10 May Singapore

Having made the journey down the west coast of Malaysia we are now at Puteri Harbour Marina which is separated from Singapore island by the width of a river. However, to make the 15 mile journey from Puteri in Malaysia across the Tuas Bridge, aka Second Causeway Bridge, to central Singapore takes an incredible 3 1/2 hours. Why?  It's a border crossing with the accompanying emigration / immigration procedures and a number of changes of bus.

Puteri marina late afternoon

We thought we'd be flash and instead a bus from marina to Legoland and then a cross border Causeway bus across the bridge (with a change at either end of bridge) we'd hop a taxi straight to the Malaysian Immigration.  That was fast as was getting stamped of Malaysia.  On to our first Causeway bus to cross the bridge with a 30 minute wait to get into Singapore border control. Off the bus and to the back of the line to clear into Singapore.  This took over an hour to queue and less than 2 minutes to process. Then through and back on to the next available bus and a twenty minute ride to an MRT (overground / underground train) station.  Now we were on our way...the journey from leaving Jackster to reaching the city - almost four hours! Giving an average speed of approximately 3 knots per hour.
David returned same day starting at 5pm and took a mere two and a hlaf hours for the same journey. I stayed with friends overnight and my return was in the peak time and took four hours, one of which was spent on the bus queuing to get into the bus stop on the Singapore side of the bridge.  (Next time, if there is a next time I think we'll try crossing using the first Causeway Bridge in Johor Bahru. It was a faster process when we used it two years ago.)

colonial cricket and modern Singapore

a contrast of architecture

We were in Singapore on the hunt for boat parts and electrical items we-didn't-know-we-needed-but-might-find.  A replacement motor for our windlass came close, but a two week wait and high price eliminated it from our list.  We were just being too picky.  The shelves at Aqua Marine International were piled high, but not with anything we had a need for today.  Along the road at the Sim Lim Tower ( a mecca for all things electronic) we did find several shops selling small invertors which would convert our 24v DC boat power to 220v AC for running household appliances like the food processor, power drill etc.  And for David a long wished for megaphone with a number of models in different sizes and powers.  He chose a compact one with the standard voice amplification for attracting attention over longer distances than ones voice will carry, an inbuilt police siren and a record/playback facility.  Now he can blast our Pirates of the Caribbean theme as we enter an anchorage (in his wildest dream!).

Derek and Rachel

David had to go home to feed Polly cat and be on board for an AC engineer booked to visit early next morning while I headed to Chinatown to meet old friends from London now working and living here with their young family.  It's always fun to catch up, especially when they know the best places to go.  I stayed with them overnight and next day we went to the Singapore Art Gallery for a bit of culture.  For me the architecture of the city is as interesting as what's in the building.  The art gallery used to be two Colonial era buildings now joined by a unifying exoskeleton.  Beautiful to see.  The exhibitions were also very good, well presented, and new for me, a focus on SE Asian artists old and contemporary.  It's a big gallery and there were very, very few visitors. It had the feel of a private viewing.  There was a charge, not cheap being Singapore, for non Singaporeans which might explain this is in part.

atrium of Singapore art gallery

roof under a roof

On my slow journey back to Malaysia there was plenty of time to reflect on our visit and to read my book which I'd been advised to bring for the journey.