Honeymoon - Days 1 & 2 - Singapore Slingshot

19/02/07
Weather : Day 1 - Warm, humid, overcast
Day 2 - Wet Wet Wet!
So, ignoring the day we arrived (which was made up of flying, sleeping & eating), we have had two full days in Singapore (although at time of writing only one full day has so far passed).
At first appearance, this is a city without its own identity. Everything seems to be imported from elsewhere. The language is predominantly English; the food seems a mix of American and Chinese; the shops could have been moved here from almost anywhere else. Even the people seem to be a mix from Chinese, Indian, Malaysian and Western heritages.
But when you stop and look more closely, something strange happens. That seeming lack of identity actually seems to create a unique identity all of its own. The people (at least those I spoke with) seem to have an underlying pride in their place in the world, and with good reason. Certainly there seems to be a friendliness to Singapore's inhabitants that is quite refreshing in today's current climate of suspicion of strangers. (This could well be in part due to Singapore's rule to not keep communities separate - if a block of flats has too many Chinese, for example, no more Chinese will be allowed to move into that block. And while there are Chinese, Indian & Malays areas, these are only meeting areas, not living areas.) Its a clean city too, well sort of. I don't think I've seen a single piece of litter our entire visit (other than one bit dropped by a tourist!), but inside the malls everything is just....scruffy. In the way that a Glasgow railway station is scruffy - there are no obvious signs of anything dirtying the place, it just is kinda grimy. (that said, being a public holiday, a lot of places were shut, so possibly there are nicer malls that we couldn't go into!)
But its the smells you notice most. So many different gorgeous aromas float through the air as you walk around. Its almost impossible to not be hungry with such spicy foods competing for your attention.

Did I mention that its Chinese New Year this weekend? Welcome to the Year of the Golden Pig. Apparently there are five "Year of the Pig"s - paper, wood, metal, gold & fire. The Golden Pig is supposedly a lucky year to be born in (take note Steve & Chris!). Of course, this means most things are shut here this weekend.
Still, we've had a good run at things. We spent Sunday (after a long lie!) working our way down Orchard Road, looking at many closed shops that Naomi was just dying to go into! After getting something to eat we proceeded back up the other side of Orchard Road back to the hotel, before getting picked up for the Night Safari.

I've got to admit, I wasn't as impressed as I thought I would be. The place itself seemed quite nice (if a tad overpriced - S$8 for an OJ?!), but I think my lack of enthusiasm came from being rushed by our tour guide. While very friendly, Mary Anne had an annoying habit of telling you the same thing six times (or more, if you'd let her!), and the tour seemed to have such a tightly fixed schedule that Naomi & I actually had to leave a show half way through for fear of the bus leaving without us - indeed, it nearly did anyway! Mary Anne seemed to be trying her best, and was full of interesting facts about stuff, but I'd have traded that in a second for having more time at the actual Night Safari.
The tram ride around the park was pretty good, although you never really stopped quite long enough at the more impressive animals (for me, the highlight was the 10 seconds or so during which we drove past the giraffes! (for those who don't know, giraffes are my favourite animal, don't know why, I just find them elegant)). The Fire Dancers show was ok, although a little boring in the middle (the bit without the fire!). The Night Creatures show was shaping up well, with a really funny & charismatic Indian girl presenting it. Unfortunately, this was the show we had to cut short in order to make the bus on time. Still, it was overall an experience we were glad we managed.

Once we got back to town, we headed to the one place we had to visit while in Singapore - Raffles. Its a pretty amazing looking place - you could easily see David Suchet's Poirot sitting in there feeling right at home. The rock music blaring from the band in the bar upstairs took away from the atmosphere a little, but it was good music, so I can't really complain! We were too late for food, so settled for a Singapore Sling each (well, you have to, don't you?!) Just about everyone else in the bar seemed to have the same idea - I'm sure the staff must get sick of making those cocktails!
Day 2 has had constant rain, which of course saw us on an open-topped bus tour of the city! While the various tours seemed pretty good, the weather dampened our enjoyment a bit. When it rains in Singapore, it really rains! Mind you, when it stops you dry out pretty quickly! Now we're just killing time until our flight.

Have we enjoyed our time in Singapore? Yes, on the whole.
Would we come back again? Probably not, except as a stopover. Its nice to visit, but for us doesn't have enough to keep us occupied for a full holiday.

Next stop, Sydney...