We left Bangkok in the afternoon on the steamer Nuen-tung for a five days' return trip to Singapore. I have already alluded to the "sand bar" which is an obstacle to navigation; hence it is that the heavy freight vessels anchor fifty miles distant at Koh-si-Chang, but I learned later that this obstacle could have been removed by dredging, had not the authorities declined to take any action, as the "bar" furnished a safe means of defence should war ever occur.
We saw various pagodas as we advanced; the most noted example was in the village of Pakman. As viewed through masses of foliage, it reminded us of the trip on the Irrawaddy River in Burma. A cargo of rice was taken on at Koh-si-Chang, and we did not leave there until eleven, the day following. A group of islands similarly called was a feature of the trip. It was cooler when we entered the Gulf of Siam, and the China Sea was favorably smooth. The conditions of the steamer were unchanged, but they had grown familiar to us, and even the cockroaches no longer intimidated me.
Singapore: We arrived at Singapore early in the morning, and for a third time viewed the shores; on this trip we went to the Raffles Hotel for a brief sojourn. The place is airy, capacious, and semi-Oriental, and reminded us of Colombo, as did the temperature, for although but two degrees from the equator, the air was like June at home, and without any of the chill in the evening that we sometimes experience; so it was a great pleasure to sit out in the corridor-like veranda and listen to the music. It was all so contrary to our expectations, for we had been told fearful tales about heat, insects, and general discomfort on the Malay Peninsula, or on what they term the "Straits Settlements."
Johore: To commence with, we devoted the first afternoon to an excursion to Johore, the capital of an independent Malay province, whose Sultan reigns with pomp and ceremony. After a railway ride, we took the ferry across the river, where a scene of loveliness awaited us. The city is unpretentious in appearance, but our afternoon excursion revealed to us a varied landscape with a tropical growth. We visited a plantation where india rubber, one of the chief articles of export, is cultivated; then a large Mohammedan mosque, finely located on an eminence. The tiger house on this particular day held but one inmate, who showed no desire to devour us.
The grounds surrounding the palace are as spacious and as well cared for as a botanical garden, with the brilliant flowers, blossoming trees, and a great number of red sealing-wax palms. The palace is luxuriantly embowered in vines and trees. Johore is a famous gambling-place, but the "parlors" were deserted on this afternoon, and we could see only the fine furnishings in carved teakwood.
The stay in Johore ended with tea at a hotel. Here we saw the real Sultan entertaining a party of Europeans. He looked young and was dressed in an immaculate English style, quite unlike the striped calico suits displayed by royalty at Jeypore, India. He came in a French automobile, and is said to pass half his time in Singapore, being fond of society. We arrived in Singapore for dinner, and during the evening a delightful surprise awaited me in the appearance of two Milwaukee friends.