Category Archives: Travel

Masjid Sultan Singapura

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Sultan Mosque, Singapore

The Sultan Mosque is located in Kampung Glam next to the Malaysia Heritage Center. The mosque was gazetted as a national monument in 1975.

The current structure was built in the 1920s. An annex building, in a similar style was added in 1993. The site originally had a mosque built in 1826 by Sultan Hussain with funds from the East India Company. I found it interesting the architect for the mosque in the 1920s was Irish.

Sultan Mosque and annex

I am guessing that the building on the right of this photo is the annex, but that is just my guess. All photos by John Hunter – see more of my Singapore photos.

The area around the Mosque is interesting. This street had several shops and restaurants. It is a nice area to walk around, very near Arab street. Little India and Little China are also nearby. The closest metro station is Bungis: East-West (green) and DownTown (blue) lines – use exit E).

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Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve

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Nature parks are usually not the first thing that comes to mind when people think of Singapore. But Singapore actually has several excellent parks including the Sungei Buloh Nature Park.

Lots of birds at the Sungei Buhlu Wetlands Reserve

Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve is located on the North of Singapore bordered by the Johor Strait, with a view to Johor Bahru, Malaysia. The reserve, covers an area of 130 hectares, was designated as a nature park in 1989 and gazetted (with an expanded size of 40 hectares greater than the original area) in 2002 and listed as an ASEAN Heritage Park in 2003 (Singapore’s first such park).

Milky Stork at the Sungei Buhlu Wetlands Reserve, Singapore

Milky Stork – they are classified as endangered and are also found in Malaysia, Cambodia and Indonesia.

I actually see these fly over Johor Bahru fairly often in the morning or evening. They mirror the commuters going and returning from work each day.

Malayan water monitor lizard

Malayan water monitor lizard

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Pura Dalem Desa Pakraman, Ubud, Bali

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The sign at this temple says Pura Dalem Desa Pakraman Ubud.

pura-dalem-agung-ubud-bali-statues-doorway

I am certain this is Pura Dalem (see entrance sign below), I am not 100% certain that there are not a couple places called Pura Dalem and then this isn’t the Great Temple of Dealth (please comment if you know). I can’t find matching information online using this name.

Some sites online have photos that seems to be this temple and say, Pura Dalem Agung Padangtegal is Great Temple of Death. Which is a Hindu temple located in the Sacred Monkey Forest of Padangtegal, Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.

Stone carving, Pura Dalem Agung

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Flower Dome, Gardens by the Bay, Singapore

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The Gardens by the Bay consist of two large buildings and fairly small outdoor gardens. The flower dome includes a wide variety of flowers from regions around the globe. Both buildings are glass bubbles providing a view of downtown Singapore.

view of the interior of Flower Dome, Gardens by the Bay, Singapore

Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands is visible in the background.

An audio tour is available which plays short clips of information on numerous plants found in the gardens. I thought it was worthwhile.

photo of deep redish-purple flower

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Asian Civilizations Museum

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exterior of the Asian Civilization Museum in Singapore

The Asian Civilizations Museum in Singapore is packed with great artworks. See a few photos in this post.

photo of Illustration of Rustam defeating Afrasiyab, 1560, Iran

Illustration of Rustam defeating Afrasiyab, 1560, Iran

This museum is definitely worth a visit for those who enjoy museums. The Asian Civilisations Museum’s flagship at Empress Place opened in 2003. Occupying over 14,000 square metres at the newly-restored Empress Place Building, it houses 11 galleries which showcase over 1300 artefacts from the Museum’s growing collections on the civilisations of China, Southeast Asia, South Asia and West Asia/ Islamic. These collections include recent acquisitions as well as artefacts inherited from the historic Southeast Asian ethnographic collection of the former Raffles Museum.

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Buddha Tooth Temple

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Front of main hall, Buddha Tooth Temple, Singapore

The Buddha Tooth Temple is one of the more popular tourist destinations in Singapore. I enjoyed visiting. If you like temples, history and art it is definitely worth a visit. The site includes a museum as well as an operating temple.

The Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum is a Buddhist temple and museum complex located in the Chinatown district of Singapore.

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Transportation from Singapore to Johor Bahru Malaysia

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To travel from Singapore to Malaysia there are several options, nearly all use the two bridges that connect Singapore to Johor Bahru.

Taxis can be caught at Queen Street to go to Johor Bahru. The taxis cost $40 to go to the dropoff point in Johor Bahru CBD. The taxi will wait for 4 passengers (making the charge $10 each) or you can pay the full taxi fare ($40) to have your own taxi. To go to a specific location in Johor Bahru the cost will be $50, or more.

Buses are also an option (see my post about taking the bus from Johor Bahru to Singapore). You can catch buses at the same Queen Street station with the taxis or at the Kranji MRT (subway) stop. You can catch long distance buses in Singapore or Malaysia to further points in Malaysia.

Taking a car is another option.

Here is a webcam to show you the current status of any backups at the causeway bridge (in either direction) and Tuas bridge. The connections between the cities get very backup up on major holidays and (especially the causeway) during evening and morning rush hours and weekend traffic (leaving Singapore on Friday and Saturday morning and returning to Singapore Sunday night).

Singapore residents travel to Johor Bahru for many reasons. Two of the most popular reasons are to shop and eat at the excellent and cheap (compared to Singapore) restaurants.

You can also catch the train (which goes over the causeway bridge).

And finally you can catch a plane to further away points such as Penang, Kuala Lumpor or Kuching.

Singapore and Malaysia have announced a subway which may connect 5 subways stops (to be built) with the Singapore MRT by 2020.

Related: Johor Bahru Customs, Immigration, and Quarantine Complex (CIQ) – Singapore to JB bus services – Singapore and Iskandar Malaysia – Chez Papa French Bistro in JB CBD – Rosmarino Italian Restaurant in JB CBD

Singapore’s Green Corridor

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The 26 km railroad corridor was decommissioned earlier this year. What is left is becoming an enjoyable visit to nature. As in many other countries there is great interest in turning the former railroad into a nature recreation trail. Singapore continues to make very good urban planning choices. It will be interesting to see the decisions the government makes in the next year for the future of the corridor.

Related: Fort Canning Park – Megazip Adventure Park, Sentosa Island