Springing into Singapore and Japan.

[GarrettM]

Just enjoyed a nice morning at SEA Aquarium on Sentosa. Will post pics from that and from last night's excursions around Makansutra a little later.
So far really enjoying Singapore.

 

[GarrettM]

Have to catch up a little here. Hard time trying to juggle family, child, exploring commitments.
Friday night we walked down to Makansutra to sample some local fare. Some nice satay, baby squid, stingray(!!), and carrot cake - which is neither carrot based, or cake.

Washed down with some pleasant lime juice while overlooking the bay and the MBS.

Had a crack at a few panoramic shots, with mixed success.

Rounded out the evening with a walk along the promenade to check out the famous Merlion, and a walk by the Fullerton Hotel, before finding our way back to the hotel via the MRT.
We were all well and truly tuckered out by then, and everyone was in bed well before 8pm.

 

[GarrettM]

After a very good night's sleep we woke up on Saturday and decided we would head to Sentosa and the S.E.A Aquarium among other things.
We had breakfast across the road from the hotel, at Marche. Pancakes for me, simple yet good. Bircher muesli for the wife. But it was mostly shaved apple, with no real muesli or crunch. Not so great.

We then came back to the hotel to grab a taxi and off to Sentosa!
One thing I've noticed here is things tend to open much later than you'd expect. But they stay open late too, so it's all good.

Discount tickets for the S.E.A Aquarium as a Mastercard holder, and in we go. Not quite sure how the little one would take it, but she loved it all.





Taken a bunch of videos as well but not sure how they would turn out here.
We spent almost two hours in the aquarium, including a long stop at the main tank viewing stage.
Such a serene environment, except for the kids. Could easily sit for a couple hours and watch all the sharks and rays and fish do their thing. Sadly we missed feeding time (1500hrs daily) but even so it was money very well spent.

 

[GarrettM]

Catching up a little here. Or at least trying too.
We decided we would head to Gardens by the Bay on Saturday afternoon, and then enjoy some more local food at Satay by the Bay.

There was a tulip festival on in the Flower Dome, with a heap of Van Gogh flower arrangements. Was pretty neat. Packed as well.


From there we went across to the Cloud Dome for a look, before we decided it was time to eat.


Over at the food market it was my turn to choose what we would eat. Went with a dish of hot squid and some popiah. But I misinterpreted the sign and instead of getting four pieces of it I ended up with four whole rolls. Oh well. Also grabbed a mixed plate of stay and an obligatory pint of Tiger. We finished off by sharing a choc banana prata between all three of us.


We'd decided to watch the light show at the SkyTrees. At the moment the display is based on a traditional waltz. Was pretty neat. Photos don't really capture it.


From there we headed home, and this where it's time to share my first gripe about our Singapore experience.

The Gardens were packed full of people of course, and the signs back to the MRT are a little confusing. So much so that many people - including us initially - followed a sign that took us away from the Dragonfly Bridge and had hundreds of people navigating a narrow boardwalk along the river. And we realised we were going the wrong way. Or at least the longer than necessary way. So we had to fight our way back through the throng pushing a pram against the tide of people and keeping an eye on the edge of the planks to make sure nothing awful happened.
And then when we found our way to where we WANTED to be, thousands of people were log-jammed onto one narrow staircase to reach the bridge. And the lift for disabled/prams/etc is right next to that staircase. And people who needed to use the lift had to wait because heaps of inconsiderate yet otherwise healthy people decided to push their way in front of those with prams and such. I don't think any of the people doing this were locals though.
Having found Singapore to be so well thought out and planned so far I was pretty surprised that this logistical flaw has not yet been addressed.
I decided to take the stairs with the masses, but not before making sure my wife and child were on the lift. She started ramming into peoples ankles and telling them to take the stairs, and I was calling out some others for being lazy and rude.
Eventually we made it though. By then the child was asleep and missed the fun of us getting turned around on the MRT and doing an extra loop, but all's well that ends well.

 

[GarrettM]

Sunday morning and time for a trip to the Bugis Street markets. Another short hop on the MRT, and a little way on foot and we're there!
We'd heard it was a place where you needed to watch your valuables, but even with the busy crowds I didn't feel any great sense of apprehension or bad vibes.
The trickiest part was navigating the pram through the narrow laneways.
Lots of bulk seafood on offer. Dried shrimp, whitebait I think. Even some beche de mer! Bulk bulk bulk!

 

[GarrettM]

MrsGM wanted to get the little one an I <3 SG shirt, and I purchased a camera bag for our new camera as the one the bloke at Good Guys sold me DIDN'T FIT! Sigh.
Anyways while I was waiting for the Mrs to find the shirt she wanted, a group of elderly Indonesian ladies started cooing over the little one in her pram. We'd been getting a lot of that already, and let me tell you she loves the attention.
The old ducks ended up all getting pics and selfies of us and thanking us for our patience. Honestly I didn't mind. It's funny really.
But all that posing is thirsty work!

The drinks are great. And cheap! I had an NZ apple and lime which was tangy and hit the spot. The wife splurged on a $2 sour sop which we think had lychee in it among other things. Also very nice.

And then it was time to get out of the sticky heat and back to the hotel room. But not before a chance to get a pic of two very cool buildings side by side.

The ParkView Hotel on the left and I think the Mastercard one the right. Completely different styles but both very cool. The architecture in Singapore on the whole is so in your face. You'd never get away with it in Perth sadly. Some of these buidlings are fantastic.
The way they incorporate greenery as well just adds to the visual landscape.

 

[GarrettM]

Our last afternoon and evening in Singapore was spent taking a look at Clarke Quay before enjoying a nice and cheap dinner at the Raffles City food court across the way from the hotel.
Not many pics aside from one of the multi-coloured shutters on this building at Clarke Quay, which was an old police station but is now home to the Ministry of Youth.


Before I start on the Japanese leg of this tour I should reflect on SIngapore as a whole.

Loved it! Which is what I was expecting. We will definitely be going back. But will wait until the little one is a tad older, and probably stay on Sentosa as there's more for her to enjoy without having to travel far.
The Carlton was comfortable enough. We made good use of the pool, and it's certainly convenient for transport to most places on the MRT. Taxis plentiful also.
But it's not a place for small children. At least not in our room. Plus the television was on the blink for our entire stay. Initially there was a fault, and we asked staff to fix it, which they did. But about an hour later it seems their whole system went down for maintenance, and all we had for two days was this:

We don't like bub watching too much tv, but sometimes it comes in handy, and to not have it in such a small space made life a little tougher.
Love the MRT. The tourist pass is brilliant, and easily worth the $20.

A great entree to our trip, but now it's time to fly onto the main course!

 

[get me outta here]

Great TR, thanks and good photos, especially of the little sweetie. The Bugis fruit drinks place is always a highlight for me.

 

[GarrettM]

Currently waiting for lunch in Asakusa. I fear we've burnt out the pocket WiFi in our apartment. Updates will.have to wait I think. But I'm writing them before I forget things in any case.
Will share more of our food experiences soon enough, plus Shinjuku, Shibuya, Harajuku, Asakusa, and hopefully the Tokyo Skytree!!!!

 

[GarrettM]

Sitting in a Shinjuku coffee shop trying to figure out how to contact 28 Degrees to get them to unlock my accout. After a week overseas it seems they've cut me off. Can only assume they think someone is illegally using my card. Don't have ready phone access so will need to figure something out. The only negative so far in an other wise fantastic trip.
Don't worry there'll be plenty of stories and photos in days to come.
SPOILER: The Skytree is incredible.

 

[love_the_life]

Don't you just hate that? I hope you have another card to use in the meantime. I had one of my cards 'declined' in Colombo; no idea why as the banked been notified and I had used it a couple of days earlier in KL with no issues. Unfortunately I had left the other cards in the safe on the ship so Pushka came to the rescue with hers!

 

[GarrettM]

Back to the trip!
Tuesday was our first real day in Japan, and we didn't want to waste time.
First thing is to start getting a handle on the trains, and pick up our JR Passes.
Closest station is Okuba, and the attendant there helped us buy two tickets to Shinjuku, one stop to the south.
Once there we obtained our rail passes, but decided not to book any tickets yet as it's a bit busy. Plenty of time, as we're not leaving Tokyo until Monday.
We walked around the station a bit, before opting to walk to Shinjuku gyoen just five or so minutes away.


The peak of the blossom season has passed on, but there are still a few trees in late bloom scattered throughout the park. And they are gorgeous.



The rest of the park is also something to see. Bub enjoyed looking at the large koi in the ponds.





Unfortunately though for her park means playground, and she was unimpressed that this park trip did not include a slide or swings.

 

[GarrettM]

We left Shinjuku gyoen in search of lunch as we were all hungry. Trying to find a place that would fit a stroller and have suitable seats for a toddler wasn't easy, but after cruising the alleys near the station we found a place for some goyza and pork, plus a beer for me.



Bub seems to really enjoy eating rice lately. And not much else, so she's going to enjoy Japan. She does enjoy a good noodle too, so I doubt she'll go hungry here.

Our first adventure in Tokyo had gone without any great incident, so we returned to the apartment and planned out an excursion that would be a little more daring for the afternoon/evening - a trip through Harajuku and onto Shibuya.

Before that though here's a bit more of the view from our apartment.



Out the door and overlooking the landing, way off to the east is the Tokyo Skytree.



That's a story for later. Here is the view of Okubo dori back toward Kita Shinjuku, which is where we are staying. This view is from the rail bridge.

 

[GarrettM]

We'd figured out the Yamanote Line is going to be our friend in Tokyo. We're five minutes from Shin-Okubo station, and we can use this loop line to get close to most of the key attractions in the ultra-mega-tropolis.
Harajuku is only three stops beyond Shinjuku, and Shibuya is the next one again. Piece of cake.

We figured we would head that way on Tuesday evening, again in the almost perfect weather. Dry and not too cool.

Plenty of people in Harajuku. But no really crazy stand outs as far as garments go. Pity. We just cruised the streets and alleyways looking at a few shops. No actual shopping though. All that stuff is too cool for me. And too expensive. And it's all a bit meh anyway.
Except for Condomania of course.


My popcorn is big business.

 

[GarrettM]

Rather than hopping back on the train we opted to walk to Shibuya, along the road next to the Metro line. From Harajuku it's almost a straight line which takes you right to the famous crossing.

But you'd never believe it that if you didn't no. On one side of the road is the Yoyogi Sports Precinct. On the other, train tracks. And there was very little traffic, and almost no foot traffic.

And yet suddenly the landscape morphs into the sprawling business and entertainment district with light and people everywhere. Crazy.


Tower Records was blasting out some Foo Fighters as we approached.

We did the normal thing and navigated the crossing. Or at least the wife did, pushing the pram. I tried to take some pics with mixed success.




And then we went in search of food. This is where lugging a little one becomes difficult. There are thousands upon thousands of tiny restaurants and eateries all over the place. But trying to get a stroller in them is almost impossible.



So many delicious looking meals we have to pass up due to space limitations.

In the end we found a Chinese place of all things. And it was ok.

After that we headed back to the Yamanote Line for the short ride home. Bub had fallen asleep, so didn't experience the slight crush luckily for her.

 

[GarrettM]

I've actually just returned from Shibuya again this evening. Felt I needed to go back because I didn't quite absorb it all the first time. I certainly did now. Glad I was alone too, because the trains tonight were insanely busy.

Friday night I guess. Here are some random pics from tonight's wandering.







I suppose the Starbucks up here is always full of people watchers.


This guy didn't make it off the tracks in time.


Coming up next: Sanrio Puroland!

 

[GarrettM]

Another busy day touring the Imperial Precinct (the permissable parts anyway) and Akihabara. What a crazy place. Reports on these later.
Back on Wednesday we'd decided - by which I had been told - we'd visit Sunrio Puroland, the home of Hello Kitty.
The funnest part of the day was switching trains from the JR Yamanote to the privately owned Keio Line to get out to Tama Central.
A very helpful Keio employee ran with us to find the right platform, and get us the right tickets, and made sure we got on the train. Super helpful.

Anyway Sunrio Puroland is an assault on the senses, and the wallet. I think I was the only male in the entire complex.
I'm just going to post a heap of pic without further comment.

 

[GarrettM]

 

[GarrettM]

A look at the food on offer for visitors. Plus some dancing sushi. Because... it's Japan.







The burgers are pink. Naturally.


And we took a snap of the food on a neighbouring table. With permission. That's a sausage and rice in a blue curry. I kid you not.

 

[GarrettM]

Thursday was designated Skytree Day. But first we would do a tour of Asakusa, and Senso-Ji. It involved another half-loop of the Yamanote Line, and then a jump on to the Ginza line from Ueno to Asakusa station.
And then we were in the thick of the temple precinct.








People pay to rent kimonos and other traditional garb as they walk around the place. Seems a little odd to me, but then perhaps they're not hurting anyone.