Singapore Slinking

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Singapore eh? Well we didn't do too much slinking but I was curious about Singapore's history and reputation as "the place they don't sell chewing gum". One of the things that has struck me time and time again whilst travelling has been the incredible impact of the British on the modern world. Australia and New Zealand don't bear explaining, but the impact of the British in Asia (in particular) and South America has been very notable. I will not forget the random breaking-down of our bus in northern Peru, and my chat with that chap about the English railway (always with the railways) and the English fort (those too). The explanation given to us in the Edo-Tokyo museum about the modernisation of Japan was fascinating, and the impact of the British in Japan is not to be underestimated. Although the Americans are to be given the credit of opening up Japan for trade with the rest of the world, the British are to be given credit for showing Japan the ways of the Western world - they drive on the left after all as (incidentally) do Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand. It is the influence of the Brits.

A little Singapurian History

The British, who were extending their dominion in India, and whose trade with China in the second half of the 18th century was expanding, saw the need for a port of call in this region to refit, revitalise and protect their merchant fleet, as well as to forestall any advance by the Dutch in the East Indies. As a result, they established trading posts in Penang (1786) and Singapore (1819), and captured Malacca from the Dutch (1795).

In late 1818, Lord Hastings, Governor-General of India, gave tacit approval to Sir Stamford Raffles, Lieutenant-Governor of Bencoolen, to establish a trading station at the southern tip of the island. On 29 January (my birthday!) 1819, Raffles landed on the island of Singapore after having surveyed other nearby islands. The next day, he concluded a preliminary treaty with Temenggong Abdu'r Rahman to set up a trading post here. On 6 February 1819, a formal treaty was concluded with Sultan Hussein of Johor and the Temenggong, the de jure and defacto rulers of Singapore respectively.

So that's where the Raffles thing comes in
This paragraph bearing little relation to its title shall be no obstacle. Singapore is to be best lauded for its multiculturalism - just visit Chinatown, Little India, and the best in my eyes - Arab Street. We enjoyed a curry for lunch while wandering around a toned-down and admittedly sensible-ised version of Delhi, had dinner in a Lebanese restaurant toking on a sheesha, visited a beautiful mosque, a colourful Hindu temple with its cows and four-armed elephants, watched the Premiership with the locals (Man U sending Southampton down) and enjoyed a little colonial opulence in the Raffles hotel - and the obligatory Singapore Sling.

We really surprised the barman ordering one of those
Where else can you do all of that in a couple of days? Where everyone speaks English? Not many places, that's for sure.
We also visited the Night Safari which is excellent and the number one tourist attraction - apart from the city itself.

Overall I'd give Singapore a 7 out of ten - it's multicultural, safe and good value but a little sanitised (everything is airconditioned and Macdonalds have a monopoly!)

To put it in context, Tokyo would get a 9 - almost perfect apart from the archaic banking system which is less sophisticated than Bolivia's (for travellers like us).

Sydney would get a 6 - nice enough but not very interesting.

Hong Kong also a 6 - big and flashy but there's not too much for tourists.

Over and out.....

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Photos

The Beautiful Mosque on our Street
This is looking down Bussorah Street, just a couple down from Arab.

They have strange looking fruits in Asia
But they are very tasty, apart from the weird tasting ones.

Some of the decoration on a Mosque in Little India
Perplexingly, this mosque was in Little India and the best Hindu Temple was in Chinatown. Fortunately for the stability of the universe the best mosque was actually in the Arab area.

Smokin' on a sheesha in the Lebanese restaurant
mmmmm, tastes of apple

The Raffles Hospital
If you twist your arm, this is where you get your Singapore sling....(boom boom)

Pete and Sarah drinking Singapore Slings in the Long Bar in Raffles
They let us in with Pete wearing flipflops, shorts and a t-shirt (how standards have dropped, I weep for the Empire)

MOOOoooooOOOOO!
Hindu Temple - where the cow is sacred

More Hindu Temple
The intricacy of the figurines is startling - sheer brilliance, Hindus!

More Japanese Influence
This little garden provided a refreshing break from the standardised pavements of the city - it was fittingly placed beside a Japanese bank building