Getting to know Singapore

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Started the day with a walk around the city eventually heading to the river for a boat ride to get to grips with the place. It was your typical tourist ride with actually very little information about the sights we passed, but the city is just amazing and great to float past just people watching. We passed some amazing bridges, buildings and architecture in general through the main financial district, CBD and historical colonnial area's.

There is a great symbol of Singapore called the 'Merlion' which sits at the entrace to the main river in to the City and spurts water out of its mouth. Its a great tourist trap with some very anal (90 yr old) security guards who scream at you if you get too close, nice and cool in the spray of the water though!

After lunch at a brilliant Japanese restaurant on the Quayside we continued our walking- we are covering so much ground! We headed to SAM the Singapore Art Museum but although the art on the walls didnt take to us, the building itself is amazing. There are amazing white scultures that pierce the building and flow through each room suspended from ceilings and walls- they are very organic/ fluid pieces that you cant help but stroke and touch- I was loving the building. There was also a great area regarding architecture and had lots of models which really reminded me of being back at university.

After a quick stop back at the hostel to shower after all the walking in 34 degrees of heat! (its a killer) we headed out to the Orchard Road intending on a bit of shopping, but ended up as window shopping. Its a bit like a posh Oxford street, but with much more effort taken with the Christmas Lights (yes you read correctly!). It's incredibly clean and a pleasure to walk around unlike some days in London!

There aren't too many bargins to be found- I did try on some beautiful Jimmy Choos (It was bliss!) but as I wasn't saving that much from the UK price, Dan and I agreed this was one luxury that would just have to wait (for now!) (Dan: Don't blame me, I said you could have them if you really wanted them)

The underground system here is brilliant - it is fully air conditioned - tubes are wide and spacious and the whole thing is as clean and modern as the rest of the Republic.

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