Singapore

Singapore

So I landed in Singapore, my final stop in SE Asia. My first impressions were - "this is not Asia" or at least it's some slightly altered version of it. It is perhaps the cleanest place I have ever been. The streets are spotless - thanks to strict government law which fines people heavily for littering and spitting. I was talking to one guy on my travels who said he had got a grilling from imigration whilst trying to enter Singapore because he was carrying chewing gum - they don't like chewing gum!!! The rest of the countries in SE Asia do not have street like this. On some streets in Cambodia and Vietnam they have huge piles of litter on the pavement with large rats crawling all over them, and in Indonesia (especially Sumatra) you can't drive down a single road without large dumps of rubbish being set alight into flames. Singapore is even ahead of London in the cleanliness game by a good mile.

The city is also ridiculously efficient and ultra modern. You only have to take a ride on the MRT (their version of the London underground tube) which gets you around the whole country in record time - and they are never late. Puts our tube service to shame really.

Saying all that - Singapore does still hold it's Asian characteristics. The people consist of mainly Chinese but are intermingled with a good number of Malaysian's and Indian's. As a delightful consequence, the food is varied and tasty. Singapore is a small country - it feels just like a large city and you quickly forget that it is a nation unto itself.

I covered a huge amount while I was here, partly because the place is not too big so you can walk a good portion of it and partly because the MRT will take care of further afield locations with ease. I walked most of the main central districts including the Colonial District which houses large, old British style buildings such as the Supreme Court. Went to the famous Raffles Hotel - beautiful building. I didn't have a Singapore Sling cocktail there (which is where the drink was born) because it was the middle of the day and, like the rest of Singapore, it was pretty expensive!!! I also covered the Central Business District, China Town and the Harbour Front. I trekked Little India (which is where I was staying) and walked down the shopping mayhem of Orchard Road - which is lined with modern shopping mall after modern shopping mall. I have never seen anything like it - if you can't find what your looking for on Orchard Road then your probably not from this planet. I found a daypack - it was my thrid in 4 months. The original one fell to peices after 3 and a half months and then I bought a fake one in Indonesia which lasted me exactly 6 days before disintegrating on my back.

I also took the famous cable car ride (with great views along the way) over to Sentosa Island - the theme park capital of Singapore, but by far the best thing I did here was....go to the zoo. The Singapore Zoo is awesome. There are no animals in cages - it's almost as though they live in their natural habitat - but don't. For example when you enter the bat zone - you walk through a series of doors, closing each one behind you and then your amounst all the bats - flying around your head. The zoo is huge - and I saw some stunning animals, including the White Rhino, the White Bengal Tiger (very rare) and the closest thing you can get to a dinosaur - the huge Komodo Dragon. One day I want to see these creatures in the wild, found on the island of Komodo in Indonesia, but for now - this would do!!!

Then once you have left the zoo - at around 7:30 - Midnight, just next door - the Night Safari opens up. It's exactly the same as the zoo except that it's at night and so all those nocturnal animals come out to strut their stuff. You walk about on selected paths or you can take the tram ride around. Sometimes it's hit and miss what actually comes out for you to see, but generally if your patient you can view whatever you want here. The Large Bengal Tiger, which came right up to us - was by far the most impressive. Awesome all round.

So thats it. After 4 unbelievable months - the Asian part of my journey is over. It''s feels like it has flown by, yet looking back I have done so much. It's been trmendous fun and highly emotional but all good things must come to an end. I will definately be back to this quater of the world, to explore further and return to some of those most memorable places of which I visited, but for now it will have to wait. A plane ride was taking me on a 5 hour journey, to one of the most popular backpacker destinations on the planet. With sun, sand, sea and a lot of kangaroo's - it was time for Australia........