Singapore

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After KL, Singapore had alot to live upto. Initial thoughts after speaking to various travellers along the way were mxed. No doubt it would be clean and efficient but what about the vibe of the place. Never one to judge a place or a person before I see them, I was looking forward to seeing what it had to offer.

First off finding a room was harder than usual, after trying a few from the yellow bible (South East Asia lonely planet guide) and all being fully booked we finally found another hostel that we were told to try. It wasnt
the cheapest, and certainly not the best place to meet fellow travellers due to its small size and lack of any real community area. The one little area was a sweat pit and you couldnt comfortably sit here for a few minutes. The one plus point of this hostel was the fact that it was right in the middle of town close to the financial district,markets,shopping areas and china town.
With the waterfront area a short taxi ride away.

We spent 4 days in Singapore which to be fair was probably too long, although we didnt make it to the night time safari which is supposed to be very good. China town was quite small, although it was nice to sit in the china town area watching the people interact with each other as they go about there day to day life.
The shopping areas where separated, the main electronic areas where to one side in large multi story plazas run down to a degree but offering good bargains if you can actually find a nice staff member. To the otherside of the city the expensive shops, beautifully laid out, with the staff immaculately dressed. These shops are seriously expensive, even when compared to the Uk!
We also made it to the Hardrock Cafe so thats another one of the list.

A visit to Sentosa Island is a must, it gives great views over the city and the port. The most amazing thing about Singapore is just how busy the port is and how many tankers are in the shipping lanes. Its seriously busy acting as a major international hub. Also on Sentosa Island you also learn about the history of the Singapore, and there are various amusement rides, the best being the luge. These are 3 wheeled freewheel go-kart type things which works on gravity pulling you down the hill. Serious fun and a laugh a second, seriously all you do is chuckle to yourself on the way down, while weaving in and out to miss the slow moving kids as you hurtle down the side of the hill, sometimes almost skidding off the track, and sometimes running out of track and overtaking on the dirt/grass. It was so funny and againthe boys failed to beat me!

The best part about Singapore is the waterfront area, a beautiful area built around the river, with all the major food outlets, bars, entertainment and hotel chains. It was here that we found hooters, for those that are in the dark as to what is hooters is, its is an american chain of restaurants that rely on cheap food like chicken wings & drum sticks, cheap beer and the reason that most
people (men!) go? Large breasted sexy women in tight fitting tops and short skirts or pants. Basically as tacky as you can imagine!.
Now any one that has ever been to Aisa will realise that Asian women are small in height and small in the breast department, it was an amusing night and I was gutted that the famous Ministy of Sound nightclub was shut that night.

So Singapore in a nutshell, superclean, super efficient but not my kind of place it had little character. Best thing about this place was the number of Subaru and the train straight out of the city to the Airport.

Next stop Sydney Australia in the winter.

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Photos

The Waterfront
Singapore Water Front

Hooters
Drinking at Hooters

Singapore Hardrock
Another Hardrock

Sentosa Island
In the mouth of the lion

Singapore Hardrock
Even the staff joined us,