Kuala Lumpur to Singapore - February 25
Today we traveled via car to Singapore. We could have flown but wanted the opportunity to see more of the Malay peninsula. I found a service called MyDayTrip which arranges drivers and they have a list of sightseeing stops you can choose.
She picked us up at 9 AM and our first stop was the Putra Mosque...this was about 40 minutes away.
As I woman, I of course, was required to wear a robe. In oppressive heat, adding a robe is no fun! Not sure how the women do it on a regular basis.
We had our lunch at a local restaurant that our driver recommended...rice balls were their speciality. Malacca is a busy, crowded city with a lazy river flowing through it. We walked around admiring the street art, the carts for hire and the general ambiance. 
After spending two hours there, we met up with our driver in front of the Hard Rock Cafe (3rd one we've seen) and headed toward Singapore.
We finally got to our hotel about 6 PM. The Fullerton Hotel was once the post office and is a beautiful old historic building. It is right along the river and within easy walking distance to lots of restaurants along the river.
Our driver (Fynn) was a 29 year old Chinese woman (mother of 2)...Chris of course asked the questions but she did volunteer her age. She does the 6+ hour drive everyday one way and then in reverse. the 6+ hours does not include stops, border crossings, etc.
She picked us up at 9 AM and our first stop was the Putra Mosque...this was about 40 minutes away. 
As I woman, I of course, was required to wear a robe. In oppressive heat, adding a robe is no fun! Not sure how the women do it on a regular basis.Our next stop was the city of Malacca (Melaka) on the coast. It is an UNESCO World Heritage site due to its 500 years of trading between east and west along the Malacca straits.
We had our lunch at a local restaurant that our driver recommended...rice balls were their speciality. Malacca is a busy, crowded city with a lazy river flowing through it. We walked around admiring the street art, the carts for hire and the general ambiance. 
Our last stop was at the Arulmigo Sri Rajakaliamman Glass Temple. Unfortunately it was closed for some unknown reason but we did walk around the outside, but that was mostly covered by scaffolding. But here is a picture of the door! 
After this short, aborted stop we finally headed toward the border crossing. Our driver had an App called "Checkpoint" where she could see a picture of the lines for the border crossing. After determining the main border was too busy we headed for a smaller border crossing. We waited in line to exit Malaysia and then again waited in line to enter Singapore. It was relatively uneventful.
After this short, aborted stop we finally headed toward the border crossing. Our driver had an App called "Checkpoint" where she could see a picture of the lines for the border crossing. After determining the main border was too busy we headed for a smaller border crossing. We waited in line to exit Malaysia and then again waited in line to enter Singapore. It was relatively uneventful.
We finally got to our hotel about 6 PM. The Fullerton Hotel was once the post office and is a beautiful old historic building. It is right along the river and within easy walking distance to lots of restaurants along the river. We have found many of the hotel staff to be a bit snotty or maybe we just aren't posh enough. We are pretty laid back and I guess we just prefer less pretentious hotels. Our room is nice and we went out for dinner along the river. Here are some pictures of the river scene at night as well as Chris chatting with some locals.
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