Living There
Singapore gets something of a bad rep around the world as being the ‘world’s most sterile city’. And it’s certainly easy to see on first glance why the ‘Lion City’ has developed that reputation. This city is super clean. There’s no chewing gum on the streets or pavements and it seems like there’s no litter lying around.
That being said, the first point of call was to explore some of the nature Singapore had to offer. I wanted the jungle, not the concrete jungle. So, off I went to Pulau Ubin, a small island off Singapore, reachable via the ferry terminal at Changi Village. Renting a rickety old mountain with the girlfriend, we bumped along the trails, avoiding the monitor lizards and monkeys which seemed to pop out of nowhere. Awesome fun. Returning back to the mainland we gorged ourselves on the famous Singapore Chili Crab, and damn I have to admit it was pretty epic. Granted picking out the meat from the shell is a giant pain, the rick, spicy tomato sauce beautifully soaks up the bread mantou buns and filled us right up.
Back in town, it was time to explore the cultural scene. Singapore is by no means a large city so trekking on foot between the Arab Street area, Little India and the Central business district which is right adjacent to Chinatown made for an awesome afternoon (if incredibly sweaty!!!). Yea, tourists be warned, Singapore is crazy hot. You’ll soon understand why many of the locals carry umbrellas to block out the sun.
Day 2 was back to the basics and what Singapore is famous for: shopping and eating. So I’m a little embossed to say that most of the day was spent in and out of shopping malls along Orchard Road. Now this part of Singapore is clinical. Orchard road seems to be an endless line of shops and hotels. Blaegh!
After a somewhat exhausting weekend, I had to admire Singapore. For such a small city, it has so much to offer. From the history I learnt in the cultural quarters, Singapore is barely 50 years old as a nation and has had a pretty rough history. It’s just amazing how far it has come in that time. Amazing restaurants, bars and attractions, I know I’ll be back again soon.
I have to give credit to City Nomads (http://www.citynomads.com/) – a cool Singapore-based website where I found some ace recommendations… Particularly this article: http://www.citynomads.com/reviews/travel/446/things-to-do-in-singapore-for-tourists-a-quick-guide . Had an absolute treasure-trove of suggestions of what attractions to go see.
Hasta la vista Singapore. Until the next time ;).
