One of the problems I’m finding in maintaining this blog is trying to capture what I’m seeing and experiencing in each place I visit. That and having the energy at the end of the day to write something!! I can try to describe each place but you really have to be here to not only see (and let me assure you my pictures do not do justice to the locations), to smell the air and to hear the sounds. Singapore is a great example of that – it really has to be experienced first-hand. But let me give you at least a few of my impressions.

Singapore is a polyglot mix of cultures that works. There’s no other way that I can think of to describe it. Culturally, it’s a mix of Chinese (Buddhist), Malay (Muslim), and Tamil (Hindu) and each culture has contributed to the mix, with a lot of cross-cultural exchange. Then you also have to take into account its British heritage which is perhaps not as obvious as it once was but is still there. Each culture has a center with Singapore proper – Chinatown, Little India and the Malay/Arab quarter – and each its own unique features on display. Each has a market area, with stalls selling whatever you want. Some areas are clearly geared towards tourists passing through but if you get away from the tourist routes you find the little stores that the locals shop at.

Hindu Temple in Chinatown

Buddhist Temple in Chinatown

Mosque in the Malay/Arab quarter from the grounds of the Malay Cultural Center

One way you can see the mixing of the three main cultures in Singapore is in the food. Each culture has its own unique cuisine but each has borrowed from the other two over time. The food is very good, very cheap and very plentiful. In each cultural zone you find restaurants that specialize in the local cuisine but in other areas there are food courts that feature foods not only from Singapore but from other countries around Asia. These food outlets are highly regulated and rate by the local health authorities to assure the food quality. The ratings are displayed prominently at each shop front so you know who to trust or not trust. An “A” rating means everything is good, a “B” rating means the food is still ok but other things may not be up to par, a “C” rating means go somewhere else. There are other ratings but you will not see those as the stalls have been shut down. Figuring out what each dish contains is not difficult as the menu’s usually feature pictures but all you need are a few words and you’re in business. For instance, anything with nasi in the name is built on rice; anything with mee in the name is built on noodles. So you can get nasi goring or mee goring, similar dishes but different bases. There are three different types of noodles – the thin rice noodles, a thicker wheat-based noodle and a flat noodle – each of which can be boiled or fried.

I was lucky in having a guide to show me around Singapore. One of my younger brothers, Robert, lived in Singapore for two years back in the 80’s, has returned several times as his wife is from Singapore and has family there. Rob was on vacation and in Singapore at the same time as I was, so he showed me around. I was not interested in seeing the usually tourist stuff (although we did go to Orchard Road to see what it’s like – lots of high end stores like Gucci, Louis Vouitton, etc, geared towards tourists and the well to do, but not for the typical Singaporean), I’m more interested in getting to know the culture of the places I visit. Consequently, we visited each of the cultural neighborhoods, visited the cultural centers in each, and wandered through the markets. We also visited the National Museum of Singapore, The Peranakan Museum and the Malay Heritage Center, the last two featuring displays about the early Chinese and Malay/Muslim histories of Singapore, respectively.

My brother Robert and his wife Christine

Chinatown market

Chinatown market

We did do a little “tourist” sight-seeing but the weekend I was in Singapore also coincided with the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix. Fortunately, this had little impact on our sight-seeing (it also meant that I paid a premium for my hotel!), other than to block access to the Singapore Eye, a large Ferris wheel located on the Marina foreshore. It was located within the Formula One track and the only way to get to it was to buy an entrance ticket to the racetrack (cha-ching, thank you Bernie Ecclestone!). Rather than pay the outrageous entrance fee, we chose to go to the observation deck on top of the Marina Sands Casino (which I had wanted to do as I had seen a documentary about the building of the SkyPark on top of the Casino last year). This provides spectacular views of downtown Singapore, only spoiled by the smoke that blows in from Indonesia, a product of the ongoing slash and burning of the forests.

On top of the Marina Sands Casino-smoky Singapore in the background

The "Durians"-named because of there similarity to the notorious fruit

The Singapore Eye inside the Formula One track

The financial center of Singapore

Getting around in Singapore is easy. There is a very good public transport system in the form of the subway, buses and, in the north, a light rail system. These are linked together by exchanges, and the four lines of the subway also intersect at interchange stations to allow easy transfer from one line to another. Between the three systems there is virtually nowhere you cannot reach quickly and cheaply, either directly or after a short walk. The trick is to get a pay-as-you-go pass called the CEPASS. This is scanned when you start your journey – say enter a subway station – and again when you end your journey – leave your destination station – and the cost of the journey is deducted from the card. There are top up machines at the stations so if your card runs low you can easily add value. This is a very common feature of many public transport systems around the world (I’ve seen it in several cities in Australia, I’ll be using it in several cities in Europe, and I’m using it here in Hong Kong right now). If all else fails, there’s the taxis which are cheap and efficient and available 24/7.

One of the impressions you get of Singapore is that there is constant and unrelenting development going on. This is in part because the amount of available space is finite and each square foot needs to be used as efficiently as possible. Orchard Road is a good example of this – according to Rob every few years one of the older buildings is taken down, and a new one put up in an attempt to keep it fresh and attractive to the tourists/shoppers. You also see this in the buildings which go both up and down – most apartment buildings go up 30 or more stories, and office buildings and shopping malls often have two basement levels with shops and food courts. But to really gain more room, over time land has been reclaimed from the sea b dredging and filling, or importing sand from Malaysia to use as backfill. If you look at a series of historic maps of Singapore you can see the progressive change in the coastline particularly around the Marina area which is built on reclaimed land. This not to say that there is no undeveloped land in Singapore. We did take a ride on the North-South subway route which loops out from the city northwards to the northern shore of the island, then continues westwards before heading south to join the east-west line. Much of this route is above ground and you do pass through undeveloped areas along the way before you enter the industrial area along the northern part of the island. I have no pictures, unfortunately, because this line is very popular and we had to stand throughout the trip.

This apartment complex was across the street from my hotel

Another apartment complex near my hotel

One final comment before I wrap this up. Most people come to Singapore for the shopping, if they don’t come for business and most head for Orchard Road as this is the shopping area that gets the most press. If you wander through Chinatown you’ll find the classic street-side stalls lining every street and alley most featuring variations on the same theme. I wondered then, and still do, how they all manage to make a living but I guess they can somehow. The one place I would encourage anyone to checkout is a store in Little India called Mustafa’s. This store is legendary in Singapore and having been there I can understand why. To say it’s big is an understatement. It’s another example of buildings going up and down. There are several stories in the main store but there are also two basement floors and that’s when it gets interesting. You start wandering around the basement levels filled with all manner of items, all brand names, and covering every imaginable category; I can put it this way, if Mustafa’s does not have it, it probably does not exist. It’s kind of like a Super Wal-Mart but on a heavy dose of steroids. The basement floors go on and on, so much so that when you finally return to the surface and exit the store, you find yourself not just on another block but on a completely different street. It is quite an experience and not one to be missed if you’re ever in Singapore. 

The famous Raffles Hotel

A decorated house front

Anyway, that’s a few impressions of Singapore. Next up Hong Kong.

Doc

 Sydney is a city in love with the water. This is not surprising given that the city was originally built around what is arguably one of the finest natural harbors in the world, and which continues to be a focus of the inhabitants long after the suburbs have sprawled far from the harbor . Add to that some of the finest surfing beaches in the world (think Bondi and Manly to name two), and a love of water and water sports (and the outdoors, in general) is inevitable. This could also be extended to Aussies in general as over 95% of all Australians live within 100 km of the ocean and on any decent weekend the beaches are heavily used. It also has consequences as Australia also has the highest per capita incidence of skin cancer of any country.  But I digress.

A few weeks ago I spent the day in Sydney focusing on the Harbor and the beachside suburbs. The harbor also serves as a commuter route as ferries travel both up and down and across the harbor to bring passengers to the central ferry wharf of Circular Quay. This is located at the lower end of the CBD and provides easy access to the city on foot, by bus or by the underground. One of the most scenic rides is down the harbor and across the entrance (the Sydney Heads) to the harbor and beachside city of Manly. The one way trip takes about 30 minutes on the classic Manly ferries (or 18 minutes on the high speed ferries but where’s the fun in that). The classic is a stately double-ended vessel and they have been serving this route for years. They are double-decked and have open area in the bows on both levels, great for seeing the sights and taking photos. These spaces are prime, and popular with tourists, and you have to be at the front of the queue at boarding.

Circular Quay from the ferry "Freshwater" returning from Manly

The "Freshwater" passing the "Queenscliffe" mid-route to Manly

 

You get great views of the Sydney Opera House and the Harbor Bridge when leaving Circular Quay. Then, as you travel down the harbor, you get views of some of the most expensive real estate in the world, and certainly in Australia, and Fort Denison, set up originally to protect Sydney from foreign invasion in the 19^th century. Then you turn the corner and start heading across the entrance of the harbor towards Manly, which lies just north of the North Head. This where it can get interesting as the Pacific Ocean swells come through the Heads and the ferries must cross this space to reach Manly. Even on a relatively calm day, you can feel the effect as the ferry rolls in the swells. But on rough days the ferries can real “rock –n-roll”. It takes quite a large swell to shut down the ferry service (which does happen from time to time) but there are pictures of the ferries roll in swells that reach above the top deck (!!) as they struggle across the Heads. Once past the Heads, it’s a short run in to Manly Wharf. 

The Sydney Harbor Bridge from the "Queenscliffe" leaving Circular Quay for Manly

The Sydney Opera House from the "Queenscliffe"

Fort Denison

Harbor-side real estate: very expensive!!!

The Sydney Harbor Heads - the entrance to the harbor

Manly in the distance as we cross the Heads

 

After getting off the ferry, it’s a short walk down the Corso to Manly beach. This is considered to be one of the finest beaches in Australia (there’s an ongoing friendly disagreement between Manly and Bondi over which is the best). I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

The beach at Manly looking south

The view from the southern end of the beach

This picture and the one below were taken from a nature reserve on a peninsular a little south of Manly.

 

On the return journey you get more great views of the harborside suburbs, Kirribili House (the official Sydney residence of the Prime Minister, although the main official residence, the Lodge, is in the capital city Canberra), the city skyline, and the Opera House and Harbor Bridge. Off to the right of Circular Quay is the historic district of the Rocks, where the original settlement was established on January 26, 1788.

The Bridge and Opera House in the distance as we turn the corner heading back to Circular Quay

The city skyline from the "Freshwater" with "Queenscliffe" passing

The Bridge

Kirribili House - official Sydney residence of the Prime Minister of Australia

The Opera House from the "Freshwater" returning to Circular Quay

The Rocks - the historic

About a week before, I had been in Sydney on business and took the opportunity to go up the Sydney Tower, the large tower in the city skyline pictures. At 309 meters in height (the observation deck is at 268 meters), the tower gives up great views over the city, the harbor and the surrounding suburbs. On a clear day are able to see out about 60 km. The last set of pictures was taken from the observation deck of the tower. 

 

On the observation deck of the Sydney Tower - view is down the harbor towards the heads

The view down harbor towards the Heads

Looking westerly over the city

Looking over the business district towards the bridge

Looking towards Darling Harbor, an entertainment and tourist development on old commercial wharves

I’m now in Singapore, so next time I’ll talk about what I’ve seen here, with pictures.

Doc

Well, I’ve been back from my trip to Western Australia and South Australia for about 3 weeks now and in two days I leave for Singapore. Since returning I’ve been helping my parents with jobs around the house, not major things but things that need to be done.  I’ve also had to take care of some issues relating to the trip - forgot the charger for my camera batteries and this week my computer died! Still, it could be worse – this could have happened later in the trip when I might have had difficulty getting a cheap (the operative word here) replacement. But it’s all good again so onwards and upwards.

It’s probably way past time I wrote about the trip out west so I’ll spend this blog post talking about some of the things that happened along the way. It was a learning experience that has given me some ideas about how to handle the rest of the trip. I did actually manage to see most of what I set out to see, although I did miss out on one thing. But thereby hangs a tale which I’ll tell in this post. There’s a lot I could write about and maybe I’ll add posts about what I did see (with pictures) at a later date. But for now, let me tell you the tale of my travels.

The flights from Sydney to Perth and on to Port Hedland went off without drama and I arrived in Port Hedland at about 5:00pm with about 1.5 hours of useful daylight left and 200km of driving ahead to get to Marble Bar. First, to AVIS to pick up the rental car-I would have preferred a 4 wheel drive but AVIS only had sedans available. Having signed up for the car, headed into town to get supplies then headed for Marble Bar.

Not the natural environment for this vehicle

Now, you have to understand what a major highway in the Outback is like-two lanes, one in each direction, separated by the centerline and traveled at all hours by road trains. These trucking monsters consist of a primemover (semitrailer truck) followed by up to 4 trailers, stretching over 50 meters (160+ feet) and traveling at 100 kph (about 60 mph). Then, in most areas outside major cities, you also have to contend with kangaroos, emus, and livestock wandering across the road – during the day you have at least a fighting chance of seeing them coming but from dusk to dawn the only thing you can do is slow down, drive inside your lights and hope you see them in time. Any collision at road speeds is not going to turn out well and can easily total a car.

A small road train - only 36.5 meters long

On the trip out to “the Bar” I did see several ‘roos on the side of the road, a cow and, walking down the middle of the road, a scrub turkey or bustard. Fortunately, none posed a threat and I made it safely to Marble Bar about 8:30 that night. Within 5 minutes of arriving I was welcomed to town by flashing blue lights and a random breathe test – no problem, just a reflection of being the “new boy in town” in a town of 150 people.

Having dealt with the test, I went looking for the motel, following the directions the police had kindly provided. I had previously arranged with the motel manager to leave a key in the door of my room because I was going to arrive after the office closed. When I checked the room, no key! With no other options, I spent the night sleeping in the car. Again, no problem, this is a common practice when traveling the long distances between towns in remote Australia and I’ve done this before. In fact, the road authorities create parking areas well off the road, and out of sight of the roads, expressly for this purpose, and truckers and caravaners/RVers routinely use these areas. 
 

The next morning I finally got checked into the hotel and set out to plan my days in Marble Bar. I had previously mapped out where I wanted to go and when, but having arrived in town a day earlier than originally planned I had an extra day up my sleeve so I decided to add something else to the schedule. And that was the first mistake. Rule one from now on is to make sure that I get to see what I really came to see first up and leave the other stuff for later. Instead of going to see the stromatolite fossils (which I planned to see over the next two days), I decided to do a little sight-seeing and take it easy after a long night. I looked over the possibilities I had looked at previously and chose what appeared to be the shortest and, therefore, easiest (hah!) trip. The road was rough but passable so long as I took it slowly and I had no dramas on the way out. However, trying to cross a dry creek bed on the way back I managed to get stuck in loose sand in the water channel but with the help of some folks in a SUV I was able to dig out. Later, the “road” proved to be beyond the capabilities of my car, or more pointedly the tires on the rear, and I wound up shredding one tire and driving a shard of basalt through the other tire on the rear (see the pictures below), all within about ½ hour on the way back. I was able to replace the shredded tire with the spare and the punctured tire held air just long enough to limp into town before it was flat.

But it's only flat on the bottom!!!

A lightly shredded tire

The next day I called Avis to see what I could do as it turns out Marble Bar has no tire stores, the nearest being in Port Hedland 200km away. With two bad tires and only one spare, Avis’ answer was to send a tow truck which I would have to pay for, along with replacement tires. This was not the answer I wanted and just when it looked like the only choice, a solution appeared. If I could somehow get the car to Port Hedland, I’d only be on the hook for the two tires (!!!), but there was still the problem of two bad tires and only one spare. The hotel manager and her husband first tried to find a wheel and tire that would fit the car, even being willing to give up a brand new tire knowing that it would not come back. This did not turn out to be possible as the wheels were not compatible.  As it turned out, the husband (also called Graham - that's his spelling) was a former field geologist for several mining companies and he would go out gold fossicking in the desert for recreation (he had found a 1.5 kg nugget worth $65,000 just a week prior). He was only to familiar with field patching punctured tires and so he spent 1.5 hours wrestling the stone out of the tire (a chunk about 2 inches long and sharpened at one end-a perfect tire spike) and then plugging the hole repeatedly until it stopped leaking. This was on Sunday and I was scheduled to head back to Port Hedland the next day so I had to give up on seeing the ancient stromatolite fossils (I did later see examples in both the West Australian and South Australian Museums and saw stromatolite fossils from a more recent period in the field in South Australia). Graham also suggested that I swing by the police station on the way out of town on Monday and get one of the constables to check how legal the damaged tires were. As it turned out, the constable who did the check already knew about the problem (bush telegraph!). His opinion was that while the tires were technically legal, they were not adequate for driving to Perth (a distance of over 2,000 km) and Avis should have done better.

Stromatolites in Hamelin Pool

I set out for Port Hedland and arrived without any drama. The manager at the Avis desk was very helpful and set me up to get the tires changed asap. As it turned out, the tire place got me taken care of much sooner than expected and the young man who did the job took extra time to go over the two “good” tires on the front. It was just as well as one of the tires had a nail in it, which he repaired with a “belt and braces” approach, and found that the other tire was grossly under inflated (about ½ pressure). So about 1pm I was back on the road heading for the town of Karratha, which is the center of the mining boom in Western Australia (if you’re not in mining why not seems to be the motto in the west these days). I stayed in a caravan park in what used to be housing for “fly in, fly out” mine workers – very basic but comfortable in a minimalist way, then on to Hamelin Pool and the living stromatolites (a trip of over 670 km in one day). I was encounter more living stromatolites (different species) south of Geraldton two days later as well.

Another type of stromatolite growing in a saline lake near Cervantes, W.A.

From there to Geraldton, with a side trip the Hutt River Province and an afternoon talking with Prince Leonard (I must write a post about this). From Geraldton it was on to Perth for two days before flying to Adelaide.

Prince Leonard of Hutt River Province

The second day in Perth I went up to King’s Park, a large tract of park land on the heights overlooking the Perth CBD and within easy walking distance of the CBD. I spent the afternoon there before driving back to the hotel and I as I did so I heard a familiar tunk-tunk-tunk coming from the from passenger tire – it turned out to be another nail in the same tire as before. It was too late to get it repaired so I crossed my fingers that it would stay up (it did!!!), and next morning turned the car in to Avis without comment. To say that I was glad to see the back end of that car is an understatement.

Downtown Perth from King's Park

The South Australian leg was far more successful. I firstly upgraded to a 4-wheel drive vehicle (a Nissan X-trail with nearly all the bells and whistles, leather interior, heated seats, etc) as I was going into the bush again in the Flinders Ranges. Then, everything went far better than planned and I was able to see/find everything I wanted to and then some. 

On the road to Flinders Ranges National Park

The visit to the South Australian Museum was great and I got to see, handle and photograph many of the holotype fossils of the Ediacarran biota (these are the original – first found – fossil of the species used to describe each new species) and I was given some original fossils from Kangaroo Island of the coast of South Australia, that have some early Cambrian examples of trilobites and other simple animals in them. I also purchased some plastic replicas of three of the Ediacarran animals to use in class in the future. Altogether a very rewarding time.

Dickinsonia - the archtypal Ediacarran fossil

2.1 billion year old stromatolite fossil in the Western Australian Museum

~800 million year old stromatolite fossil in Brachina Gorge, Flinders Range, S.A.

So what did I learn? Well, apart from rule number one (see above), rule number is, and must always be, always make sure you have the right tools for the job at hand. Trying to make do only leads to trouble and usually invalidates rule number one. I also learned a lot more about myself and my capacity to see this adventure through to the end. As I explained in my first blog post, I have been a little nervous about this trip but I feel more confident that I can deal with the almost certain “inconveniences” that will appear in the next 3 months. So, until next time, onwards and upwards,

Doc