A day out in Singapore

Orchard Road - the main shopping street

So two Thursdays ago, I spent the day in Singapore. A modern, clean city island nation with a population of over 5 million and blends both Malay, Chinese, Indian and European cultures. It is safe to say that Singapore is an anomaly amongst all the other Asian countries. To be honest, it was also an opportunity to get out of Jakarta and get some fresh air in my lungs and not worry about what filth I am going to find under my shoes. People I know who have been to Singapore have all said variations of the same thing. Basically, that it is nice and modern but it is not Asia as we know it. Either way, I was intrigued and having a few hours in a country has to count for something right?!

So why spend only a day there you ask? Well! My friend Manc C and I, were only there to get our 'paperwork' in order. We got up at before the crack of dawn to make our way to Jakarta International for our 6:30 flight. We arrived at Singapore Changi Airport at 9 in the morning. We both were hungry and tired but we had to find the agent to do our paperwork first before anything else. So we hopped on the Skytrain that linked us to the MRT, Singapore's efficient and reliable rail network that became our main mode of transport for the day.

After running around like headless chickens, we found our man and a Subway (Yes the sandwich joint, don't judge me!) We dropped our stuff and headed over for some grub. Totally missed having sandwiches with pork in it! After satisfying ourselves with some delicious subs and soft drinks. We decided to head to Chinatown to find some bargains. 

Chinatown as the name suggests is a district where the majority of the Chinese population work and live. Lots of tea shops, reflexology people trying to get some custom, beauticians wanting to thread away whatever available body hair you have and of course clothes shops LOTS of clothes shops. Sadly, I did not find anything that was flattering or particularly cheap in terms of clothes and neither did C *le sigh*. But, Chinatown had cool and funky architecture which is always cool to see in a new country.

Sri Marriaman Temple

After our wee wonder around Chinatown, we moved onto Little India to find some dinner and booze most importantly. There was one thing we did not count on, the rain! By the time we left Little India station; the heavens opened and soaked us (bless C, she did not have an umbrella so she got the brunt of it.) After taking shelter in the nearby market, we walked along the streets noticing the curry houses, butchers selling goat, florists arranging garlands of marigold for presumably a wedding. But time was of the essence and we needed somewhere to eat and drink.

We decided on the Banana Leaf Apollo Restaurant which specialised in North and South Indian Cuisine. We indulged in a bottle of Red Wine (my old friend!) and our food was to die for! I had the Mutton Ghost Bhuna with Butter Naan and C had Vegetable Biryani and Prawn Rogan Josh. We were very pleased with our spread:

Dinner 

Time was of the essence as our time in Singapore wound down. We had to go and get our documents and get the plane back to Jakarta.

So what did I think of Singapore? Well, I liked it! It's clean, modern and multicultural; three things that I love about a city or a nation in this case. It was a refreshing change from the grittiness and chaos of Jakarta. The architecture is certainly a lot more interesting in Singapore than in Jakarta. I would like to go back and do a proper tour as I missed out on the Harbour and do some proper shopping.

Have you ever been to Singapore? What was your impression of it?