Singapore

At 9pm we entered KL Sentral train station and boarded the night train for Singapore. For just $74 we had our own compartment with bunk beds, TV, and an attached bathroom with a shower. As it turned out, the shower didn't work, and the TV only showed a rerun of Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom. It was more difficult to sleep on a train then I had remembered, and we arrived in Singapore pretty beat. Our first introduction to Singapore was their overzealous immigration checkpoint. The entire trains passengers were required to get off, with all of their luggage, and go through airport-style customs and immigration. This took well over an hour. I've crossed a half-dozen borders by train before and this is the first time I've ever seen anything like this. Normally, the customs officers just hop on the train somewhere near the border, and while it is in motion, they go cabin to cabin, checking and stamping passports. Singapore brought out the drug sniffing dogs, and went through every compartment. After the tired disheveled mass of passengers were allowed back on our train, we had only a few more minutes to the Singapore station. We alighted, caught a cab to our hotel, and got our first glimpse of the city. Skyscrapers lined the river, the highways are perfect, and no graffiti in sight.

"Disneyland with the death penalty." "The only shopping mall with a seat at the U.N." A country where importing chewing gum is illegal. After two days here, I would describe Singapore like this: Think of the most massive, cavernous, shopping mall you have ever been in. It is gleamingly clean and white, it's air-conditioning a little too cold. Every big name store on Earth is present, Armani, Dolce Gabbana, Rolex. Now picture that instead of this mall being populated by a few hundred portly American families chewing on their Orange Julius, it is instead filled with several thousand Chinese, all chattering in Mandarin you can make no sense of. They press in on you from all sides, sometimes trapping you in cramped passageways for a few claustrophobic seconds. Now imagine that the spaces between each big box store in this mall are separated by 100 meters of outdoor sidewalk sun-baked to 90 degrees with 80% humidity. After one minute of walking you are soaked in sweat. Your only refuge from the sweltering heat is to re-enter yet another frigid, packed, shopping mall. This goes on for several miles. There is no escape. Welcome to Singapore.
Apparently Malaysians like to stand on sit-down toilets.
Best to leave the smokes, burgers, durians, and gas cans at home.

This tunnel could be your most expensive bike ride ever.

They shoot jaywalkers on sight don't they?

Durians smell really bad.
Our visit to Singapore started out well enough. Our taxi ride into the city was quick and reasonably priced, maybe $6. Our digs, the Southeast Asia Hotel, were run down but adequate. On early Saturday morning we walked the empty streets to the Riverwalk area and admired the city skyline. There is no question Singapore is an attractive city. It's clean, has green parks, great museums, water everywhere, and excellent public transport. It's well ordered, as it's reputed, the cars actually stop for pedestrians, and no one jaywalks. We passed all the above signs threatening fines for varying minor offences, yet we did not see a single policeman. Are the Singaporeans so cowed that enforcement is no longer necessary?We passed by the Merlion statue, the Esplenade theatres, and visited the fascinating Southeast Asian Civilizations Museum. We went for a quality run in Fort Canning Park, probably the best run in two weeks. We walked to all the major sights of the city, but it was strangely empty, like everyone had cleared out for the weekend. Our first night we made the obligatory trip to Raffles Hotel Long Bar for an original Singapore Sling. Actually Lindso got the Sling, and I opted for a pint of Tiger beer. My beer cost 21.06SGD ($14.75 US), so I had the thrill of setting a new personal best for most expensive beer. Below is my reaction to seeing the bar bill. I expected tourist trap Raffles to gouge, but I was shocked to find beer all over town costing 10, 12, 14 Singapore Dollars. For a city of four million, on a Saturday night, there was almost zero going on. Weird.

Flower sales outside our hotel

By the second night we had it figured out. We rode the MRT to Orchard Road and entered hopping mall hell. I've concluded the national sport of Singapore is shopping. We saw thousands of Chinese ladies frantically digging through the sales racks in mall after mall. I've also discovered that the "cafe culture" of Europe that we love so much is completely absent in Singapore. Nowhere can you find a place to sit and have a coffee or a beer and watch the world go by, except at a chain like Starbucks, or at some extortionate tourist trap. Singapore ranks very low on my list of destinations. We couldn't wait to leave.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

We left Jogja in the afternoon for a 2.5 hour flight back to Malaysia, though this time to peninsular Malaysia to the capitol, Kuala Lumpur. We flew Air Asia for the third time this trip. What a great airline! Cheap fares; this one was only $58, cheap, delicious meals offered onboard, hot female flight attendants, (editor's note: this was pointed out by Lindso, I wasn't going to say a word), and they fly all over southeast Asia. We arrived at night in KL's low cost commuter terminal (KLIA LCCT), and searched for transport to the city center, over 30 miles away. A cab service wanted 92 ringgit ($28) but next door a bus service asked only 15 ringgit ($4.50) for door to door service. We rode the bus for the hour-long journey. This drive was some culture shock for us. After spending eight days in down trodden Indonesia, we found KL to be a sparkling, modern, clean, first world city. The skyline was lit with skyscrapers, including the iconic Petronas Towers. We spied them and the KL Tower from miles outside the city. The Petronas Towers, completed in 1998, stand at 1,482 feet, and were the tallest buildings in the world until 2004, when they were surpassed by Taipei 101. We were awed by them as our bus drove right by. We were dropped off at our hotel, the Pacific Regency, right by the KL Tower. Our room on the 25th floor had a sweeping view of the city skyline and the Petronas Towers. We had travelled light years from the dusty streets of Jogja in just a few hours. We changed into our finest non-backpacker grunge attire, and rode the lift up to the top of the Pacific Regency, the 33rd floor holding the trendy Luna Bar. The Luna had a DJ, an open rooftop setting with a pool, and unblocked side views of the Petronas. At $9 per drink, we only stayed for one, but we got some good photos.

We barhopped till late, amazed at the thriving nightlife of Kuala Lumpur, nightlife that had been completely absent so far on our trip. We particularly enjoyed drinks at Sangria's and phenomenal late-night Indian food at Estana's Curry House. Estana's might be the best food I've ever had in my life. Really. I might be willing to move to KL just to eat here every night.

The next morning we headed first to the hotel fitness center, where Lindsey wanted to run on the treadmill. I stared out the gym window at a direct view of the next door KL Tower (1,381 feet). Suddenly I saw motion from the observatory of the tower. Someone had just jumped off it! I instantly thought it must be a bungee jumper. But there was no cord. Just as my brain began to formulate the thought "Am I witnessing a suicide?" the jumper threw his little parachute. BASE jumper. Phew. As I went for my run around the Tower I would see several more jumpers. Looks like fun, maybe a new hobby for me if I ever move here for the curry.
Later we caught a cab to the Petronas where we met up with a friend of a friend, Yong Koon, who works in the Towers. Yong Koon treated us to an excellent meal of traditional Penang style dishes. It was fun to meet her and get an inside perspective of life in KL.

KL is the best place I've ever been for people watching. In just 10 minutes sitting on a bench in the Petronas shopping mall you'll see women in headscarves, women in the full black abaya, goth teenagers, skater kids, men in tailored suits staring at their blackberrys, Saudi sheiks in flowing white robes, yuppies in Armani, tall dark men in African green and tan dashikis. The world is coming together in KL.
We walked throughout the city and found lots of interesting neighborhoods and markets. Lindso and I found some super-cheap clothes on Petaling Street.
KL has a pretty colonial area, though the city is very young, having been nothing more than a swamp before 1850. We were here just two days before Merdeka, or Malaysian Independence day. As such, there were flags everywhere. Every parking garage, office building, storefront, hotel, all were flying the Malaysian flag. Below is a picture of the largest we saw, covering a 20 story hotel. We really liked KL. It is a great mix of old and new, with so many different cultures intersecting. It has great shopping and nightlife. Prices are reasonable, especially for food which is fantastic. We hope to come back again sometime on our way to another trip.

Prambanan, Java, Indonesia

After a much needed nap, we departed on our second tour of the day. We mini-bused to the Hindu monument of Prambanan. Prambanan is one of the largest Hindu temples in Southeast Asia, and was built in 850AD.
We lucked out for once and got a knowledgeable guide, with mostly understandable English. Prambanan is massive and interesting. I'd recommend viewing it before Borobudur though, as it pales by comparison. It was less crowded than Borobudur, and we could walk unbothered around the main temples through grassy fields.

Even a UNESCO World Heritage Site has to share its grounds with the local farmers. Click PLAY below to see a lamb try to escape its herder.

After Prambanan we rode the tour bus up hill to Boku Kraton; which is billed in Lonely Planet as "a stunning view of the Prambanan plain, best seen during the magnificent sunset." What we found were unrecognizable ruins of a 9th century castle on a hill with a view limited to just a couple miles visibility due to the choking smog that blankets most of Java. The sun disappeared into this band of smog long before it set. After a sub par "dinner included in the tour" (read: rice and tea), it was back down to Prambanan for the marquee cultural performance in all of Java, the Ramayana Ballet at Prambanan.

Two hours of over two hundred performers in costume and gamelan music, with the softly lit Prambana temples setting a timeless backdrop. It was a great show, with a portion of the stage actually burned down during the climax of the story. Half of the audience were the afore mentioned schoolchildren from Borobudur, the boys seated separately from the girls.

A word on Indonesian religion: While Bali is a Hindu island, the rest of Indonesia, including Java, is 95% Muslim. While I have only travelled to five Muslim countries, I can see that there are many different interpretations of the religion between countries, or even within a country. In Malaysia and Indonesia we've seen a lot of women in headscarves, and equal number without, and even one women in the full black chador, covered head to toe with only the eyes showing. Sitting motionless in a dark shop, we could have easily mistaken her for furniture.

Borobudur, Java, Indonesia

After our second consecutive too-short night of sleep, we awoke at 4:30 am for a sunrise tour of Borobudur. This tour was our central reason for visiting Java. Wikipedia: "Borobudur was built in the ninth-century and is the largest Buddhist monument in the world. It comprises six square platforms topped by three circular platforms, and is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues. The main dome, located at the center of the top platform, is surrounded by 72 Buddha statues seated inside perforated stupa.

Borobudur is both a shrine to the Lord Buddha and a place for Buddhist pilgrimage. The journey for pilgrims begins at the base of the monument and follows a path circumambulating the monument while ascending to the top through the three levels of Buddhist cosmology, namely Kamadhatu (the world of desire), Rupadhatu (the world of forms) and Arupadhatu (the world of formlessness). During the journey the monument guides the pilgrims through a system of stairways and corridors with 1,460 narrative relief panels on the wall and the balustrades.
Evidence suggests Borobudur was abandoned following the fourteenth century decline of Buddhist and Hindu kingdoms in Java, and the Javanese conversion to Islam. Worldwide knowledge of its existence was sparked in 1814 by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, the then British ruler of Java, who was advised of its location by native Indonesians. Borobudur is Indonesia's single most visited tourist attraction."

I had taken Religion 101 in college and on one of the days I actually went to class our prof gave a fantastic presentation on Borobudur, and I was awed by it. His pictures of this massive ancient monument rising out of the jungle awed me, and I swore I'd see it someday.

At it's six AM opening it was surprisingly quiet. We were the first few in the gate, and could walk its cool pathways in silence, while marveling at the carved reliefs along the walls. The morning sun struggled to cut through the smog and left little shadow from the Buddhas. The only sound at the peak was of camera clicks, as one woman sat in the lotus position, meditating while facing the rising sun. But of course, this is Java, the worlds' most populous island with 120 million people, and silence never lasts long.

By seven o'clock Borobudur was overrun by hordes of giggling, running, junior high schoolchildren, all in matching school uniforms, the girls in matching headscarves. These kids had an agenda, and it had nothing to do with admiring the historic wealth of Java. They had been issued tape recorders in groups of three, with an assignment to stop every white person in sight, and ask if they could record their conversation while they practiced their English with set questions. I was in no mood for this sans caffeine and halfway up Borobudur, but Lindso patiently answered every question from every group. I sat in on on of her interrogations and it was a really cute cultural exchange.
"Where are you from?"
"Hawaii, in America"
(oohhs and ahhhs and wide eyes.)
"Do you like Indonesia?"
"Yes it is very beautiful, and the people are very nice."
(smiles all around)
"Is this your...umm....?"
"Husband? Yes."
(many nervous giggles)
Lindso asked the 11 year old girl manning the tape recorder if she wanted to visit Hawaii, and her answer in perfect English was, "Well yes, of course, but first I must do well in school, so that I can earn a very good salary, and then I will go." I bet she will too. Indonesia is a poor country, but everyone is very industrious, entrepreneurial, and hardworking. I would expect rapid improvements in income for Indonesians with the opportunities of globalization.


Later I discovered a photo shoot atop Borobudur. A couple of local models were being propped among the stupa, and I helped myself to a few shots.


Borobudur is truly an amazing sight. Generally ranked among the top twenty sights in the world, I'd put it in my top three so far, along with the Acropolis and the Alhambra.