Sweaty Singapore

Asia » Singapore
December 14th 2006

Published: November 19th 2007

I started my journey with my only flight, from Perth to Singapore. At the last minute I abandoned the idea of taking a sleeping bag - one of the better decisions of my trip. My pack is still pretty full and weighs around 16kg, which I really felt on my sweaty journey to the Betel Box Hostel (I will spend the next few weeks stressing about cutting out excess weight - by doing such productive things as throwing away the diary I'd just bought, and cutting travel books to bits...). You get used to carrying the extra weight pretty quickly, though, and 16kg isn't too bad.

I've read comments from other travellers who are quite dismissive of Singapore, many of whom seem to have formed an opinion before they've even arrived - or some that don't even bother visiting, but still offer an opinion. Not everyone will enjoy Singapore, given that it's more western and more expensive than other SE Asian countries, but it does have some interesting culture and some of the best food in Asia (owing to the mix of Muslim, Indian and Chinese communities). I'll admit that one week is probably enough to experience the highlights. I met some people who'd been there more than a month, but I think they were there for the seedier offerings of Asian nightlife...

The highlight of my week was the day bike tour organised by the Betel Box hostel. It was a good chance to meet fellow backpackers (already got some sofas lined up in Europe, hopefully!), see the locals at leisure, and to learn about future development problems facing Singapore. It rained through most of the tour, torrentially after lunch, and we decided to take a short-cut down the highway on the return journey. Pedalling in the rain between cars and buses, without helmets, was kind of crazy but good fun; I'm sure we would have died trying this on the roads of Perth on a wet day - or at least been victim of road rage - but we got nothing but waves and thumbs-up from the locals.

We visited a water park later in the week, and I got my first look at a burkini; sexy they aint, but I guess that's the idea... Was strange to see the locals getting out of the water and under cover when it started to rain!?

Travel tip: Prepare to sweat, and get used to ice in your beer!