Hi Folks
We arrived in Singapore on 8th April and promptly made use of the MRT (tube system) to make our way to our accomodation. Completely hassle free, the MRT is a dream to use and you could eat your food off the floor (if is wasn't for the fact that yuo'd get fined $500 for eating on the trains!) As you may or may not know Singapore funds itself through the money it collects from fines applied to virtually everything you do - you've got to be sooo careful. Having said that, it goes a long way to explaining way this country is so clean, safe, orderly, convenient and beautiful. It was easily the place where we have felt the most safe on all of our travels... you'd see kids on the trains multi-tasking with a mobile, iPod, PS2 etc etc on on display. Maybe it boils down to the fact that drugs (all manners of usage and trafficking) carry the death penalty in this country and so nobody is doing them, therefore there is no need to carryout the awful crimes (like we were subjected to in SA) so fund their addictions.
The people are very private and rarely make eye contact or start a conversation with you, maybe thats just the way they are. Some people who live here have great lifestyles but at what price? To afford the techy gismo's, a nice apartment, shopping at designer boutique must come with a hefty stressful job in the city...who knows.
We hit Orchard Road to check out the shops. We are but humble backpackers and our wardrobes consist of cheap threads sold at Thai markets fresh from the back of a truck, needless to say we felt a little scruffy in some of the absolutely gorgeous shops in the several Malls on the strip! We bought ourselves another camera and merrily started snapping away, we went sight seeing and after a hard days grafting on the streets of Singapore we had dinner on the Quay Side (a tick off the list!) Bloody expensive though, boy they know how to take advantage!
In some places it was like home away from home with all the familiar shops, it felt like going up and down Oxford Street in London and felt even more so after we developed 'London Legs' (basically where they ache sooooo much and your lower back stiffens up!)
On Easter Sunday we went to Singapore Zoo which was awesome, Licci even had the chance to have a photo taken with the Orang Utans (but they wouldn't let her hug one which she was very disappointed about!) Had a Ben & Jerry's waffle bowl of Ice Cream in place of a phat Easter Egg!
If we had to sum up Singapore in 3 words, they'd be: Safe, Sassy but Expensive!
Onto Darwin next...
Licci & Jay
xx
