Singapore

The Singapore Airlines flight was quite bumpy and after seven and a half hours we arrived in Singapore surprisingly earlier than expected.

My cousin Lee-anne was there to meet us and take us back to her apartment by metro and taxi. John wanted to get new glasses so Lee-anne had located a place in her local shopping centre where we could have them made while we waited. They had about 1500 pairs on display and he managed to get a couple of pairs for a fraction of the price he would pay in NZ.

We also had time to catch up with a Couchsurfing friend who had stayed with us in NZ a few years back. Sze Ping was recently married and we were happy to meet his wife Fiona. We ate near the Singapore River in an area frequented by ex-pats. Lots of these families came by with their kids on skateboards and scooters as they lived in apartments nearby.

The next day we had breakfast at an Asian food stall called Ghim Moh market. It is so common for everyone to eat out in Singapore. Some of the food stall holders have been operating for a long long time and of course people have their favourites. It is such a fun way to get a variety of food and catch up with all your friends and neighbours.

There are 5.41 million residents in Singapore on land the size of our Lake Taupo, of that 3.8 million are Singaporeans. They enjoy visits from 15 million tourists per year.

We enjoyed our lunch in the Chinatown area and strolled the area reading the historical notice boards telling of the previous merchants. We were guinea pigs for Lee-anne's River tour as she has some conference visitors that she has to take on a walk. She had recorded all the historical information about the people, events and bridges on the walk. The city has done a great job presenting the area with eating places, parks, gardens and sites to visit.

We wanted to get some toys for our grandchildren so we took a bus to Orchard Road and some of the shopping malls there. The last time John was in Singapore was 1977 so the place is unrecognisable from then. In fact, we bought our wedding rings there at that time for US$10 and a can of coca cola, as it was the custom after a transaction to offer a drink.

We walked through the Marina Bay Sand Hotel, a structure that had 3 towers of accommodation and and looks like a ship. We took the lift to the bridge and walked down into Gardens by the Bay area.

We were lucky enough to see several families of otters come up on shore and entertain us with their antics.

Lanterns by day

by night

In the evening we watched the light show that happens twice a night at the Supertrees.  There was also a display for the Chinese lantern festival so the place was buzzing with visitors. Astoundingly everything we did and saw was free! The rates that the citizens must pay must be pretty high.

Dragonfly bridge

After that light show we went across to the Marina on the Bay Mall to see another light show that was also free.

We visited Lee-anne's place of work where she manages the data base for the OMF- Overseas Missionary Fellowship. It is situated opposite the Botanical Gardens so we popped over to look around the orchid garden and recognised the smiling face of the Turkmenistan president receiving an orchid presented to him.

Lee-anne took us to a Peranakan Chinese restaurant where we could try the dishes from these minority people.

Lee-anne was taking a small group of visitors to Little India so we went there to try out a restaurant that she had been recommended. The area was busy as it was also Diwali festival time. The streets were lit up with neon signs.

We were thankful Lee-anne had taken time off to show us around and be able to learn a lot from her about life in Singapore and our last stop before returning to spring in NZ.

Dubai

We were accompanied by lots of athletes whose events had finished in Ashgabat on our flight to Dubai. We had expected delays so had booked two nights in Dubai just in case.

We stayed at the Millennium Airport hotel near the airport as we had previously been to see the sights of the city. The hotel is massive and overlooked a building site that was being worked on 24 hours a day. We saw buses bringing workers in and taking them away at the end of their shift. The construction went around the corner and across the street but we did not know if they were going to be the same development or separate ones.

It was so strange to be in a place where everyone smokes inside. The bar restaurant in the hotel was full of smokers.

We wanted to replace our travel clothes and buy some gifts for the family so we headed off to the Deira Mall where we replaced our walking shoes. John got as haircut from a Syrian barber who also treated us with some Syrian biscuits. he has been about 14 years in Dubai and still gets home now and then to see family in Damascus.

The fresh salads at the Carrefour supermarket were a welcome treat from Central Asian cucumber and tomatoes and a better option that the hotel restaurants with their bistro type meals.

The next day we took the metro near the hotel to the Dubai mall shopping centre. It is even larger than Deira. We watched some of the skaters on the rink on the ground floor and the fish in the large aquarium on one of the floors. Bought a few gifts and did a lot of people watching too. Bus loads of tourists poured into the place.

The hotel had a free shuttle bus stop at the front for the airport which was really convenient. Immigration at the airport was really easy as we boarded our flight to visit my cousin in Singapore.

Ashgabat, Turkmenistan

On the way back to Ashgabat we visited two more craters in the desert area. One had flames in the bottom while the other was full of water and bubbles of gas could be seen rising to the top. The soil around the crater was white with mineral salts.

Typical housing on the outskirts of Ashgabat

We returned to the hotel to do laundry and pack up our gear while the rest of the group headed off to the Russian market.

The lovely security lady who taught me how to say good morning in Turkmen. It's a pretty hard language for sure.

The hotel called a taxi for us as we all decided to head back to the Yyldyz Hotel for another lovely dinner and enjoy our last night views of the city all lit up in ever-changing coloured lights. Rather than one taxi we ended up with two and had been told the price we needed to pay. When we arrived at the hotel the driver doubled the price and Ben  gave him two options - the price arranged, or nothing. The driver chose nothing so we didn't pay. We were lucky enough to get the same dining room to ourselves, as before and be waited on by our own staff. At the end of the meal the staff called a minivan taxi for us and we returned about 1.00 am long after the curfew time, but the driver drove lots of back streets to get us back. We never knew what the consequence of being out after curfew meant so were not worried. Once we got into the hotel we were told Andrew had dropped his passport in the outgoing taxi on the way to dinner and the driver demanded the higher fare for the taxi before he would return Andrew's passport to them. The taxi driver won that battle.

Andrew left for London early morning and Tom and Coen, the  Dutch guys left to fly home.

As our flight to Dubai was late afternoon so we had time to see the equestrian jumping in the morning. The specially built complex was a short distance out of the city. As we entered we had to go through security where they took English John's medication off him as they felt it might endanger the horses'  health. Cigarettes were taken off others but the smokers in our group managed to keep their stash hidden. We had to walk through a foot bath of disinfectant before entering the stadium.

We were able to help the others understand what was happening and how the jumping worked so that made it more interesting for them. Most of the riders and horses were from neighbouring desert countries.

Checking out the avenue of famous scientists and literary Turkmen.

During the long break between sessions to give the horses a rest we were able to return to the hipster Sha cafe for lunch. After this we were able to see the finalists and the medal ceremony at the end.

Ashgabat airport is beautiful and the roof is shaped like a bird with its wings out. Amazing both inside and out.

My wish at the well came true as our Fly Dubai flight was on time and we had a great flight to Dubai.

Reflecting on our time in Turkmenistan. It was certainly a highlight. Having an income from oil and gas has certainly helped build all the infrastructure for the country. The late president wanted to make it like the Dubai of Central Asia.


The new part of the city is full of government ministry buildings, each one with a symbol on top to show what they are for. Coins on the finance ministry, education building like a book, world globe on the foreign affairs building. Other photos of some of the buildings in this link.  There are apartment buildings for the government workers to live in near the ministries but we were told they are too expensive for them so they live outside the area.

The people seem very reserved and appear to us to follow like sheep and not query things. They seem used to being told what to do. This makes it one of the top 10 safest countries to visit I guess.

The current president seems to want to make Turkemnistan stand out from the other Central Asian countries by promoting the 8 pointed star symbol everywhere, having school children, university students and government staff wear traditional clothing. No one was wearing jeans, tee shirts, or short skirts even though they are for sale in the markets.

Berkarar Mall

Darvaza crater

Earthquake monument

Kow Ata Underground Lake, Turkmenistan

We had a day off from the games to go sightseeing and were joined by John from the UK who had previously done a tour with YPT to North Korea and Chernobyl and was going to stay on to see the closing ceremony.

On the way to the lake we stopped a few kilometres outside the capital at the Turkmanbashi Mausoleum and mosque. It is not considered a true mosque as it contains writings from the late President Niyazov and not from the Koran. The mausoleum houses himself and his family killed in the earthquake and war. The late president Saparmurat Niyazov declared Turkmenistan independent from USSR on October 27,  1991. His cult of personality started when he made an order that everyone call him Turkmenbashi which translated to 'leader of the Turkmen'. He erected gold statues of himself and spent the countries oil and gas money on public works, placating the public dissenters with subsidies for gas, water and electricity.

He built gold statues but banned people from having gold fillings, commanding they eat bones to toughen their teeth. He banned opera, ballet and the circus. He reduced or discontinued pensions. Dogs were banished from the city. He made it illegal to play recorded music at weddings. He renamed the Turkmen words for the days of the week and months of the year replacing them with the names of his family, Turkmen heroes, poets and historical events.The Turkmen word for bread became his mother's name. A meteorite, a moon crater, a breed of horse, airports, a canal and a city (now Turkmanbashi) also had their names changed. All hospitals outside the capital were closed and people had to go to Ashgabat.

He wrote his own religious text, The Ruhmana. All the libraries were closed because he believed you needed no other books other than his and the Koran. You had to have knowledge from his Ruhmana to pass your driver's licence. The media was controlled by him.

From here we drove through the countryside to Kow Ata lake. The entrance is through a small cave in a mountain and stairs take you 65 metres underground. The warm 36 DegC lake at the bottom was busy with  Russian families on school holidays. A few bats clung to the rock walls being disturbed now and then. There was a small changing room but nothing else.

Above ground was a small community of shashlik kitchens with raised tea beds so we ordered lunch and even managed a cold beer or two.

We visited the Parthian Fortresses of Nisa, a UNESCO site 15 kms from Ashgabat. Nisa would have been a trading hub.

Excavations have revealed mausoleums, shrines, documents and coins.

The site was destroyed in an earthquake in the first decade BC.

Listening to the guide, a descendant of the Parthian king's family.

Many ivory rhytons were discovered. An animal shaped vessel common in ancient Persia used for holding liquid. We have seen this as a symbol on the lamp posts and in Berkarar Mall.

That night we made a tour of the city by night. Every government building is lit up as are the fountains and statues.

The green Wedding Palace is 11 stories high. The structure has a tier of the star, a cube and  ball. It has 6 registration rooms, 3 wedding hall, 7 banquet rooms, 36 shops and an underground 300 car park. The Yyldyz Hotel is to the right.

We managed to get into the Arch of Neutrality building and were accompanied by a group of female university students still in their school uniforms. One of them was particularly taken with our Andrew posing with him and giggling every time she saw him. Andrew pretended I was his his mother and just before she left she asked him to bring me to meet her mother to talk about marriage. It was hilarious. The lift goes up the right leg of the building.

The Plunger

The Health Walk is lit up from left to right over a hill on the outskirts of Ashgabat. It was established to encourage exercise.The Yyldyz Hotel is to the far left. The greenish Wedding Palace is in the centre. The uppermost building is in the Guinness Book of Records for being the largest star shaped building in the world. Other Guinness records include the large flagpole, largest handmade carpet, and largest indoor Ferris wheel.

City and Ferris wheel

The Yyuldyz.

The Yyldyz is a 24 storey, 5 star hotel on a hill overlooking the city and we were booked into it for dinner. It was an amazingly plush place with a sweeping staircase of marble and gold. We were given our own dining room and the menu was huge. Fresh food is flown in every day. Ben was so confident with the Japanese chefs skills he ordered chicken tartare and steak tartare. I went for the venison. They too had beer. The food was very cheap because of our black market exchange rates and we booked for a second visit.

We left quite late and luckily were not stopped for being outside the 11pm city curfew.

The next day we visited the shrine of Seyit Jamal Ad Din in Anau, 15 kms from the capital. Originally the complex was comprised of 4 buildings: the mosque, a building on top of the grave and two large high domed halls. The mosque was built in 14 century and is unique because of its two yellow dragons depicted on the front. Islamic art does not depict animals. Some locals were at the site paying homage and circling the tomb. The complex was destroyed in the 1948 earthquake.

Nearby we walked down into an old well where people come to make wishes. Someone had left their car key and drawn a house in the dust. I drew an aeroplane hoping for a safe flight, departing on time as Ben had told us that Fly Dubai was always late.

We returned to Ashgabat for lunch at a hipster cafe, where we had to wait for our four wheel drive vehicles to take us to the Darvaza Craters, so it was a comfortable place to wait.

We stopped briefly at the Derweze village to buy snacks and drinks at the local store. It was a dusty, sandy, windy place with a few shabby houses, car wrecks and yurts. Goats and sheep were penned up and camels munched on dry grass taking no notice of us.

The Darvaza Crater, in Derweze ( in the Karakum desert ), is also known as 'Door to Hell'. The Russians, drilling in the area thought it to be an oil field site but they hit a  pocket of methane gas causing the ground to collapse and the rig to be buried. Some records say the gas was lit at this time to burn it off while others say it was done in the 80s. However, it did not succeed in burning off the escaping gas as it has continued to burn since the late 1940's.

The only person known to have entered the crater is George Kourounis a Canadian stormchaser, who entered the cavern to take soil samples for National Geographic. He wore a heat reflective suit, breathing apparatus and kevlar harnesses. Thermal loving bacteria living at that depth were found that did not exist outside the crater.

Our drivers set up our tents and prepared a wood fire for us to cook our mutton, chicken and vegetable shashliks over the embers. We sat around the crater with beers and vodka solving the problems of the world and getting to know more about each other.

Some local teen goat herders arrived on their motorbikes looking to cadge cigarettes and a tour group of Germans and Swiss travelling in motor homes sat around a camp fire eating their dinner. They could not drive their vehicles up to the crater and had to have a truck and minder bring them up to the site. They left quite early and a small group of Russian teens arrived to party in their vehicles opposite us.

The next day, after a breakfast of long life yoghurt and muffins we headed off to look at two more craters in the area.


We saw lots of camels in the sandy hills and the odd goat herder on our three and a half hour journey back to Ashgabat.