Travel Biography Photo Extravaganza - Part 25.

Long Hair in Britain, but not in Singapore?

It took months of preparation to embark on the Round-the-World (RTW) trip, taking off from London Heathrow to Singapore Changi Airport in late May 1997. During those months, all my church friends knew what I was up to, but instead of congratulating me and wishing me success, they covered their envy by remorseless teasing. These were unmarried men of various ages, and a couple of them had a university degree, a few others attended college, but the one who teased most intensely left school without any formal qualifications and spent his working life on manual labour.

In other words, he was very much like me, who also left school in 1968 without anything to show for it, and spent my life getting my hands dirty. But there were differences. One was, I had a natural spirit of adventure, and I had no hesitation in lone travel to far-flung places, as soon as I was old enough. By contrast, he was far more interested in football (that is, soccer, in the USA), both on the field and on the stands. His social talk centred mainly around football.

So what does all that have to do with my planned trip? Simply this, he thought that all men must have short hair before entering Singapore, and a compulsory barber shop was established in the arrivals lounge of its airport. He also knew how much wearing long hair meant to me in 1997, as it still does now. What he wasn't aware of was that the ban on male long hair was lifted in 1993.

Or perhaps he was aware, and hoped that I wasn't aware. Therefore, not long before take-off, I boarded a train to London specifically to call at the Singapore Consulate. I was reassured by a staff member that the ban on long hair had already been lifted, and this Singaporean flew to his own city wearing long hair.

When our church friend learned of my trip to London, he was even more intense with his teasing. But supposing all that was true, that a haircut was compulsory at Passport Control, how would I have coped? I couldn't. Instead, I would have returned with the air tickets to Trailfinders, where I had bought them, and asked for an amendment to remain at Changi Airport for an exchange flight to Cairns. Had this been possible, no doubt, I would have had to pay extra for the amendment.

But none of that was necessary. After I received reassurance from a Singaporean, I was ready to fly out.

In Singapore.

Pavilions in Chinese Gardens (see below).

This week's album is a continuation of my 1997 five-day stopover in Singapore. In fact, the evening I made my way back to the airport for the ongoing flight to Cairns, I felt sad. Singapore turned out better than I anticipated, and I shall miss it. However, while I was staying there, rather than focusing on the city of modern skyscrapers, I instead focused on the natural beauty mixed into the urbanisation. This included Sentosa Island, a smaller island just off the main island City-State. Here, water features intermingle with tropical vegetation and are dominated by a 37-metre-high Merlion of white cement, making Sentosa a major tourist attraction for future generations, as well as a respite spot for the locals.

Sentosa Island at night looked magical! The Merlion is illuminated and gradually changes colour every thirty seconds or so. Crowds of Singaporeans saunter around and amass at the outdoor theatre to watch the Dancing Fountain perform its daily laser-light show. In the city, Clarke Quay is fully illuminated at night.

I didn't stay entirely dry during my stay in Singapore. There was an outdoor leisure pool with flumes at Sentosa, and I, along with a couple of lads from the hostel, swam there and floated slowly and peacefully along the Lazy River, banked on both sides with tropical vegetation. However, I set foot on Sentosa Island more than once, and on the second visit, which was on my own, I swam in the sea at Siloso Beach, a man-made strip of sand on the south side of the island, and backed by tropical vegetation, mainly Traveller's Palms, and outdoor bars.

A cable car line connects Sentosa Island with Mount Faber, with Harbour Station in the middle of the line. On one occasion, I boarded a cable car at Mt Faber, after spending some time admiring the views of the city from its summit, and rode the whole length of the cable car line to Sentosa, where I had a chance to swim in the sea.

A day trip to the Chinese and its adjoining Japanese Gardens, west of the City, was also on the agenda. To get there from the hostel, I boarded an East-West Line subway train at Bugis Station to alight at Chinese Gardens Station, after quite a long ride of 18 km and stopping at 11 stations before alighting at the 12th. Hence, the whole ride, one way, was over an hour. However, in 1997, only two lines were passing through under the city, and there was no need to change trains.

The most attractive feature of the Chinese Gardens was Lake Jurong, which is a widening of the Jurong River before flowing out to the sea. On one side of the lake are three pavilions, whose oriental beauty was featured on picture postcards sold in malls alongside Orchard Road. The pic above shows where I positioned the camera, on exactly the same spot as the professional photographer.

Chinese Gardens also featured Bonsai Gardens, an alfresco display of potted herbs. However, I was intrigued by their age despite their stunted growth. One of them, featured in this album, was eight years older than me. The whole exhibition was set in Chinese surroundings, and being already far from home, I wondered whether I had strayed into China itself! It's a fact that many newlyweds arrive at Chinese or Japanese Gardens for the perfect background for their wedding photos. Fortunately for me, a middle-aged singleton, I visited the gardens on a day when no weddings took place.

The whole park had a lookout tower of Chinese architecture, the Cloud Pagoda. A stair climb to the top offered great views.

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

  

Photos of Singapore as it was in 1997.

The Sentosa Merlion glows in the night.

I watch as the Merlion changes colour.

Well lit, Clarke Quay.

Traveller's Palms and other Tropical veg, Sentosa.

Kids play at Siloso Beach, where I had a sea swim.

Cable Car ride from Mt Faber.

Cable Car Views.

City view from Mt Faber.

View of the Cable Car from the summit.

A new record. 10,869 km is 6,757 miles.

City view from Mt Faber.

A couple of Chinese Pagodas, Chinese Gardens.

A clearer view of the Pagodas.

Oriental Architecture, Chinese Gardens.

One of the pavilions.

Chinese Bridge.

Bonsai Gardens.

An Oriental doorway to the next garden.

Bonsai Garden exhibits.

This stunted bush is eight years my senior!

Far East settings.

Cloud Pagoda, Chinese Gardens.

View of the Gardens from the Pagoda lookout.

A subway train is about to pull into the station.

I pose under a shelter.

Bridge of Double Beauty, Japanese Gardens.

Reflections at Japanese Gardens.

The Bridge of Double Beauty, Japanese Gardens.

Islamic Mosque, Bugis.

Little India, Bugis.

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Next Week, I arrive at Cairns, in the Australian State of Queensland.