Singapore
By Marianne Gray
The centre of town has old
colonial buildings dwarfed by
stunning skyscrapers. The
surrounding areas are full of
high-rise apartment blocks and
townships that are modern and
good-looking.
M
ost people visiting
Singapore rush to the
Long Bar at Raffles Hotel to
drink a Singapore Sling and
then fly on. However,
Singapore has far far more
to offer than a sugary
cocktail.
about 5 1 ⁄ 2 million. The language
is English and the local people
are unexpectedly friendly …
slim and comfy in their skin as
they glide around calmly in that
elegant South East Asian
manner. It has many areas,
such as Little India, the 1820s
Chinatown and the expat Brit
section with its intriguing Black
and White houses that look like
Reigate.
Of course, it’s not the end of
the world going to the
handsome 1887-built hotel
with its liveried Sikh doormen.
But Singapore spouts cocktails
in gorgeous places like the
Marina Bay Sands, with its
infinity pool high in the sky, or
One Fullerton, previously the
handsome Post Office, where
roof views are awesome in the
true sense of the word.
Singapore, an island city-state
off southern Malaysia, is a
global financial centre with a
tropical climate and
multicultural population of
It’s all very green, very clean
and blissfully well organised.
The buses and metro work and
the taxis are cheap.
Having the climate it does, the
vegetation is exotic and
brilliant flowers tumble over
walls, in the middle of the road
and around any piece of stray
earth. The 158-year old
tropical gardens in Tanglin is a
UNESCO World Heritage Site
and it is so gorgeous. If you
love flowers don’t miss the
Flower Dome, the world’s
largest glass greenhouse which
is utterly remarkable with its
towering vertical garden.
People tend to think Singapore
is madly expensive but you can
eat very cheaply, especially
excellent “pavement food” in
cafes and in food streets like
Bencoolen Street where at
places like Fatty’s a frenzy of
harrassed waiters will serve
you mountains of delicious
food for surprisingly little. Or go
north to the labyrinthine
Mustafa Centre and find your
way up to Level 7 and the
rooftop Indian restaurant which
has simply sublime food. Or go
to Chinatown’s Kreta Ayer for
great hawker food. If it’s a
reviving gin you’re after, the
lovely art deco Atlas Bar in
Parkview Square has zillions of
different kinds.
There are so many things to
see – museums like Changi,
about WW2 and the Japanese
Occupation; Peranakan, about
the local people and their
culture; and The Battlebox,
where you walk around the
former British underground
command centre where the
decision to surrender Singapore
to the Japanese was made in
1942. It is complete with
models of the real people in
their offices. There is also the
ArtScience Museum which is
constructed like an iconic lotus.
But keep your eyes open. You
might spot something
eccentric, like
BooksActually
(www.booksactually.com)
with its three cats sitting on
top of heaps of the latest
books. Or the even more
dotty, The Cat Café
(www.thecatcafe.sg) where
you can drink your coffee
surrounded by dozens of
remarkable cats taken in from
a sanctuary to live in the lap of
luxury and entertain the
punters.
In Singapore there’s never
enough time to have your fill
of adventures! Singapore might
be hot but it is a really cool
place.
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