Sightseeing and Football in Singapore

I don’t know if it was the great company, the amazing food or just the impressive scale of the city that made me fall in love with Singapore, but I really did love it. It’s one of the best cities in the world.

We stayed with a great group of couchsurfing veterans who showed us around, made us feel right at home and gave us some great tips about the city and the food.

We’d travelled for almost 36 hours from Chiang Dao to Singapore by bus, hitch-hiked truck, train, plane and monorail. When we finally arrived we were tired and smelly, but our hosts rallied us to hit the town and I’m glad we did. Singapore really comes to life at night, when all the tight-laced office staff clock off for the day and descend from their skyscrapers into the trendy bars along Boat Quay.

We passed the evening drinking duty free rum from Thailand on a vibrant bridge in Clarke Quay. In a country where it is illegal to chew gum, litter or cross the road (jay walk), I was surprised to find that it’s legal to drink in public places in Singapore. Perhaps it has to be legal because the price of alcohol in the bars is so expensive; a small bottle of beer costs around £7! The bridge was crowded with an eclectic mix tourists, locals, Asians, Westerners, old, young, families, hen parties and groups of friends. There was singing, dancing and mingling, all the atmosphere of a great bar without the cost.

The quays were once lined with warehouses where the city’s main trade took place. Now, the old warehouses have been renovated into funky bars, clubs and restaurants, as well as a clean, modern riverfront. There was a great energy about the area, so much so that we managed to stay out until 2am despite being really tired!

Clarke Quay.

In Singapore we met up with old friends, Weizhao and Xiu Wen, who took us on an eating tour of the city and joined us to watch Singapore vs. Thailand compete in the Suzuki Cup at the national stadium. Ric’s face was lit up like a kid’s at Christmas after a full day of nothing but food and football, he was in his element.

The football match was entertaining as Singapore proved excellent at missing really easy shots, much to the disappointment of the home team. Thailand won 2-1 and I happened to miss Singapore’s one and only goal when I nipped out to the bathroom! The state city’s national team played worse than Huddersfield, but who can blame them as they only formed a decade or so ago. Every seat in the 55,000 capacity stadium has air conditioning basting out from under it, a welcome relief in the steamy humidity but not really an environmentally friendly feature.

Gooooooo Footbaaaalll!

All the locals told us that the 165m high Singapore Flyer, an observation wheel similar to yet bigger than the London Eye, would be boring, but we loved it. Perhaps the novelty of seeing Singapore’s incredible skyline in a 360 degree panoramic view isn’t appealing for the local residents who see it everyday; we on the other hand, were enthralled. The skyscrapers of the CBD (Central Business District), the lush Gardens By The Bay, the ocean crowded with container ships and the marina; there is so much going on in this city. It was an expensive attraction at S$30 (£15) each but well worth it. 

View of Singapore.

Gardens By The Bay.

When we weren’t busy gorging on rich Singaporean food, we spent some time walking around the five star hotels pretending to be rich and important. We thought about checking into the Marina Bay Sands Hotel, with it’s iconic ship shaped viewing platform and infinity pool, but for $400 per night we considered it a bit too common and we decided to stay with our couchsurfing friends instead! However, we did stop by to watch the evening light and sound show, which was a bit strange: the life cycle of man projected onto two fountains, with lasers and dramatic music. A brief reminder that Singapore is very much an Asian country.

Marina Bay Sands Hotel, Singapore Flyer on the right.

Strange sound and light show in front of the CBD.

With so much to see and do in Singapore, it would have been lovely to stay for longer, but we were afraid we might blow all of our remaining travel budget there in just a few short days. 

What I loved most was perhaps the diversity within the city, it is the most multicultural place I have ever visited. Little India, with it’s colourful archways, bright clothing shops and endless gold jewellery; the CBD with it’s towering glass skyscrapers, Lamborghinis and designer shopping malls; the colonial district where old prestigious buildings and churches nestle between blocks of luxury condos. It was simply a wonderful place to walk around, with endless fascinating buildings to admire. 

Little India, complete with little Indian man barely taller than the rubbish bin.

What’s more, the people were wonderfully friendly, extremely polite and very helpful, more so than anywhere else. I found it hard to believe that English is the first language spoken my most of the population of Singapore, certainly by the younger generations. It was so unexpected to have an old Chinese lady turn to me and address me in perfect English after many months trying to bridge various language barriers. In addition to speaking the Queen’s, there is a particular dialect spoken in the region, known as Singlish, which has emerged as an interesting by-product of this multicultural society. It’s essentially English with words or speech patterns borrowed from Chinese and Malay, just to confuse us!

'Supertrees' at Gardens By The Bar.

And finally… Singapore is know as Fine City due to the strict rules and regulations that carry hefty fines. These include: no chewing gum, no being naked inside the house, no jay walking, and no smoking. The funniest rules were related to the country’s football league, which only has six professional teams. Each team may only have two players aged over 30 and the team which looses the competition must pay a S$50,000 fine at the end of the season. I was amused by the amount of polite-yet-firm signs that cover the city, reminding the residents to be good, law abiding citizens. From patronising cartoons on the underground reminding passengers not to block the aisle with luggage, to a drawing of a police man with the caption “no stealing please”, spotted on a construction site. For me the excessive signage was overbearing and patronising, yet the city has one of the lowest crime rates in the world, so maybe the Singaporeans are onto a good thing.

Pai: Hiking to Mae Yen Falls

We decided to hike to Mae Yen Waterfall as it is one of the few hikes that can be done out of Pai without the need to hire a bike or moped. It's a fair hike though, 9km from the town center to the falls.

We set off from Pai in the late morning after eating breakfast in the slowest restaurant in the whole of Pai, where plates were painstakingly cooked one at a time. A short walk out of town and the concrete path was soon replaced with a mud path that cut across the rice paddies at the foot of the mountains. At the end of the mud path is a parking area for those lazy souls who didn't walk the whole way, from here it's an adventurous 7km hike through thick jungle to reach the waterfall.

The path crisscrossed a stream for most of the 7km before climbing steeply up a slippery bank. It was a beautiful shaded walk under a thick canopy of jungle and we were privileged (and slightly alarmed) to spot a 2m copperhead rat snake slither into the river right in front of us.

Sliding down a steep muddy bank in flip flops, no problem.

The waterfall, although beautiful, was not the highlight of the trip. Unfortunately, instead of suggesting tourists carry their litter out of the jungle with them, two huge black bin bags sat overflowing with empty water bottles, food wrappers and decaying half eaten fruit. Where there is food, there are flies; the area around the waterfall was swarming with them. We took a quick refreshing dip in the small pool at the base of the falls before hotfooting it out of there away from the infestation.

Mae Yen Waterfall.

Just after setting off away from the waterfall we were alarmed to hear voices calling for help. Two Dutch girls had taken a wrong turn and wandered down the wrong side of the mountain. To us it was clear that the overgrown path they'd taken was not the way we'd come, but it served as a reminder for us to take care, especially as the sun had already dipped behind the mountains and we still had a 9km walk back to our hotel.

We emerged from the jungle just in time to see the sun set and walked back along the mud path in darkness. 

Hike Facts:

Total distance: 18km from Pai center. 14km if you drive to the end of the mud road.

Total time: 3 hours 15 minutes from town to the falls, going at a slow-medium pace.

Difficulty: low - only one steep climb of about 100m.

Footwear: as most of the time you will be walking in the stream, don't wear your best leather boots! Trainers or walking sandals are best, although Ric did it in flip flops as usual. 

Hitch Hiking Around Pai

Pai is a little tourist town in the north west of Thailand, close to the border with Burma and a three and a half hour drive from Chiang Mai. It's easy to see why so many foreigners arrive here and never leave; the town is situated in a valley surrounded by lush green mountains, thick jungle, waterfalls, caves and canyons. The scenery is stunning.

The town earned itself a reputation for its live music scene that started about 20 years ago. Now, however, it seems any fool with a guitar can star in their own acoustic night at one of the many bars, many of them not such good musicians. For once I would have preferred Ric's singing.

View over Pai from a hillside temple.

While Pai has a lot to offer in terms of bars and restaurants, we were more interested in getting out into the mountains and enjoying the nature. Most tourists who come to Pai hire a moped for several days, this allows them to drive off into the hills and explore. Unfortunately we don't have a very good track record with scooters and have avoided them throughout the trip. It's a shame because you really can get off the beaten track and see a lot more on a scooter than on a bus or a bicycle, however we've seen so many injured tourists that it's been easy to resist the temptation.

Without moped and with no intention of cycling up any mountains we came to the conclusion that we would hitch hike around the valleys surrounding Pai. We set our sights on a nice loop that goes down one side of the river and back up the other into Pai. Armed with our tent and a few layers of warm clothes we set off to see where the universe would take us. As it turned out, the universe had some nice surprises in store for us.

Once we'd walked to the outskirts of town we stuck our arms out and thumbed a lift - Thai style. In Asia, instead of waving or holding out your thumb like we would in Europe, you attract a driver's attention by doing a limp-wristed hand flap, it's the same as in Korea.

After only a couple of minutes of being gawped at by Chinese tourists who almost crashed their scooters staring at us, a pick-up truck slowed down for us and we approached the window. The driver turned out to be John, not only was he British, he was also a Northerner!

Showing true northern hospitality, John dropped us right on the doorstep of Pai Canyon and invited us back to his guest house to cool down in the pool once we were done exploring.

Pai Canyon.

The Canyon is incredible; breathtaking views over pai, vertical plunges down the sandstone edge of the narrow paths and some tricky scrambles down steep crumbling rock faces. In the midday heat we were soon exhausted from our brief climb and we headed down out of the canyon to John's guest house.

Balancing on the narrow ridge of the canyon.

True to his word, John welcomed us to his home and left us to enjoy his swimming pool, set in beautiful gardens with a beautiful view of the mountains. After a few cold beers we were ready to head off and find a pitch for the night but John invited us to camp in the orchard behind his house, for free! He even offered the use of a bathroom in one of the empty guest rooms. Talk about landing on our feet. 

Not a bad spot to spend an afternoon.

With the rest of the evening to relax we returned to the Canyon and watched the red sandstone ridges turn gold at sunset. 

As the sky turned to dark we ate dinner in a local restaurant and walked back along the pitch black country roads, our necks straining from staring at the starry sky.

Sunset over Pai Canyon.

After a peaceful sleep in our little green tent we did a spot of gardening as a thank you for John's kind hospitality, before a final dip in the pool. Then John gave us a lift down to the river where we set up our tent in an elephant trekking camp next to the river.

For the small fee of 200Baht (£4) we were invited to camp at Thom's elephant camp and use the on-site thermal hot springs, showers and tea and coffee making facilities. As we sat eating dinner by our tent in the evening a herd of elephants trudged past us on their way to the jungle to spend the night; not something you see at camp sites back in England!

In the evening we sat around with some eccentric German hippies singing songs and playing guitar. The Germans knew the chords but sang "na na na" to a host of well known songs.

River in Pai.

We hitch hiked back into Pai the next day and jumped straight on a bus for Chiang Mai. It was a much easier and relaxing two day adventure than we had anticipated thanks to the kindness of the people we met. If we'd had hired scooters we'd have had a completely different experience. Hitch hiking and camping was a fine way to discover the area and meet some lovely people, away from the noise in Pai town.

How To Get To...

Pai Canyon: About 8km out of town on the road to Chiang Mai, easy to find with a free map from any Pai guest house.

We Stayed At...

Thom's Elephant Camp 200Baht to camp with our own tent, rooms are also available. Many resorts will allow you to camp in their grounds and use their facilities for a small fee.

Chiang Mai: Cycling to Huay Teung Tao Lake

A friend of a friend recommended that we visit Huay Teung Lake for a peaceful day away from the crowds of tourists in Chiang Mai. It was lovely.

We rented bikes and cycled to the lake from Chiang Mai. The ride there wasn't particularly nice as we had to ride along a major highway, however; there was little traffic and the road followed a canal that had some shaded spots where we could pull into and rehydrate.

The lake is lined with bamboo huts that are served by restaurants. We ordered drinks to our hut and sat to eat our picnic before jumping into the merky water to cool down. It is possible to rent inner tubes of pedalos to take onto the lake too. Beyond the lake are the green slopes of Doi Suthep and Doi Inthanon mountains, the latter boasting Thailand's highest peak. 

Ric reading by the lake.

Even though we visited at weekend, supposedly the busiest time, the lake was peaceful and there wasn't another tourist in sight. Most of the huts were occupied by young Thai couples enjoying a quiet meal, although we had to move away from one group of drunk Thai friends who were playing guitar and singing horribly out of tune! 

Huay Teung Tao

We cycled the complete 5.1km loop around the lake before heading back into town along the highway. There are some hiking trails that leave from the lakeside for the very energetic visitor, but we were happy reading and swimming. It's one of the nicest places we visited during our week in Chiang Mai.

How To Get To...
Huay Teung Tao Lake: 

• Exit the old town on the west side to avoid getting caught up in the one way system that circles the old city walls (clockwise traffic goes outside of the moat, anticlockwise traffic goes on the inside of the moat.) 
• Take the main road that leaves from the north-west corner of the old town ring road (Route 1004). This is a very busy road.
• After approx. 2km take a right at the traffic lights onto Highway 121. This is a quiet road that runs along the canal. 
• After approx. 6km turn off the highway where you see a giant sign for the lake. 
• Follow the road, you'll reach a ticket booth where you pay a 20Baht entrance fee.

It's about 9km in total to get from the old town to the lake, easily ridable. The road climbs ever so slightly in the direction on the lake but there are no real hills. 

We Stayed At...

It's easy to visit the lake as a day trip and there are no hotels in the area. However, I believe it is possible to camp on the lakeside.

Hitch Hiking To The 4,000 Islands

It was a lot more difficult to leave Champasak than it was to arrive; we were headed south and so had to cross the Mekong.

The journey started in a minivan which picked us up from our bungalow and drove us to the dilapidated boat pier at the northern tip of town. We eased our way down the muddy bank that served as a pier, and on to a narrow, wooden boat with a 12 year old boy at the helm. On the other side of the Mekong we climbed up another mud bank and onto the back of a flat bed truck. Perched on oil cans and bottle crates we bounced along a pot-holed dirt path to the main road. We were told to wait there for a bus which would take us the rest of the way to Si Phan Don (Four Thousand Islands), our destination.

We waited, and we waited, we ate some breakfast from a street vendor and we waited some more. We chatted to an angry American and we continued to wait. After some time we gave up on the fabled bus and waved down a passing car.

The friendly, English-speaking soldier was going our way and was happy to practice his English with us while speeding down route 13 at 120km/hr. He dropped us at a car ferry terminal on the southern tip of Laos, where we were to take an ancient wooden canoe 100m across the river to Don Khong island. Our new friend’s only request was that we pose for some photos with him before saying goodbye. 

When we alighted on Don Khong we found that we were still 5km away from Muang Khong town, the island’s biggest settlement. We set off walking down the dusty, single track road towards the town in the midday heat but luckily it wasn’t long before a passing pick-up truck stopped and allowed us to climb in the back, all the way into town. Despite travelling by minivan, boat, truck, car, ferry and one more truck, the whole journey took only three hours.

Si Phan Don is a landlocked archipelago carved out by a web of rivulets in the south of Laos, where the Mekong marks the most southerly boarder with Cambodia. It is here that a long length of ferocious rapids cut straight across the river, providing the one and only obstacle for boat travel along the Mekong from Tibet straight through to southern Vietnam.

We spent only one night on Don Khong. Despite being the biggest island it has very little to offer other than a crowded strip of guest houses and a handful of simple Buddhist temples. We spent the afternoon reading and relaxing before heading off early the next day.

Hiking and Camping at Bach Ma National Park

All my research said it was not possible to camp in Vietnam, nor was it possible to hike to the summit of Bach Ma National Park, but being the stubborn fools that we are, and being determined to get some use out of the tent that we’ve carried from England for three months in our backpacks, Ric and I managed to do both.

Bach Ma National Park is located on National Highway 1, 60km north of Da Nang, 40km south of Hue. Home to 300 species of birds and thousands of species of plants, it seemed like the perfect place for us to get off the beaten track for a few days and chill with nature. Unfortunately it didn’t go quite so smoothly.

In Hue we were finding it difficult to get any straightforward information about the park. The problem with being a tourist is that we don’t speak Vietnamese, and the only people who speak English are those working for tour agencies and hotels, who want you to pay to go on their tours, use their buses and line their pockets with a nice commission. Thank Buddha for the Internet.

We arrived at the town of Cau Hai on National Highway 1 and walked 3km through quiet, rural streets to Bach Ma National Park’s entrance and visitor information centre where we were issued a map and warned against hiking up to the summit as it was too hot. We didn’t take the park ranger’s advice (like I said, we are stubborn), and refused the park’s transport up the mountain. The only transport permitted to use the park road is the employees private vehicles and the park’s own tourist car service. The car costs $30/£18 each way for the 17km journey, extortionate by Vietnam standards.

So we set off walking…

What we didn’t realise at the time was that Bach Ma National Park is not designed for hikes to the summit. The only way up is along a winding concrete road with almost no shade from the blistering tropical sun. After 5km climbing steadily at a 10% incline we were gasping, dripping with sweat and kicking ourselves for not listening to the park ranger’s advice.

View of the summit from the road.

We took a trail off the road down to ‘Pheasant Falls’ a stunning natural waterfall with deep, clear pools where we swam, ate lunch and rested in the shade. The only downside to this little patch of heaven was that it took us 1.5km down the mountainside, so we had to climb all the way back up again to resume our route to the summit.

Cooling down in one of the pools at Pheasant Falls.

The 14km from the park entrance to our campsite offered us some stunning views of the coastline and the surrounding mountains, however, it was difficult to enjoy in the 37 degree heat. We stopped and crouched under every tiny inch of shade and tried to catch our breath. During the seven hours it took us the reach the top we saw only five people, all of whom were driving down the mountain on motorbikes. As there are no shops or restaurants along the road we had to climb up trickling waterfalls and fill our water bottles in order to keep hydrated. Not for the faint hearted!

Just as the sun had disappeared behind the mountains we saw the first restaurant and guest house, 14km from the entrance, 1,400m meters above sea level. The staff there were really kind to us, letting us camp for free, use the restaurant bathroom to freshen up, even allowing us to use their kitchen to heat up our packed lunch! As we sat eating dinner the sky all around us flashed with an impressive lightning storm. Fortunately, the storm never reached our altitude and we slept under a star-filled clear sky.

Our well traveled tent.

After a fitful sleep on the cold ground (my roll mat was stolen in Cambodia), we got up at 5am and completed our hike to the summit, a further 3.5km uphill. The panoramic view from the top was certainly beautiful in the early morning haze and there was even a massive bell for me to give a celebratory dong! After a light breakfast of what little food we had left, we hot footed it back down the mountain hoping to get down before the heat of the sun made it slow torture like the previous day.

During our time in the national park we saw some really weird bugs that I can’t begin to identify: the fluorescent green flying thing the size of a sparrow that preceded us down to the waterfall; the enormous praying mantis that slept on the roof of our tent (on the outside, thankfully); the hundreds of tiny spiders with really long legs that made the forest floor seem alive; as well as several types of birds I’ve never seen before.

We made it back to the park entrance too tired and aching to walk the extra three kilometres to the road and so asked the man in the visitor centre to call us a taxi. Clearly spotting an opportunity, he took us on the back of his motorbike, completely ripping us off in the process. After a 40km round trip hike we had very little bargaining power and no energy to argue, and so handed over the cash and made a hasty getaway on the local bus.

The horrid road up mountain in the foreground. Cau Hai Lagoon in the distance and the South China Sea on the horizon.

The hike was certainly an achievement for the both of us; the heat made it so difficult. When even ever-encouraging Ric started to question whether or not we’d make it to the top I began to worry, but once again it was proof of what incredible things we can achieve if we push ourselves beyond our limits. The next day descending in the shadows of the mountain before the sun had fully risen we made it down in just 3.5 hours, half the time it took us to climb up.

Although the views were lovely and insect and plant life was very interesting, it really wasn’t a pleasant walk up the concrete road and the cost of the transport up to the summit isn’t justified. But at least we got to use our tent!

Dawn at the summit.

How to get to…

Bach Ma National Park:

-          Local buses going between Hue and Da Nang will drop you at Cau Hai market for approx 60,000VND ($3/£1.80). Buses depart from Hue at the southern bus terminal at the end of Huong Vong. In Cau Hai there’s no shortage of moto-taxi offering their services to take you to the park entrance for around 20,000VND ($1/£0.60), or you can walk.

-          Tourist buses (Sinh Tourist, Han Café, etc.) will drop you at the end of Duong Bach Ma (road) which leads directly to the park entrance. They depart from the city centre and are well worth paying the extra dollar for the AC and additional comfort compared to the local buses.

-          Private taxis from Hue cost in excess of £40/£24. Moto-taxis cost approx. $30/£18.

We stayed at…

We camped in front of Bo Quyen Villa, the first guest house you arrive at on the road to the summit. We camped for free but rooms there are expensive, starting at $35/£21.