Last Thursday, I found myself having to head down to the city of Johor Bahru to attend a site meeting and decided to take a 20 min bus ride and jump across the border into Singapore. Taking Friday off, I set about wandering the streets of Singapore, much as I had explored KL a few weekends ago. What I found was a lovely city that reminded me heavily of home during summer – especially the Marina area. The one major difference was in the insane number of warning stickers posted around the city. Each violation containing a considerable fine. While you could argue that the system works – the city is the cleanest I’ve ever seen, it did come across as a slight overkill at times.
While there it also gave me a chance of catching up with my friends whom I had not seen in almost a year. However, my biggest surprise came from the city itself. When all is said and done, Singapore city is much like any other Asian city centre – with its looming skyscrapers and its bustling markets – however the thing that set this city apart for me was how pedestrian friendly it was. When I say this, I of course am making a direct comparison with KL, but this may be a little unfair – after all, Singapore is a lot smaller and in some respects more manageable than KL. Still, I had no problems in wondering around on my feet or using the public transport.
Most of Friday was spent walking through southern Singapore, seeing the sights and sounds of Chinatown, the Marina, the towering CBD and the newly completed Gardens by the Bay. It was in the evenings that I found time to enjoy the company of old friends while lounging around at the Marina eating lovely Satay (Skewered chicken or lamb meat dipped in Peanut sauce and onions).
The affects of walking all day were felt on Saturday morning where my legs refused to move. Still, after a lovely cooked breakfast, it was time to brave the tourist crowds once more. This time visiting Little India via Singapore’s equivalent of Oxford Street – Orchard Road. Both places were fairly lively given that it was a Saturday morning, though the rain showers meant the streets of little India weren’t as bustling as I had been promised. It was here that I had a chance to try some Banana Leaf Rice – effectively rice and curry served on a Banana Leaf. Traditionally the banana tree would be grown in the back of the restaurant thereby making it a completely eco-friendly dining experience. Saturday night was spent drinking perched on the terrace of a rooftop brewery overlooking the stunning view of the Marina at night.
Sunday was a lazy day by comparison. The necessity to take the 5 hour Coach back to KL meant there was just enough time to see the Harbour and view the isle of Sentosa – Singapore’s resort island, home to Universal Studios.
And like that, the long weekend was over – and it gave me 3 hours left of the Sunday to recover and get ready to face the inevitably long and tiring week ahead at work…
