Singapore Sling

Singapore is a small independent island the size of Greater London, straddling the coast of West Malaysia. It’s a dense country comprising only of a city of the same name in what many term as a “melting pot” of cultures, with locals comprising of Chinese, Indian, Malay and British citizens. Founded by the commander Sir Stamford Raffles in 1819 under British rule on and off until 1965, the city emerged as a trading and more recently a financial hub of South East Asia.  Major worldwide institutions are headquartered here and have constructed large offices to shape the iconic Marina Bay skyline. As well as sky high buildings the country is known for its sky high prices; housing is eye-wateringly expensive and driving even more so – the cost of a permit to drive is an astonishing $60k USD before even purchasing vehicles (which go at around 3x the prices in the UK), tolls, parking and road tax.

One thing I really liked about the city was it’s emphasis to make it a “city within a garden”. There’s such a fantastic array of vast green spaces, like Gardens by the Bay, a reclaimed Island park with indoor parks (including a waterfall) and an outdoor spaces showcasing local fauna. But my favourite was the Singapore Botanical Gardens, an older park but with a huge variety of tree and plant species with beautiful open spaces. The locals are really lucky to have such a beautiful retreat on their doorstep and it sets the standard for all gardens – I say this and I didn’t even see all of the park, such was its expanse.

Singapore Botanical Gardens

Gardens by the Bay

Of course there’s the famous Singapore Zoo, and in true Singapore style it has been designed fantastically well with the animals not enclosed but free to roam (well, not completely free thankfully) in a preserved area of rainforest. The zoo is huge and in a whole day we couldn’t see all the animals, and there were some unique ones like the White Tiger and Proboscis Monkey, as well as our old Orangutan friends..

Singapore Zoo

Singapore Zoo

Singapore is a shoppers paradise, at least it is if you have a bottomless bank account. There are malls everywhere, with so many upmarket brands that I felt slightly queasy just walking round after a few hours! Orchard road, a bit like London’s Oxford Street, is one of the major places that these brands make their presence and the sheer scale of the shopping opportunities is often just beyond comprehension.

Aside from the big malls the city still retains its cultural areas. It was great to browse round the weird and wonderful goods in the expansive Chinatown, and the relatively-chaotic atmosphere in Little India felt like a dose of nostalgia from my experience in Delhi last year;  all a far cry from all the modern and luxurious developments that Singapore often portrays to the world. Particularly beautiful was the “Budda Tooth” temple in Chinatown.

Buddha Tooth Temple

Around the Marina Bay area is where some historic sights are located and also since 2008 the track of the Formula 1 Grand Prix. It was eerie to walk along the abandoned pit straight which would usually be packed with fans like myself and screaming race cars, instead just sitting gathering dust. While we were there a huge storm was brewing and sirens blaring to warn of immediate lightning strikes, and in retrospect it probably wasn’t a great idea to be roaming round in the middle of the area taking pictures!

Nishay doing his best to avoid getting struck by lightning

Elsewhere around Marina Bay was the iconic Marina Bay Sands hotel, an enormous boat shaped structure towering over the city. It looked big in pictures but in person it really was gigantic. A trip to the top treated us to a beautiful sunset vista of the Port of Singapore with hundreds of ships dotted around for as far as the eye could see, and the endless concrete mega-structures with a bird-eye view more historic sites such as the Raffles Landing Site and Merlion Statue.

View to the Port of Singapore from Marina Bay Sands

Me with the Singapore Merlion

There were only a handful of less positive impressions I had with the city. Sentosa Island which accommodates various theme parks felt a bit too “wannabe western” with generally poor attractions with the exception of the S.E.A aquarium which was excellent. I think the place could do with some investment to provide a unique Asian flair with more unique attractions to showcase the cultural identities which make the country stand out beyond all others. You could also say the same for some of the newer developments in the city, luxurious as they are, they sort of dilute the culture of Singapore a bit too far away from it’s very rich history into too much of a Dubai of the east, if you see what I mean.

S.E.A Aquarium at Sentosa

Overall I was truly impressed with Singapore. The infrastructure and government mind-set to think-ahead and provide an exceptional living environment for it’s citizens really shows, especially the investment in a clean, safe and orderly environment. The commitment to establishing green spaces within cities is critical as urbanisation increases and Singapore sets a fine example of how we can achieve a balance between the needs of humanity and the environment. Combined with its glorious climate and proximity to other countries in SE Asia I might consider swapping London for Singapore one day. And so after a very painless flight back to London our 2 week adventure came to an end.

We reflected on an eye opening excursion into foreign cultures and catalogued another dimension into our travel experiences. I’m looking forward to my next visit to Asia in the near future and can’t wait to share the experience, stay tuned!

-Shonak