Hopefully, that stage is now coming to an end, as as I write this, I’m sat in Changi airport departures lounge (economy, for those that it matters to) waiting for my return flight back to London to finish off the packing, moving and visiting of people that I started off so many months back. It does feel a bit odd as it’s starting to feel like it’s really about to happen and I have sat in my inbox a confirmed one way ticket (business class this time) back to Singapore scheduled for a week’s time.
There’s nothing more final than a one-way ticket I find. It’s some kind of statement of commitment for the modern man I think.
So yes, I’m back off home to try and cram as many things in to the next few days. Top of the list, is visiting my folks who I know I’m going to miss a bit, even if I am a bit of a crappy son and don’t visit them enough when I’m only 200 miles away rather than 3000.
So what have I been up to on this trip and what gainful insight can I share with you.
Well reader, I can tell you that for a small lump of rock, Singapore is quite diverse amongst its geography. From one end to other, you can pretty much cover the East to central part of it by taxi in less than 45 mins by the coastal freeway. I’ve not ventured much West yet, as those that I’ve spoken to say it’s not really that interesting, but I’m a great believer in trying things out for yourself so I’ll not comment too much on that yet. But – the East and Central regions I’ve explored a bit and am quite impressed. The big thing that I’ve really noticed is that the place is built up of lots and lots of small enclaves that all seem to link into each other in a little magic web of villages. You can start out at Changi (the airport, which melds into the East Coast, which segues into Katong, which moulds into Mountbatten, which turns into Orchard, then Dempsey and so forth. It sounds like pretty obvious and much like any other city landscape, but the thing that separates it here from other cities I’ve explored is that the transition and difference in style between the parts is quite distinct. Last night I was in Dempsey for drinks and dinner, and it felt totally different in style, climate and physical appearance than anywhere else I’d been to here. Walking down the hill a bit and turning left and I found myself back on Orchard Road staring at the huge malls and shopping precincts that I’d become familiar with and that’s when it really hit me that under the skin of the premise that Singapore is all about shopping malls and Raffles, there really is a lot more of a mix than what you first think.
I really should put more photos up here to show this point. If only I could find a shopping mall that sold cameras… ;)
Dempsey is a bit of a find really. It’s a bit like an old colonial barracks at the top of a small drive littered with cool little eating places and arty shops selling everything from designer edged traditional style furniture to little boutiques selling arts and crafts.
I really enjoyed it and it’d make a cool place for a Friday evening out with a date or a group of friends.
As well as this, I also donned my tourist cap and also went to the Singapore Night Safari on Saturday. Now, the Night Safari is in all the guide books as a must do activity, and on the whole I had a fun time – although it really is exceptionally touristy and full of snotty nosed kids with some rather annoying parents. If you take it with a pinch of salt, it’s good fun. I think having actually been on a night safari in Africa I might have been coming into it with high expectations, but on the whole it was good fun bar the running commentary from the bloke at the front with the microphone banging on about general wildlife facts.
The other thing I did this week was a quick trip to Sentosa. Sentosa is a very small island on the southern tip of Singapore, which has recently seen loads of investment turning it into a small entertainment complex. It’s got some nice manmade beaches, a Universal Studios theme park and some quite cool bars along the seafront such as Café Del Mar and such.
You get to it via a little monorail train from Sentosa station or a cable car from the mainland, which was sadly closed.
I probably picked the worst day of the year to go there as it absolutely smashed it down with rain on the way there (and when it rains in Singapore it really rains). Luckily enough though, the sun came out in the afternoon and it was a pleasant enough day to sit out and drink a few frozen margaritas by the beach.
I bet it’s a great day out on a really sunny day, so quite looking forward to going back later in the year.
Sentosa is also home to the first casino in Singapore. There is now a second one at Marina Bay Sands (to be discussed another time) but this was the first and subject to quite a bit of commentary.
The Singapore government are quite a controlling bunch and deem that gambling is a something that their subjects should be controlled from doing, especially in Casinos. So, Joe Bloggs with a non-Singaporean passport can waltz in and fritter our hard earnings away quite merrily, but the locals have to pay something like $10K to get membership to go. Quite a deterrent!
I’ve not been to either yet, but will venture there next time I’m back.
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