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THE ROAD TO SINGAPORE

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By Bob Sparrow

Singapore Airport Waterfall

No, this is not a review of the old Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamor ‘road movie’, although I believe I did get some of my wanderlust from repeatedly watching them growing up. Rather, this is about our first leg of getting to our Asian cruise beginning in Singapore. We departed LAX around 10:30 p.m. Saturday night for a 7,300-miles, 15 hour and 40-minute flight to the Philippines. And apparently we were flying so fast that we flew right through Sunday and arrived in Manila on Monday morning at 5:40 We then had three-and-a-half-hour layover before our four-hour flight to Singapore. Linda and I have had a longstanding practice of not up-grading to first or business class, as we reason that the significant amount of money we would spend to up-grade would be better spent at our destination. I’m thinking that that practice may need revisiting! Actually, it wasn’t that bad as we did have a seat between us on both flights. As always, those of you who are coming along vicariously, have the most comfortable seats!

Singapore: As we watch the weather report prior to coming, we were expecting nothing but rain, but it was clear and warm, and this city is beautiful. Tall, beautiful business buildings surrounded with lots of greenery. When we landed, we were anticipating getting to see the ‘famous’ waterfall in the airport, but the person picking us up said we were ready to go as soon as he saw us. We pleaded for just a couple of minutes to run over and see the waterfall; it was just a few minutes away. The driver said OK, so we got a chance to see the uniquely spectacular airport waterfall. We arrive at our hotel after about a 30-minute drive through the city, which is not only beautiful, but exceptionally clean. We check into the very nice, Dorsett Hotel, then decided to take a quick walk-through neighboring Chinatown (it ended up being about a four-mile ‘quick walk’), which was a most interesting spot for eateries and souvenir shopping. We stopped at a famous food court, called Hau Pat Sat, filled with dozens of great food places and had dinner. I’d tell you what I had, but I don’t know, it was.

We cannot get over how clean this city is; in fact, it is known as “A Fine City”- you get fined if you litter,

Marina Bay Sands Hotel

you get fined if you spit, you get fined if you smoke in the wrong place, etc. The next day, our only full day in Singapore, we had dedicated to cram in seeing all the ‘famous tourist attractions’ in the city – and there are plenty. We started with a Hop on, Hop off bus. We tried to buy passes, but the bus driver just waived us in – not sure why and we wondered if he would let us get off! Maybe he knew something, as within the next few minutes as we were riding on the partially covered roof seats of the bus through Little India, the rain started, and let me tell you, Singapore knows rain. It came down in buckets, reminding us that we were here during monsoon season! It’s no wonder everything looks so green here! So, we “hopped off” for good and had lunch. After lunch, with me trying the local Tiger beer and Linda appropriately having a Singapore Sling, we tried our hand at the local subway system. Fortunately, we got some help from the very friendly people here and managed to make our way to Marina Bay, where many of the tourist attractions are. Our first stop was the Marina Bay Sands Hotel. Oh my gosh!!! It is truly one of the most magnificent, no it is the most magnificent, hotel I’ve ever seen. While wandering through the lobby, we met a couple who was staying there at $1500 a night, and they said the breakfast, at $100 each, was amazing! I would hope so! We wandered through the hotel, now festooned in Christmas décor, with our jaws dropped. We then took the elevator to the 57th floor observation deck. The weather had cleared so the view of the city was magnificent. There is a pool on top, but only guests of the hotel are allowed into that area.

The Flower Dome and Cloud Forest

We then headed over to two other amazing attractions in the area, the Flower Dome and the Cloud Forest. I could try to describe how beautiful these two botanical domes are, but I wouldn’t do it justice. I would encourage you to go on YouTube and take a look for yourself – truly amazing! We hop on the subway (now we’re experts!) and stop in Chinatown again for dinner, then walk back to our hotel. Tomorrow we will be boarding the ship. Interesting side note about Singapore: Earlier this year at the United Nations climate talks, Singapore, who has been a leader in water management, introduced a new product, NEWBrew, a beer made from treated wastewater. I had to try one, if for no other reason than when I’m back home and taste a bad beer, I can honestly say, “This beer tastes like piss.” 肆

See you in Bangkok

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An Early Thanksgiving at Sea

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by Bob Sparrow

Singapore’s Changi Airport

First, let me give a snappy, albeit tardy, salute and a “Thank you for your service” to all those VETERANS out there – who are mostly not given enough credit for their willingness to put the ultimate sacrifice on the line for our country.  It was a most interesting blog that Suzanne wrote last week about our grandfather’s time in the Army during WWI and WWII.  If you missed it, it’s definitely worth going back to read.     

My next blog will come to you, assuming there will be adequate connectivity and sobriety, from the South China Sea.  Linda and I will leave L.A. on Saturday, Nov 23rd, change planes in the Philippines and ultimately arrive at one of the world’s most beautiful airports on Monday afternoon, Nov 25 in Singapore.  Yes, we will entirely miss Sunday! We will shake off the jetlag and spend three days exploring Singapore, hopefully seeing things like the Gardens by the Bay, Flower Dome & Cloud Forest, and the Marina Bay Sands Hotel.  All the while enjoying some amazing and very different, possibly spicy, food.  

Then we will be boarding the Celebrity ship, Solstice on Thanksgiving Eve.  Thanksgiving Day will be ‘at sea’, but because we’ll be on the other side of the International Date Line, it will still be Wednesday back here, so perhaps I’ll let you know how this years’ turkey tastes a day before you get to taste it.

Celebrity Solstice

Our first cruise stop will be at the small Thailand island of Koh Samui – Yeah, I’ve never heard of it either, but it’s known for its stunning beaches, its iconic Big Buddha, the colorful Wat Plai Laem temple (what ever that is), as well as some interestingly and probably spicy food.  We then head into Bangkok, where we spend two days and have set up tours to see the Grand Palace, Wat Pho, the world’s largest reclining Buddha, not to be confused with the world’s largest ball of twine, which is in Kansas, just west of Manhattan.  Never mind, I guess you wouldn’t confuse those two.  Meanwhile, back in Bangkok, we’ll probably have some more spicy food and get back on the ship for another ‘day at sea’.   

We will be traveling north to Vietnam.  Our first port of call there is Ho Chi Mihn City, or as many of us

POWs at the ‘Hanoi Hilton’

remember it, Saigon, and we certainly didn’t want to Miss Saigon. We have a tour for exploring the Cu Chi Tunnels, well, I have a tour to explore the tunnels, Linda gets a bit claustrophobic so, given her interest in opera, she may be visiting the Saigon Opera House; it’s probably best that I’m missing that as I’m ‘opera-phobic’!  Back on the boat and heading north to Nha Trang. Hold it!  We just received word that due to port construction issues, we will not be visiting Nha Trang, so we get another ‘day at sea’ before stopping in Danang and Hue (pronounced ‘whay’).  We have one more Vietnam stop in Hanoi, where we will spend two days, and have set up tours to visit the ‘Hanoi Hilton’, where captured U.S. soldiers we held as prisoners of war.  We have also scheduled a tour of the military museum there.  We have heard that it is a bit bias in their presentation of the war, but, as they say, winners get to write the history. So we’ll try not to act like ugly Americans and just eat some spicy food, and get back on the boat.

We have another ‘day at sea’! OK, we will now have had four days ‘at sea’ and we should have explored every nook and cranny of this boat, which essentially means we’ve been in every bar and by now they’re probably out of pina coladas!  Now that I think about it, we could probably visit the gym, although web will have no idea where it might be. 

‘Pearl of the Orient’ Hong Kong

Our final port of call is Hong Kong, where we originally had only about a day and a half before leaving for home, but we added another day to see more of the ‘Pearl of the Orient’, and have set up daytime and nighttime tours of this magnificent city.

Then a short 12.5 hour flight home in the back of the bus.

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In Search of the ‘Road to Zanzibar’

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 by Bob Sparrow

     I’m not sure if it was the Robert Frost poem The Road Not Taken, Charles Kuralt’s ‘Road Books’ or the old ‘Road Movies’ that got me hooked, but ‘the road’ has always had a certain appeal to me, particularly the one less traveled – like the one to Zanzibar.

     When I was first introduced to the Frost poem in high school freshman English by Miss O’Brien I’m guessing my eyes glazed over as she explained the symbolism presented therein – hey, it was first period and I didn’t drink coffee yet (I was told it would stunt my growth!).  But at some point, much later, I not only ‘got it’, but I embraced it.  So if anyone knows the whereabouts of Miss O’Brien, please let her know that I didn’t turn into the illiterate reprobate that she suggested I might.

     My attraction to Charles Kuralt’s books came later in life – watching him on CBS’s Sunday Morning and then following his adventures through his ‘road books’ as he traveled the back roads of American and, as he put it, ‘drifted with the current of life’.

     But if I’m being honest, my first bite from the ‘wanderlust’ bug came from those ‘road pictures’ (that what they called movies back then) – Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour cavorting in such exotic places as Singapore, Zanzibar, Morocco, Bali – I admit to having all seven ‘pictures’ in VHS and DVD.  OK, I know now that they never got off Paramount Pictures back lot, but as a kid I bought into those phony sets and white men with face-black playing the role of the natives.  It was those movies that let me know at an early age that there were far-off places that were very different from the neighborhood I knew – and I wanted to see them.  Zanzibar sounded particularly mysterious – I wanted to travel that road.

    Now as each summer approaches, I ask myself, ‘Where in the world do I want to go?’  As if in answer to my question, I received a copy of National Geographic Traveler  in the mail.  I don’t remember subscribing to it, but it had my name on the cover label so I guess I did.  I’m a sucker for any travel magazine and subject to impulse buying of such things so I probably ordered it.  In this issue they touted the “50 Tours of a Lifetime”.  I skipped right to page 82 where the article began.  I was intrigued by the kind of places they were naming:  Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Patagonia, Myanmar.  It’s a good day for me when I can work the word Zimbabwe into my conversation – it’s just a fun word to say.  “Oh, that Ivory carving?  I got it in a small village on the border of Zimbabwe and Mozambique.”  I like saying Mozambique too, so it’s really a good day when I can get them both into the same sentence.

     A further examination of these ‘Fifty Tours of a Lifetime’ revealed two things:

           1)  I’d need several ‘lifetime’ just to get to them all in, and

          2)  I’d need several more lifetimes to earn the money necessary to pay for these tours.

To wit:

     Zimbabwe –15 day tour, $6,295 (Side trip to Mozambique and ivory carving not  included)

     Myanmar – 9 days, $7,495 (Previously known as Burma – you remember ‘Burma Road’, or perhaps Burma Shave?  Doesn’t matter, they’re both gone now)

     Botswana – 15 days, $17,825   ($17,825!!!  Wow, I would like to work Botswana into a conversation as well, but not at these prices!)

      I finally came to the realization that looking at the ’50 Tours of a Lifetime’ was like looking at a Playboy Magazine – I’m seeing places I’ll never get to.

      But I will hit some back roads this summer and see if I can ‘drift along with the current of life’ and report back to you; I’d encourage you to do the same thing.  Let us know about your ‘roads less traveled’.

POST SCRIPT:  I’ve yet to hit the ‘Road to Zanzibar’, it actually requires a boat since Zanzibar is a city on the island of Unguja off the east coast of Africa, but I guess you knew that.