singapore slings abound

---

Singapore was always about meeting my cousin Ula, and her husband, whom i had never met before. Infact i had not seen Ula for some 14 years (it seems that part of this adventure is catching up with relatives that i have not seen in many many years!!). It was great to see her again, and introduce her to Carmen for the first time. It was also great to see Vincent. They were kind enough to let us stay with them for a few days, and we were well cared for.

Singapore was much like Malaysia, except that its richer and more developed. KL was pretty developed and rich in stature, but I think singapore took it. It really is amazing to see people from all ethnic origins, getting on together, living together, with no signs of trouble. Of course, the penalties are pretty strict, as even showing the slightest signs of racism could land you with a law suit.

The richness of the island is plain for all to see. The main shopping precinct is laden with designer shops, and people are well dressed. Infact, its the in thing to be seen wearing a designer label.

As we traversed the shops, it was all to tempting to walk into these great big shoping centres, and let the credit card loose on them. Infact, there probably would not be that much of a deal for you, as prices are just as favourable, if infact not more so, in Australia. Sure enough, the locals flock to Hong Kong for deals on electronics and clothes. But all the same, it was great to peruse around, just to get out of the stifeling humidity that enveloped us). We happened to see a marque with some people in, and decided to ake a look. It so happened that the F1 season was about to dawn once again, and RBS were sponsoring a competition to see who was the quickest, non-trained driver in singapore. Entrance was free, and open to everyone, and involved driving a williams F1 car.........well ok, it wasn't quite the same as you see on TV. Indeed it was an F1 car, but it was indoors, and hooked up to a playstation game. So you fot the feel of being in the cockpit of an F1 car, without feeling the G-force, or more likely, causing millions of dollars worth of dmage to a multi million dollar car!!!! Infact, watching the various people take their chance, it was lucky that this was the case. RBS would have become bankrupt, and Frank Williams (the owner of the williams team) would probably not be a happy man!!!! Furthermore, i don't think there was any chance of anyone troubling Alonso, Hamilton, Raikonnen et al. That goes for yours truely, who after about an hour of waiting, finally got his chance to go for the record. To get into the top ten, i had to break 1min 20secs. You get 2 laps. As your 1st lap is a standing start, there's not much chance of you breaking that time (unless you were secretly an F1 driver). So i took this time to get used to the wheel and the track. 1 min 45 was my 1st lap time. Pretty aweful in any respect, and as i saw the time, i thought i had to go for it full steam now. So i put the peddle down, and hit the gas at high speed.

I have to say here that, the car is an automatic car, and there are only 2 pedals, accelerate and break. The only problem is, that you are virtually horizontal when you sit in the cockpit, and this really does restrict your foot movement. Needless to say it is therefore esier to break with your left foot, that try to move your right foot from accelerate to break (like you would do in a normal car). Infact, there are not many people in the world who can do this. Micheal schumacher was one of them!!! Have you ever tried to brake with your left foot? Go on, try it. Its bloody hard not to over do it, and screech the tyres. However, what i did find in those few seconds, was that i could brake later, and still be heavy on the brakes.

So back to the race, and i'm entering the 6th corner or so. The left foot braking thing seems to be going ok so far. But i go into the corner alittle too fast, and proceed to do 2 360 degree turns. Somehow i managed to come out of it, and still be in a straight line, and continued my persuit of the time. However, my mind was still on the mistake i made, when i took the next corner, and off the track i came. Crash i went into the barrier, and for a second i thought the game was over. But i managed to keep the car going, and in true playstation style, the car still managed to propell itself to 200mph or so. However, the tyres were buggered (or so it felt), and the car started slipping. I was so close to the end, and by the looks of things, i was on a great lap until then. I crossed the line in 1minute 30secs, and i cursed the fact that i had made those 2 mistakes. I knew i would have been in the top ten for sure had i not mucked up, but alas, this is F1, and there is no place for ifs and buts!!!

A great experience, and as we sat on the river, sipping our singapore slings, i could not help lamenting on what had happened. Dreams of winning the monaco GP soon faded. Alas, i was here in singapore still, but we still had so much more to do and see.

The next day, we took a trip to the world famous Singapore zoo. Now in my last blogs, i have mentioned that i like to see how countries treat their animals. It so happens that Singapore zoo is probably the best zoo i have ever been to ( i have not been to the zoo in queensland yet). The animals are roaming around freely (although the more dangerous ones are kept in enclosures). But we had orangutans swinging overhead in trees, and we often had trainers coming to give talks on the animals. polar bears, Orangutans, White Tigers, elephants, they were all ther, looking very healthy and happy. The zoo has a night time safari, and this alows you to see the animals when they are most actice. This is not to say that you can see them hunting, but as you sit on the train that takes you through the enclosure, you can get a sense of hunting. Infat, what immediately comes to mind is the difficulty of seeing some of the animals in such darkness.

The coupe de grande had to be the night time show. This was expertly done by one of the trainers (who was very funny), and gave excellent information on the lives of some of the animals. pythons, wolves, otters, owls, there was enough to keep everyone happy, and there was even some interaction with kids and adults (if you were lucky). Its a pretty long day, we got there at 1pm, and did not leave until 10pm. But its well worth it.

Our next day allowed us to visit Sentosa island and Mount Faber. Sentosa is Singapores very own holiday island, complete with resorts, beach, sea and sights. Its fairly expensive to stay here, but i guess if your on holiday, this is what you want!! Alas it had to rain, as it had done for most of our stay (we seem to take rain with us where ever we go). However, we proceeded on the trip, determined that the rain would not spoil out trip. The only way to get to either Mt Faber or Sentosa is by cable car. Now i have never been afraid of heights, but after my Malaysia experience, i fear age is getting hold of me, and fear is fast becoming a norm. The cable cars run efficiently, as does everything in Singapore, and i guess there was never any need to worry, but when you are over 100M in the air, and have no control over what happens, you strangely manage to think of all the things that could go wrong. We managed to get to Mount Faber in one piece, and if that had been the end of the cable car experience, then i would have been very happy, but we had 3 more trips left to do, and each one became an anticipation of dread!!!

Mount Faber is a lovely lookout area. Its the highest point in Singapore, and you can see the whole island in full 360 panorama. There's a lovely restaurant that you can spoil yourself in, a nice walking loop, taking in some of singaporian history, and ofcourse the views are magical.

Back on the cable car, and over to the other side. This involves 2 cable car trips, 1 back to the middle, then on to sentosa. Much to my horror, but again we arrive safely.

We have lunch at the cafe in Sentosa, and then proceed to walk around the island. We finally get to the most popular of the beaches there (there are 3 smaller beaches), and watch as people frolic on the beach, even though it seems it may rain in a few minutes. It also seems that rule breaking is frowned upon here too. We saw some chinese people fishing near a sign that clearly said "no fishing". Up came a lifeguard, and after a stern telling off, sent them on their way.

Alas the rain came, this time in a torrential downpour, and as we trudged through the rain, there were some things that came to mind about Singapore. They seem to have it all. Theres the city, where all thebusiness stuff goes on, and if you like to live around the city centre, then this is the place for you. Similarly, there is the subarbians, who live in condos and seem to live very confortable lives. Theres a great train system, that Britain could well do with looking at, and even here, order is the mane of the game. People que up to board, allowing people to get off before getting on. No drinking or eating on the trains or buses. there is order, theres tranqulity, theres a utopianism, and thats all great.......but its all so boring!!! You rather hope that people would break some rules, in order to get some life out of the people. It seems that we can't have it all, but that is really ok. This is Singapore, and it really is a fabulous place to come for a sgort holiday. You could even do a lot worse that settle here

It also seems like Singapore is well on its way to being over-developed, and this would be a great shame. Whilst its true that all countries strive to become the best they can, and often take their lead from America, and the rest of western europe, to me, the beauty of countries lies in their individuality. If all countries looked and felt the same, where would the excitement of travel come from? Ok, so i think Singapore is a bit boring. But who's to say that someone else doesn't love it. i am but 1 individual, and i have 1 opinion. But I still had a great time, and i hope that Singapore keeps its boring and orderly style. Its what make Singapore, Singapore. Its what give it its character, and that's fine by me. Please don't become something else.

---

Photos

a new driver for the williams team
about to get into the cockpit for a go at the record

singapore sling at Raffels
the family together

nuts on the floor
you get free nuts at raffels, and we ate about 2 boxes of them. Leaving the shells on the floor is the done thing by the way!!!

sentosa beach
sentosa island

watch eatin man?
a family of orangutangs gather round the people for a feed of fruit

white tiger staring
singapore zoo

Comments

[Mark and Marias Great Adventure]

we also loved the zoo!
But what, no pictures with the orangutans?