Singapore

***Storyline:* *Home to home westward***

End of May

It is hard to imagine that this modern, multicultural, sophisticated, effective, and should I add futuristic and utopic city-state, began its existence in its current representation only 54 years ago. It has millennia of history; however, modern Singapore was founded as a trading post by Sir S. Raffles in 1819 and gained its independence in 1965. But to rise in such a short period from a backwater colony to a global city and a leading financial centre with education, healthcare, safety, housing and quality of life all ranking high, is something one can’t ignore.

It was known to us as a state where one can be jailed for chewing gum or spitting on the streets. Before we began our trip, I read a lot of what to bring, what to do and what not to do in Singapore. Yes, there are some stringent rules, but why in the world should one expect to throw garbage on the streets and get away with it as in our modern democracies? While we were there, there was an outcry that someone was fined (I believe $600) for throwing away tires on the road. Heavens me, why would one want to do this to begin with?

I was prepared with the list of our prescription medications, notes from our doctor, proof of intended departure (airplane tickets for our return home from Bangkok, since we didn’t have exit tickets from Singapore – we would take a bus to Malacca and we had yet to find that bus), and all the stuff one can expect to be asked at customs and immigration.

Well, this was the fastest and easiest way through immigration, customs and out of the airport that we have ever experienced. They stamped our passports, gave us visa (a piece of paper), fingerprinted us (this is now done in many countries around the world) and off we went straight out onto the street via the “nothing to declare” exit. There were no declaration forms, no people to check or ask questions…. Alex said he noticed some around, but they were not up in your face.

This is a fascinating city that had produced lots of comfort for its citizens (freedom of speech regrettably excluded) and tourists like us. It is known for being clean. Yes, around the major tourist attractions, but not that much outside. (Inverness, the small Scottish city, is still on the top of my list for being the cleanest city we have ever been to.)

The most impressive thing is the feeling of space in this densely populated city. Trees and flowers are everywhere, wide streets, tall buildings, many with forests on their roofs and high-ceilinged rooms. We walked for two days and did not notice local crowds or traffic (which we knew existed because of our observation from the airport shuttle).

One lady who cleaned the tables at the buffet breakfast told us that everyone in Singapore has housing. “There are no homeless people”, she said. She is retired and doesn’t have to work, but does it to keep active.

This is the first city on our trip that we both said – we should come back to, since we didn’t schedule enough time to enjoy it. We did the major attractions, but there is so much more to see and do.

After a late evening arrival in Singapore, the next morning we found ourselves in a 3-star hotel with a forest, swimming pool and gardens with relaxation areas on the roof, a few storeys tall breakfast area/bar inside and out and a buffet breakfast with a huge selection of multi-ethnic favourites including fresh fruits and veggies.

The Holiday Inn Express that is, an inexpensive chain we’ve used a few times in Canada (with mediocre breakfasts there). Not sure how the stars are assigned to hotels, but this 3-star hotel by Clarke Quay in Singapore outclassed many 4- and 5-star hotels elsewhere.

The first day was for a walk through the city to Orchard Road where we had to buy tickets for Malacca. It was hot! Oppressively hot. Yet the greenery, the sidewalks and the huge open mall doors bowing cold air out made it for a pleasant walk.

Yes, we were really surprised by the fact that all the expensive, air-conditioned malls on Orchard Road had their huge entrance doors open. This cooled the sidewalks and we had no problem walking, albeit soaked in sweat.

The next two days were for the major attractions. Although the city is covered by public transportation we walked everywhere – as we usually do. Staying centrally helped.

Our route would take us through the Clarke Quay grounds, north and south shores of the Singapore river and Marina Bay, the famous Marina Bay Sands uber-expensive and ultra-modern hotel and the Gardens by the Bay with its iconic Supertree Grove, Flower Dome and Cloud Forest.

For S$23 one can visit the Marina Bay Sands SkyPark, the rooftop terrace (on the 57th floor) with splendid views of the entire city and the bay.

If you want to see the city and take amazing photos, don’t go for the bar-only ticket as some advise you to do because its cover being also S$23.

If you go to the bar you can’t actually get out of it and the views are very limited. If you want a drink, you can have it for half of what they charge in this bar just down in any restaurant on Clarke Quay and even cheaper away from the major tourist attractions.

The Flower Dome and the Cloud Forest are quite impressive with their structures and vegetation. I personally didn’t find the walk on the Supertree Grove bridge that impressive, after the views for the hotel.

But since we were in the Gardens we checked it off our list. If you have to skip some of the major attractions in this area, skip the Supertrees.

Given the fact that we enjoy local food, discovering some places off the beaten path was a major part of our tour too. In a mall on Orchard Road for the first time I made my own soup. Actually, all I did was to select the ingredients of seafood and the vegetables I wanted, no noodles thank you, and the broth and it was made for me.

Aside from trying some places on Clarke Quay and Marina Bay,

we also tried the famous Chinatown Complex Hawker Centre. One can find a full range of local dishes here for S$2 to S$4.

We only scratched the surface during our visit here. And although Singapore is known to be expensive, in the hindsight, accommodation excluded it wasn’t.

Looking at our expenses now, despite all the expensive drinks and eating out we spend CAD$43 per day on food for the two of us. Not bad at all. So our advice is, don’t get scared by its reputation of being expensive city.

If you have a budget you can make it work for you. We, for example, could have found much cheaper accommodation further out from the centre. It is a safe and walkable city. Eh, of course if you just want to eat in this famous hotel or another you can easily find yourself on the expensive side of the fence.

One other thing – their light shows are spectacular. So, no matter where you stay, make sure you get to Clarke Quay and Marina Bay Gardens in the evening.

There are many more places we wanted to visit, but our time was not enough to fit it all. We left Singapore by bus to Malacca, but we know that if we are back to the area, Singapore will be on our list to revisit. How can anyone build such a green, beautiful and comfortable/livable city just a degree north of the equator?

Singapore