We divided the rest of our time camping
on the beach at Pasir Ris National Park
on the Northeast side of Singapore
and living comfortably in the dormitory at Sleepy
Sam’s. Singapore
seems like a good place to live in Asia if you
could learn all the rules. It is illegal
to chew gum anywhere in the country or eat in the subway. One must pay a hefty fine for smoking in
public places, jaywalking or littering – reaching upwards to $1000 Singaporean
dollars (or approximately $700 US) for the offences.
Singapore’s strict rules may have
influenced the city’s wide sidewalks, readable street signs, drinkable tap water,
restaurant regulations, manicured parks, effective transportation and low crime
rate. As a backpacker traveling between the park and hostel -
the rules seemed reasonable and the announcements were all in English. Singapore even recycles their
subway tickets. I
just had to wait until my stop to eat my snacks.
Despite the free camping and
dormitory living, there was still a shopping mall on every corner and we had stretched our
pocketbooks to the max in Singapore. We headed back across the bridge into Malaysia and booked into a room in Kuala
Lumpur. We ate Indian food, watched a movie and changed gears from the
urban jungle of Singapore
to the world’s oldest jungle in Taman Negara National Park.
