Celebrations in Singapore

Singapore is sometimes referred to as the 'Jewel of Asia' but people's opinions on it are somewhat divided. Some argue that it's dull and draconian, with too many rules and not enough charm, whereas others see the luxury and glamour as standards to which other Asian countries should be aspiring to.






One benefit of living where we do in Malaysia is that we are just an 80p bus ride away from one of the most famous and vibrant cities in the world. Granted, the bus back to Malaysia is a little more expensive, at about £2, but the total is still less than it used to cost us to get a return bus ticket into town from our house in Reading (when I read that out loud it sounds ridiculous. Why are British buses so expensive?!). It's also fairly easy to drive across to Singapore, but there are tolls to pay and the parking can be expensive so if you have time on your side then the bus is the best way to go. Having said that, getting the bus from where we live does require a fairly elaborate display of arm-waving, as the bus isn't technically meant to stop here. But hey, this is Malaysia - not Singapore - so the buses just stop where they want :-)

We've only been over the bridge twice so far (not including trips to the airport!) but I can already see both sides of the great Singapore debate. It is perhaps lacking a little in the character of chaotic Malaysia and it can feel overly 'ordered'. There do seem to be a lot of rules; eating or drinking on the MRT (underground) can get you a pretty hefty fine, as can dropping litter and parking illegally. The city can also sometimes feel like it's focus is on mass consumption, and I've never seen so many shopping centres or 5* hotels in such a small area before. But on the other hand, when you're feeling a bit sorry for yourself and like you're a long way from anything that even resembles home, a visit to Singapore can be just what the doctor ordered. It's also quite nice that the buses run on time and there isn't a single fag end in sight.

One of Singapore's many shopping malls

On our first trip we decided to make a weekend of it as we were visiting for 'SG50' - Singapore's celebration of 50 years of independence. Although we booked a last-minute 'cheap' hotel room, the city is anything but - with a few exceptions, you are generally paying the equivalent of London prices in what is now regarded to be the most expensive city in the world. Therefore, on this visit we chose to skip most of the pricey popular tourist attractions such as the Singapore zoo and Sentosa island, and instead spent the day exploring on foot, trying the local food and absorbing the party atmosphere.

We started on Orchard Road which is the heart of Singapore's shopping culture, but we didn't indulge in any retail therapy so we just passed through and checked out the street art on the way.

Dan made a new friend along the way...

Then we headed to Little India to have a look around and get some lunch. 

We headed to the 'Tekka Centre' for cheap Indian food. It's hectic and a little confusing, with what seems like hundreds of different stalls each with numerous choices, but it's a great place to go for fresh and tasty curry at cheap prices. The tables don't belong to individual stalls; you sit where you like and then go and find something to eat. It can get crowded and people often end up sharing tables with strangers, eating alongside each other.   

After lunch we needed to walk off our full bellies, so we set off again on foot and didn't stop for the rest of the afternoon! I can't remember our exact route, but we wandered past Buddhist temples, squeezed our way through an enormous covered market, had a peek into the Raffles hotel and ended up by the Marina. We had just enough time to look in one of the temporary art galleries (installed for SG50) before the evening.

Our indulgence of this visit was a trip up to the sky view bar at the top of the Marina Bay hotel. It is the building that looks a bit like a spaceship; it's true that it is overpriced and not completely necessary as far as expenses go, but it's fun thing to do as a one-off and you do get a brilliant view of the sunset. Plus, you get a glass of wine included with your ticket :-)  

  

In the evening we were treated to some fabulous fireworks at the marina to celebrate SG50. We gave up trying to take photos (getting a good picture of flashing lights on a dark background requires some practise!) but here are a few of Singapore at night.

After a lovely but exhausting day we returned to our hotel room, which had a bed that was effectively on rollerskates and a window that did very little to block out the night-time activities of Little India's busiest road. Lesson learnt (book in advance!), but we were so worn out we didn't care and managed to have a brilliant snooze nevertheless after the first of what will undoubtedly be many days out in Singapore for us.