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SingaporeI elected to take the train to Singapore as that was the one form of transport that I had not yet used. I opted for a second class ticket (as opposed to first or third) and was pleasantly surprised at how much leg room I had. There was even a TV where they showed videos - almost like being on a plane (except the oxygen masks didn't work).The journey took about 8 hours which I mainly passed by listening to my walkman, reading and looking out the window. I had hoped that by taking the train I'd get to see some more of the countryside and scenery. To some extent I did, but a lot of it was just jungle anmd plantations (I probably should have expected this in a country well know for having lots of jungle). This was the first time that I'd ever had to cross an international border on a train, and wasn't too happy to discover that I had to cart my rucksack off the train, through customs and immigration and then back on again. We weren't actually told to do this - everyone just sort of did! Singapore railway station was a big disappointment. I had expected something very grand and sparkly, but instead ended up at what looked like a small station in the highlands of Scotland that was built in the heyday of the steam engine. Fortunately, there was someone there from a hostel in town who was looking for trade so sorting out accomodation was relatively painless. I wasn't quite prepared for what I got, though. Their idea of a dormitory bed was a bunk bed in the corridor between the private rooms and the showers - certainly an economical use of space! 
Singapore is a very clean city (still saw a rather large rat on the steps
up to the hostel, though) but it has not been sterilised of all atmosphere.
Little India is a great place to wander around, there are loads of little
restaurants and little spice shops all over the place. The smell from one
of the spice places was so overpowering that I had to sit down - I daren't
imagine what it would have been like to eat the stuff! Downtown Singapore
has a multitude of shopping malls and posh hotels, the most famous of which
is probably Raffles, the home of the Singapore Sling. I wonder
how much a bed in the corridor would cost there....One of the main attractions of Singapore is the zoo. It has a reputation for being one of the best in the world. Spent an afternoon looking around, but I'm not really a zoo person so I didn't get too excited. There was a lot of hypse surrounding the Komodo Dragons, but in the flesh they didn't look particularly large or fiersome! I also went on the night safari. The idea of this is that you can see the animals in their nocturnal habitat so you might get to see lions feeding etc. I did see some goat-like creatures grazing, but the more interesting creatures didn't seem too keen on providing any enterntainment!! There was a very impressive enclosure with some huge bats flying around - I wonder if they were in contact with Air Traffic Control... The Singapore rapid transit system is very handy and efficient, but you've got to be very forceful to get out of the train! When a train arrives at a busy platform, all the passengers who want to get on try to do so before anyone has had a chance to get off! Its like fighting against a tidal wave of people. On my final day in Singapore I went for a bit of history lesson and went to see the Battle Box which was the command post used by the British when Singapore was under attack from the Japanese in 1942. This was the first time that the British Army had surrendered, although they had precious little choice by the sounds of things. As a Brit, I found this all very interesting as my knowledge of history is sadly lacking (I avioded History where possible at school). Three days was plenty to do all I wanted to do in Singapore. I left on June 1st - a new month and a new continent! |