Singapore bound

The flight from Sri Lanka (on the red eye - overnight) lasted a mere 3 hours but as it took off at 12 midnight and Singapore is another 3 hours ahead it meant landing in the early morning - no sleep on the plane due to lack of any recline in the seats!! However, it did mean that I was party to some fantastic views on the way into Singapore. Imagine pristine rainforest covering gently rolling hillsides sweeping down to the coast where they are met by vibrant ports busy with shipping, settlements twinkling in the early morning mist and rows of road lights and industrial storage tanks making parts of the land Dalmatian like. Then you will have Malaysia as we fly past it.

Coming towards Singapore you instantly see a difference, almost every square inch of land is developed and the western side of the island is covered - I mean covered in industrial sites with massive oil/gas storage tanks littering most islands and the coastal areas and there are more ships than I have ever seen in my life - the sea, port and channel were FULL of ships - mostly the very large oil tanker style vessel with helipad on its deck but also liners, cargo vessels and large naval ships. Amazing, many seemed to be stationary waiting for their turn at the docks or through the straights. Literally from 10,000ft you can see ships as far as the eye can see, packed close together. It is breathtaking. Nearing the ground you notice the glittering mass of tower blocks lining every road link to the city centre. But is also very green…

On landing we are welcomed into air conditioned luxury in the terminal building - it is like a mini-city itself with your every whim catered for - in my case a lovely hot double espresso ;) this completed I was ready to face the world.

It is very easy to find your way around in Singapore as it is laid out in a logical manner and has an MRT system to be envied by the rest of the world (London Underground you could learn a thing or two from these guys). It is modern and clean with no eating or drinking allowed on the platforms or trains. Each train runs every 3 mins and there are glass panels to separate the tunnels from the platforms meaning that there is no sucking/whooshing noise accompanying the trains. They are rapid and you have a sense of gliding to your destination. Wonderful.

The YMCA is a great place to stay as you pay £20 a night and get a room at the heart of the city including breakfast buffet style ;) although you will need to share your room with 3 other people. Hot showers and free internet are also available… On arrival and settling in I decided to stay another 2 days (5 in total) it is that good.

Over the course of my stay I have seen many parts of Singapore but in all areas it is perfectly clean, traffic and pedestrians obey the rules (not once did I hear a horn sound!! And coming from Sri Lanka/India this is a miracle). There is NO litter here at all - dropping litter is seen as a crime and punishable by on the sport fines… I watched one teenager walking along the street given a flyer for a shop and he played with this for about 20m before deciding he did not want it… Nonchalantly he played with it and finally flicked it into a bush… Then looked around… Seemed embarrassed and went and collected the flyer from where he had tossed it and put it into his pocket!! Amazing. The lawns are meticulously trimmed and the pavements are cleaned regularly along with all glass surfaces.

As for what to do here - well:
Singapore is a shopaholics dream come true as there are lots of malls each one catering to your every want - most have entertainment areas with cinema complexes, all have food courts the size of an entire shopping mall in the UK with a choice of every type of meal you can think of… I have tried a variety of meals some of which I could not identify from the images given but all tasted good and most meals were under $5 (£2.50). My nearest shopping malls are the Cathay (the oldest sky scraper in Singapore!) and the CitiMall - a 10 storey behemoth of a building with an entire floor dedicated to different products. Even sold complete suites of real plate mail armour!!

Coffee shops are common here and the main brands are ‘Coffee Bean’, ‘Starbucks’ and ‘Mr Beans’ all of which have excellent coffee and all of whom have wonderful cheesecake and muffins…

The sky ride (Millennium Wheel but 10m taller) occupies some of the waterfront at the marina and is worth a visit ($29) - it gives you a half hour ride which will enable you to have a great view of the marina area and a panoramic view of the whole of Singapore including the straights full of shipping.

The Marina Plaza hotel ($400 a night) is opposite over the wonderfully designed double Helix bridge and is surmounted by a ship on its 56th - 57th floors!! Yes you heard me a ship - with proper decking. It can be accessed by non guests for $20 and is well worth the investment as you are whisked in a express elevator to the roof where you step out onto a deck at least 5 stories higher than the sky ride!! You can then spend time strolling the deck and looking out over the city from a unique vantage point. AMAZING - would love to come back and book in here for a week!! It has infinity pool and Jacuzzi on the roof as well as a garden and bar ;) Superb. The marina also has white balls floating in it which are filled with dreams - peoples dreams for the future (they fund them and money goes to charity). The Marina also has a football pitch and is currently under development for more shops and entertainment sites. Huge Development with multi-billion $ investment.

The shopping centre at the marina is awe inspiring with works of art in the walkways, named luxury shops that I had not known about till now rubbing shoulders with Channel, Ralph Lauren, Jimmy Choo, Cartier and Ferrari. One entire floor was dedicated to diamonds!! Clearly this is an area for the wealthy to shop in comfort - but it is wonderful to window shop here… Just outside the tree lined boulevards are gently watered with mist from pipes…

Night safari is one of Singapore’s top attractions ($50) and is worth the investment. It is a wonderful look into the world of the nocturnal animals and they are active at night. The Leopards are beautiful and the bats are HUGE and let loose to fly over your head!! A must see tour if you are here. In 2012 it will be joined by a new ride the river tour.

Finally a visit to Raffles Long Bar to sink a Singapore Sling ($29) which is an amazingly refreshing cocktail (18+ only) and the bar has free peanuts, which you can shell yourself and then drop the husks onto the bar floor. I spent a good hour in the company of another English gentleman ’David’ and must have gone through half a bushel of peanuts leaving a huge pile of husks on the floor behind me ;)

So - to sum up Singapore. A wonderful country with a wealth of opportunities to enjoy yourself both through activities and shopping. A city state with everything you could want with laws that encourage a polite and clean way of life - impeccable and somewhere that I would come back to on holiday if not to live.

I will let the photos tell the rest :)