Sim City Singapore

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Since we were so close, it seemed obvious to visit Sinagpore next but we knew it was expensive so we booked flights out for just 2 days after arrival. A 16 hour - taxi, ferry, train and metro journey brought us to Chinatown after midnight and we reluctantly checked into a very rough dorm for £30 a night. Next morning we were out of there and splashed out further on a lush place, still a dorm but very plush, for £45. Fed up with our restrictive budget, we were looking forward to leaving already and on a bit of a downer.

Luckily, after a decent breakfast, a days site seeing around the city can be done mostly on foot and needn't cost too much. First stop was Sri Mariamman temple, Sinagpore's oldest Hindu temple, a colourful and elaborately decorated building plonked right in the middle of Chinatown. Next, a short metro ride took us to downtown, the centre of the business district amongst the sky scrapers. We had a friendly welcome from a random business man on lunch who helped us get oriented and we commented on the general good manners of city folk we had encountered. Walking towards Marina Bay past the famous Fullerton Hotel and Fullerton Bay hotel we started to get the feel for Sinapore; refreshingly clean, modern, friendly and full of life yet very chilled out. The wide pedestrianised streets between office, bar and marina of this part of the city feels spacious despite the high rise and is by far the coolist place i've ever been. Our walking tour took us past the Merlion statue then the Esplanade theatres and on to Raffles Hotel and we took in the view of Mariana Bay Sands casino, the Art-Science museum and the big wheel across they bay full of yatchs.

As if the city sites weren't epic enough in themselves, we were smacked in the face with the fenced off Grand Prix street circuit. We walked the track to the sound test music feeling like we were part of Gran Tourismo. The event seemed surprisingly calm considering it was just 3 days before qualifying but everything looked well organised and ready for the masses. In the hot afternoon, we took shelter in the park for a while only to come across Nico Rosberg with his personal trainers doing pull ups on the monkey bars. I had no idea who he was of course but Math recognised him playing it cool until we were out of ear shot.

Dusk was amazing around the bay with all of the afore mentioned buildings lit up and reflecting in the water, we wondered the same sites again and the track too to see it after dark - it is a night race after all.

Aside from complaining about the prices, all in all we loved Singapore. We decided that not finding a budget area was perhaps because the city is all so perfectly formed and set up for business that there isn't one. We would definitely recommend it for a visit or even better for work.

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