Jahor Bahru and Singapore
Gaviota
Tue 22 Nov 2016 04:06
A whole 2
weeks have passed since we arrived at Puteri Harbour Marina in Jahor. The first few days we were both feeling we
wanted to move on and not be stuck in a Marina then it suddenly hit us that we
were totally exhausted, reality kicked in and the 6 months plus of being on the
move, early starts and long days sailing and motoring combined with battling
with whatever the elements threw at us had taken it’s toll. We needed a break and Puteri Harbour was it. I had booked 3 nights in a hotel in Singapore
but not until 4th November.
So we had a few trips to the nearby Ledang Urban Retreat which was owned
by the same company that owned the Marina.
It had a beautiful 50 metre swimming pool and an okay gym. Syd got some of the smaller boat jobs sorted
and we visited the night market and large shopping centre in Jahor Bahru. Syd also got the poor neglected bikes off the
boat and gave them a clean up and oil so we did some biking. Unfortunately it was all on roads which
looked like motorways but lacking in cars because most of the buildings around
the Marina are still under construction, the roads have been built in readiness
for all the people they are anticipating will buy and live there. The nucleus of the development houses all the
government offices for the province of Jahor and the huge blocks of apartments
being built are being bought by Singaporeans who cannot afford Singapore
prices. The idea is people will commute
backwards and forwards to Singapore across the recently built second link
bridge.
Singapore
– Our 3 days in the amazing city of Singapore was wonderful. We stayed in a lovely hotel with a 40 metre
swimming pool and gym in the Clarke Quay area, next to most of the restaurants
and bars which line the Singapore River.
Singapore has some brilliant attractions including a free laser light
show every night outside the huge towering Marina Sands Hotel. We walked and used the metro which is
modelled on the London Underground to get around. Of course we had to have a Singapore Sling in
the long bar at Raffles Hotel (expensive, touristy but delicious - a definite
must do). I went up to the Skypark at
the top of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel with it’s panoramic view of Singapore and
the largest rooftop swimming pool in the world (Syd declined this trip – too
high!). We visited the amazing Gardens
by the Bay and watched the supertrees come to life with a light show and
music. Syd got to visit his son Geoff’s
company’s new factory - many thanks to Henry Tay, and we were treated to lunch on the beach at Sentosa
(resort island) with Geoff’s boss Gary and his family. The 3 days flew by and our last day was spent
at Singapore Art Museum.
We had
opted to use the bus and metro to travel into Singapore, this should be simple
as the transport systems in both Singapore and Malaysia are excellent and very
cheap. Unfortunately, Singapore Customs
and Immigration for bus travellers using the link bridges is very slow. A journey which by car would take 40 minutes
took us 3-4 hours!
We
arrived back at Puteri Harbour late Sunday night 6th November. Monday was registration day and technical
briefing for the Sail Malaysia Rally.
Tuesday we were treated to breakfast outside the Marina Office and an
excellent gala dinner in the nearby Jen Hotel.
