Background........Although listed separately in my Asia tour list, the Singapore and Malaysia tours are part of one 15 day tour. It seems that Singapore was never really on the tour agenda until concerns were raised about the amount of intercity travel by tour bus. In the end the concerns over distances were unfounded as Malaysia has a good network of roads. Another concern was the length of stay. Since committing to a flight schedule the UK £ has deteriorated against most currencies and that was bound to put a strain on finances. There were also health concerns given my past record on tour. I guess then that it’s true to say that there was some nervousness going into the tour which was one of my most ambitious. On the plus side I would be able to go in and out of three countries without worrying about visas: Thailand offers me 30 days while Singapore and Malaysia allow me 90 days. This tour was the meat in the sandwich between two 30 days periods permitted without a visa in Thailand. While obtaining visas is not a major issue, my passport is so full of stamps that I would need to renew my passport prematurely.
Singapore........With Singapore now on my list, I had but one objective and that was to visit the Changi Prison where so many inmates died or suffered unbearably during Japanese occupation in WW2. This was achieved on the morning of the third day. As a bonus my interest in military history was enhanced with a visit to the site of Fort Canning although I didn’t make a tour to the Battlebox.
On day two much of the time was spent in and around Marina Bay, Clarke Quay and Chinatown. With regard to these achievements, the time spent here was a success but there were issues which made things difficult. It soon became clear that to keep within a budget I was going to have to work hard. Things could have been a lot easier if I’d have opted for a hotel transfer and Hop-on Hop off tour as I would later do in Kuala Lumpur. Instead I relied on public transport obtaining a two day pass for days two and three. This allowed unlimited travel, allowing visits to the locations mentioned. However food and drink was expensive, often double what I’ve been used to paying with considerably reduced dining options. When I found my way the Clarke Quay it was just painful to look at a menu.
Then, with these issues aside, it was accommodation that made things most difficult. With a direct flight to Singapore the tour was to open with a 3 night stay but became confused at an early stage. I booked 2 rooms for two nights to accommodate co-travelers who subsequently cancelled, but not before the rooms had been paid for. Hoping I could stay a third night to offset the loss of a room, my attempts were thwarted by a burocratic and unresponsive system leading me to cross into Malaysia late on the third day. This change was to have a knock-on effect.
Johor Bahru........Johor Bahru became a substitute for the third night on tour and on the face of it was the correct decision. With things a lot cheaper here I could look forward to getting back on track. From here it was a simple 2 hour bus ride to Mersing.
Mersing and Tioman Island........With an easy day’s travel from Johor Bahru to Mersing, arrival was by mid afternoon and with a ferry to Tioman leaving at 5pm with the tide, I could easily have caught it. Instead I booked a room in Mersing and it was nowhere near up to scratch. Not only was that a problem but the ferry the next day, the only one, had moved to an early schedule of 7am and things did’t get any better. I managed to miss it. Now running a day late, I arrived at the next pre-booked accommodation and it was no better. It was at this point that I got frustrated with the Booking system. It had let me down badly. The problem was that if I didn’t take the room I believed my card would be charged. Feeling cheated I suffered for two nights and then saw an opportunity to see out the next two nights at a place of my choice. Unfortunately while I removed the problem of accommodation I encountered a new one; mass insect bites.
Malacca and Kuala Lumpur........These two locations needed to make up for the earlier problems but accommodation was pre-booked as previously. Fortunately my luck changed. Transfer went without a hitch and not only was I pleased with accommodation but also the location. At last I had accumulated enough to turn the tour positive and the irony was that at the accommodation in Malacca I was told if I didn’t like the accommodation I could refuse it. It would have made a big difference.
Lessons........On paper this tour looked ambitions but with a bit more research and certainly more luck it needn’t have been. It was a good tour baring the issues I hadn’t expected and with hindsight if I changed a few things it could have been a great tour. I would certainly rely far less on pre-booked accommodation in future and never pay in advance. I would also take sensible precautions if going onto the beach and if travelling to Singapore, keep the visits to the minimum perhaps using Johor as a base. Certainly there was something in this tour that deviated from the norm and will cause me to prepare more carefully for international tours where I don’t have independent transport in future.