at a small market and he picks out a few things, and says that we can give him 1,350 rupees for some milk and bread. That’s $16 or so US – pretty steep! Hoyt offers him 700 rupees – and he was not happy. He said it was “beggar’s price” and gave the money back to us. We pushed it back into his hand and he asked “ are you happy with this?” We said yes, and then he took off without a word. Fortunately, Hoyt’s map and compass were enough to get us on the right track and we had little problem finding our way to the square. We were tiring of the uninvited tour, in any case. The festival culminated at the square and the participants were walking around at a fever pitch – throwing flowers and rice, and banging drums in a very spirited manner. More self-employed guides tried to get us to hire them but we declined. We enjoyed a very pleasant afternoon of people-watching and also found a bakery with some very yummy sweets which served as our lunch. Late afternoon we made our way back to the Kemel, just in time to meet our tour group and our guide for the Nepali portion of our trip. The group seems very nice and we had a great dinner together, back to the Kemel House where we enjoyed our first night’s meal. Our guide, however, seems detached from the group. His opening statement to the group was something to the effect,” I’m not going to be doing much for you,” since we would have local guides every day. He described tomorrow’s itinerary very briefly and tol us to be ready at 9:00 am tomorrow to meet our local guide, said good night and did not join us for dinner. We hope he becomes more involved with us to impart his knowledge, not just collect our money and get us from point a to point b. We miss Gede! Wonder if he would come to Nepal?? Time will tell – too soon to rush to judgment just yet. Great day all around.

Kathmandu Arrival - We're Not in Singapore Anymore

Catching a cab at 5 am in Singapore was easy. After bidding a fond farewell to the YMCA staff, we walked a couple of blocks and stood on a main street. Within 30 seconds a cab showed up. The 30 minute ride to the airport was a breeze and as usual, the Singapore airport was a model of efficiency and comfort. Hoyt caught up on some journal writing as we waited for our flight, and I walked around a bit. To our delight, our first flight to Bangkok was upgraded to business class so we were treated to adjustable, massaging seats on the 777 and a very tasty breakfast. After two hours we landed in Bangkok and seemed to walk the entire length of the airport to reach our connecting flight to Kathmandu. We walked past beautiful displays, flowers and many, many travelers. Our flight to Kathmandu was three hours – more business class and a lunch of red snapper and spiced rice, with a fruit and cheese platter and nice French wine – though I had to restrain myself, needing to keep my head once we arrived in Nepal. The views of the Himalayas from the plane were stunning. Kathmandu airport is a cacophony of sight and sound and we definitely had the feeling we had stepped back in time – so different from Singapore. Yet, many references to modern culture, especially related to travel. There must be hundreds of travel agencies here. The airport looks disorganized but is not – we breezed through customs and immigration in no time. We were told there were no buses we could take to our hotel (thank goodness) but would need to take a taxi instead. No problem – we were approached by an official looking man and his entourage who said they could take us to our hotel. The streets of Kath are chaotic – back to lots of motorbikes and honking cars, dirt streets, street vendors and the like. After about a half an hour, we arrived at the Hotel Shakti where we will be spending the next three days. We had not changed money yet, so Hoyt had to pay the driver in USD – he tried to shake us down a little, but it was worth it to get us to the hotel safely. Hotel staff were very helpful in getting us settled in. I opted to take a nap while Hoyt found the ATM and more shopping. When he came back, we had a beer in the nice hotel garden – it was Tuborg! Not our favorite, will try the local brew, Everest, tomorrow. After a bit of more shopping, we had a very nice Nepali dinner at the Thamel House Restaurant in town. Chicken dumplings, veg soup, rice, mutton, mixed vegetables, and a delicious soy bean salad that reminded us of Burmese tea leaf salad. We were offered some “wine” poured from a great distance into a small bowl that was very strong and was said to ward off all kinds of nasty stuff and cure various ailments, and make you feel warmer. It did just that! Finally, we were treated to some traditional Nepalese dancing. After a long day, we were very tired so went back to the hotel and back to bed by 8:30 (due to the time change, it would have been 10:45 for us in Singapore). Nepal changes the time increments by 15 minutes and not on the hour. It is very cold here at night, and it is a treat to be able to wear a long sleeved shirt and not sweat! A nice comforter on the bed was just the trick, even with the extremely hard mattress. I woke up with about 10 hours sleep and time to write this before we go to breakfast. We’re planning some independent touring today before our group tour Road to Delhi

begins tomorrow.

Last day in Singapore

Our last full day in Singapore. We sleep in a bit, get down to breakfast by 9:30 and then plan our day for one last attraction, the Asian Civilisations Museum down on the Singapore River. It’s only one stop away on the MRT. We arrived about 2:30 which would leave plenty of time for touring and to find an early dinner. The building is a an old colonial and housed the Parliament at one point. Divided into three floors, it covers southeast Asian, China and Middle Eastern cultures. We found the middle eastern calligraphy and paper marbling techniques very interesting. We gained some new insights into shadow puppets from the region. We marveled at the special collection of textiles and musical instruments from India. After the museum, there was only one thing left to do – find some hawker food! Singapore is known for its street food. Originally, the street vendors were in dark, dank and rather unclean areas but now are highly regulated, with most of the hawker centres inside. So down to Chinatown we went. The choices go on and one with many food stalls to choose from. Hoyt had a delicious soup where he picked the ingredients – various types of soya and tofu, meatballs and dumplings in a savory sauce. I opted for my favorite Hainese chicken rice and a plate of bok choy. Delicious! Our plates cost just

$5 Singapore dollars each. Time for dessert – more choices. Hoyt had a guava milkshake and I had an ice jelly fruit cocktail for 80 cents. By now it was 8:30, so back to the hotel to pack and turn in early. We need to wake up at 4:30 to catch a cab by 5:00 am for our early flight to Kathmandu.

River Cruise and Night Safari

Today we spent quite a bit of time planning the day’s activities, especially the plan for the night safari. So many choices….we didn’t leave our room until about 1:30 pm. We went down to the MRT station hoping to buy a day pass only to find that they didn’t sell them at the station. We were told to go to the tourist info center instead, about a half a dozen blocks away. They didn’t have them either, but the very helpful agent said we didn’t need one – it would be more cost-effective to buy single tickets instead. She also fixed us up with a bus arrangement to the night safari and information on our taxi ride to the airport for our very early flight to Kathmandu on Thursday morning. Well worth the trip and time! After thanking her profusely, we hopped back on the MRT down to Clark Quay to catch a Singapore river and harbor cruise, where we saw wonderful views of colonial architecture contrasted with the modern buildings, the most impressive being the new Marina Bay Sands resort with the boat structure on top of the three towers. This is supposed to be one of the most expensive hotels in the world. We cheated a bit and grabbed some photos off the internet

to show the view from the swimming pool on top, 55 stories up. Once the cruise was over, we grabbed an early dinner since our bus to the night safari was scheduled to leave at 5:55 pm.

After much confusion, we finally found the bus pickup spot, in front of a private college that had vacated its building; no wonder we couldn’t find it. We reached the night safari at 7:00 pm and viewed a couple of the pre-tour shows, followed by a tram around the grounds. It was interesting seeing all kinds of wild animals in their habitats, though it was even more rewarding to hop off the tram and take the trails on foot instead. We particularly enjoyed the up-close views of fishing cats, otters, sloths, porcupines and leopards (called Bintang in Malay, the same name as the national beer in Indonesia!). We also saw flying foxes, raccoons, civet cats, rhinos, lions, tigers, storks, flamingos, hyenas, wolves, fish, barking deer (very tiny), elephants, snakes and crocodiles. No monkeys, since primates are not nocturnal! We left at 10:30 for the bus back to the city and another fabulous view of the Christmas lights on Orchard Road.