Singapore is an interesting, and exciting place. A world apart from Thailand, even though it is only a few hours away in a plane.
Singapore is a well developed country. Economically, and socially. It does however have a lot of variety, considering it is only a small place.

The first night in Singapore, I stayed at Andys as I had to pick up my new debit cards (having lost them in Hong Kong). It was here that I found out a few fun facts.

i) In Singapore, it is illegal to have standing water as it attracts mosquitoes. Swimming pools for example must be kept moving.
ii) Chewing gum is illegal in Singapore.

Interesting huh?!

I then proceeded to head over to ‘Little India’ where I stayed for the rest of my time in Singapore. When I arrived there I literally had to push my way through masses of Indian people filling the streets. It turns out there was no special event going on… rather the Indians only get Sundays off, and thus Sunday is essentially party day for them.

The hostel I stayed at was The Inn Crowd. This was the first place I had experienced with dormitory style accommodation, and boy did they define it: 16+ people in bunk beds, mixed sex, 2 pathetic air con units, and sweltering Singapore heat. What I am basically saying is the sleeping arrangements offered by this hostel sucked BUT I did meet loads of cool people, they do offer free Internet, and the staff are really helpful. If you want the ‘traveler’ experience I’d definitely recommend it.

As far as things to do in Singapore… I visited both Merlions, the infamous symbol of Singapore. One is on the ‘mainland’, the other on Sentosa Island. I recommend a visit to Sentosa, which is easily reached on the sky train. It is essentially a theme park wannabee, money making, island thingy. Lots of attractions like a butterfly park, luging (which is amazingly fun), walks, bike rides, theatrical shows (Sounds of the Sea), and more.

I also visited Jurong Bird Park, which is really cool.. lots of cool birds, various hands on stuff, shows etc BUT by far the best attraction in my opinion is Singapore zoo… arguably the best in the world. I went to the night zoo/show, and it was awesome. It basically involved seeing an astonishing show involving fire, and semi naked men/women, followed my a show which involved ‘night creatures’ climbing all over you. In addition to this, there is a 45 minute train ride which takes you around showing you loads of cool animals in their nocturnal habitats, and numerous walking tracks if that takes your fancy. Well worth it.

Something that may be of interest.. I bought a pretty nice camera in Singapore, but, word of warning, you need to be careful where, and who you buy from as there are a lot of known scams/cons. I bought a camera because I needed one.. my phone camera was not doing my trip justice. If you are in a similar position I have been told that Thailand is your best bet for cheap electronics…. typical that I had just left there.

Singapore is a very cool place, quay side restaurants (including hooters), activities (such as jet boating), things to see, stuff to do, nice beaches, and good weather BUT I would say that I think Singapore is a 1 week kind of place. You don’t need any longer, and I can imagine it would get boring if you stayed any longer.

Either way, Singapore must be experienced.