Singapore – The End, 9th Oct 2009

Last evening, the group had a meeting over cocktail (special Odyssey brew) before we went out for dinner. After the meeting, most of the group went to Raffles Hotel's Long Bar for drinks (to celebrate the end or to drown the sorrow, I don't know which) before going across the road to Chijmes for dinner.

Everyone got a little bonus (USD115 each) from distribution of the remaining kitty money. We spent something like USD53,000 over the past six months for accommodation, food and optional activities. Other interesting statistics: we travelled 28,200km in the six months; out of 22 participants started from London on 12^th April 2009, 14 arrived in Singapore as a group; only two (Monica and David) would make it to Darwin and the most expensive hotel was in Baku, Azerbaijan (USD65/head, plus other charges in US$'s).

Last night, Le and I said good-bye to the group as we were starting to disperse soon. The expedition basically concluded today (9^th Oct 2009). Richard actually flew out last evening and Monica and David were flying out tonight.

Le and I left Singapore this morning to venture off in our own way. A group was heading for Borneo in about three days. The rest were finding their way home or continue their travel elsewhere.

It was difficult to say good-bye after six months travelling together. Here are some photos taken at our last group meeting.Corrie Cheryl Tim Amy Robin Denis Paul

Just a footnote: And, Good-bye too to our readers/followers. We are happy to answer any question you may have about our trip.

Singapore – our last stop with Odyssey

Odyssey chartered a full size bus to deliver us from Melaka to the hotel in Singapore. We started promptly at ten and it was a long day to Singapore – arriving at about four thirty – about six-and-a-half hour. The bus took the way to go through the very quiet 2^nd Link Causeway.

We had a full day in Singapore (two nights) and made full use of the time by engaging in our usual walk-a-thon. We walked the recommended tourist route of Singapore city, making detours when necessary.

Serangoon Road was very brightly lit up, as part of their celebration for Deepavali (Hindu's Festival of the Lights) which falls on 17^th Sept 2009. It was a beautiful site. One of the side streets was so busy with shoppers (for the festival) and tourists. Needless to say, it was very colourful.

Here are few photos taken in Little India and Kampong Glam.Selling Indian delicacies for the festival.

(queuing at a hawker store at Kampong Glam - a sight not normally seen in other Asian cities.)

And here are some photos taken in the Raffles compound:

Here are other photos taken around the place:(one of the sculptures outside Singapore Arts Museum - SAM)

Next post .... The End....

Malaysia

At last, Le and I are back in familiar territory. We arrived in Penang a couple of days earlier than the rest of the travelling colleagues. We stayed in an old heritage-listed guest house – Cathay Hotel. The building is a bit old and leaked during the heavy rain, but the place has the old charm.

Here are some photos from around Georgetown:

We had plenty to do and see in Geogetown and around the Penang island. We hired a motor scooter for two days and toured the island; calling in at interesting places along the way – Tanjong Tokong, Floating Mosque, beach at Batu Ferringhi, tree-top walk at the newly developed National Park, Snake temple, Kek Lok Si temple, Penang Hill, Botanical Garden (Le enjoying the surrounding greenery), etc. The National Park at the North West corner of Penang island is worth exploring but we did not have the time on this occasion. But, we did have time to meet up with the lovely pair of sisters, Lay Bee and Lay Hong - friends from Canterbury Uni days.

Calypso then went across to the east coast. We met a massive traffic jam outside Machang. It took us three hours to cross the town because the Hari Raya travellers were returning home. We stayed at Kuala Besut for a night before heading across to Pulau Perhentian Besar – a diving and snorkelling paradise. Quite a number of us did the diving course during our few days stay on the island. (fellow travellers arriving on Pulau Perhentian Besar); one of the jetties at the island; (relaxing and ... .....jungle trekking)

Next stop on the east coast was a "bush" camp in a council camping ground at Balok Beach, about 20km north of Kuantan. Abbie was unwell for quite a few days and decided to fly home from Kuantan along with sister, Elaine. It was sad to say farewell, especially under such a circumstance. The Balok camp site is only about 15km from my mother's place, so Le and I took leave again from the group and stayed with mum. (mum, sister-in-law, Le posed for a photo in front of Calypso at Balok Beach)

A lot of expectation was anticipated for our next destination – Taman Negara. We all did the tree top walk. It was a hot and humid day that sapped the energy off most travellers. After the tree top walk, most of the group just sweltered and withered in the heat and took no further part in any trekking activities. After lunch, Le and I went up Bukit Teresek in the clockwise direction. We thoroughly enjoyed the walk, but the light was fading fast and the sky was threatening with yet another thunder storm. We cut short our stay in Taman Negara by a day and headed for Kuala Lumpur.

Back in the city, Kuala Lumpur was a welcome change for a lot of us, especially the hotel the group stayed was in a busy and vibrant place like Bukit Bintang. While in Kuala Lumpur, I stayed with my sister and brother-in-law. We rejoined the group on 6^th Oct 2009, the penultimate day before crossing to border into Singapore.

On arrival at Melaka, we helped Tim/Cheryl to store Calypso (for about a month) at a family friend's place.Puri Hotel, Melaka