Singapore is an intriguing country that has always fascinated me. To use a sporting parlance, the country reminds me of the little guy who is always punching well above his weight, the guy who gets extraordinary results despite what seems to be overwhelming physical deficiencies. For example it’s incredible to note that Singapore, with a population of over four million people, has the fourth largest foreign exchange trading centre in the world. This country is a serious player on the world stage in spite of it’s tiny size, an island state of sixty three islands situated just below East Malaysia.
Continuing from the previous journal, dear reader, I caught a bus down the south east coast of Peninsula Malaysia into Johor province, and from there crossed the Johor-Singapore causeway into Singapore. I immediately formed the impression that Singapore is a major player, as the causeway was jammed with traffic including endless lines of lorries shipping goods between the two countries. After clearing immigration, I headed into the backpacker area on the superb public transport system and checked into a quality hostel.
There’s heaps to see and do in a visit to Singapore, including something we all love … eating! The food stalls are called Hawker Centres here, and it’s a national pastime for the Singaporeans to chow down at the centres. Travellers will experience a slice of heaven going out for a meal, as there are a huge variety of stalls offering superb Asian cuisine at extremely affordable prices. As a matter of fact I can’t recall the last time I’ve eaten so well on my overseas travels.
The main tourist strip is Orchard road, and the street really gorgeous. Singapore has a tropical climate and mature trees line every street in the centre of the city. When it comes to Singapore I reckon it’s the most beautiful high rise city in the world, and in my mind’s eye I pictured Sydney with the main streets lined with magnificent mature trees. It makes for an impressive sight, and even the strips along the highways are lined with impressive foliage. The work that goes into landscape gardening in Singapore is extraordinary, and the country overall is spotlessly clean. There are heavy penalties for littering here, and the locals take great pride in their city.
There were several other travellers at the hostel, and I enjoyed heading out to explore the city with them. We went out for meals each evening, and strolled around the city to check out the famous tourist spots including Raffles Hotel. However, there’s one trap for young players when you go out at night, as I discovered with an English lad we went to a few bars along the Singapore river … the beer is incredibly expensive! We nearly fell over after purchasing a jug which cost the equivalent of $35 Australian, but if you don’t purchase a jug the bouncers bar entry to these flash establishments. We chatted to some well heeled local girls who explained that Singaporeans don’t really like beer as a rule, and that may be a factor in why the prices are so exorbitant; apparently the locals prefer to drink spirits. We went from bar to bar, and one bouncer tried to charge us a second time for entry to a bar we were drinking in an hour before. We had a good night out on the town in Singapore, but going out regularly in the city would not be a nightly occurrence if travelling on a tight budget.
The people of Singapore are serious about doing well for themselves, with education standards at a world class level and a dynamic market based economy with a thriving export industry. The country is also an international hub for long haul flights between Australasia and Europe, making Singapore ideally placed as a stopover and by extension a business centre in the region. I enjoyed my brief visit to this dynamic little country where, basically all of you should be here now!
“A direct path merely takes you to your destination.” Andre Gide
It’s home time so until next time, I’m signing off for now
Tom
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Tom's music blog can be found here:
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