Our four islands holiday (1): introduction
Tess and I are off on our fifth foreign trip in the two years that we’ve been an item. After two breaks in European cities and two holidays in African countries, we’re venturing forth to south-east Asia where we will visited four islands: Singapore and the three Indonesian islands of Java, Bali and Lombok.
We will make five flights, one train journey and two speed boat rides and we will stay in six hotels. Our booking is with Regent Holidays in the UK and the local agents are Discova Indonesia.
Tess has been to both nations before on cruises, but both will be new to me, bringing my country total to 95.
Before setting off on our holiday, our only concern was reports of serious fires in parts of Indonesia, especially Borneo and Sumatra islands, which have been causing hazardous smoke haze, not just in parts of Indonesia but also in surrounding countries Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei and even the Philippines. These fires have been made even more likely than usual by the hot summer and the exceptional super El Niño.
Our flight from London to Singapore was with Singapore Airlines on an Airbus A380-800 which took 12 hours 50 minutes. Our hotel was the Paradox in the Clarke Quay area of the city.
The name ‘Singapora’ is Sanskrit for ‘Lion City’ and has been used since the 14th century, even though no wild lions ever roamed here. The British – more specifically, Sir Thomas Stafford Raffles (1781-1826) – created modern Singapore in 1819, but it has been independent of the UK since 1959 and of Malaysia (from which it was expelled) in 1965.
Singapore is a very small state: only around twice the size of the Isle of Wight (where Tess still lives). It consists of one main island and over 60 satellite islands and it is located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, just one degree of latitude north of the equator. The weather is hot and humid all year round, but everywhere that can be air-conditioned is.
The 6M population of Singapore – just a little more than Scotland – is a mix of Chinese (74%), Malay (13%) and Indian (9%) and the official languages are therefore Chinese, Malay, Tamil and English. The island is noted for its ethnic and religious tolerance.
The founding father of the nation was Lee Kuan Yew of the People’s Action Party (PAP) who was Prime Minister from 1959 to 1990. The PAP has been in power ever since independence.
The country has developed a unique political model that has advocates and critics. Living standards are high, unemployment is minimal, public transport is excellent, public housing schemes are plentiful, crime is low and cleanliness is exemplary.
On the other hand, corporal and capital punishment exist, political dissent is very limited, and personal freedoms are curtailed. There are lots of rules and effective enforcement of them.
So smoking in public places is prohibited, flushing of public toilets is not allowed, and there are huge taxes on car ownership. It must be the only country in the world to ban the sale or import of chewing gum – not a problem for us, since neither of us uses the stuff.
One final point on respect for elders: In Singapore, children are obliged to support their parents. Under the Maintenance of Parents Act 1995, any parent over the age of 60 who is unable to to maintain himself can apply for an order that ensures that one or more of his children pay him an allowance.