Singapore- crime free and clean...

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We flew from Kutching in Sarawak into Johor Bahru in southern Malaysia so as to save a few pennies and it meant that we then had to take public transport into Singapore. Thankfully the two are only separated by a small causeway and two buses and two hours later we found ourselves in the depth of little India, to the north-east of Singapore's shopping district and most cosmopolitan neighborhoods. Surprisingly, Dec had made it through Singapore's customs wielding a meter long blow pipe, leading me to suspect that it's not quite as authentic or deadly as he may have hoped!

Little India is a lovely area with great restaurants, good markets and as many Indian people as you would expect to find on the streets of actual India. Of course, having been to actual India, I can tell you now that the two are very, very different... With the exception of the Mustafa shopping complex, that could literally have been in the heart of Delhi, if the heart of Delhi had shopping malls! It's a perpetually busy area and we made it our home and base for the week ahead of us in Singapore.

We checked into the world's smallest and least secure hostel for a night or two before coming to our senses and relocating to one of the nicest places I have stayed since leaving home. It was another dorm, only this one was equipped with wide screen t.v.s, bean bags, lockers, fairy lights and the nicest people you could hope to meet running the place.
(The Welcome Inn: highly recommended)

We had devised a fairly intense itinerary for the next couple of days but ended up deviating from it a bit and spent a good deal of time hanging out with the hostel staff and their friends. But our time in Singapore did see us visit one or two of the 'must see/do' sights and malls!

We headed out to Sentosa Island on our second day in the city and were not disappointed with what greeted us. Sentosa is a man made island resort that has been reclaimed from the sea and now houses the city's aquarium, a mini golf course, a theme park, an observation deck, zip lines and a sandy beach. We went to the aquarium and went to see the pink dolphin show, before I headed off to get my fish reflexology. "Fish reflexology" is where you bathe your feet in a warm, spring water, bath filled with fish that nibble off the dry and dead skin from your feet and legs, followed by a foot massage and cup of tea... it was one of the strangest things I have ever done! I opted for the 'aggressive African fish' that were a lot bigger and greedier than their Turkish counterparts and I have to admit that I did leave with healthier looking feet! Very odd altogether and very worth the money.

We visited the zoo until we were driven out by a poorly timed rain shower and spent the evening exploring Little India. We visited Little Arabia and Arab Street, one of my favourite parts of the city and, headed out to Clarke Quay for an expensive but very cosmo night out. We met up with a few lads from the Philippines who have extended an invitation to return to Manila and visit them one day and I plan on taking them up on the offer next time I find myself in Asia! Dec took a ride on the Clarke Quay bungee ball... but I declined! Clarke Quay is probably the nicest pub district I have ever seen and the wealth and variety of bars and restaurants was amazing. One bar had a hospital theme and all the patrons either sit in wheel chairs or lounge on hospital beds, sipping their drinks from IVs under x-ray style lighting! Very cool. Another is made almost entirely of ice- the walls, floor, bar, tables and benches- and is a vodka bar. It was all a little out of our price league, so we satisfied ourselves with a designer kebab, one or two beers and a spot of people watching.
We wandered around Orchard Road (Singapore's answer to Oxford Street) and marveled at the dozens of enormous shopping malls, massive designer stores and wished a little that we had bigger backpacks and less traveling ahead of us!

Singapore was and is the cleanest and most efficient city I have ever seen but yet still retains a huge amount of character. There are countless little alleys filled with boutiques and cafes, an amazing diversity of people and food (mmm- the food- amazing food!!!), lots of tourist attractions and museums and much of the city has been restored to it's former colonial glory- a nice contrast to the ultra modern, sky-scrapping sky line that Singapore is so famous for.

We probably weren't in a position to enjoy all Singapore has to offer, what with our limited finances and 45L bags... but I will definitely be back, only next time with all the girls and ten times the cash!!! We bid farewell to all the hostel staff and the US marines (who shared the dorm with us and made it generally impossible to sleep!) and headed out to the airport, a little earlier than necessary but anyone who has seen Singapore's airport will understand that!

Next Stop- and my final Asian destination: Bali...

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Comments

[anonymous]

Really useful info (and interestingly written). Thanks.