Kiong picked Anja and I up at 7 am to head out climbing. We left Ram at the hotel to sleep since he had been up until 3 am fixing a program bug for work. We wanted to get an early start as we’d been rained on everyday in Singapore so far. The climbing area is called the Dairy Farm (which it once was) and only about 15 minutes from our hotel.
Kiong was curios about where we were going so he parked and hiked in the 20 minute approach with us. I think this is what I love most about Kiong is you can really tell he has the curious adventure spirit. Sometimes he would tell us to go places and check it out and say you take picture for me or we would report back if something was ok for him and his wife to go do. Clearly there we some hotels we walked into like we owned that might not let Kiong and his wife just wonder around in for 10 minutes. It is was a travel moment that made me appreciate so much of the US. There are a few places we might not be allowed to go in the US but for the most part you can go checkout almost anything.
It was climbing time and we started on a piece of quarried granite with bolts up the middle. It was really slipper and where it was wet it was like glass.
The Dairy Farm is also a nature center for school kids and they were taking tours the whole time. As they hiked up the trail into the meadow every group of kids (about 8 groups) would do the same thing; we’d hear yelling of excitement, then clearly “rock climbers, rock climber.” Well we found out later we were the first climbers the nature guides had seen climbing there on a weekday.
We got two climbs in before the rain started. We waited it out and got in another two top ropes before the real down pour started. The climbing was enjoy about in a cool setting but nothing to fly around the world for.
On the walk out we lucked out and I talked to one of the nature guides who said we could stand under the nature center building out of the rain after we hiked the 20 minutes out. Otherwise we’d have been waiting in the rain.
Kiong dropped us for a little electronics shopping. If you look at the picture pretty much ever shop was selling cell phones, cameras, laptop, or other electrons. Crazy how can they all sell the same stuff.
Kiong dropped us at the end of this bridge to walk across, then go through the mall to the left of the lotus building then go up the elevator to the top of the White Sands casino. It is so great to have a personal tour guide. I love not planning anything we were going to do.
This was an indoor swimming pool. Nope not ice, it is teflon panels.
It was $20 per person to come up here and you were allowed to view the pool but not use it. Anja loved the pool! So much that she wished we’d spent the $300 per night to stay here one night so we could hangout and use it.
While we were hanging out enjoying the view and waiting for sunset some performers came out and did a routine. Ram got some good long exposures.
Notice the pool on the edge on the left in the picture.
After hanging out on the roof we went for one more dinner with Kiong. I got some fresh pressed cane juice which was pretty cool to try and watch. Anja got some real strange looks when we left her at the table alone while we got food. Kiong said someone told him foreigner normally don't come to this hawkie centre.
It was a pretty full day of Singapore activities and we were exhausted. Definitely the highlight of Singapore was having Kiong as our tour guide. It was an awesome tip but time to move on to climbing.
