After a depressing yesterday, I got up knowing there was little I could do today. With my right hand slightly injured, enjoying the rides at Universal Studios Sentosa was ruled out. I couldn’t go to Marina Bay Sands either because I needed my 70-200mm lens, which I had to give for repair.
After freshening up, I sat at the dining table to have a cup of coffee. I picked up a newspaper and decided to actually read about what goes on in this tiny city state. I couldn’t help but notice the real estate property ads, not because of how good the properties looked, but mainly because just about every condominium advertised cost over a million dollars! And I thought to myself: “How on earth do the locals even afford to buy property here?”
Surely not everybody lives in the posh condos being advertised. That’s when I decided on what to do today – take the bus and see inner Singapore. Now, I didn’t know where exactly to go, but today I didn’t have anything else planned until I got the call from John 3:16 to come pick up my lens from their store.
I laid open my map of Singapore and just pointed to the centre of the island. My finger landed on some area called Bukit Timah. So Bukit Timah it was. Off to the nearest bus stop I went (the MRT doesn’t cover every nook and cranny of Singapore, thus the decision to ride the bus)
I hopped on a bus at around 12:30pm after an early lunchDidn’t seem like many were on their way to Buikt TimahI know wages in Singapore are obviously higher than say, India, but the cost of living here is extremely high too. Extremely high is also how you can describe most residential buildings. They have to be, developmental land is scarce in Singapore.I honestly had no clue if I was even on the right way or where to get down
These all looked like privately built apartment buildingsAnd they’re building moreThe Housing Development Board apartment buildings often look like that red and white building in the photoThat said, I did notice that there is still a lot of open land space still available. It’s just that government ensures there’s enough greenery in every district — which is nice.Looked like we were on an expressway to Bukit Timah
I didn’t really know where to get down, so when I saw a sign pointing to Bukit Timah Shopping Center, I got down at the next stop.
The area didn’t look that exciting. To the left was the construction of a new MRT station.I presumed malls in inner Singapore weren’t going to be as flashy as the ones in the CBD, but this was Bukit Timah PlazaWent all the way up to the food court/open area where the hawkers wereI don’t quite remember if this section was another part of the Bukit Timah Shopping Centre, but every floor had nothing but maid service businesses — most maids being from Indonesia and PhilippinesI was honestly quite bored hereI just walked around the area to soak up what life in these parts must be like. Not quite the residential area I hoped I would see, but it was okay.
Unlike the Geylang area, which has a sizable Malay population, I’m guessing inner Singapore has a lot more of citizens of Chinese descent
Just then my friend Aimee called, saying she might be coming to Orchard Road and that we could meet in the evening. But since I still had a few more hours to kill, I wondered how to spend it.
I hopped on a bus going towards the Orchard Road sideNanyang Girls High schoolDrove past what looked like a rather posh area. Very few people in Singapore live in villas.
The bus drove around and as it neared Orchard road, it passed by the Singapore Botanical Gardens. In a split second, I decided to get down at the very next bus stop.
Singapore’s Botanic Gardens wasn’t on my list-of-things-to-see actually… but I had to see something!
There is no entrance fee, it’s like a public parkIt’s a public park, but there are quite a few no-no’sI hadn’t even shot enough photographs today, so I needed to justify carrying my camera around
No feeding allowedThis is called the Swan LakeShot on my Canon 450D
Turtles
Sadly, because my telephoto lens was undergoing repair, I couldn’t zoom in much
Oh look Pacmen… 😛
The Tembusu tree
I saw a way in
You have a few restaurants hereWent in hereThere’s a SG$5 (Rs.200/$3.8/€3) entry ticketDidn’t really know what to expect as I know as much about flowers as I do about neurology
Went inside this huge cage
Walked up towards that bungalow, named Burkill Hall
Orchids here are in honour of special guestsThis orchid was named in honour of Jean Chretien, former Prime Minister of CanadaGhastly looking flower…Oh that’s whyThis one is honour of Princess Masako of Japan
This one is in honour of some royals from QatarThese flowers were in honour of former Indian president K.R. Narayanan’s visit
The designs by Mother Nature I tell you
The plant was named in honour of the great Nelson Mandela
I left the VIP Orchid house
Sigh, even in Singapore there are idiots who do this
Went in here next
Coolhouse? Sounds promising!
Oh my god it was SO relaxing in here!It was so cool in here… Singapore’s humidity was killing me!But just then I get an SMS from Aimee informing me she’s on her way to Orchard Road. Damn, I had to leave this place.I quickened my paceBut I just had to stop to take a snap of myself 🙂
This is a park for everybodyThere’s even a huge picnic area
Dogs walk, humans jog… cats… sit and do nothing. Typical!
They have concerts here every week
I wasn’t the only photographer there
I was trying to figure out how to get out of the park
I was trying to get out as quickly as possible, Aimee had already reached Ion Orchard
I was finally out!
But this exit didn’t have a bus stop anywhere nearby, so I hailed a taxi and made it to ION Orchard mall.
Aimee, a reader turned dear friend, who was of great help to me in PhilippinesAimee introduced me to Daiso, and I quite liked the offerings. Picked up a mini-vaccum.
After checking out a few stores, we stepped out on to Orchard Road. I promised Aimee I would make her look good this time, as neither of us were happy with the photos I took of her in Manila.
So here’s Aimee at Orchard Road
Went in here to collect my ticket for the Chemical Brothers show after the Sunday raceAimee took thisWent to Ngee Ann City next
Here’s Aimee at Lucky Plaza, where I went to exchange some currency
Here’s Aimee going down an escalatorWe walked to Suntec City towers where Aimee’s fiance was waiting to meet usHere’s Aimee.. oh, the camera focused on the background. Oops.
The view from one of the floors at Suntec
Given how the day began, I quite liked how it eventually ended. I’m glad I visited the Singapore Botanic Gardens, it was actually quite nice! I hadn’t done much macro photography since my visit to the 2010 Lal Bagh Botanical Garden Flower Show and I liked how most of my photographs turned out today. It would have been nice if I had my 70-200mm lens but I wasn’t going to get it until tomorrow.
Once back in my area, I had dinner at the Malay Indian restaurant in my block. Had a few pratas and beef curry, cost SG$6.20 (Rs. 250/$4.7/€3.7)
I felt better knowing, despite my injury, I wasn’t going to leave Singapore without some great photos. I wasn’t going to give up. Tomorrow, I visit the Marina Bay Sands Casino – my first time gambling!
Woke up really early today morning — like, 5am early! I left Banwa Arthouse and managed to catch a passing tricycle taxi to take me to the Puerto Princesa bus stop. It was a bit of a drive away, but I managed to get there in time. Anyway, I had called up the bus company (called Eulen Joy) the previous day and secured a seat for myself.
Now, despite reserving a seat, the bus is nothing fancy. Anything but! In fact, to get my seat right in the front, I had to walk over luggage belong to the other passengers. When I was instructed to do so, I kept looking at the other passengers with a mental “Im sorry but I have no other choice” look — but all they did was smile back.
The bus left the station at 6amIt was going to be a 6 hour long journey to El Nido
The one-way bus ride to El Nido cost ₱380 ($8/€6) and I opted to take the local bus instead of a private van (which cost more) not simply to save a few hundred pesos, but for the very same reason I chose to take tricycle taxi in Bohol — to take clear photos along the way.
I’m glad I made that decision again
Passed by Honda Bay
This is the junction from where you break off the main highway if you wish to go to SabangWe stopped by this house for a passenger
The seas were calm
The bus stopped along the way for a check for plants and seeds, which apparently isn’t allowed beyond this point. Guessing it’s because of fears of alien viruses contaminating plants.
Passengers were picked up all along the way, stuffing the bus inside and out — quite literally
Nearly 2 hours into the journey, with the sun hitting my eyes, I felt sleepy again and dozed off after keeping my camera back in.
I was woken up an hour later by the bus driver, who using the universal hand gesture, asked me if I wanted anything to eat. I politely said “no thanks”. The bus had stopped and the passengers got out for a break. I wasn’t hungry but an ice cream vendor on a bicycle asked me if I would like some ice cream. Now, I wasn’t very keen on having ice cream from a bicycle vendor in a remote village for health risks, but he had cones and buns.
I just had to order one! Cost just ₱15 and it was yum!From here on, I shot using my Nokia E72 phone camera
By 11am, the smooth concreted roads eventually gave way to unpaved ones.
After nearly 5 hours on the road, I finally got a glimpse of the sea againFortunately, the dust gave way and we were back on concrete roads
The bus would stop at independent houses along the way to drop passengers who had gone to the city to stock up on goods. Moments like this made me wonder how far away from home I was!
Even though the bus journey is longer, and less comfortable, I still enjoyed the experience of what life is to these locals on this remote island.
By 12:30pm, my first hint I was nearing my destination. I smiled with glee seeing this 🙂
I finally reached the El Nido bus station as it neared 1pm. I didn’t have a reservation anywhere but I did make a list of accommodation by the beach that suited my budget.
After stopping by one or two hotels I didn’t end up liking (and some that were full), I walked to Spider Pension House — a place I had called the day before and asked for a room to be kept available in case I were to stop by. Fortunately, one private fan room (but common toilet) was still available, so I checked in. I got the room for ₱700, for two nights.
Most of the accommodation in El Nido is small and basic at bestThe view from the Spider Pension House wasn’t bad either 😉Spider Pension House’s location is in the middle of the beach
After dumping my bags, I didn’t waste any time and made my way to Art Cafe — the most popular and one of the earliest businesses to promote El Nido tourism.
A few diving centers are available in El NidoI decided to take photos of other beach front accommodation in case you (my reader) are looking for where to stay in El Nido
Walked up through here
I planned to have lunch here, even though there are cheaper restaurants on El Nido beach
Besides lunch, I was also here to book a tour for tomorrow. Though there are primarily three tours on offer, I opted for Tour A as it would give me a good enough experience of what all El Nido has to offer. Paid some money as advance and sat down for lunch.
I sat by the balconyThe view was… alrightI ordered a seafood pizza and beer (cost ₱320 totally). Needless to say, I had a good lunch 🙂The Art Cafe has a relaxing environment — and free wi-fiShore Pass lodge, this was right across Art CafeAnother one that’s on the same lane as Art CafeAnang Balay TuristaThere are plenty of beachfront accommodation available, but a lot of them cost ₱500 and aboveHmm, is this legal?I chose to walk around the village a bit
Don’t expect to do much shopping here. Other than the basics, there is little else to buy.The port
These were the type of buses I took from Puerto Princesa today morningThere are hotels a few lanes away from the beach as wellLooks like more hotels are on the way as El Nido grows more and more popular
I gatecrashed, out of curiosityEven though it said ‘family,’ it was mostly men drinking beer while the women served foodBut it seems the ‘main event’ on Family Day was cock fightingThese cocks (no, the birds)The aftermath of a concluded matchEnjoy your freedom while it lasts dude
The “Hey mister, take photo!” shotI left the venue
Panorama comprised of 6 shots
This is the only ATM machine I saw here — and it was new!Panorama comprised of 6 shotsI got back on the road which leads to the bus stationThis is where you catch the van or bus back to Puerto Princesa
The El Nido airport is 7kms from here. But here’s the thing, the ‘airport’ is apparently not a big one and only few charter flights land there, making it very expensive to fly straight from Manila.I had gone all around and come back to the beach near my guesthouseI walked back to the beach
You can ride a bike on this platform
El Nido Corner and Bacuit Grill Bar
I kept walking down the path to see how far it would take meThe beach extends to this side where there a few cottages here as wellMakulay Lodge was one of the places I had shortlisted; now I know where it isBelieve me when I say this is under water! The water is that clear! 🙂
The time was 5pm
I decided to head back to Spider Pension House
Kind of makes it look like the boat is where those locals live
Rosanna’s Beach cottagesTandikan Beach CottagesThe shadow really hit the beach like this
Darkness was slowly taking over the entire beach
Once I got back to Spider Pension House, I sat on the porch and simply stared out into the sunset, listening to the ever relaxing sound of waves crashing. I ordered a coconut milkshake (or ‘boku juice’ as per the menu) and Joy, whose mother owns the place, sat beside me for a chat.
She was curious as to where I was from as ‘my kind’ are not often seen in El Nido, let alone PalawanJoy told me because of these hills, one can’t see the sun set from here. For that, you need to go to Las Cabanas beach, which I planned to do tomorrow.
As it got dark, they lit up these bottlesTime was 6:30pmBy 7pm, the sun had set
Even though the sun had set, I still sat there, feeling very relaxed and drinking my second coconut juice (didn’t feel like drinking beer at all). Unfortunately, when I ordered my third glass of boku juice, the electricity went.
I was joined by another guest staying at Spider Pension House (Aldo was his name I believe). A Spaniard based in London, a regular to El Nido and one who liked staying at Spider Pension House so much that he decided to help the owners by creating a Facebook page to help them with promotion.
Eventually, everybody had coconut milkshake — including Joy’s adorable daughter!
Since there was no electricity, it was pointless to go to my dark room upstairs, so I continued chatting away to the sound of waves crashing. When it came time to make plans for dinner, Aldo told me there was so much pork leftover from yesterday, that he asked Joy to make something for tonight as well. He had bought an entire pig from the market to be roasted a lalechon style – which they did (he showed me his photos). But needless to say, there was quite a lot of meat left over.
Dinner was curried pork and white rice. And for the first time in nearly two weeks, I finally enjoyed Filipino food! The pork was simply delish!
Just as I took out my wallet and asked “How much?,” Aldo gestured “no” with his hand. It was on him, so “thanks” was all I could say.
I finally went up to my room after the electricity did come back, as I had to copy over today’s photos to my back-up hard drive and prepare for tomorrow’s island tour. I had to make the most of the electricity available, because if there’s one thing you need to know about El Nido, it’s this: electricity goes off everyday from 6am to 2pm.
Sigh, I guess I knew what time I was going to wake up tomorrow — that too with the humidity!
After 4 splendid days in Chiang Mai (amid some disappointments), today I left the city to go further up north. I went to the main bus station and only managed to get a ticket for 12 noon as all others were sold out. (Don’t remember exactly how much I paid for the ticket, but it was around ฿100)
After the instructional video on bus safety, they played ‘Predators’ (in Thai)
I got a seat right in front
Chiang Rai city is around 200kms from Chiang MaiThe journey is quite scenic
After nearly 2 1/2hours, I arrived in Chiang Rai
The bus first stopped at what looked like a new bus station. I didn’t get down here because a lot of the Thais stayed in their seats. So I assumed this was not the final stop. Unfortunately some western tourists did get down and started hailing for taxis towards their hotels.
For which there was no need for, because the very same bus started again and drove straight into the city in 5 minutes time. This bus station was according my prior research, very close to the night market.
I hired a tuk-tuk and checked into my hotel.
Raungnakorn Hotel is located on the road of the same name
The room cost ฿350 for the night and I was only going to be staying one night. My flight from Chiang Rai to Bangkok was the next day evening. I know one day isn’t much in Chiang Rai, but this was my first time here and as always with first visits, this would be more a surveillance visit than any other.
It was near this templeThe hotel is close to the fresh market
Spotted it already haven’t you?Chiang Rai’s Golden Clock TowerDesigned by a renowned Thai architect named Ajarn Chalermchai KhositphiphatIt was built in 2008 in honour of the King (as is usually the case in Thailand)
Jedyod road, you find a lot of restaurants here
I decided to check out this templeOh the irony of seeing a black cat at a place where people come to pray for good luckThe temple is named Wat JedyodThe eyes…The hall had paintings depicting Hindu gods and some connection with India mythologyI was very curious to know the connection, but unfortunately there weren’t any descriptions in English or a local guide in sight
I left the temple
I dropped by a few travel agents and tour operators along the way and asked them about day trips to the Golden Triangle. But because it was already late in the evening, nobody could assure me a spot as they needed few more tourists to fill up a group as tomorrow’s first group were already full.
A British guy who was behind, overheard me and told me he was in the same situation as I. So we chatted for a bit and exchanged numbers in case either of us managed to get into a group tour that was going tomorrow morning.
I like their sign posts
A few steps from there and I was at the entrance of Chiang Rai’s Night BazaarBut since it wasn’t night time yet, nothing was open
I would be coming back here for dinnerI decided to go the main bus station to find out when the first bus to Mae Sai would beI was told that there are buses every 30 minutes starting 6amI headed back as I still wasn’t feeling too well, and it gets pretty chilly in Chiang Rai at night
I rested for some time after applying some Vicks. I just didn’t want to fall sick. It’s the worst thing that can happen on one’s vacation. Well, one of the worst things.
I got up at around 8pm and craved to have some hot Thai soup for dinner.
I walked to the night bazaarThe Golden clock tower really shines at nightIt also changes colourYou have the usual wares being sold at the Night bazaar, no different from any other night market in ThailandBut you do see locals and a few students trying to make some dime with their talentsQuite a change of scene from earlierThis place sells you french fries…and fried insects. How nice of them!Despite being very far the sea, you still get good enough seafood in Chiang RaiPoor guitarist on stage was hardly getting any applause from the dinersI scanned the vendors for appetizing soup to warm my body upI ended up picking up this big bowl of tangy seafood soup loaded with veggies (cost ฿100)They had cultural dances later
Post dinner, I scanned the shops a bit. Unlike last year, when I bought 10 t-shirts from Thailand, I figured I wouldn’t need to buy much this time.
Alas, I ended buying two from a small vendor at the night bazaar after bargaining it down to ฿300 for both. Oh well, we’ll see how many t-shirts I end up buying this year.
This was right in front of the vendor I bought the t-shirts from
As I needed more rest for an early start tomorrow, I headed back. Plus, there was little else to do in Chiang Rai. There is barely any nightlife in Chiang Rai. It’s a lot quieter (and smaller) than Chiang Mai.
I took one last look at the Golden clock tower
As I was clicking this photo, I bumped into the same British guy I had met earlier at the travel office. He told me he met up with a group of people who were planning on going on a trek (Chiang Rai is famous for trekking and cycling) and asked me if I wanted to join them. I told him I was unfortunately not in the best of health and that I had to be back in town early enough for my evening flight to Bangkok.
We wished each other well and parted ways.
I reached my room, freshened up, dabbed some more Vicks and snuggled up for a good night’s sleep.
The bus drove around and as it neared Orchard road, it passed by the Singapore Botanical Gardens. In a split second, I decided to get down at the very next bus stop.
