We ignored our backpackers' instincts which ...

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  Singapore, Singapore
Friday, October 26, 2001

We ignored our backpackers' instincts which told us to travel from Koh Phangan to Koh Samui the day before our flight to Singapore and put together a military style campaign which involved:
- Sleeping in and checking out as late as possible.
- Having breakfast at the ferry terminal.
- Getting on the latest possible ferry.
- Taking a taxi to Koh Samui airport.
- Getting on the plane.

The mission was accomplished successfully, although we walked from Big Buddha pier to Koh Samui airport. A taxi offered to take us there for 200 baht... Bloody Cheek! From the pier we could see the smiles on the pilots' faces as they landed the planes. We tried to haggle, but the taxi driver wouldn't budge, so we walked. It only took 10 mins. Thai taxi drivers are such con-men. It was a metered taxi so, had his meter been turned on, the journey would only have cost about 25 baht.

Despite this set-back, we checked-in our bags and still found time for lunch.

As Paul seems to be on the "FBI's 50 Most Wanted" list, and gets searched at every airport we pass through, we made sure his "weapons of terror" (bottle opener / leatherman / nail scissors) were safely packed away in his checked-in luggage. We went through to the departure lounge (a separate area in the shack that is Koh Samui International Airport) and had to pass through a metal detector and have our hand luggage X-rayed. They asked to see inside Paul's bag AGAIN. This time they confiscated his tiny British Airways fork... It seems unlikely anyone could hijack a plane with such a small fork, but you never know!

SINGAPORE

Singapore is well known as a clean and efficient city where nobody dares to step out of line. As we disembarked from the plane we did a quick check to make sure we weren't inadvertantly smuggling any chewing gum into the country. We didn't fancy 15 lashes of the cat-o-nine-tails as a "Welcome" to Singapore. Chiangi Airport was every bit as clean and efficient as we had imagined. We got through baggage reclaim and customs in less than 5 minutes and followed the well sign posted route to the basement bus terminal. Here we only had to wait 2 minutes before stepping onto our bus. Paul almost missed the bus because his left foot was routed to the ground by the most enormous lump of chewing gum we had ever seen. As with many campaigns against illegal substances, the war is yet to be won!

We stayes at Willy's Homestay (Cosy Corner) because it only cost Sin$28(US$17) for a double room with A/C and was located in the centre of town, just around the corner from the famous Raffles hotel. They also have dorm beds for Sin$8-10, but you are sleeping in a corridor... Still, if you've been in a NHS hospital this won't bother you.
Don't get excited about the "free breakfast included" - They had a big vat of black tea, no milk, and several loaves of sliced white bread open for you (and the flies) to spread some illuminous red jam on. No toaster... and no choice.

Singapore is a mixture of Asian and European cultures - These influences come together beautifully in the toilets at Willy's Homestay. You get a Western style toilet with an Asian style hosepipe (instead of toilet paper). If anybody knows how these work please email Paul, with instructions, as he drenched himeself several times!


Highlights of Singapore:-

- Foodcourts
One of the joys of travelling around the world is sampling the many culinary delights of each country. However, if you have a tight budget or short time-frame we can recommend "Culinary Asia in a Nutshell" better known as "Bugis Village Foodcourt". Here you can try every conceivable Asian dish under one roof.

- Sentosa
Sentosa is a resort sland with attractions ranging from golfcorses and beaches, to an aquarium and "Volcano land". We bought a "Sentosa Splendor" ticket (Sin$29.90) which gave us entry to six of the attractions and the return ferry trip. The ferry trip to the island was so short that it would have been quicker to swim.

There were some pink dolphins which were meant to perform. We sat down for the show which was eventually cancelled because the dolphins were more interested in the mating call coming from a male dolphin in a separate pool than playing with the trainers.

The aquarium has an acrylic tunnel with a moving walkway which you stand on whilst sharks and manta rays swim around and over you. It was a bit unnerving being so close to big sharks... especially knowing our next stop is Australia.

The Merlion is the symbol of Singapore and at the huge copy in Sentosa you can learn about early life in Singapore and climb up to a viewing are on top of its head.

The evening ended with a fountain and laser show - not worth hanging around for.


- Clarks Quay Satay Club
The satay at this collection of street vendor stalls is excellent - but the Indian men who took our orders and then ran off to the stands to buy it struck us as rip off merchants, but hey, we're tourists... why not rip us off!?

- Orchard Road
Shopping Mall Mecca... The kind of place where your credit card can melt. The malls fall into two categories; those with designer clothes shops; and those with "Electronic boutiques". These are the kind of shops which don't price their goods. The shopkeeper pounces on you quoting an inflated price which he then lowers "for cash" or simply because "you are a very special customer".

Beware of the tailor shops which offer "24 hour suits". This refers to how long the suit will last, not how long it takes to make.

- Night Safari at the Zoological Gardens
This is basically a trip around the zoo in a golf buggy in the middle of the night. However, the experience is much more than that. In the same way that a visit to Disneyworld has you believing that Mickey Mouse is "a real person", the Night Safari Rangers had us sitting on the edge of our seats, whispering in hushed tones, and searching the landscape in the hope of a rare encounter with a rhinoscerous. Great fun.

For those of you who need a little extra excitement in your lives a walk through the fruit bat enclosure is highly recommended.

- Fabulous Faberge
As we missed seeing the Faberge Eggs in Moscow (the Kremlin was closed on Thursdays - the day we were there) we jumped at the chance to see the Fabulous Faberge Exhibition at Singapore's Art Museum. This was the Forbes Magazine collection - 64 pieces of outstandlingly beautiful craftsmanship!

- Bukit Timah
This is one of only two rainforsets within cities in the world; the other being in Rio de Janiero. It is a good place to see monkeys, although they prefer to hang around the houses and dustbins outisde the rainforest. We also had our first encounter with a snake in the wild. It was swimming up the river and was close enough for us both to stop dead and go "Whoa... Snake!" At this point we decided it was time to move on.

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