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Travelling to Asia wasn't part of the original plan. We were already on this side of the world and we thought, when else in our lives would we be able to just spend a couple of extra weeks working in the sunny fields of Australia and then jet off to Asia for a while? Since we had a bit of a gap in our plans in Australia (because of the harvest seasons) we thought now was as good a time as any. And with that, we bought our tickets and were off to Singapore in a couple of days.
The flight from Perth took 5.5 hours - longer than one would expect for a "close" destination. After a sleepless night on the plane, we arrived at Changi International Airport. We were pleasantly surprised by the airport - clean, modern, and considerate with many complimentary services such as internet access, charging stations for your electronic devices, and smiling faces everywhere even at five o'clock in the morning. We weren't sure what to expect at customs as Singapore is known for it's strict laws; but we were welcomed through by a friendly officer who offered us mints while she stamped our passports.
From there, we took the ultramodern and automated skytrain to the next terminal where we were able to transfer directly onto the MRT (Mass Rapid Transit - Singapore's subway system) which took us to the downtown area. Unfortunately, the only place we could find that was open for breakfast at that hour was McDonalds - unoriginal for our first meal in Asia, but we were hungry! We were amazed to discover the staff were incredibly professional and very friendly, and our McDonalds service was better than in many nice restaurants at home. This proved to be a recurring theme throughout our time in Singapore. After some breakfast, we spent the morning taking in the sights of the downtown area before making our way over to Little India, where we had booked a hostel for the night. The hostel staff, again were very friendly and accommodating, and allowed us to check-in early so we could leave our baggage (we're travelling with carry-on luggage only, as we left most of our stuff in Oz, but it still gets heavy after a few hours!). We spent the rest of the day in Little India perusing the markets and admiring the temples. It is
amazing to just walk around the city and smell things - a vareity of ceremonial incences, mixed with curries and other spices.
One of our main reasons in choosing Singapore as a destination was that my father was born there (on a British Military Base). No one else in the family has been back since, and my Dad doesn't have any memory of living there since they moved away when he was very young. Exploring family history is an interesting theme of travel, and with some information from my Grandfather, we dedicated the next day to trying to find their old neighbourhood. We hopped on the bus to Changi Village, unsure of what exactly we were looking for. After several minutes, we were out of the downtown area and started to see some military buildings - we were headed in the right direction! Anxiously scanning the streets for something that stood out, we drove by a group of houses and the style of them reminded me of a picture I've seen of my Dad as a baby. As we got off the bus, we realized that the Air Force Base was across the road, so we figured we were
off to a good start. We wandered around, looking at the houses, wondering if one of them might be the former Beckett residence. Walking around a corner, we saw a large old building at the end of the street. As we got closer we realized it was the Changi Hospital - the place my Dad was born! The building was no longer in use, but it was certainly the right place, and it confirmed we were in the right neighbourhood. We walked around and looked at all the houses that remained (half of the neighbourhood had been turned into a holiday resort for military personnel so we were not allowed to go in there), thinking about how the area would have been when my family was here. After we had looked at all the houses, we went to the civilian area of Changi Village. It was quite a pretty area, and we had lunch in the market and walked along the waterfront before catching the bus back. It was a wonderful experience, and I'm so glad we were able to find it!
For the rest of our time in Singapore, we found a B&B type of homestay accommodation. It
Singapore Skyline
View from the top of Sentosa Islandwas in Ang Mo Kio, so it was out of the main tourist areas, and was a room available in an apartment block - up to 85% of Singaporeans live in these type of dwellings - so we thought it was a wonderful opportunity to experience what life is really like in Singapore. We were welcomed by Emelyn, the friendly hostess, who offered us some cold water and showed us around. The apartment was small, but very nice and had modern amenities. She took us out that evening to show us around the local area. The next day was a whirlwind sightseeing tour of the city. We took the MRT to Marina Bay, an area exploding with development (we think they had more cranes here than we had seen in Panama City). We followed the waterfront to the main commercial area; a scenic blend of historic and modern architecture. After spending the morning on the waterfront, we decided to take a skytrain to Sentosa Island. Just offshore, the island has been transformed into something of a theme park and a resort area. We spent our time taking in the beaches, watching animal shows, and made our way to the top
of the island which provided a panoramic view of the main island of Singapore. Making our way back in the evening, we had dinner in Chinatown and strolled through the markets there. Later that night, we went to Clarke Quay, Singapore's main bar area. We weren't sure what we expected the nightlife to be like in a country known for having strict laws about almost everything. When we arrived, the area was lit up beautifully with colourful lights accenting the buildings and waterways and music was pumping from a multitude of different bars. We made our way past the bars that appeared to be full of tourists and ended up in a salsa bar with a Cuban theme. Everyone (ourselves included) was having a great time and those who were dancing were incredible! We sipped our $10 beers very slowly as we savoured the moment. As the night came to an end, we hurried back to the MRT and caught the last train of the evening. On the way back to the apartment, we both agreed that Singapore has one of the best bar scenes of all the places we've been thus far (and the most expensive too!).
We
spent our last day in Singapore away from the downtown area. It was raining in the morning, so we spent some time around the apartment and the local area. When the rain cleared up, we took the long way around to Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. The MRT is cool and comfortable, has large windows, and operates above ground outside of the downtown area; so we took advantage of this and went on a tour around the island before heading to our destination. The Nature Reserve is situated in the center of the island of Singapore, and provides insight into what the island looked like prior to it's development, with exotic rainforest and tales of man-eating tigers. We were greeted at the entrance by monkeys before we started the climb through the jungle to Singapore's highest peak. At 163 meters it didn't take too long to reach the top. The surrounding jungle was too dense for the peak to provide a lookout, but it was still a good little hike. We hadn't expected to be doing any hiking in Singapore, but this place has been full of surprises!
We both greatly enjoyed our time in Singapore. It is a place
Last Train!
The super-clean MRT of contrast; moreso than anywhere else we have been. Modern architecture and old temples, traditional values and new-age expectations, state-of-the-art skytrains and twenty people riding around in the back of a pickup truck; the stark contrasts co-exist harmoniously. Multiculturalism is the way of life; with the population consisting of Chinese, Malay, Indian and others, all maintaining their own traditions whilst living together happily and peacefully. Singapore was one of the cleanest places we have ever been - sometimes our hands felt extra clean at the end of the day, and we soon realized it was from touching public surfaces - the escalator handrails and MRT hand holds were sanitized so often that our hands seemed more clean from touching them! In the end, we're so glad that we were able to experience such a wonderful and unique place, and are very thankful for the opportunity to explore my family's past.
Next stop, Thailand!
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