Posts for category camping

The start of another adventure, this time an exploration of SE Asia followed by some time in the Gulf states; and again without a vehicle.

The name Singapore is derived from the local name Singapura which means Lion City in the Sanskrit language and was, according to legend, thus named by Sri Tri Buana while on a hunting trip in the area in the 13th century.

Today was deliberately a much more relaxed day inorder to recover from yesterdays long walk in the heat. After a slow start we took a taxi to Gardens By the Bay where we spent a few hours exploring The Cloud Forest and the Flower Dome. These are each large glass domes with internal conditions controlled to allow the growing of exotic plants.

Melacca (Melaka) was a trading center from as early as 1403 when the town was founded by Parameswara (the King of Singapura) and first visited by a Chinese trade envoy. For the next 100 years or so the port of Malacca propspered as a trading hub for Asian trade. The Portuguese arrived in 1511 conquering the city, disrupting the ports central role in Asian trade and thwarting their own ambition. Over the next 100+ years the Dutch tried on a number of occassions to take the port from the Portuguese finally succeeding in Janurary 14th 1641. In 1824 the Dutch ceeded Malacca to the British in exchange for Bencoolen on Samartra.

We planned today, our first full day in KL, to be a somewhat relaxed day with only a couple of sightseeing destinations. First up was a small tropical garden garden park that is completely enclosed by netting in order that its population of butterflies cannot either depart of be attacked by the local bird or monkey population. Interestingly this small facility is located in the heart of this major city. Simlarly our second destination, the KL Bird Park, is located in the heart of the city and is also partially enclosed by netting with different areas of the park connected by bird-proof double doors. Since birds and butterflies are mainly visual attractions I will let todays photo collection tell the remainder of the story.

According to our original plan for this venture today we should have flown to Hanoi in Vietman. But a couple of days ago we were informed that Vietman has temporarily cancelled all tourist visas. This was followed by the news that Oman (a country that was also on our itinerary) had taken the same action. In the face of these developments and the likelihood that other countries would follow suit we have decided to return home and attempt this trip again when the world is no longer racked by a health crisis. We fly back to Seattle tomorrow.