vickygoestravelling

my journey to health and well being via exotic destinations


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in which we go to Pulau Ubin on May Day

vickybikeMay Day is a public holiday in SIngapore so we make a very Singaporean outing to local island Pulau Ubin. Cheated and got a taxi to Changi ferry terminal then queued up for 5 minutes or so before we hopped on to one of the many bumboats that plough the waterway between the two islands. Journey time about 10 minutes; cost $2.50.

Bumboat at Changi

Bumboat at Changi

Ross with the bikes

Ross with the bikes – note wet shirt

On arrival we hire a couple of mountain bike look-alikes ($13 for the day). Brakes good (important after I broke my toe last year in Kerala due to faulty brakes and a resulting crash into the back of Husband’s bike) but gears challenging. It was blisteringly hot and humid and the island surprisingly hilly, so by the time we reached the nature trail – a boardwalk over the swampy mangrove area – we are both dripping.

Tide was out and we spotted several salamanders and crabs with huge lobster claws; amazed to come across a herd of wild pigs with nine piglets just by the bike park! It’s pretty wild – tropical forest – for somewhere so close to busy Singapore.

Little piggy wiggy

Little piggy wiggy

If you read my Bali blog, you will recall I was daunted by the scooter mayhem that is ubiquitous. Here in Singapore it costs $50,000 to get a licence to own a car, and there are very few scooters or motorbikes and no-one cycles – too hot. As a result there are comparatively few people who have passed a driving test or have any road sense.

So when the crowds flock to Ubin for a day out and hire bikes by the hundreds, it is truly terrifying. Whole families cycle side by side, babies front and back, chatting, looking at the scenery, picnics precariously balanced on the handlebars. It is quite obvious that many have never ridden a bike before: they come at you face on, no notion of keeping left; they park their bikes broadside, to make an adjustment to the chain or whatever, no pulling over; they come to a grinding halt at the merest incline, wherever they happen to be. We saw a nasty spill on a flat piece of road (lots of blood) and surmised that the injured party had simply ridden into one of her friends! Another girl fainted at the crest of a tiny hillock as she tried to get off her bike! It was worse than Bali as at least there you felt there were unwritten rules and a kind of highway code of conduct.

A well-deserved Tiger

A well-deserved Tiger

After 2 plus hours of this in the baking hot sun, nerves shattered, decided enough was enough, and we repaired to a local seafront restaurant for a Tiger beer and a steamed fish. Shared our table with five delightful elderly Singaporeans who had come just for the food – no cycling (bravo!). The jolly man loved a good acronym: when he heard we are going to india on Friday he said, ‘Ah India, terrible place, I N D I A – I’ll never do it again!’

This afternoon we bought the guide book – Hyderabad here we come!

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Boats going in and out – our restaurant is in the background


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in which I go to Bali by myself

Tranquility rules at the Tirti Ganga Royal Baths

Tranquility rules at the Tirti Ganga Royal Baths

This picture is my image of Bali: calm, tranquil and peaceful…but it was not like that at all!

Bravely I decided to go on my own as Husband was off to Zurich on business. I contacted my daughter Louise’s friend Charley, who is living there, and she put me on to a local dive operation as the plan was to spend a couple of days in the south and then do a couple of days diving in the North East of the island.

At the Singapore Dive Show, I checked out Tulamben Wreck Divers and Tony reassured me that ‘the most dangerous thing in Bali is drunken Ozzies not the Balinese’. HA!

the intrepid bikers!

the intrepid bikers!

Off we set on the first night, me pillion to Kyle, Charley’s partner, she close behind. Traffic is mayhem in Bali, scooters all sides and all directions, but even so I was slightly unnerved when a bike drew abreast on our inside and I found myself looking into a pair of penetrating evil eyes as I simultaneously felt my bag being yanked from my shoulders  with an almighty ping as the strap gave way; before I could even utter a swear word, the scooter was gone and my bag was missing. With it was Rupiah 5million ($550) for my diving and hotel; credit cards, passport, two phones – and my pride. But Charley to the rescue, her shouting had scared the would-be thief off, and the bag was lying abandoned in the road…

Charley and Kyle after our narrow escape!

Charley and Kyle after our narrow escape!

At dinner a rat scuttled round our feet! Welcome to Bali!

Charley and Kyle were great hosts and we whizzed around on the scooters getting soaked, visiting temples, surfers’ beaches and a Japanese restaurant with a local Jazz band, whose singer thought she was Janis Joplin! We shared a table with Indonesia’s runner up to its version of The Voice. There is no escape from popular ‘culture’.

At Tanah Lot temple

At the tacky Tanah Lot temple

Two days later and I was picked up by the dive resort’s vehicle and we made our way through the countryside up to the NE corner, to Tulamben, home to Bali’s best dive site, the Liberty wreck, a US supply ship that was sunk by the Japanese in the war.

Paddy fields with Mt Agung in the background

Paddy fields with Mt Agung in the background

En route we passed paddy fields nestling under the Mt Agung, the largest volcano which last erupted in 1963. Pretty but not post-card…

Tulumben Wreck Divers Beach VIllas

Tulumben Wreck Divers Beach Villas

Upgraded to a beach villa (see photo of pool) after a quick lunch of satay, I did my first dive. Disappointed that there were so many other divers and that my eyesight is now so bad that, without a prescription mask, I completely failed to see the three miniature sea-horses my guide proudly showed me! But I was proud of myself for my intrepid diving skills, donning weight belt and tanks (having walked or scooted to the beach in my wetsuit and bootees – what a sight!) before entering the sea via an excruciatingly rocky shore. Day 2 I actually did THREE dives…the first at 6.30 am to see a school of HUGE bump-head parrot fish.

The downside of being on one’s own in a remote place is that – apart from eating on my own – there is no-one to drink with, so had to resort to buying a quarter bottle of gin and a couple of tonics that I eked out over my two-night stay! Two nights was quite enough, however, as I had exhausted the novelty of diving in Bali by then and, as I agreed with a Spanish Dive Master I met, it was disappointing on an international scale. No complaints about the professionalism of Tulamben Wreck Divers, however, who were charming and helpful to a lone British woman!

Still feeling disappointed in Bali so far – Kuta and Seminyak were just one long strip of tawdry shops, bars and restaurants, and I had not seen a single grain of white sand, only black volcanic rocks – I decided to take the scenic route to the airport.

Morning offerings at Tirti Ganga Royal Baths

Morning offerings at Tirti Ganga Royal Bath

Chauffeured by my Britney&Bieber-loving driver, we went first to Tirti Ganga, the Royal Baths which were both beautiful and tranquil, luscious greens with calming water features (see top photo); as it was Full Moon, there were even more ceremonial offerings being laid at the ubiquitous shrines outside every home. From there we moved on to the most sacred temple, Pura Besakih, teeming with supplicants and gangs of giggling girls and boys having a great day out with their teachers. Forced to don a Bob Marley sarong, I looked a sight for sore eyes.

Annoyingly I began to notice a new trait in the Balinese – an avariciousness totally out of traditional character: I was stopped everywhere by uniformed men demanding  tourist tax, parking fees, and tips, and vendors as far as the eye can see, all with charming good nature of course. Even lunch, later at the Bangli overlooking the volcano caldera, was a rip-off: an uninspiring buffet for $10 each excluding drinks, which were exorbitant.

beautiful ladies celebrating the full moon at Pura Besakih

beautiful ladies celebrating the full moon at Pura Besakih

Nevertheless I loved the graceful women and the cheeky kids at the temple. Whatever else about Bali that  disappoints, the people are delightful, polite and friendly.

Cheeky kids at the temple

Cheeky kids at the temple

Finally from Mt Batur down to Ubud – another huge disappointment as this is the hippy sanctuary of yore, famed for arts and culture, now reduced to yet another high street of mediocrity – via a coffee estate, where I tried delicious Luwak coffee. This is made from beans that have been eaten by civet cats and passed out as poo. I saw it being roasted and dried, so my squeamishness was banished!

So ended my first foray in what I now call my ‘grown-up gap year’ – a time when I will be going off on my own as and when I am able, or forced to by circumstance, in order to take advantage of this amazing opporutnity to travel the Far East for the next couple of years.

roasting Luwak (civet) coffee

roasting Luwak (civet) coffee

Next week I am off to Hyderabad (with Husband) and then to Mumbai (alone) but to stay with friends…Watch this space!

CARPE DIEM!


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in which I practise my culinary skills

In an earlier post you will have seen my new wok; well, I realised that this was not good enough so went and bought a ceramic one with a lid. Thus prepared and armed with a local cookery book and the internet, I unleashed my inventiveness.

Meat is very expensive here, so I have concentrated on seafood and chicken dishes. Most Thai and Malaysian dishes have a curry paste as a base, and I ALWAYS make my own. Even local websites say ‘3 tbsp of red/green/chill paste’ and sometimes even ‘3 tbsp of tomato ketchup’. Such recipes are rejected.

5 star dishes

Beef rendang – cooked lovingly for over 4 hours after several hours of marinating the meat. Melt-in-your-mouth or what! Here with  Chinese broccoli.

Beef rendang

Beef rendang

Tom yam soup – it’s critical to make your own fish broth, out of the prawn shells and heads in this case. I also used oyster and shitake mushrooms, and local fish balls.

It's all tin the preparation - making ones own fish stock for tom yam

It’s all in the preparation – making my own fish stock for tom yam

Tom yam soup with prawns squid and fish balls

Tom yam soup with prawns, squid and fish balls

Thai red chicken curry; I used turmeric root as well as galangal, kaffir lime leaves, lemon grass, tamarind,cumin, coriander, paprika, black pepper and, of course, coriander root; a little Thai basil and fresh coriander at the end. I like to add veg to a curry to create a one-pot meal. Yum! This is in fact adapted from Madhur Jaffrey’s recipe – the local ones were some of the worst offenders in off-the-shelf ingredients.

Red chicken curry with aubergine and green beans

Red chicken curry with aubergine and green beans

Four star dishes

Isaan stye grilled chicken and Nyonya-style bean curd salad, with bean sprouts and snow peas. The salad has a delicious roasted cashew nut and tamarind dressing, while the chicken is marinated in lemon grass, ginger and fish sauce. The bean curd is fried to a golden crisp on the outside and melts when you bite it. Marks lost for presentation, not taste: should have had the dressing on the side and then it wouldn’t have looked so brown!

Isaan-style grill chicken (kai yaan) and Nonya style bean curd salad

Isaan-style grill chicken (kai yaan) and Nonya style bean curd salad

Sri Owen Khmer grilled chicken with baby pak choi: I also used the other half of the marinade to bbq some pork fillet which was delicious too. Marks lost for too much soy sauce on the garlic stir fry pak choi

Sri Owne's Khmer chicken cooked on BBQ with baby pak choi

Sri Owen’s Khmer chicken cooked on BBQ with baby pak choi

Blackened local white fish, with confit lentils and green salad. Decided we wanted to be less Oriental one night – so much lemon grass and fish sauce otherwise. The fish was delicious and one of the cheapest on sale.

Blackened snapper with confit lentils and green salad

Blackened snapper with confit lentils and green salad

Other efforts – unclassified, usually taste excellent but dont look as good as they might! Masterchef, help!

My first attempt at Vietnamese fresh spring rolls. Couldn’t get the rolling-up knack, but later found a video which told me how it should be done…a la prochaine! They tasted as they should, however.

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Stir fried squid Malay style, with lots of blachan (fermented prawn/anchovy paste). Too much garnish and too much sauce, it all looks a bit monochrome. but it was sure tasty! I adore squid…

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Have struggled with local heroine chef Sylvia Tan, where nothing seems to taste of much; anyway I made her mushrooms and white fungus (couldn’t get black) with seared flank steak and it was Ok; other dishes such as Peranakhan favourite ayam (chicken) tempura have been underwhelming.

Ozzie flak steak with Chinese mushrooms and white fungus

Ozzie flak steak with Chinese mushrooms and white fungus

Some memorable delicacies eaten out…

First the top dim sum place, Din Tai Fung, popular for Saturday brunch. We are going to Taiwan in May so will check out its alma mater…

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Making the dim sum in front of your eyes

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You can also get other stuff – Ross has spaghetti-like noodles with a spicy pork sauce; I had  hot and sour soup, and we shared the broccoli

 

 

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In Jakarta, I also some quite extraordinary sushi, very hot,  and beautifully presented.IMG_1351

 

Next week’s blog will come from BALI; I am taking a quick break while husband is travelling; an unaccompanied spouse in fact! I shall be visiting one of Louise’s friends and then going to a dive centre in the north and do some scuba. Good opportunity to see the island.

 


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in which we go to the zoo, zoo, zoo

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Gosh, Singapore never ceases to amaze me! I am not a fan of zoos normally (obviously when the children were small we did the rounds) but I was recommended to visit this one, renowned for its design and the relative freedom of the animals.  And SIngapore zoo is host to two new guests, Kai Kai and Tia Tia. (Can’t tell which is which tbh)

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and the gorgeous red panda – Ross says the last time he saw one of these it was a delicious beer in Bhutan!

Singapore zoo is green and luscious, here is Ross walking (mind you it was 33 C yesterday and sticky as hell).

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Most of the animals seem happy enough (apart from the white tiger, who paced around his island, while his mate slept – we women know how to relax – though we did catch him having a bathe which was fun).

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The monkeys  are kept on islands and swing around with abandon. So much so that these little buggers (squirrel monkeys btw) bit a poor girl who was walking underneath them. Feeding time takes on a new meaning!

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Some plus points for this zoo: one: its research programme, here into the amazing Proboscis monkeys.

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This is the alpha male, you can tell by the size of his…nose!

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Juvenile size nose!

Two, the largest freshwater aquaruim in the world. Here is my one and only photo contribution, a banded sea otter like we saw in Kerala in the lake, here playing with a coconut as we watched underneath. The rest are Ross’s as you really need a proper camera, not an iPhone for wildlife – but this is quite good for an iPhone methinks (apart from my finger!)

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Three, a simply fabulous collection of orang utans – again free-ranging. We were lucky enough to get them at feeding time and were two feet away from them.

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So I leave you with a selection of Ross’s other photos and one of mine – the bum of a Hamadryas baboon. BTW a full selection of Ross’s photos can be found here http://rosscattell.net/travel/singapore_13/singapore_zoo.php

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in which we go to the Gardens by the Bay

These extraordinary gardens, part of Singapore’s strategy to transform itself from being a Garden City to a City in a Garden, were only opened in 2011, after an international competition which was, in part, won by a firm of Bath landscape architects. As Robin Lane Fox said in last weekend’s FT, why on earth did we in London not use our own talent  to create a similar legacy in the Millennium Dome Gardens? Which have now been ploughed over…after £1bn was spent on them.

The major defining landmark of these gardens are the enormous metal ‘Supertrees’, with a 22m high suspended walkway, which overlooks the bay. At night time they are lit up like fairyland! While not yet mature enough, you can see the idea is to have a living vertical carpet of plants – orchids, bromeliads, begonias etc growing up towards the respective crowns. Stunning.

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The other highlight is the  Cloud Forest, a recreated highland plant environment, with a 35m gushing waterfall and the cold damp climate of tropical rain-forest and montane areas – again spectacular orchids, pitcher plants, and fine totems from East Timor.

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The gallery of photos should give you some idea of this amazing place – even if only taken with my little iPhone. Ross’s website – see link opposite – has much better photos!


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in which we go to Jakarta and I get the hump

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My delightful interrogators on Easter Sunday

Not sorry to leave Jakarta. Huge city of 8 m plus people, clogged with motorbikes, taxis, cars, buses; traditional red-roofed houses juxtaposed against enormous sky scrapers – and polluted. But compared to India the traffic is (almost) regulated! Certainly infrastructure – flyovers and roads – superior, and there is a whizzo toll road to and from airport. India could learn from that.

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Motos parked as far as the eye can see!

Added to which hotel Manhattan was rotten to the core – dirty (mould growing in bathroom and on shower curtains), bad food and murky pool. Even gym tired. Might have been OK once but seen better days, and it was paid for on expenses. Wah! Reason: 5 mins walk from offices, unheard of in this city of horrendous rush-hour jams. But for accompanying spouse it’s a poor place to hang out and work, as sight-seeing alone is challenging. English is virtually unspoken, even by upmarket Silver Bird taxis; Blue Bird drivers, for the record, were better! So I left two days early.

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NB man wearing ManU teeshirt; there was a noisy ManU convention in town over the weekend, can one never escape their fans?

We arrived for Easter so we got a couple of days ‘doing’ Jakarta a deux, enough really. From the enormous Medan Merdeka square – largest in Asia, and Soviet in style, centred round what is known as Sukarno’s last erection, a monument to himself – to the old Dutch Batavian port of Kota, interspersed with some good grub we did ok. But stupendously hot and sticky and 2 hrs max outside excursion in full sun.

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Ross being interviewed!

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Not sure about this lesson in violence from mother to son!

Holiday weekend so hordes of families camped out in square, having picnics, visiting the erection (5 hours queue to go up top). Ditto Sunday in Kota, where the old Dutch Fatehilla Square was extremely festive: girls in Sunday best, floaty pink, red, and pastel-coloured gauzy outfits with sleeves to keep off the sun, complete with straw hats over their headscarves, being ferried round the square by gallant swains on hired pushbikes; human statues; monkey on a motorbike; marionettes; and street food and drinks galore. Highlight was being interviewed by keen and delightful students in English – obviously a class exercise. Asked what I thought about Indonesian people, first I said ‘very friendly’ and then, ‘they are very small and make me feel very big’. Giggle, giggle. Ross asked much more searching questions on the political system. History does not relate his reply!

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Fatehilla Sq, Kota

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Sad reminder of glorious past…

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Fine old Dutch building on the canal

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The old Dutch drawbridge, nicely restored, but the stench from the canal is quite believable looking at this pic!

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All in a day’s work

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Grab 40 winks when you can…

You could see remains of the old Dutch town, must have been very attractive, now largely crumbling. The canal leading out to the sea full of putrid debris – stank to high heaven, as did the fish market in the shanty town near the sea front (couldn’t see that for building works!). People eking out a living by collecting plastic bottles and sleeping by their stalls, or whatever shelter available. Reality check – Indonesia is a very poor country for most people. Jakarta is a misleading city.

We were nevertheless astounded by the ostentatious wealth on display in Indonesia Grand Mall,

…while the washing dries

largest in Asia apparently but you could be in Bond Street or 5th Avenue given the luxury branded shops, and the immaculately coiffed and coutured ladies, elegant men (all yuppy-young), an army of uniformed nannies minding spoiled and overweight offspring while mums shop and gossip with friends. Let’s hope there is a trickle down effect…

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A good cocktail always gets rid of the hump! here we have chargrilled grapefruit martini; followed quickly by pineapple kaffir lime leaf margarita! smile on face!

Upside undoubtedly the helpful, smiling and gracious people, and delicious food. Like Singapore, food courts and restaurants in the malls are very popular, but we went to two recommended restaurants: Samarra, in sumptuous surroundings, carved statues, Indo-Arab fusion, where we had delicious fish satay and a lamb nasi dish, accompanied by a bamboo shoot and coconut soup.

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My nasi (rice)dish with lamb

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Fish satay on lemongrass skewers

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Satay street food, at a fraction of the price!

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deep frying must be extremely hot!

On my last night we visited Kembang Goela, Jakarta’s no 1 Trip Advisor-rated eatery. A bit OTT, but splendid decor (we had a ludicrously expensive bottle of wine), but the rendang and deng deng (deep friend beef carpaccio) were out of this world. A purple-suited nanny spent most of our meal chasing an unruly child round the restaurant and feeding him when he stood still. Children are absolutely adored all over the Far East (and they are beautiful) but under-disciplined in my opinion! One wonders what kind of adults they will turn into?

I shall look forward to returning to Indonesia – to the islands – but will give Jakarta a miss next time.

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Deng deng beef (left); rendang (right) and our chicken nasi dish (foreground)


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in which we visit Bangalore and I get ripped off

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Sitting on bench in the courtyard of the Bangalore Palace

Bangalore is India’s 3rd largest city, IT capital and has a population of 8.5m. As one of the top 10 entrepreneurial hubs IN THE WORLD  you might expect it to be Hi Tech City but, no, it is a sprawling hotch potch of ugly buildings interspersed with slums and clogged by horrendous traffic. When you think it used to be a hill station, a green and cool refuge from the sweltering heat of the Deccan plains, home of Tippu Sultan, and was laid out with wondrous gardens and Mogul buildings, you want to weep.

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Yeah right!

In role as accompanying spouse, was herded into back of plane while husband sipped champers in the front, but on arrival found ourselves in 5 star hotel; alas much advertised infinity pool empty of water (victim of playing over-exhuberant Holi), so had to settle for 3 mornings in gym with personal trainer Ramesh, who certainly put me through my paces while watching a Jackie Chan film; a massage and pedicure; and then to while away the hours by sight-seeing toute seule! Any down time spent reading and cataloguing Mama’s letters – now up to mid-1946, but only one mention of my father so far, whom she married by the year-end! its very exciting, actually, like reading a novel….

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Shiva Temple

Not normally a shrinking violet, and put off by recent press stories of rapes and general nastiness, decided to act the Memsahib and take a car and driver because it had a) aircon and b) driver who spoke English! In fact I made three sorties and learned a lot about life in Bangalore: for instance, there is only water for 2-3 hours per day; one driver comes 90 kms daily by train to work, leaving at 4 am; despite being predominantly Hindu, Muslim and Christian communities live happily side by side -‘its all politics’, that most road accidents – of which there are surprisingly few – only happen when drunk, and usually at night; on the other had the standard of English is distinctly ropey and it took me ages to work out that all these ‘world’ things meant simply ‘old’! Acha!

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Branded in sandalwood!

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Rather liked this inscription

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candle for Louise

Off to Shiva temple, where led down dingy, dark and pee-smelling corridors with display of linga temples in India, compete with mechanised snakes, buffaloes and even the Lord Shiva himself, waving at me…very tacky indeed. Head branded with sandalwood, lit a candle and threw holy sticks on fire, and circled a shrine three times, for Louise; and said lots of prayers as urged by various priests.

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The priest relieving me of my wealth!

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The old Parliament building surrounded by wire fencing!

Then to 400 year old Bull Temple complete with huge eponymous granite figure – again advised by priest to make donation for ‘good luck’. Hmmm. Drove around for hours at snail’s pace, glimpsed various Churches and the historic National Parliament building (why does traffic always speed up at crucial moment, or huge bus/lorry get in the way?), the Vidhana Souda, surrounded by wire and fences so invisible – see pathetic attempt at photo.

Highlight was Bangalore Palace, still with resident Maharajah (offshoot of much grander Mysore Palace family). Took some illegal photos; a soap opera was being filmed which was fun to see.

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Looking down on Soap Opera action!

Determined to get some lovely new kurtas for me and shirts for Ross, driver instructed to find Fabindia…oh no, here is much better ‘local’ shop, guess what, run by Kashmiris! I have every sympathy for the poor old Kashmiris, but they seem to have a baksheesh deal with all drivers in India; the next day ditto!

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Bangalore Palace

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Moody passerby as I snatched a pic of B’s oldest church

Finally I found Fabindia within 10 minutes of our hotel (wah!), and very pleased with my purchases. And bought some spices to take back to Singapore.

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My jolly spice seller

So now to the big rip off! Frustrated by driver on day one not allowing me out much – ‘nothing to see, too expensive’ etc etc, decided as such an expert of Botanical Gardens, simply had to see the Lal Bagh (red gardens), second largest in India at 240 acres, with a replica of the Crystal Palace glass house, famous rose garden and trees planted by heroes ranging from QE2, to Nehru and Indira Gandhi.

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The Glass House based on Crystal Palace

Slightly nervous on my own (wasn’t sure what to expect) and concierge no use at all in 5 star hotel – I had read there were buggies that you could go round on, they said not, and best thing to get a guide, driver would organise. So after an hour in standstill traffic, arrived, found guide, who said he would charge R550 for 30 mins and R1100 for the hour. Driver said this was right (crumbs, I thought, it’s a small fortune in India, but what to do?). Agreed and he took me off, and started the old sob story about parents being ill, the while picking flowers and leaves (strictly forbidden I noted) and was rather objectionable. IMG_1266Anyway he showed me round, insisted on taking loads of photos of me ‘say cheese!'(some here for you to laugh at) and then pounced on me to pay him when least expecting it…fumbling with money I ended up giving him just about all I had as he was breathing down my neck and could see what was in my purse. Wah, wah, wah! What a fool! I felt intimidated though…and then had to stop on the way back to get some more cash from an ATM as a tip for the driver!

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in front of ancient Silk Cotton tree

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‘May’ tree in bloom, early; we call these flame trees in Africa

Still feeling furious and writing blog to exorcise this demon…

Not sure I will come back to Bangalore; it is not India’s finest monument to development, in fact it is distinctly depressing seeing all the huge malls, apartment and office blocks going up everywhere, and now, having done my homework and read Dalrymple’s Age of Kali and Tully’s India in Slow Motion (both out of date but recommend), feel thoroughly disheartened by all the corruption that goes on, everywhere, all the time e.g. the lack of water, planning permission, half-finished metros and flyovers everywhere, just to name a few obvious ones), and the gap between rich and poor simply gets wider…nevertheless India is a fascinating place, so much energy, lovely people (on the whole!) and I am returning in one month, to Hyderabad and Mumbai…

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Hideous shopping mall – one of the smaller ones btw


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in which we visit the Botanical Gardens

Singapore’s Botanical Gardens has the largest collection of orchids in the world. Simply stunning. Here is a selection, no words, just pictures to make you go ooh-aah. Click on the images to get a better view.

PS we have moved apartments and now have and 8 ft sq balcony but with room for 2 chairs, a table and a BBQ. Trying it out tonight, if the rain stops!


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in which we receive visitors

Dear friend Fi and husband RIchard dropped in for 24 hours en route back to England from Perth. This provided an opportunity for me to masquerade as experienced tour guide and catalyst for reuniting old friends. The photo gallery below tells the story! Click on each image if you want to enlarge


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in which we visit Malaka

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The Malaka river, with the traditional houses now decorated with top-notch graffiti

Sounds romantic, a name we have all heard of in history lessons, and it was a delight! Founded as a port in the 14th century by the Portuguese and fought over by the Dutch and then the British East India Company – it is bang on the old spice trade routes to the east and made a perfect stopping off point for the ships – the old town is a remarkably unspoiled mix of all these influences, charmingly entwined with Straits Chinese heritage and delicious Nyonya cuisine.

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Detail of some of the graffiti

Our trip did not get off to an auspicious start, as we discovered we had left our crucial Singapore immigration exit slips behind…signal for being marched into a separate room where new forms were filled and an official painstakingly input everything on a computer…and of course delayed our bus by at least 20 minutes. The queues in and out of Malaysia were horrendous in both directions  – first week of school holidays. Duh! So the four hour trip took well over five; even our return, where we had had to get a limo as all buses were full, took over four hours with overhead thunder, lightening and torrential rain.

ImageBut on the plus side: we met a charming American couple, Sue and Sean, as we wandered round the bus depot in the early hours – turned out they were veteran divers and photographers with inside knowledge of the Indonesian islands; notes were taken for future travels! Poor them, they had decided on a day trip which ended up being scarcely three hours (note to all: this is not day trip from Singapore!), so we took them under our wing and devised a whistle-stop tour of the main attractions, comprising the old Dutch town and the more contemporary 19 and 20th century Straits Malay quarter – Jonkers Street – now a hustling, bustling shopping and eating area.

ImageWonderful street food – 5 dimsum for R3, about 80p – and later Nyonya laksa and spicy seafood in a palm leaf with beers for about £10 (seafood is surprisingly expensive everywhere; had we stuck to veg or chicken we could have spent R5-6 each or about £1.25).

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Ross on our gin-less hotel bar balcony!

Had found a boutique hotel –

the Sterling on booking.com – and it really was rather wonderful too, old colonial style, with a jacuzzi bath on the balcony But no gin! On the Sunday, after our river trip, we had a rather unremarkable lunch – but at least I had a glass of wine (beer is too gassy), the first for about 5 days; the jolly waiter with a limp, who spoke (in my hearing) French, German and Japanese, thought Ross looked like Piers Branson. Who? You know, James Bond….Aaah Brosnan!

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Fast-food street style – here they are dry frying squid

Fascinating the number of tourists (made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008), mostly huge crowds of Malaysian and Chinese, in groups, taking photos of everything in sight, especially themselves. The Churchillian V sign is a favourite pose…and, thankfully, relatively few Westerners.  It’s great when people love their own country to the extent that they visit its landmarks, something we in Europe rarely do.

The photos really tell the story better than words; but Malaysia I think has the potential for lots of wekeend trips – people are friendly, food delicious and access (relatively) easy.

ImageAs we drove back, I mused on what is the difference between what we used to call Third World and Second World countries. It hit me suddenly. In, say, both Kenya and Malaysia you will see modern buildings, high rise office blocks, huge shopping malls, town-house developments and the like. In Kenya (and other countries with outward trappings of wealth and development) you will still see thousands of people walking everywhere and an army of overloaded matatus

Image(minibuses). In Malaysia virtually no-one walks and there are frequent and smart buses gliding down the roads. There is enough disposable income to take public transport, to own a motorbike or even a car. Mind you, even in Malaysia, you have that Third World phenomenon, a police road block. We got stuck in one for 40 minutes!

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The garish but luscious rickshaws, complete with boogie box reverberating with Hindi style pop songs!