Sightseeing and Football in Singapore

I don’t know if it was the great company, the amazing food or just the impressive scale of the city that made me fall in love with Singapore, but I really did love it. It’s one of the best cities in the world.

We stayed with a great group of couchsurfing veterans who showed us around, made us feel right at home and gave us some great tips about the city and the food.

We’d travelled for almost 36 hours from Chiang Dao to Singapore by bus, hitch-hiked truck, train, plane and monorail. When we finally arrived we were tired and smelly, but our hosts rallied us to hit the town and I’m glad we did. Singapore really comes to life at night, when all the tight-laced office staff clock off for the day and descend from their skyscrapers into the trendy bars along Boat Quay.

We passed the evening drinking duty free rum from Thailand on a vibrant bridge in Clarke Quay. In a country where it is illegal to chew gum, litter or cross the road (jay walk), I was surprised to find that it’s legal to drink in public places in Singapore. Perhaps it has to be legal because the price of alcohol in the bars is so expensive; a small bottle of beer costs around £7! The bridge was crowded with an eclectic mix tourists, locals, Asians, Westerners, old, young, families, hen parties and groups of friends. There was singing, dancing and mingling, all the atmosphere of a great bar without the cost.

The quays were once lined with warehouses where the city’s main trade took place. Now, the old warehouses have been renovated into funky bars, clubs and restaurants, as well as a clean, modern riverfront. There was a great energy about the area, so much so that we managed to stay out until 2am despite being really tired!

Clarke Quay.

In Singapore we met up with old friends, Weizhao and Xiu Wen, who took us on an eating tour of the city and joined us to watch Singapore vs. Thailand compete in the Suzuki Cup at the national stadium. Ric’s face was lit up like a kid’s at Christmas after a full day of nothing but food and football, he was in his element.

The football match was entertaining as Singapore proved excellent at missing really easy shots, much to the disappointment of the home team. Thailand won 2-1 and I happened to miss Singapore’s one and only goal when I nipped out to the bathroom! The state city’s national team played worse than Huddersfield, but who can blame them as they only formed a decade or so ago. Every seat in the 55,000 capacity stadium has air conditioning basting out from under it, a welcome relief in the steamy humidity but not really an environmentally friendly feature.

Gooooooo Footbaaaalll!

All the locals told us that the 165m high Singapore Flyer, an observation wheel similar to yet bigger than the London Eye, would be boring, but we loved it. Perhaps the novelty of seeing Singapore’s incredible skyline in a 360 degree panoramic view isn’t appealing for the local residents who see it everyday; we on the other hand, were enthralled. The skyscrapers of the CBD (Central Business District), the lush Gardens By The Bay, the ocean crowded with container ships and the marina; there is so much going on in this city. It was an expensive attraction at S$30 (£15) each but well worth it. 

View of Singapore.

Gardens By The Bay.

When we weren’t busy gorging on rich Singaporean food, we spent some time walking around the five star hotels pretending to be rich and important. We thought about checking into the Marina Bay Sands Hotel, with it’s iconic ship shaped viewing platform and infinity pool, but for $400 per night we considered it a bit too common and we decided to stay with our couchsurfing friends instead! However, we did stop by to watch the evening light and sound show, which was a bit strange: the life cycle of man projected onto two fountains, with lasers and dramatic music. A brief reminder that Singapore is very much an Asian country.

Marina Bay Sands Hotel, Singapore Flyer on the right.

Strange sound and light show in front of the CBD.

With so much to see and do in Singapore, it would have been lovely to stay for longer, but we were afraid we might blow all of our remaining travel budget there in just a few short days. 

What I loved most was perhaps the diversity within the city, it is the most multicultural place I have ever visited. Little India, with it’s colourful archways, bright clothing shops and endless gold jewellery; the CBD with it’s towering glass skyscrapers, Lamborghinis and designer shopping malls; the colonial district where old prestigious buildings and churches nestle between blocks of luxury condos. It was simply a wonderful place to walk around, with endless fascinating buildings to admire. 

Little India, complete with little Indian man barely taller than the rubbish bin.

What’s more, the people were wonderfully friendly, extremely polite and very helpful, more so than anywhere else. I found it hard to believe that English is the first language spoken my most of the population of Singapore, certainly by the younger generations. It was so unexpected to have an old Chinese lady turn to me and address me in perfect English after many months trying to bridge various language barriers. In addition to speaking the Queen’s, there is a particular dialect spoken in the region, known as Singlish, which has emerged as an interesting by-product of this multicultural society. It’s essentially English with words or speech patterns borrowed from Chinese and Malay, just to confuse us!

'Supertrees' at Gardens By The Bar.

And finally… Singapore is know as Fine City due to the strict rules and regulations that carry hefty fines. These include: no chewing gum, no being naked inside the house, no jay walking, and no smoking. The funniest rules were related to the country’s football league, which only has six professional teams. Each team may only have two players aged over 30 and the team which looses the competition must pay a S$50,000 fine at the end of the season. I was amused by the amount of polite-yet-firm signs that cover the city, reminding the residents to be good, law abiding citizens. From patronising cartoons on the underground reminding passengers not to block the aisle with luggage, to a drawing of a police man with the caption “no stealing please”, spotted on a construction site. For me the excessive signage was overbearing and patronising, yet the city has one of the lowest crime rates in the world, so maybe the Singaporeans are onto a good thing.