Advertisement
Published: April 23rd 2010
Edit Blog Post
I arrived very weary and disgustingly dirty at 2am at the Hilton International on Orchard Road, Singapore’s première shopping district. I chuckled at my reflection in the marble studded floor and perfectly reflective tiled walls as I stuck out like a gross sore thumb!
After a cheery hello to my mum I clambered into the plush cushiony bed, underneath the aircon, in front of the TV and fell into a very happy sleep.
The first day we spent doing nothing but talking and eating; my two favourite things. I had a huge buffet breakfast and continued the tradition every morning I was here.
The second day my mum had off work, we spent the day on Sentosa Island, a beach resort off the south east coast of Singapore. Two days without swimming in the sea proved difficult and I was grateful to be back at the warm ocean again! After a few hours swimming and relaxing on the sand we grabbed juice and fruit in the shade of a palm covered café and talked for a few more hours. It was fantastic.
The next day with mum in the office, I was off on my own again.
I hopped on the Singapore sightseeing bus which I could hop on and off of for two days at any point I chose.
My first stop was Bugis Street, Singapore’s largest street market, in the hope of picking up some replacement clothes for the ones that were stolen in the Philippines. I can’t wait to see the look on everyone’s faces when you all see the trousers I bought…
After an hour mingling through the delightful flea markets and stalls I was back on the bus bound for little India. As disorderly and pungent as the real thing, I headed for the brilliantly named Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple, which was exquisitely decorated and peaceful and I felt even more the part in my new trousers…
With what has become ‘Sam tradition’ I chose to eat in the Muslim quarter on the walk to the Sultan Mosque. I jumped on the bus again to the Singapore flyer, 5m taller than the London Eye, I feel it doesn’t look quite as cool so I opted out and was off to Chinatown, bearing a very striking resemblance to the real thing; the smell of dumplings hanging in the air and a lot
of Chinese people bustling about the street corners. I visited the Sri Mariamman Temple, Singapore’s oldest Hindu place of worship (what it was doing in Chinatown rather than little India I never got an answer for).
My next stop was Clark Quay which was a very tranquil spot with lots of former warehouses remodelled as bars, clubs and restaurants on the river front. I made a note to come back here at night and decided to book a riverboat cruise for the next day.
I noticed on the ride that for a city state, there is barely any traffic here. They have several laws to deter car driving here, such as permits to own a car which expire every few years, giving so much hassle people take public transport. They also have the worlds first automated toll system, where a prepaid card in the car has money deducted from it when they drive through the toll bridges.
The last stop of the hardcore sightseeing day was the Botanic Gardens at the western end of Singapore. These were beautiful and full of tropical trees and orchids, in the middle of the city. In fact, this whole city is
build in the middle of the jungle with dense tropical forest creeping around the buildings! The daily storms are an attraction in themselves as thunder and lightening rake the sky every evening around 5pm, I have been treated to this everyday!
As I reflect upon my week in this tiny country, a few cultural, linguistic, and related comments; Singapore is a very diverse society. This is reflected in the food offered on the streets and in restaurants, the mix of dialect, the music heard in the shopping malls, and in the variety of backgrounds of people encountered everyday. 1 in 4 people here is a migrant worker; there are many languages spoken here but lucky for me, Mandarin and English are most common 😊
I find the Singaporeans to be very friendly. Almost no one has grabbed or pushed me, a most welcome respite from the Philippines, I might add. It's almost as if the typical Chinese reserve is present but with more law and respect for the environment. Lovely place.
On the face of things, the general country runs fantastically well. There are a few similarities to Europe, the smoking ban, the security and the law
are in your face a lot. But it’s nice. It’s reminding me that I may have a problem adjusting when I get home; I can no longer smoke in taxis/buses/trains?!
Two final points of note;
1. The Hilton is amazing, the staff are phenomenal. I have been greeted with waves and smiles, had bags carried for me, doors opened for me and drinks topped up in a blink of an eye. It's been great so a special thanks to my mum (and Hewlett Packard) for providing me with comfort for the week!
2. I am very excited to have settled my plans for the coming weeks....
I am off to Indonesia for the week today, flying on to Bangkok to pick up my Myanmar visa for 2 weeks, off to Burma then travelling down to Malaysia and flying home from there!
I am a little nervous about Bangkok as a few of my travel buddies have been there recently and the grenades going off last night have caused a lot of the ones that don't scare easily to move on very quickly. This is a real shame, but to ease anyone’s concern who might be
Inside Sri Veeramakaaliamman Temple
I fit right in with my new trousers :) worried about me, I will only be in the capital to apply for the Burma visa and then I will head out to Phuket asap and pop back into Bangkok for pick it up again before flying out west.
I have been most excited about the temples of Borobudur (Java) and Bagan (Burma) so the highlights of my trip are still to come! In addition to being over the moon about that, I am also really looking forward to coming home at this stage. I ran into a few problems last week and there are a few things I need to attend to at home. It is a very odd feeling to spend 24 hours for weeks with a few people who rapidly get to know everything about you, become almost your best friends, and then you have to say goodbye, wondering if you’ll ever see them again. I have had the time of my life the last 4 months but I do miss my friends and family in the UK and feel that Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam would be best left after a 6 month respite in the UK to save a little more cash and get a
boost of enthusiasm! I know that after a few weeks back in the UK I’ll be raring to get out again!
But for now, Jebs, Cleeve, Noz, Jess, Dan, Taz, Rox, Mark, Katy and everyone else, I will be seeing you soon!
Till then, Indonesia awaits….!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.066s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 13; qc: 31; dbt: 0.0342s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
walmon.archard@gmail.com
non-member comment
I would like to help, if you dont mind
travelling in Surabaya, Indonesia. And give a great and beautiful story in your blog·:>