(I've realized how long-winded and rambling I am, so I'm trying to do a summary of key points at the start of posts.)
TL,DR:
- Get approval for your meds before going to Singapore.
- Bring napkins and wet wipes to hawker markets in Singapore.
- It's hard to choose a hawker market in Singapore; my vote goes to Newton Food Center.
- Go to the gardens in Singapore! The botanical gardens and the Gardens by the Bay were two of my favorites on this leg of the trip.
- There are so many options to get to KL from Singapore. I struggled with my choice, but the flight was so cheap and easy that I recommend it. Buses and trains seemed very complicated.
- Be wary of Google Maps if you are walking in KL.
- Do NOT enter a mosque during the call to prayer.
- Go to Batu Caves in KL!
I’ve mentioned before on this blog how wonderful my job can
be with regard to travel. This is another example. I got to go to Singapore to
work a conference we were holding in September, and I took a couple days of PTO
at the end of the trip to see Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I didn’t have time to
venture outside the cities, but I recapped a few highlights if you’re interested.
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| Singapore |
Singapore: Saturday to Tuesday
One important note I have is about traveling with medication to Singapore. I take birth control and an anti-depressant daily. In all of my travels, I have never had to request permission to bring my meds into a country, until Singapore. I was very nervous about my anti-depressant because it is a controlled substance there. About a month before my departure, I had to get a doctor's note explaining why I take it, take photos of my pill bottle, and send them to a government agency for approval. I expected a long wait and possibly an interview about them, but I received an email within 24 hours saying I was fine to bring a week's worth of medication with me. I printed that email, along with all my other paperwork, and had it ready to go at immigration in Singapore. But the agent didn't even ask me about medication. I was nervous the whole way through the airport until I got in my cab to the hotel. All this to say, follow the rules and give yourself plenty of time, and you should be fine. But never try to bring controlled medication into a country without approval.
Flights to SE Asia from the States are no joke, but who am I
to complain when work wants to send me? Answer: Not one to complain! I flew
from Austin to Atlanta to Seoul to Singapore, a 30-hour, door-to-door trip. I
left on Saturday morning in Austin and arrived at the hotel at 1:00 am Monday
in Singapore. We were staying at the Marina Bay Sands, which was an amazing
work perk. The hotel is beautiful and backs onto the Gardens by the Bay, which
was the best part in my opinion. Full disclosure: if I planned a trip to
Singapore for fun, I would not stay at MBS. It felt like Las Vegas to me, in
that everything was ostentatious but gaudy and lacking character. There was
also a casino on site. So if you love Vegas, this is your place. But for my
first time in Singapore, it was an easy introduction.
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| Gardens by the Bay |
I checked into my room, took a shower, and passed out in my plush
bed. After 15 hours from Atlanta to Seoul in the middle seat, followed by 6.5
hours to Singapore (admittedly in an aisle seat), I was ready for a real bed.
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| Singapore Botanical Gardens |
Monday I woke up at 9, went down to one of the breakfast
buffets (the second best thing about MBS), and made my way to the
hop-on-hop-off bus. It was harder than it should have been, because the F1
races were in town the night before and streets were still shut down as a
result. There is normally a stop at MBS, which I was planning on jumping on,
but it was part of the shutdown but not clearly marked. After wandering around
confused for way too long and finally asking the hotel concierge about it, I
clumsily got myself some cash from an ATM, broke it at a 7-11, and purchased
myself a subway ticket. I saw a woman with a Starbucks cup in the subway, which
is supposed to be taboo in very rule-oriented Singapore, but no one hassled
her. I still wouldn’t recommend it.
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| Singapore Botanical Gardens |
I finally made it to the central spot for my tour bus (an
area full of shopping malls) and hopped on. I hopped off at the botanical
gardens and wandered blissfully for about an hour. I highly recommend a visit
if you’re in town. Then I hopped off at Little India for a little wandering
with a side of dosa and lassi. Also recommend. Then I took the loop back to the
drop-off point closest to MBS and walked home via the waterfront and the giant
mall across from the hotel. If you’re into shopping for expensive, designer
items, this is your place.
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| Dosa and lassi |
Then I met up with a couple of my coworkers (Anil and Ganesh) for dinner at a
hawker market, Lau Pa Sat. Even if you know very little about Singapore, you know about the food. They're renowned for both high cuisine and the delicious variety on offer at many hawker markets throughout town. I was excited about my first experience.
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| Lau Pa Sat |
We ordered our own meals but sampled each other’s
and split some satay. I ordered the carrot cake, which is not what Westerners
think of as carrot cake. It is radish mixed with rice flour and scrambled with
eggs. I ordered a combo, so I got one white cake (as described) and one black
(which is the same with soy sauce added). They were both great. The prawn satay
was delicious but so much work for so little reward. And there were no napkins
in the market, so Ganesh ran out and bought us wet wipes and Kleenex from
7-11.
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| Carrot cake |
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| Singaporean laksa |
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| Botanical Gardens |
Singapore: Wednesday to Friday
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| Chili and black pepper crab |
The conference started on Wednesday, so the rest of my
sightseeing was in the evenings. After work that day I went to the Cloud Forest
Dome (also beautiful and full of would-be Instagram influencers) and another
walk through the gardens. Then we went to a restaurant that specializes in
chili crab for dinner. Not only did we order chili crab, but we also got black
pepper crab, some noodles, and some buns that you’re supposed to use to sop up
the extra chili sauce the crab is swimming in. Everything was delicious and I
was grateful they provided a bib and gloves to wear. I made quite the mess
cracking into the crabs, but it was worth it. And the black pepper crab gets my
controversial vote as the best one.
On Thursday after work my coworker and I went to the
infinity pool at the top of Marina Bay Sands and I ordered an obligatory
Singapore Sling. Then we went to another hawker market for dinner, Newton Food
Center. I liked this one even better than Lau Pa Sat because all the seating
was outside and the stalls were lined up around the perimeter of the seating. I
got delicious Indian curry with naan bread and we split more satay.
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| Newton Food Center |
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| Dinner at Newton |
Friday was our last night in town, so I dragged Ganesh
to the Raffles Hotel, where the Singapore Sling was created. It’s a gorgeous
hotel but built during British colonial rule, so I felt some guilt about liking
the architecture so much. My plan was to have a sling at the original bar, but
when we got there the line was out of control. Instead we turned around and got
an outside table at another Raffles bar with no line but also no Singapore
Slings. I ordered a cocktail that was more to my taste anyway (i.e., not fruity).
We sat next to a fountain and talked about our weddings and different decisions
about children. It was lovely to get to know a coworker more personally. (I might have cried when he showed me a video from his wedding because I cry at all weddings, even virtual ones.) Then I was planning on going to another food
market with my crew, but after the drink I realized how beat I was from the
conference and decided to go back to my room and order room service. I felt
lame, especially when they started texting me photos of their amazing food, but
I was also happy to be chilling in my PJs and going to bed early.
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| Raffles Hotel |
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| Prawns at Newton |
Kuala Lumpur: Saturday to Monday
On Saturday morning all of my coworkers were flying home but
I was flying to Malaysia! I was looking forward to some work-free time to
explore a new city and to visit a Muslim country for the first time. The flight
was less than an hour and KL has a fast, easy train from the airport to the
city center. Traffic is so bad I read it would take over an hour to drive in,
but the train was less than 30 minutes. Once I arrived in town (at the KL
Sentral train station), I made a rookie mistake. Google Maps made it look like
my hotel was a short walk away, but it didn’t factor in all the roads I
couldn’t cross and the mall smack dab in the middle of my route. I ended up
wandering in the middle of the road at times because there wasn’t a sidewalk
and darting across busy traffic with my giant wheelie bag, but eventually I
made it to my budget hotel down a little street lined with food stalls.
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| Malaysian National Mosque |
After getting settled I relied on Google again to tell me
how to get to the KL botanical gardens. This time I got to walk along highways
with very little sidewalk and run across more heavily trafficked roads. I
walked by the national mosque but didn’t go inside and finally ended up in the
gardens by a back entrance. I spent about an hour walking around what felt more
like a large city park than a botanical garden, but it was a beautiful and
quiet oasis from the crazy smog and traffic outside (and the homicidal scooter
drivers who pop up on sidewalks and come at you full speed!). I came out
through the main entrance and was right next to the national museum, so I
stopped in for a visit. I learned about the history of the country, from
prehistoric times through the arrival of Islam to the colonization by multiple
European countries, up to the fight for independence and modern times.
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| KL Botanical Gardens |
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| Malaysian National Museum |
By the time I finished at the museum I was ready for the
long, sweaty walk home for a shower. It was just as humid in KL as Singapore
had been, and I had done some serious walking already. Plus, Ganesh and his wife, Sujitrah (who live in KL), were going to take me to dinner that night. I
got cleaned up and had about an hour to chill in my room, so of course I ended
up taking a nap. I woke up to a raging thunderstorm and text from G saying the
rain was making his 1-hour drive more like an hour and a half. I dozed a little
more.
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| My street in KL |
When they I arrived, I apologized that they had to drive so
far for dinner but they were both so gracious about it. They said it’s just
part of living in KL. They drove me to an Indian restaurant near my hotel. It’s
inside a music school where students learn classical Indian music and then wait
tables at the restaurant in the evenings. They had an awesome buffet set up,
and Ganesh and Sujitrah explained all the options for me. They told me the
buffet used to be free and everyone could pay what they want or pay nothing if
they couldn’t afford it. Ganesh said unfortunately people took advantage of it, so after years of operating at a loss they finally had to start charging.
Dinner was delicious (and decadent because I had TWO lassis, one mango and one strawberry) and then they drove me back to my hotel with a mini tour
of Little India along the way.
Batu Caves
The next morning, I got up excited for my plans. I was going
to take a train to Batu Caves, a complex of Hindu temples set in caves. It was my number one plan for KL. I
walked to the train station (much easier without my wheelie bag), bought a
train ticket at the special counter, and made my way down to the platform.
Almost immediately a man sat down next to me and started asking me all about
what I was doing in KL and where I was going, not taking hints that I wasn’t
interested in conversation. Just a typical experience for women in train
stations. So when the train arrived and I saw one car emblazoned with pink
signs declaring “Ladies Only,” I happily ditched the guy and entered the
serenity of a man-free space. No offense, dudes, but sometimes we need a break
from that nonsense.
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| Batu Caves |
When we arrived at the caves, I walked through
incense-filled stalls selling souvenirs and snacks before coming up to the
colorful outside temple and the giant, gold statue of Lord Murugan. There was a
long, tall, brightly painted staircase leading up to the main cave, and by the time I
reached the top I was winded. I walked into the huge cave and took it all in.
There were small temples and statues all along the cave walls and a bigger
temple near the middle. You have to remove your shoes to walk into it, so I
shuffled along in my socks and watched devotees conducting ceremonies and
laying out offerings in front of statues. When I left that area, I climbed
another set of stairs (still in the cave) with monkeys climbing all over it,
dropping bits of fruit rinds down on tourists’ heads. There were a few shrieks
as people jumped back when a monkey got a little too close for comfort. I
watched for a while as a mother with a baby clinging to her belly jumped from
railings and searched for food.
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| Batu Caves |
I climbed up to the top and walked around the other temple
up there, and then slowly made my way back out. The main cave is free to enter
but they have donation bins set up all around. I happily gave some money and
then climbed back down the massive staircase. There are two smaller caves as
part of the complex, along with the large temple at the base of the stairs. I
took my shoes off to enter the temple and just as I entered, a band started
playing music and a parade headed toward me. They were carrying a statue and
offerings, and they walked them over to an altar. They set the statue down and
started laying out food and flowers and incense, one by one, while the music
continued.
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| Batu Caves |
I left the temple and walked down to the smaller caves,
passing food and trinket vendors along the way. One guy was chopping up durian
and putting it in small containers for sale. I stopped and asked if it was
durian (I couldn’t smell it so I wasn’t sure). He said it was and offered me a
piece to try. It didn’t have the strong odor I had heard about, and when I took
a bite it wasn’t awful. It wasn’t good, but I was expecting worse. For
me, the texture was more of a problem than the taste. It was mushy but had a slick,
tight feeling on the outside and it felt like something I should not have in my
mouth. I thanked the man and tossed the rest of the durian in the trash after
one bite. I’m glad I didn’t have to pay to try it.
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| A smaller Batu Cave |
I paid a small entrance fee to check out the two smaller
caves. They weren’t as cool as the big one, but I was happy to pay the small
amount to help with the upkeep. Then I headed back to the ladies-only train car
heading into town.
When I arrived at KL Sentral I bought a metro token (they
use round plastic tokens instead of cards) and took the train into downtown for
the hop-on, hop-off bus. I’ve really developed a love for these overpriced,
lazy-tourist shuttles. This one had two routes, city and garden, and I took the
city route. Shortly after I got on the bus it started raining, and when we got
to the Petronus Towers it was a full downpour so I didn’t get off. Most of the
stops didn’t appeal to me (there are a lot of malls in KL and they were all
featured on my tour), but luckily the rain stopped by the time we got to
Petaling Street (Chinatown), so I disembarked.
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| Outside Jamek Mosque |
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| Petronas Towers |
I walked through the crowded stalls overflowing with smells
and goods and then walked over to Central Market, another shopping and eating
destination. I had Malaysian laksa for lunch and decided I prefer the
Singaporean version (although Malaysian was still good). I also had Malaysian
white coffee, which is basically iced coffee with a lot of cream.
Disgraceful Tourist
Then I walked over to Jamek Mosque, a gorgeous mosque situated
at the convergence of two rivers. When I entered the gates, there was a
security guard standing there, who didn’t say anything to me, so I figured I
was fine to keep walking around. The call to prayer had just started so I
pulled out my phone to record the sounds a little bit, and then kept walking. There were
two open-air rooms attached to the walls of the mosque where men were praying
and lounging around. I walked around most of the mosque taking photos (but not
of any people) and as I was approaching the gate I came in, a man on a bicycle
started yelling in my direction. I looked behind me but no one was back there.
He biked over to me and circled behind me but didn’t say anything. He gestured
to the gate angrily so I kept walking while he rode right next to me. He waited
to make sure I left, and I was thoroughly confused but aware that I had
definitely done something wrong. I was dressed modestly (I was wearing an
ankle-length dress and I put on my sweater to cover my shoulders when I
entered), but I had clearly violated something. When I got back to wifi I
looked up whether tourists are even allowed in (they are), but learned I should
not have been there during the call for prayer. It makes perfect sense, and I
felt awful after reading it, but it didn’t even occur to me when I walked in
the gates. I felt like such an asshole tourist.
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| Petaling Street |
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| Outside Central Market |
I walked back to the bus stop, rode back to the start of the
tour, and hopped on the garden route. They announced that buses stop running at
6 pm and kick you off wherever they happen to be at the time. I checked the map
and decided I could make it to the Little India stop before 6, so I got off
there and walked back to my hotel. My ticket was good for 24 hours, so I
planned on walking back to the Little India stop in the morning to finish the
garden route.
When I got to my room, I tried to shower off my mosque shame and
all the sweat from another humid day, and then I wandered around my area a bit
before deciding on a restaurant called Gandhi for dinner. I’m much less
adventurous with food when I'm on my own, so I ordered some veggie fried rice. Ganesh
had told me the area I was staying in could be sketchy at night and warned me
not to walk around by myself, so after dinner I just went back to the hotel and
called it a night. I wasn’t upset at having to get lots of sleep.
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| Malaysian laksa and white coffee |
Monday was my last day, so I packed up and left my bag at
the hotel, but I wasn’t flying home until 10 pm, so I had all day to sightsee.
I had breakfast at a café near the hotel (traditional Malay breakfast of nasi
lemak and more white coffee) and walked back to the Little India bus stop. I
got off at the National Palace, a sprawling area with the palace set far off on
a hill. I was able to walk up to the gates but tourists aren't allowed in. I snapped
a few photos and headed back to the bus stop. My next stop was Merdeka Square,
where the British flag was lowered and the Malaysian flag raised in 1957 when
they officially gained independence. The square is surrounded by beautiful
buildings, including the Sultan Abdul Samad Building. Jamek Mosque was across
the river, but I was too ashamed to go back. I walked around the square for a while
and then jumped back on the bus to Chow Kit, another busy area full of stalls
selling all sorts of food and souvenirs. I wandered through the food area until
I got to the meat section and turned back. I bought some sweet pastries and
hopped back on the bus.
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| Chow Kit |
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| Pastry stand outside Chow Kit |
By that time I was getting a little hungry and wanted a
beer; I was ready to embrace
my Western tourist. So I took the bus to an area that’s known for catering to
ex-pats, Changkat, and posted up at an outdoor bar. I ordered eggrolls and a
margarita (it was on special and was half the cost of beer or wine). I
killed about an hour and a half there, and then walked back to the metro
station near the hop-on, hop-off bus hub. After two days of riding the bus I
realized they weren’t really covering that much ground. A lot of the stops they
drove to were in walking distance of each other, but traffic made it seem like
we were going further. It was late afternoon and I didn’t have much time left
in town, so I took the metro back to the station near my hotel. I wandered the
mall, Little India, and the train station area, and then it was time to go get
my bag. I lugged it back through the chaotic streets but had learned the
shortcut through the mall by this point, so it was much less stressful.
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| Nasi lemak |
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| National Palace |
I took the train back to the airport and then got ready for
my 28-hour trip home. I’m definitely still embarrassed by my mosque faux pas,
but I’ll know better next time. This was my first trip to Asia and I’ll be
back. Fingers crossed for another work trip to help with those expensive
flights!
Singapore: Wednesday to Friday
