Sentosa Island II

On Sentosa Island we began to explore the different attractions. For Beth and I, the main attractions were Singapore's Underwater World Aquarium, Dolphin Lagoon, and an Orchid park.


During the dolphin show, I volunteered to play with a dolphin.


The view from Mount Faber towards Sentosa Island.



On our last night we walked around the "Canal Walk" and had a great dinner at a North Indian restaurant (Hopefully a future trip).


We finished the evening at the famous Raffles Hotel. Here we sampled the drink that was invented on this very spot; the Singapore Sling.



History Fact:
In 1819, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, an official with the British East India Company, signed a treaty with the Sultan of Johore. He also established Singapore as a trading post and settlement, which saw instant growth and immigration from various ethnic groups. Singapore was later made a crown colony by Britain in 1867. After a series of territorial expansions, the British Empire soon raised Singapore's status to that of an entrepot town, due to its strategic location along the busy shipping routes connecting Europe to China.

Sentosa Island

For our last full day in Singapore we decided to visit Sentosa Island. Sentosa Island was previously a military installation that the city converted into a giant theme park and playground for the citizens and visitors of Singapore.

There are several ways to reach Sentosa Island, but the best by far is to take the cable car from Mt. Faber. The cable car offers some dramatic views of the city and Sentosa Island.


Not quite Tioman Island; However we did find some nice beaches.




Beth is standing at the Southern most point on the Asian Continent (click on picture).

The Zoo

Next stop, Singapore Zoo...





We saw a very interesting elephant show.





Although I am partial to San Diego, the Singapore Zoo was a step above.

Trivia

In 2002, teams of The Amazing Race 3 came to the Singapore Zoological Gardens as part of a detour.

Singapore

Finding it difficult to leave, we then flew to Singapore.

Singapore is an island city-state and the smallest country in Southeast Asia. The site of several ancient port cities and a possession of several empires in its history, Singapore was a Malay fishing village when it was colonised by the United Kingdom in the 19th century. It was further occupied by the Japanese Empire in World War II, and was later part of the merger which formed the Federation of Malaysia. When Singapore acquired independence, having few natural resources, it was sociopolitically volatile and economically undeveloped. Foreign investment and rapid government-led industrialisation has since created an economy which relies on exports of electronics and manufacturing primarily from its port.







We made the typical tourist stops, including the Sri Mariamman Temple. The Sri Mariamman Temple is the largest and oldest (Built in 1843) Hindu temple in Singapore, and is located in South Bridge Road, Chinatown district.


While in the China district we had dinner.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore

Coral Island, Palau Tioman

Berjaya Resort

We stayed at the Berjaya Tioman Beach, Golf & Spa Resort.



Righ on the beach...







Our own private dinner on the beach.

http://www.berjayaresorts.com.my/tioman-beach/info.html

Tioman, Malaysia

From KL, we traveled to Tioman, a big island lying about 40 Km off the eastern coast of Peninsular Malaysia.

Tioman was discovered as a holiday destination quite some time ago. It was the setting for the supposedly mythical magical island of Bali Hai from the 1958 Hollywood movie 'South Pacific'. In the 70s the Time magazine selected Tioman as one of the world's most beautiful islands.

Our flight on Berjaya air was memorable as we had to wait in airport for 4 hrs while they "worked" on the plane.


Then as we traveled to Tioman, the cabin began to smoke. Beth found this amusing!


We arrived on the island and



we were taken to our hotel...

Kaula Lumpur II

On our second day in KL, we decided to leave the city on a guided tour. Our first stop was the Selangor Pewter factory, one of the largest manufacturers of pewter in the world. The new Royal Selangor Visitor Centre offers guided tours through its three sections - the Gallery, Factory Tour and Retail Floor. The Gallery offers a load of interactive exhibits designed to bring you closer into the world of pewter, including a look at the company's past (it turned 120 years old in 2005) and also an understanding of the alloy's properties in the Science of Pewter section within the Gallery.

Beth was interested in the world's largest beer mug...

What is pewter?
Pewter is a metal alloy, traditionally between 85 and 99 % tin, with the remainder consisting of 1-4 % copper, acting as a hardener, with the addition of lead for the lower grades of pewter and a bluish tint.

Tin was an important natural resource in the economic development of Malaysia. In the 17th century, large deposits of tin were found in several Malay Stats. Later, as the British started to take over as administrators of Malaysia, rubber and palm oil trees were introduced for commercial purposes. Over time, Malaya became the world's largest major producer of tin, rubber, and palm oil. These three commodities, along with other raw materials, firmly set Malaysia's economic tempo well into the mid-20th century.

We also stopped along the road to look at rubber trees.


Our final stop of the day was at the World's tallest Lord Murugan statue at the Batu caves. Batu Caves is a limestone hill to the north of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia which has a series of caves and cave temples. It takes its name from the Sungai Batu or Batu River, which flows past the hill. There are 272 steps that a visitor has to climb in order to access the temple at the summit of the hill. Many of the shrines relate the story of Lord Murugan's victory over Soorapadam.

For more information see:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batu_Caves

The site is well known for its numerous macaque monkeys, which visitors feed, sometimes involuntarily.


For more Malaysian history see:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

On May 7th, we left for Kaula Lumpur Malaysia. It has been said that Malaysia is where the new embraces the old; Where modern sophistication meets rustic charm; and
Where pristine tracts of rainforest blend into the metropolitan skyline.


One of the highlights of KL are the Petronas Towers. Standing at an awesome 451.9m (1,482 ft.) above street level, with 88 stories, the towers are the third tallest buildings in the world. From the outside, the structures are designed with the kind of geometric patterns common to Islamic architecture.




We found great shopping in China Town on Petaling Street. In preparation for the Okinawan Typhoon season, Beth and I bought several TV series on DVD...


Beth enjoying a butterfly farm in an urban tropical rain forest.