Singapore & Kuala Lumpur

After our stint in Australia, it was time to move onto Asia. Our first stop was Singapore. We booked into a tiny hostel called One Florence Close (complete with fluffy white cat) and looked forward to five nights in the capital city of the smallest country in SE Asia.

Whilst there, we took in a riverboat cruise along the Singapore River which we were told is probably the best way to see the city if it's your first visit. From the river, we saw the very beautiful Fullerton Hotel, Clarke Quay, the Central Business District (CBD) and the infamous Merlion (see below).

Inspite of yet more prohibitive rain, a visit to Singapore wouldn't be complete without sampling a Singapore Sling at Raffles Hotel which we also managed to squeeze in.

From Singapore we took a train to Kuala Lumpur (KL) in Malaysia. The 200 mile journey took about seven hours but really was a great way to travel. A first class ticket cost a mere £23 and although first class doesn't mean luxury and comfort as we know it, the trip was comfortable enough and a refreshing change from flying. Again, it was raining and by the time we arrived at our £11/night hotel in KL, it was torrential.

Whilst in KL, we visited the Menara Kuala Lumpur Tower which is similar to the CN Tower in Toronto and the very impressive Petronas Twin Towers which were featured in the film Entrapment. We only had three nights in KL so weren't able to see all of the main tourist attractions but we got a feel for the city and enjoyed it very much.

We flew from Subang Airport in KL to Koh Samui, Thailand. Subang is the old city airport and is barely used these days since the new KLIA (Kuala Lumpur International Airport) opened. When we got dropped off there by our taxi, we honestly thought we'd gone to the wrong place as you'll see from the photographs below. Thankfully, we were in the right spot and waited with a handful of people for our flight to Koh Samui.


Hope at last - our Berjaya Air plane ready for departure from Kuala Lumpur to Thailand




Where are all the flights and er, passengers?


Er, Dan hoping to get to Koh Samui, Thailand from a seemingly abandoned Subang airport, Kuala Lumpur


Petronas Towers - Kuala Lumpur (read more about the buildings at: http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Petronas_Towers.html)


...and there it is. Downpour in Kuala Lumpur!


Deb in Kuala Lumpur before the rain came


Dan at the Tanjong Pagar station in Singapore (built by the British in 1932) before going to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia


Gluten for punishment


Romeo either sleeping or passed out (on Dan's trainers)


Romeo at One Florence Close - Singapore


Inside Raffles Hotel - Singapore


Raffles Hotel courtyard - Singapore


Singapore CBD as seen from river


The Merlion - Singapore
The fish tail of the Merlion symbolises the ancient city of Temasek (meaning “sea” in Japanese) by which Singapore was known before the Prince Sang Nila Utama named it “Singapura” (meaning “lion” (singa) “city” (pura) in Sanskrit), and represents Singapore’s humble beginnings as a fishing village


Fullerton Hotel and Riverboat - Singapore


Fullerton Hotel as seen from river - Singapore


"Bird" by Botero statue - Singapore River