This time last year...

...we were in Singapore
We met Angad Singh here
He introduced us to the pleasures of mock meat.
Singapore impressed us with its immaculately clean streets, super efficient transport system, high tech gadgetry and magnificence of Sentosa Island. The night zoo was a highlight - the only one in the world apparently. And if you're into shopping, Orchard Road is paradise! We were here during Christmas so the whole place was teaming with Xmasy festivities and decorations.

A bit too pricey for the average backpacker though - perfect for short stays for families.

And the service in restaurants is appaling.

Garden City!

Also an allias to Singapore.

FOOD FOOD FOOOOOD!
Was amaaaaazing!!!!

This is Gurchran digging into some chicken, shrimp and pork ribs! No, not the real thing before you start jumping up and down!!! Its all mock meats...and very delicious!

Yes - its a chocolate dosa!!!! and it was reallly nice!

A masala dosa! mmmmm!

Angad SIngh

We met a lovely gursikh in Singapore - you may know him from his blog.

Angad Singh and Gurcharan at the street food market.

Angad Singh took us to a street food market - here we were introduced to the delights of Singapore's mock meats. In this pic we're munchin on duck, chicken and fish!

Botanical Gardens…
We managed to visit the Botanical Gardens and were pleasantly surprised to find that it was free. It is a massive park – but unlike Hyde or Regents Park, this one has jungle trails and loads of exotic plants! They have a wonderful orchid garden (this you have to pay to go see – only about 2 pounds). Gurch fully well knows – I am a big flower fan, and this simply took my breath away. Gurcharan was thoroughly impressed too. Word of warning – never do this on a warm day which is the mistake we made.

Toy Museum…
Gurcharan took me to the Botanical Gardens – so I took him to the MINT Toy Museum. Both of us were very impressed with that. They had the old favorites from childhood. And some other interesting items!

The island of SENTOSA…
Hmmmnnn….sounds more like the name of an Italian mobster! But this is the themed island of Singapore. It has romantic beaches, pricey restaurants, shows (Songs of the Sea is one of the shows here – read previous post for details on this) as well as a pink dolphin show, 4D cinema is quite a treat. We took a cable car ride to the island from Singapore mainland – which was kinda scary for me at first, and G wasn’t helping when he started rocking the cable car! I eventually got over it and was mesmerized by the view – it was quite romantic actually! :o) It was nice to see large groups of elderly Indian and Chinese aunties and uncles here enjoying themselves. It looked like package tours for the elderly are common here and it’s nice to see that the elderly take the time to go out and enjoy themselves with their friends. I wish I could see more of that in the UK.

I got a littly bit scared in the cable car - especially when Gurcharan was rocking it!

Underwater world...

This place is something else - still within the Sentosa Island. Its got the biggest tunnel i've ever seen. We got to see some fantastic deep water creatures here. An added feature is a "interactive area" where you can actually stroke the manta/sting rays!

Gurch in the tunnel - the sharks had some nasty teeth!

4D max...

The island has a cool 4D cinema...

Dolphin show...

In the evening we went to a pink dolphin show (still on Sentosa Island). A first for me - I've never seen a dolphin before!

Bird Zoo...

This is not on the island - they had a great show and birds that actually did talk! Another first for me - i have never heard a bird say 'hello'!

Our room in SIngapore was teeny weeny eeny! but it was clean and quiet and cosy! :o)

Lion City!

Otherwise known as Singapore!

the White Tigers, there were 3 in the enclosure, amazing!

For a country, it’s a tiny little place – but with quite a punch packed into it! I can honestly say it puts London to shame!

Streets are clean, the facilities immaculate, transport systems efficient, internet speed’s superfast…I could go on!

It is a haven for the ‘stop over tourist’ – meaning it’s somewhere you would visit for 3-4 days before moving onto somewhere else. This is due to the size of the place – they say you will hit the sea within15 minutes of traveling from anywhere in any direction.

However, it’s a nightmare for the budget traveler. The prim and proper country comes with a price. Budget accommodation is rare, almost always fully booked unless you book way in advance and you get much less for your pennies here. Coming from Bali and Thailand, we were not prepared for the shock – we got a bed and four walls here for the same price of a hotel room with with a pool and a view in Bali! Saying that, food is cheap-ish. Transport on the ever-so-efficient MRT (equivalent of the London Underground) is fairly cheap.

Its great for families – its geared for kids and boy does it take the gold medal! I must admit I did miss the family during my stay here – it’s somewhere best visited with the folks and siblings and kids (if we had any!). We have seen some fantastic shows/places/activities:

Our favorite so for is the Songs of the Sea – pyrotechnics, hydraulic powered, laser lights, massive fountains, projectors – all create a fantastic show that vowed even us who have been to some award wining shows in the West End in London.

Above, some pics we took, you can just make out the 3D images projected into water fountains

Another favorite is the Night Safari and Singapore zoo. The zoo had some incredible animals. The night safari is unique to Singapore. Nowhere else in the world will a golf trolley drive you through jungle landscape to view nocturnal animals in their own habitat. No cages here – just carefully sculptured landscape that prevents you from being the leopards/lions dinner! The clever design of the safari allows the visitor to have great views of the animals. I was quite surprised at the number of animals we managed to see, I initially thought the animals would be in hiding and shy from any nosey Homo Eructus.

The lion was scared, he didnt even look at me!

to be cont…