Uniquely Singapore

The Singapore tourist slogan is 'Uniquely Singapore', and for once it seems that the marketing people didn't lie!?!

Singapore is beautifully unique. Where else in the world has crazy fines, crazy shopping and even crazier drivers?! No spitting, no gum, no urinating in public (doh!)... the list goes on. And yet there are cheap taxis, great transportation, cheap food, wonderfully diverse cultures, sago, reflexology massages and cheap shopping. If they could sort out the cost of alcohol (!!!!) and do something about the weather, then I am sure that I could happily live here for a while.

We were met in Singapore by Ray's friend Andre, who had the pleasure of introducing us to our first taxi trip. Turns out that cars are too expensive to buy, but using taxis is dirt cheap. We were lucky enough to stay with Andre (and his partner Pat) for the duration of our trip and so we headed to their flat to freshen up. Smelling pretty, we headed to a bare-foot restaurant in Little India... just as well we showered! I didn't realise that food could taste so good when surrounded by peoples bare feet! (*grin*)

Over the next couple of days we did an endless amount of shopping. Any temptation was removed by my regretfully full backpack and awareness of just how heavy 20kgs is! (*sigh*). We loved Sim Lim tower and its endless electrical shops. Ray seemed to attract a continuous chant of 'iPod, iPod', and I think insulted a few when he laughed at them. Guess that they know what most tourists buy, but we resisted their encouragement. In the end we did buy ourselves some new mobile phones (HP iPAQs 6515... for those who care), and I also bought myself a media player (Archos AV500). Yay... more toys to play with!! Just as well I brought my propeller along too! (Oops... IT geek joke!) (*sheepish grin*)

Standing out in the crowd seemed to be a common theme in our trip. No only was I the only blonde in most locations (in so many ways!?!), but the locals took great delight in watching us do anything. At the Singapore Dumpling Festival we attracted onlookers when attempting to eat the sticky rice without making a complete mess. They cheered us on, gave us the thumbs up, and even asked our opinions on whether it was a good dumpling (Yeah... like we would have a clue!). At least we can say that we contributed to the happy culture that Singapore has.

If you know Ray, then you will be aware that his entire reason for travel (and for being) is FOOD. Singapore was a quest to try anything that looked, smelt, sounded or even oozed 'different'. We tried stingray, fish balls and every type of fruit imaginable. So on our second last day I suggested that we try a new kind of food... sophisticated! So we headed to Raffles for their famous Afternoon Tea. We sat down and ordered in a sophisticated way. The champagne arrived, a sip... so far, so good. Food, tea... still looking polished. We even remembered to use our cutlery on the tiny little tartlets. Then.... it all came crashing down as Ray delicately cut into a liquid filled cake. Thus the splattering began. Firstly it hit the plate, then the table, my champagne glass and finally settled comfortably into my cup of tea. How sophisticated can 'One' feel when most of the restaurant staff watched and chuckled at the clean up. Oh well... at least we feel like we contributed to Singapore's happy culture! (*blush*)

As for my favourite moment... I was lucky enough to catch it on video. Picture this... a wax museum, a local pretending to be a wax model and an unsuspecting pair of Korean girls. Very funny! I'll see if I can put it on my new website (once it is up and running).

So, as you can tell we loved Singapore. Of course who wouldn't love a place that has McDelivery 24/7! (*Big McGrin*)

Hugs & Huge smiles!
Xx

Coming soon to a website near you.... --> www.lotsasmiles.com