Nancy’s Big Adventure

  It has been a pleasure to visit Singapore for a few days.  The food has been excellent (with few exceptions), the public transportation system is fabulous – I zipped around the island via bus, taxi, train, and on foot with no problem.  Here is a quick summary of the areas I visited:

Little India – This modest but colorful area of wall-to-wall shops, pungent aromas, and Hindi music is where I stayed while in Singapore. Centred around the southern end of Serangoon Rd, this is the place to eat great food and watch streetside cooks fry chapatis.  The Zhujiao Centre is the main market, but there are also interesting spice shops nearby. The best temples are Sri Veeramakaliamman, Sri Srinivasa Perumal, and the glitzy Temple of 1000 Lights.

Arab Street – The Muslim centre of Singapore is a traditional textile district, full of batiks from Indonesia, silks, sarongs and shirts. Add to this mix rosaries, flower essences, hajj caps, songkok hats, basketware and rattan goods, and you have a fair idea of the products haggled over in this part of the city.  The grand Sultan Mosque is the biggest and liveliest mosque in Singapore, but the tiny Malabar Muslim Jama-ath Mosque is the most beautiful.

Chinatown – Chinatown provides numerous temples, decorated terraces and frantic conglomeration of merchants, shops and activity. Unfortunately much of Chinatown has been torn down and redeveloped over the past 30 years, but it’s still a fascinating place to explore.

Orchard Road – A shopping paradise!  A main attraction for tourists, lured here by the shopping centres, nightspots, restaurants, bars and lounges.

Pulau Ubin – I enjoyed my day trip to this little island nestled between Singapore and Malaysia.

Changi Village – Changi Village, on the east coast, no longer has traditional kampong houses but it does have a bit of village atmosphere. Though the beach may not exactly be a tropical paradise, it does have the advantage of being almost deserted during the weekdays. On the way to Changi Village it is worth visiting the infamous Changi Prison. The complex is still used as a prison but next to the main gate is the Changi Chapel and Museum, which holds a replica of the chapel used by interned Allied prisoners during WWII. Memorabilia and notes pinned to the walls of the chapel are a reminder of that particular part of Asian history.

One place that I did not have a chance to visit is the world-class Singapore Zoo. Set on a peninsula, the zoo is home to more than 4000 residents. Endangered species include Komodo dragons, malodorous white rhinos, a charismatic orangutan colony, and blue-eyed white tigers with paws as big as your face. The zoo also claims to have the world’s largest primate collection.

Final comments – Singapore is a busy, efficient, and very clean city – I definitely recommend a visit!  Singapore is expensive when compared to other places in SE Asia, but it still attracts quite a few backpackers and hostelers, and it’s been great fun meeting up the the Europeans and Aussies and exchanging travel stories.  If you are a fan of the tropics, Singapore is apparently one giant sauna at any time of the year – it is very hot and very humid.  I am looking forward to my next destination in a slightly cooler climate.

Off we go!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 3rd, 2007 at 12:06 pm and is filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.