Singapore

Our trip to Singapore from Tioman was a bit eventful and took nearly 7 hours (should have been 2 hours max!) - we were unable to fly directly to Singapore (their govt had closed the airport due to the haze & rain) but somehow we were able to fly to a Malaysian airport 30miles from the one we were originally scheduled to go to. From there we took a bus to Singapore - it was a cool experience crossing borders via the land route... this border crossing is nothing like the Canada/US or Canada/Mexico ones... you actually have to get out of the bus with all your belongings and go through the same security procedure as you would were you to fly to a country. The Singaporeans don't mess around - they search everything and everyone. Once you go through immigration then you get back on the bus on the other side of the border!

1. Eddie having a Singapore Sling at Raffles Hotel

Despite the long travel, we were very excited to be in Singapore - the most affluent and diverse country in SE Asia. We had a great location in the city and took full advantage of the HIPPO Tours - you HOPP on & HOPP off to see the sights. There are bus tours and also river tours - all for the price of one!! All the tours had English guides who were very witty and provided interesting facts about Singapore sights and culture. We got to see the Colonial District, Chinatown, Little India, the harbour (busiest in the world), the Botanical Gardens and drove down Orchard Street (although we did not stop to shop there!). At nights we took advantage of the diverse selection of dining options, enjoyed the famous 'Singapore Sling' at the Rafferty Hotel, had dinner on the Boat Quoy (great seafood but the vendors are annoyingly pushy), and explored the night markets (still not shopping! Very hard for Pantea!). We also took a trip to Sentosa Island. We had hoped to see the 'Magical Sentosa Laser Light Show' but unfortunately the stadium was at full capacity when we got there... hopefully next time. This is definitely someplace we hope to return to in the future.

2. City Tour

Overall, we thought Singapore (the Lion City!) was great and enjoyed it very much. It seems to have the best of the west and east... it's extremely clean and efficient, diverse, and very picturesque. It's a great blend of old meets new - they have done a wonderful job maintaining the historical aspects of the city while promoting growth and development. The people are very friendly and there are a ton of yummy (and sanitary!) dining options. We were especially impressed at how this small country has gained such wealth & prosperity in it's short 41yrs of freedom... amazing to note that not so long ago they were considered part of the third world but attained official 'first world' status in 2000!!!

3. View from City Tour Bus

Also impressive were the number of shopping malls everywhere; huge, big, sprawling malls (similar to the ones in KL, but even more of them if that's possible) - for such a small country it's surprising that they've devoted so much of their precious space to commerce... but somehow it seems to be working for them... there are no lack of customers & they keep building them (they're just about to open the biggest mall yet in ~ one month!) There is so much construction in Singapore that when the newspaper there asked people to vote on a national bird the overwhelming winner was for the crane, as in a construction crane!

The only negative thing was the haze that continues to follow us in our travels throughout this region - still no blue sky. It's getting a little depressing!

4. View from Hotel

Lastly, we found the security around the city to be excellent if not a little scary. At the airports the police (militia) roam the corridors with their machine guns up & ready to fire (not at all like the NYC security at some airports - no huddling in groups, joking and laughing with colleagues... the Singaporeans are very serious!)

5. Sightseeing River Boat

6. Merlion Fountain

Sentosa Island

The Esplanade - Theatre & Opera House