We landed in Singapore early in the evening, dumped the bags and trekked across the city by foot - the only way to really experience the fantastic juxtaposition of the many influences in this dense little city state. Gaz (aka 'the map'), had planned a great little route which took us through the unusual urban landscape of staggering skyscrapers, beautifully preserved colonial buildings, Churches, and Buddhist and Hindu temples.
We found a watering hole en route, by way of a backpackers hostel, where ironically a pint of beer cost more than a bed for a night! £7.50 a pop! So we discovered quite quickly that Singapore is NOT cheap and cheerful like the other places we had visited so far. Fabulous, yes, affordable..no!
We walked through Little India which was a labyrinth of heavily crowded back streets, perfumed with the smell of exotic spices and incense and despite being quite late by the time we arrived, the streets were buzzing with life with people buying food from the market (see the rice shop below), socializing on street corners and watching repeats of the cricket.
We found a bar just a few minutes away quite aptly named 'hookers' (as there was quite obviously a prostitute accompanying a rather drunk Australian gentleman on the next table!), although of course the name referred to rugby hookers. So we sat and chatted and watched Man City beat Bolton 3-2 (Ant insisted I put that bit in! Lol).
Singapore is a very cosmopolitan place with many strong cultural influences namely, British, Malay, Indian and Chinese, so the following day on our culinary journey, having sampled fine Indian cuisine the night before, we decided it was the turn of the Chinese chefs to tantalize our taste buds so yum-yum-dim-sum it was. I think we may have over-ordered somewhat , but we still managed to polish it all off :) Wouldn't want to upset the chef now would we. ;)
Now, you can't go to Singapore and not visit the famous Raffles Hotel, the home of the Singapore Sling, so like the unashamed tourists that we are we made a beeline for 'Long Bar'.
Raffles, one of the World's most famous hotels, was built in 1899 and named after Sir Stamford Raffles, the founder of Singapore, who on establishing a settlement on the 26 mile wide island at the tip of the Malay peninsula, transformed the dense tangle of jungle into a thriving port for trade between the East and the West. Currently the world's busiest port in terms of total shipping tonnage, it also tranships a fifth of the world's shipping containers as the world's busiest container port, half of the world's annual supply of crude oil, and is the world's busiest transshipment. Sir Stamford's legacy consists of fine British colonial buildings, the English language, British plugs, driving on the left and much more.
I loved it here. The bar looked like it hadand been frozen in time and much of the furniture and many of the ornaments were indeed the original fixtures. I particularly liked the air conditioning; a series of woven fans on a pulley system, which were probably manually controlled when first installed.
We ate peanuts and discarded the shells on the floor as is tradition, while a few pigeons and sparrows who had flown in via the open shuttered windows, foraged amongst the debris.
After a jaw dropping £60 bill for four drinks (omg!!) we decided it was time to leave and find a less expensive way to spend our day, so we briefly stopped at an art gallery followed by the National museum. So I was happy. :)
Having only 48 hours in this vibrant city, we didn't mess about. We had things to do and see and we weren't going to miss anything. We jumped in a cab and visited the famous orchid gardens at the stunning Singapore Botanic Gardens...ok, brace yourself for LOTS of flower pics!
After immersing ourselves in the flora and fauna for a few hours, we headed over to the Night Safari at Singapore Zoo where we would take the little open train around the grounds. We were welcomed by a group of flame throwers from Borneo who got us into the jungle mood with their tribal drums and fiery tricks...
The park has been carefully designed to give the impression of a totally natural landscape - there are no visible cages or trenches between you and the animals and in most cases there aren't, but for the more 'bitey' beasts, such as the lions, tigers and bears, there is of course strategically positioned foliage or undulating mounds of jungle floor, discreetly camouflaging the 20ft drop which protects the visitors from the claws and teeth of the inhabitants. The illusion really works. We were on safari as far as we were concerned and it was great!
Naturally, no flash photography is allowed, hence the dimly lit shots, but take it from me, it was superb!
Singapore is a lovely compact metropolis where the best of East and West meet. It's probably a little bit too sanitary and sterile for the average adventure hungry traveler and as we found out, it does tends to be very costly, but for a night or two it is a nice delve into the luxurious, which in my book is always welcome. So from endless air conditioning, conjoined malls, and the immaculately clean streets of Singapore, we now head to Cambodia, which I predict may differ somewhat to this little opulent island!
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Location:Singapore
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