Singapore 17th - 21st August 2009

Hello all!

So we left KL and headed south for the very short journey to Singapore (or so we thought!) Our flight was delayed well over an hour which was almost three times as long as the flight itself! On arriving, being good little travellers we got a shuttle bus to our hotel rather than a taxi. Once we settled in to our room (a little disappointed that we had no view whatsoever) we decided to go for a stroll around Clarke Quay. Its really pretty and very modern - much like the areas around canary wharf. We stopped to eat at what was advertised as a pub (a slightly smarter three hammers) and ordered a few snack bits like wings and potato wedges - nothing special! Our bill was soo expensive that we decided we had to eat at mc donalds for the rest of our trip! And that was really a very good introduction to Singapore (AKA the most expensive place on earth!!)

We went to Orchard Road which is the Oxford/Regent/Bond street of Singapore. At home while we may have a starbucks on every corner - they have a Gucci or a Cartier!! Mall after mall was full of designer labels and we were a little disappointed as we had been told how AMAZING singapore is for shopping - and im sure it is amazing if u have a limitless credit card (Black card anybody??) There are no 'high street' shops and we ended up in an internet cafe to buy some time!

That night we went on a night safari - the only one in the world and it was amazing!!! By day its a zoo (but not the kind where u walk around and see animals in their cages) These animals are roaming free and all thats between u and them is a small feeble looking electric fence to keep the lions away!!! We started the safari by taking a 40 min tram ride around the park. We saw all kinds of animals ( lions, tigers, bears, elephants, giraffes, wolves, hyenas, wild dogs, hippos, crocs, leopards, flamingoes, buffalo to name a few!) We then followed trails on foot to see the animals really up close. Seeing these animals so close and at night is like nothing we've experienced before and we loved every second!!

The following day we wandered through china town and then took the subway to Marina Bay. The subway is fantastic - clean, on time and most of all air conditioned!! At the Marina we took a Riverboat Cruise along the Singapore river to see the sights. Well we discovered that Singapore doesnt really have any sights to speak of other then modern office block after modern shopping mall after modern hotel! We keep forgetting that it is a very new city, in fact celebrating its 44th birthday at the end of this month, therefore there is no incredible architecture to look out.

Singapore is an extremely modern and very clean city - however while some people have described it as clinical (which i think is a bit harsh) it does lack some character. Everything is very modern and purpose built which gives it a certain disneylike feel rather than a lively cultural city. To keep it so clean there are fines for everything, and not the sort of 25quid kind. For example, eating in the subway is a 500 pound fine; smoking is a 2,500 pound fine and the list goes on.

Tonight we are heading to raffles hotel where we have been told to order the famous SINGAPORE SLING - though we may just settle for a glass of tap water.

We head for New Zealand tomorrow, but don't actually arrive until the following day, so we will update later next week!!


Hope all is well back home


love Sam and Em!!

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