Singapore: If You Don't Buy a Ticket, You Can't Win the Raffles!

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Wow, a blog entry. Sorry for the delay folks, I'm still doing my best to catch up. Enjoy.

Firstly, no, neither Paul nor myself have a raffle or anything similar. I just thought that as so much in Singapore is named after its founder, Sir Stamford Raffles, it would be rude not to include his name in the title. Being able to do so in such a (if I do say so myself) witty turn of phrase only sweetened the deal!

Singapore is perfect, just perfect. It's hard to pick faults with a place where there is no litter, barely any crime, and public transport so efficient that even gets the Swiss jealous. It houses the finest zoo in the world, acts as the business and financial hub for much of Asia, and if money was no object, contains enough shops to keep even the most pampered celebrity entertained for months. I guess that is the only problem - money is a rather large object! It isn't half expensive, especially having travelled through much of South-East Asia.

We arrived with a healthy 4 days and 3 nights to spend in the city state. Plenty of time to explore all it has to offer without rushing. Thus enabling us to soak up its atmosphere as well as its plentiful attractions. The fact we arrived with such an ideal amount of time reserved is testament to how smoothly, on the whole, the Asia le of our adventure has gone. Although within half an hour of our arrival in Singapore, things were threatening to unwravel...

See, unlike Bangkok, Chiang Mai, or even Kuala Lumpur, Singapore is not a hub for backpackers. Perhaps scruffy backpackers don't fit in with the Singapore's utopian image, or maybe demand for expensive hotel rooms exceeds supply. Either way, over the past decade, backpacker accommodation has diminished rapidly. This is due in the most part to the withdrawal of licenses to provide accommodation for many hostels and guesthouses by the Singapore government. These businesses are thus forced to fold, allowing developers to move in and replace them with hotels. As a result many travellers now choose to give the place a miss, hence compounding the problem. Thats not to say there isn't a backpacker scene, it just takes some finding nowadays.

Clearing the border was a breeze. Perhaps at 4am the usually officious Singaporean customs aren't in the mood for searching bags, or perhaps we just don't fit the standard profile of drug traffickers. Either way, the only question we faced was "Where are you staying?", to which the answer, "erm, Orchard Road?" seemed sufficient. All previous borders have not minded us leaving the intended address section on the immigration card blank. If only we really did have a place to stay on this occasion!

Once the short ride from customs to the bus depot was complete, we were on our own. Arriving at a location without a place to stay can be both daunting and liberating in equal measure. Up until this point, he have never had an issue finding a bed, even when arriving in the middle of the night, so we have felt liberated quite a lot. However it would prove that Singapore at 4am would be the home of the daunting search for accommodation. Half the problem is that not all the budget beds are located in a particular area. The bus had dropped us off in 'Little India', and according to Lonely Planet, there was one possibility in that particular suburb. But as everything seemed shut up and there was no activity, we headed to the Bencoolen Street part of the city, where there seemed to be a couple of places. The taxi ride proved somewhat expensive. We had no luck there, partly due to my Lonely Planet being 12 years old, and partly due to the fact that all the possibilities were given as building numbers - on a commercial street. In the search for one place we went up an elevator round the back of a suspect looking building, probably stumbling on Singapore's only crack-den in the process. In between the awkward elevator ride with a bunch of hookers, triads and vagrants, and the constant thoughts that we were going to be robbed, gangland executed or catch a nasty disease, I couldn't help but remark that we would laugh about it at a later date! Maybe I exaggerate, but still, finding a place was turning into a bit of a mission. Once the length of Bencoolen Street was exhausted (it wasn't the only thing that was exhausted, its a long road!), we headed for Beach Road. We didn't know at the time, but this is the road that houses the famous Raffles Hotel.

Walking to Beach Road was a jaunt, 13kg's on our backs, 3 on our fronts, and several jumpers/jackets/lonely planets/maps in our hands, made the mile or so walk feel like a marathon. The fact that even Milkmen would thing it was an unsociable hour to be up also didn't help. When we arrived, another random ride in an elevator proved unfruitful and we were getting to the end of our teather. Walking around one corner, we finally actually found a place. The 'Backpackers Cozy Corner' felt like a desert mirage, an Oasis in the bush that is the clean streets of Singapore (can you tell I am writing this from Australia?). We staggered up the stairs. Only to be told they were full and we would have to come back at 11am when they had a couple of dorm beds free up. The search therefore went on. We sat outside and contemplated. For the first time in 2 months I felt irritable, tired, and maybe a little bit vulnerable (not necessarily in a literal sense).

Then a miracle happened. The Sun came up. I hate to sound cliched (actually I don't, I love it), but it really did cast a new light on things. Suddenly we were confronted with a skyline to savour, and things really didn't seem so bad. We positively sprinted (not) back to the hostel, told them to hold the beds for 11am, dumped our main bags and set out to waste 6 early morning hours. Like experienced mountaineers reaching Everest base-camp we entered a 24-hour McDonalds, making maximum use of their facilities for minimal monetary expense. Then a walk, mentally mapping the local area while noticing that we were feeling less and less tired. Eventually it was about 10am (can't exactly remember where a few hours of my life went there), and we headed back to the hostel for a bit of free internet. Before we knew it, we were checking in, the ordeal was over. Ironically enough, after pining for a bed all night, when finally presented with one, neither of us were that inclined to use it. It was the first time we were presented with a dorm room, but it was only a 4-share, and the 2 people we were sharing with were both pleasant.

On with Singapore then! The rest of that day did turn out to be a write-off, Paul went for another explore, while I did my best to have a sleep (somewhat unsuccessfully). That evening however we were looking forward to the F.A Cup Semi Final between Portsmouth and Albion. We found a bar nearby, which we had pretty much to ourselves. It was a good job too because some people may have been offended by our reactions to the price of beer. Unfortunately, at half time in the FA Cup match the TV was changed over to the meaningless Premiership match between Arsenal and Liverpool, and hence we went in search of another bar. Our search for further F.A Cup coverage proved fruitless, but we did stumble upon a busy place with a free pool table. Once the Arsenal game was over, and we had hussled some locals at pool, it was off to bed. It had been a long day.

Our first night in the dorm was extremely comfortable, and we awoke feeling refreshed, if annoyingly too late for the free breakfast. The day turned out to be fairly low key - more orientation of the city, and a thorough browse of the shopping malls down our road. Having lost my phone, I fought the temptation to purchase a new iPod - for its music and wireless internet capabilities. Although the advance of the internet has brought the prices of electronics worldwide more line, it is fair to day that the prices in Singapore remain about as competitive as can be found. Fortunately for my wallet I resisted, a good move indeed as I later read that an iPod doesn't work until connected to a computer for the first time. Also, how would I have got any music onto it!? These are the things you just don't think about when gripped by the 'I wants & I needs'. The evening consisted of grabbing a bite to eat and catching the obligatory Sunday night football.

If our first full day in Singapore was low key, our second would be anything but. We would be visiting the states' primary attractions, the Zoo and Night Safari. Singapore Zoo is widely regarded as the best in the world, with the animals kept in large artificial environments as opposed to small enclosures. While the Night Safari is a new and original concept that has proved extremely popular. The journey to the Zoo would give us our first taste of Singaporean public transport. If there's anything that could suggest an oppressive government with archaic punishments is a good thing - it would be the state of Singapore's metro system. The whole process from buying tickets on seamless touchscreens, to boarding the trains as they line-up perfectly with the platform doors, is an absolute delight. It also goes without saying that in a country which only recently allowed chewing gum to be imported for the first time (and in extremely restricted quantities), it was clean. So clean in fact that it seemed a shame not to lick the surfaces! Once the train ride was over we connected onto a bus to take us to the Zoo's entrance. Shortly before arriving I glanced out of the bus window to see an absolutely huge lizard walking along the pavement. It must have been 6 feet long and had a huge forked tongue tasting the air. I thought one of the Komodo Dragons might have escaped from the Zoo's grounds! Alas, all would become clear later.

After the shock of the lizard we arrived and bought a ticket for the Zoo and Night Safari. Upon entrance it was obvious that this would be superior to any zoo we have encountered before. As well as the animals having beautiful habitats, the layout of the Zoo was logical and aesthetic. I could list every animal we saw, but there were so many I would run out of space. My personal favourites were the False Gavials (long nosed Crocodilians), the Crocodiles proper (look, they're fighting! Oh, wait, thats not fighting!), the feeding of the Jaguars and Leopards, the White Tigers who very nearly caught a bird who landed in their enclosure, the Polar Bear and lastly Singapore Zoo's flagship Orangutans. It was also amazing, if a little mischevious to get in the pen with the Giant Tortoises and have our photos taken with them. The mystery of the giant lizard was solved by one of the informative placards that border all of the exhibits - in this case outside the Komodo Dragon section. It said that people should not be alarmed if they see large lizards, similar to the Komodo Dragon, outside the zoo's grounds. These are infact the local Monitor Lizards, native to Singapore and the second biggest lizards in the world after the Komodos. It was really satisfying for something that was puzzling me to be answered so swiftly. We stayed in the Zoo until it was closing and virtually empty. However, far be it from the end of our animal adventures!

The Night Safari was opened a couple of years ago and became an instant hit, winning a variety of tourism awards. The idea is that as such a large proportion of the animal kingdom is more active by night, this is the best time to view them. After leaving the Zoo we had some tea in the area between the two parks before entering the Night Safari grounds. It was not yet dark so we killed some time in the giftshops and looking at the expensive restaurants that line the entrance of the safari. The Night Safari features both walking trails and a tram ride with commentary. It is impossible to see all of the exhibits from either one of the two transport methods, so to get the most out of the experience it is recommended to do both. Perhaps the only disappointing thing about the attraction is that you have to pay for the tram ride on top of the entrance fee. It seems a bit of a stealth charge considering you can't see everything without the ride. However if I said we refused to pay for it on principle I'd be lying. We paid up, not wanting to miss a thing.

On the advice of the cashier who sold us the tram ticket we headed to the queue for the first animal show of the night. As we waited the muggy atmosphere turned distinctively stormy, so it was no surprise when the heavens opened and the rain started to fall. And boy did it rain! Having not seen too much precipitation through the whole Asian leg of our trip it seemed as if this rainfall was trying to make up for our dry 2 months. The animal show is apparantly very much at the mercy of the elements, hence one of the 'rangers' informed us the first show would be cancelled. We therefore dashed straight to the tram stop, thankfully (as a result of our speed and agility!) beating the rush of people with the same idea. The first leg of the tram ride proved fairly interesting, but we disembarked at the first stop, not wanting to miss one of the walking trails that branched off the tram line. It proved to be a wise decision as we had the trail to ourselves. Fortunately the rain had died down, but as large drops still fell from the leaves above it seemed no-one else yet fancied the walk. Their loss was definately our gain.

We saw an array of nocturnal wildlife - seemingly at ease with our presence. The highlight was easily the bat cage. We had already encountered the Flying Foxes (World's largest bat species) at the zoo earlier in the day, but by night they took on a completely different demeanour. Vast outlines would swoop just above our heads, their flapping creating great 'whoops' of air and noise, as if a huge Eagle was flying overhead. It was a truly unique experience and one could've themselves in middle of a jungle-based horror movie. That was until the accidental flash of Pauls camera sent them all crazy. Then it was time to stop daydreaming and dive for cover! After the bats we saw a variety of other interesting wildlife, the night casting them all, erm, in a completely new light (pun-tastic!).

The second half of the tram ride was better than the first, the commentary being both informative and entertaining. We went past everything from wide-awake Lions to birds to reptiles. Once it was complete we headed back to the animal show - the rain having now completely died down. After a short wait, and once we had entered the large outside amplitheatre, the show began. It most definately continued the high-quality theme of the day - it was fantastic. The perfect mix of laughs, shocks and (the boring, but necessary) conservation information. Seeing some elderly Japanese women crying with terror at the appearance of a huge pyton underneath their seats was definately the highlight for myself. As soon as the show was over we concluded our time in the Night Safari by polishing off the last of the walking trails . The conclusion of those trails also signified the conclusion of our fauna-filled day. After a sleepy journey back it was nearly midnight, and even a late McDonalds Happy Meal couldn't keep our tiredness away for long. We no doubt went to bed that night dreaming animal filled dreams!

On reflection, its very hard to compare the Zoo and Night Safari (but guess what, I think I might end up doing it). It's certainly impossible to recommend one over the other. The Zoo is an all day activity, with a huge amount to see and to do. The Night Safari on the other hand is much smaller, and doesn't take nearly as long to complete. This is not a bad thing - if it were as big as the Zoo you would be there until dawn! All in all the Zoo and Night Safari combine to make a fantastic dayout, and definately one of Singapore's must-do attractions.

The next day, Tuesday, we decided that as our last full day in Asia we would attempt to tackle the center of Singapore's shopping district, Orchard Road. We also had to fit in a trip to the National Stadium. Each aim was met with varying degrees of success! We had an extremely thorough look round the shops, malls, and food courts of Orchard Rd, but despite that, one got the impression we weren't even scratching the surface. Perhaps another day when we both have limitless credit cards, we may be able to do a better job. Our trip to the National Stadium on the other hand was more than satisfying. The stadium is condemned to be demolished later this year, but in order to keep up our 100% record of visitation to National Stadiums we were determined to make the pilgrimage. After taking a short underground ride, then getting slightly lost, we eventually found it. Not only did we find it, but were able to sneak through an open door and get some pictures on the pitch and running track. So that puts us on 4 countries, 4 National Stadiums successfully visited. We made the decision to walk back, which although taking over an hour, gave us a chance to reflect on the last 2 months, and look forward to the next 4 and half! After a brief stop off at the Mandarin Hotel (apparantly the best hotel the well-travelled Ben Hingley has ever stayed in), where I managed to get a picture before being swiftly moved on, it was time to head back to the hostel. That night we would be toasting the end of the first leg of our adventure.

And so it proved - we had an immensely expensive night out. Singapore's Clarke Quay must be one of the most cosmopolitan locations in the World to dine and drink, and as a result it has prices to match its reputation. One bar was quoting $45 (at least 20 pounds) for a 370ml bottle of Heineken. Suffice to say, we didn't quite pay that much per drink, but not far off. That said, where else in the World can you drink at a hospital-themed bar (called the Clinic), where the tables are instrument trays, the seats real wheelchairs, and the cocktails drank out of IV drips? After a good few laughs at the Clinic, much to the annoyance of the staff who had to keep wheeling us back into position, we moved onto another bar. Here we witnessed a superb acoustic act that kept us in the Scottish Highland-themed establishment for much of the rest of the night. Once the live music was over, we had one last drink in a micro-brewery/jazz bar next door before making our way back home.

As the sun rose on our last day in Asia we took our time packing (despite being well past the checkout time). We did not have to be at the airport until late afternoon, and there was just one thing we had left to do...

The Singapore Sling was invented sometime between 1910 and 1915, nobody actually knows exactly when. Either way, it is one of the iconic cocktails of the World, so to drink one at the location of its invention, the Long Bar at Raffles Hotel is something of a pilgrimage. Not wanting to quite have the cocktail as part of breakfast, we passed the morning away with a leisurely walk around much of the area we had drank the night before. Eventually, we could resist nomore and raced over to Raffles. To say Raffles Hotel is pure decadence is an understatement, and the Long Bar is no exception. Its colonial styling seems to take you back in time as the peanut shells that line the floor (it is tradition to throw away the empty casings) crunch underfoot. At $25, the drink isn't cheap, but when you view the whole experience as a tourist attraction, the cost isn't so prohibitive. And it was an experience we were to milk thoroughly, taking full use of both the bar, and toilet facilities. Eventually however we had to drag ourselves away. That was it. A train ride to the airport and it was farewell Asia.

From the late nights and lie-ins of Koh Pha-Ngan, to the serenity and stupidity of Laos, to the tourists and temples of Bangkok - Asia has delighted and amazed us at every turn. We have seen both extremes of development and all extremes of landscape. Surely nowhere else can provide such colour, both human and natural? The majority of our experiences could never be done justice by writing, they will just have to live-on in our memories (and on the funny videos lost forever on my forgotten phone!).

Whatsmore, we made it, pretty much all by ourselves. So with that 2 month obstacle of elephants and bandits out of the way, all we have to avoid now is getting lost in the outback, falling down a volcano or being kidnapped by angry drug lords. Ahh, the life of a backpacker eh?

Thanks for the memories Asia! How better to end than to quote the terminator?

"I'll (we'll) be back!"

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Photos

Singapore Customs
They don't mince their words!

Singapore City at Dusk
As the sun came up, our moods lightened!

Our First Dorm
And Paul looking fabulous as ever.

See-through Sign!
I won't flood the blog full of pics of animals from the zoo, but this one of a lemur came out spookily well!

Us at the Zoo
After a hard day at the zoo, and before a hard evening in the Night Safari!

Singapore MRT
On the way back from the zoo. Clean as a whistle.

Paul on Orchard Road
Our shopping technique still needs some practice!

On your Marks...
Me at the National Stadium having snuck in!

Singapore by Night
The city is beautiful after dark.

Medicine time!
Us drinking at the clinic on the last night.

Singapore Sling Glass
The most expensive drink I will ever have!

Us in the Long Bar, Raffles Hotel
At the end of a wonderful Asian adventure. (Can you see the alll nuts on the floor?)