Travel Biography Photo Extravaganza - Part 24.

The Events that Led Up to the Round-the-World Backpacking Trip.

USA 1995 left a lasting legacy. Two highlights took place during that month-long trip. The first was to hike the Grand Canyon from the South Rim to Phantom Ranch on the Canyon's floor, then back up to the Rim the next day. The second highlight on that trip was the 5-day stay in San Diego, where I had the best hostelling experience of all time, made friends with other backpackers, and slowly regained a sense of acceptance after the 1994 volunteering disaster in Israel.

Yet, the whole of the 1995 American experience began with a vision I had in 1994, while I was standing on the summit of the Mount of Olives, facing Jerusalem and wondering about the future. Exactly a year later, to the day, after taking off from Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv for London Gatwick, the United Airlines plane with me on board took off from London Heathrow for New York's John F. Kennedy Airport.

The morning I arrived in San Diego, I found accommodation in a large building on Broadway, which was a YMCA with its third floor rented out to HI AYH San Diego City. This was the advantage of the no-booking, off-the-street approach to the hostel reception. It allowed free movement across the continent without the need for a fixed itinerary.

And so, I entered the bedroom, which housed a single bunk bed unit. There was one other occupant already there, an Australian bricklayer who had done some work here in the States, and he was preparing to fly back home Down Under. We started to talk, and as I was telling him what I was doing, he described his home country, and recommended that I should come over to visit Australia sometime in the future, and explore what it has to offer.

That morning, soon after arriving in San Diego, a seed was planted in my mind which would germinate into the greatest travel experience one could wish for. And within the months after returning home from the States, a visit to the Trailfinders Travel Agency in Kensington High Street and leaving with a free magazine, I found a feature about Round-the-World (RTW) travel on the cheap. 

This came about after British Airways signed a deal with Qantas to repatriate Aussies working here in the UK, back home. The two airlines quickly realised that there was a ready market of working-class folk, like me, who were financially viable for adventurous travel on a global scale, and they made various offers. One, consisting of Singapore, Australia, and California, was within my reach, and I didn't hesitate to return to London to buy the air tickets to cover the distance.

The longest distance from home and outside Europe was first set in 1976, when I flew from London to Tel Aviv in Israel. Then, a year later in 1977, a new record was set when I arrived in Los Angeles by Greyhound Bus. And the Californian record stood for the next 20 years until 1997, when I flew out to Singapore, a 5-day stopover ending the first leg of the journey before commencing the second leg, which was to Cairns in Queensland. At present, Sydney now holds the record at 10,500 miles, or 16,900 km, which is the most direct airline distance from London.

Yet, despite the cheapness of the Round-the-World flight tickets, what amazed me was that the British Airways Boeing 747 444, the largest aircraft in service during the nineties, was mostly empty, with just a handful of Singaporeans mid-flight along with the crew. It looked as if I was the only Brit on board, other than the crew.

After arriving at Singapore Changi Airport, I boarded a bus to alight at Bugis, a district of the city where backpackers' hostels were grouped together near Orchard Road, the city's shopping precinct. Like in San Diego, Will's Homestay welcomed visitors off the street without any pre-booking.

In 1997, Singapore was very different from the present 2025 city-state. Below is a stock photo of some structures that weren't there in 1997. Like Downtown Los Angeles between 1978 and 1995, Singapore has developed on a large scale since 1997, with the Marina Bay Sands Hotel, a 207-metre high, triple-tower structure which dominates the whole of Singapore, wasn't even thought of in 1997, let alone built. Rather, it was proposed in 2005, construction began in 2006, and it was completed in 2010.

Marine Bay Sands Hotel was unknown in 1997.

Sentosa Island was a cable car ride from the city. Yet even on this massive leisure complex, vast changes have taken place since 1997. This includes the closure and demolition of the 37-metre high Merlion that dominated the island, and was the tallest Merlion in Singapore. In my opinion, it had a short life. It was built in 1995, the same year I toured the States, and demolished in 2019. Thus, it stood for just 24 years. When I was in Singapore, the Sentosa Merlion was relatively new, just two years old, if that. It was also interesting that whenever I approached the Sentosa Merlion, it always appeared to look slightly away from us, even though it faced towards us. This was due that the Merlion of Singapore always faced east. I approached from the north-east.

The Dancing Fountain, a laser light show on a moving curtain of water jets, is also no more, as it was closed and demolished in 2007 after 25 years of performing to a large audience. It made way for the Resorts World Sentosa, which includes Universal Studios, Adventure Cove Waterpark, and the S.E.A. Aquarium.

The album below is the shortest in the Extravagaza series, as fewer photos were taken of Singapore than any other destination, as this was a stopover on the journey to Australia from the UK. It's in two parts, this week with 27 photos, which is focused mainly on Sentosa Island, and 30 next week, which will focus more on the city. In future, I hope to keep to the limit of forty pics a week, but this could vary. In all, the entire RTW is estimated to cover the next 14 weeks.

Click here for the Index to the link to the main Biography, covering weeks 74-78.

Photos of Singapore and Sentosa Island as it was in 1997.

Changi Airport Arrivals Lounge, Singapore.

Approaching Orchard Road from the Hostel.

Singapore had a large share of greenery.

Pedestrian thoroughfare, Orchard Rd.

Singapore has odd-shaped skyscrapers.

Orchard Road is busy with traffic.

Clarke Quay.

Harbour through station, cable car to Sentosa.

The cable car line begins at Mt Faber and ends at Sentosa.

Facing forward towards Sentosa.

Cable car views. I was alone in the car.

City view from the cable car. The air is warm and murky.

Welcome to Sentosa.

A view of the Sentosa Merlion.

Sentosa 1997 features.

The Merlion as seen from the main avenue.

The Tropical Leisure Pool with flumes. I swam here.

Sentosa Avenue as it was in 1997.

A view from the Merlion's head.

Dancing Fountain as seen from the Merlion.

Traveller's Palm.

The scene in 1997. It's very different now.

View of the harbour as seen from the Merlion's head.

Playing fields and Siloso Beach.

The theatre fills up before the start of the laser show.

Before the start of the show at the Dancing Fountain.

After the show.

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Next Week, the fun continues at Sentosa Island with some scenes from the city.

Travel Biography Photo Extravaganza - Part 23.

Indeed, I saw the inside of a Prison Cell.

In the album below is one picture of me standing inside a prison cell. I looked worried and troubled. Did I have trouble with the law while I was in the USA? Not at all. Rather, I was one of many tourists who visited Alcatraz, a disused penitentiary that is now the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

Approaching Alcatraz on the Ferry.

Past inmates referred to the prison as The Rock, as it was built on a remote rocky island within San Francisco Bay, 1.25 miles off the San Francisco coastline. Opened in 1934, it closed permanently in 1963 after just 29 years of service, when inmates Frank Morris and brothers John and Clarence Anglin managed to escape from the top-security jail. Since those three were never seen again, it was concluded that they drowned in the chilly waters of the Bay.

America's most infamous convicts were housed in Alcatraz. They include,

John "Machine Gun" Kelly - Kidnapping,

Al "Scarface" Capone  - Tax Evasion,

Robert Stroud "Birdman of Alcatraz" - Manslaughter, Murder,

Meyer "Mickey" Cohen - Racketeering,

Alvin "Creepy" Kerpis - Kidnapping, Bank Robbery,

Arthur "Doc" Barker - Kidnapping.

On show, there is a panel showing the faces of these six convicts and their crimes. The pic I took of them is also featured in the album below.

Each cell was fronted by railings, probably the origin of the phrase, "Behind Bars". When it was mealtimes and other daily occasions, the door slid open to let the man out, and closed behind him. When he wanted to re-enter his cell, the door slid open and then closed behind him. Each cell door, I believe, was activated by a mechanism controlled by a nearby guard.

Hence my feeling of unease as I stood inside one of the cells. The fear of the door suddenly sliding shut, imprisoning me. And that despite that by 1995, all the cell doors were cemented in place, making it impossible for them to move. Nearly all of them were sealed shut. But the one or two left purposely open were also cemented in place.

It was afterwards that I read that the prison was haunted by the dead for their past transgressions. The kitchen and dining room were notorious for violence between the inmates, also, several convicts were shot dead by the U.S. Marines in their attempt to quell a rebellion, which ended the lives of a few guards. As I stood inside the cell to have my picture taken, the oppression I felt in the air, could it have been supernatural?

Therefore, I couldn't help but feel a sense of relief when I boarded the last ferry sailing back to the wharfs of the city. Indeed, to walk inside a disused penitentiary turned into a tourist hotspot was a unique experience. Yet, right now, I have heard rumours that their current President, Donald Trump, wishes to restore the prison to its original full use. No doubt, should the project go ahead, it would be a massive one, as some of its buildings are already crumbling, the warden's house completely burnt out, and paint was peeling from the walls and ceilings of some of its cells. With the effort to rebuild the facilities, along with the cost and the time needed, I have wondered whether Trump's dream would ever see the light of day, not to mention the loss of revenue brought in by tourism.

A meeting with a long-standing friend.

During the early nineties, a group of us often met in one of our homes. It was an after-service social meeting of unmarried Christian men from several churches. With coffee and Jaffa Cakes more or less mandatory for each host to provide, one of the group was Bill. However, around 1992 or 1993, Bill decided to move to California and settled in San Mateo with his wife or partner. But even after his Transatlantic move, he kept in touch with us and kept us updated. 

When Bill learned that I was about to enter the USA and call at San Francisco, he was keen to see me and take me out for the day. Thus, meeting with a friend in the San Francisco area was not the first time. In 1977, on my first visit to the area, I stayed with Valentino at an American home where the Italian student lived for the duration of his gap year. This time, 18 years later, I was to spend a day together after he collected me from the hostel to drive me to his home in a district around 20 miles south of the city.

At his home, he introduced me to his wife, and we spent some time together before Bill and I decided to drive south along the California coastline to Bean Hollow State Beach, around 30 miles south of his home in San Mateo. The route he chose took in the Upper Crystal Springs Reservoir, a ribbon lake that literally sits on the San Andreas Fault. After we arrived at Bean Hollow State Beach, he parked his car at a small car park, and together we strolled along the combined sand and rocky beach.

This stretch of coastline was looked to be unknown to the average tourist. Rather, it was an undeveloped stretch of coast which was deserted of people. Yet, strolling along its rugged wilderness was a contrast to the hustle and bustle of city life. But the wilderness also had its downsides. Accidentally touching some of its native bushes could irritate the skin to the extent that treatment would have been required. Furthermore, we encountered several dead seals lying washed up on the beach, their decaying corpses exposing their rib cages. I contrasted them to those in captivity at SeaWorld.

For the full Biography of this visit, click here for the Index link to Weeks 70-72.

Photos of the Alcatraz Visit.

The Ferry leaves San Francisco City.

A good view of the Bay Bridge as seen from the Ferry.

After arrival, I was about to enter.

The prison chapel.

Times Square.

The Broadway.

A typical cell interior.

Convict's pastime items.

Feeling uneasy in a cell.

Example of jail rules.

In these cells, there is no privacy. 

The isolation wing.

The shower room where the water remains hot

The Dining room, at times, the scene of violence.

The kitchen.

Al Capone was here. Note the flaking paint.

Guns and ammunition stores.

The cells never backed onto the outside wall.

Kelly, Capone, Shroud, Cohen, Kerpis, and Barker. 

Rules concerning haircuts and facial hair were banned.

Battle of Alcatraz, 1946. All but one were killed or executed.

The Exercise Yard.

The Lighthouse and the burnt-out warden's home.

The water cistern with the Bay beyond.

San Francisco as seen from Alcatraz Island.

Another view of the City.

How Alcatraz looks out to the Pacific Ocean.

I watch a ferry from Sausalito sail past.

We sail back to the Wharf.

A Sausalito boat also sails alongside ours.

A car ride south along the coast with a friend.

Bill and I meet.

We arrive at Bean Hollow State Beach.

We had a long stroll along the beach.

The Pacific Ocean rolls onto the lip of the USA.

One moment we tread on smooth sand...

The next moment, we scramble over the rocks.

Is that Bill or me? It's me. I'm wearing the shorts.

This is Upper Crystal Springs Reservoir.

The Lake covers a short section of the San Andreas Fault.

The main album for the 1995 backpacking holiday across the USA has concluded. The following six photos are a recap of the whole holiday.

St Louis, Missouri, from the Arch Lookout.

Battleship Rock, the Grand Canyon, Arizona.

Papago Gardens, Phoenix, Arizona.

Horton Plaza, San Diego California.

Toontown, Disneyland, California.

Golden Gate Park, San Francisco.

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The 1995 Album is now complete.

Next Week, the start of the 1997 Round the World, beginning in Singapore.