Island Life Magazine Ltd August/September 2014 | Page 27

TRAVEL Terry travels to Singapore I Singaporeans are very proud t has been said that and competitive people. There Singapore could be is a Singaporean word ‘kiasu’ simply dismissed which means ‘afraid to lose’ and as the Island of over the days that followed this ‘McDonalds’ of South East clearly was the case. It struck me Asia! Despite this, over the as an extremely clean place and years many of my friends I was advised that you could be who had visited Singapore arrested for dropping chewing had always highly By Terence gum or rubbish on the streets. recommended a visit to me Willey The people were charming and without exception. keen to hear about English However, it was just last culture and the city had an undeniable Christmas time that my first visit to Asian feel to it with a mix of Malaysian, Singapore was more by chance than Indian and Chinese traditions. intention while traversing the long There was so much to see and I was route to Australia to visit my son with able to enjoy the most exquisite Oriental Singapore Airlines. I suppose it was my food which was beautifully presented. general desire to sample this intriguing place for the first time that gave me a real I arrived on Christmas Day and was able to see some of the most wonderful excuse for breaking my journey for three Christmas lights and markets boasting days on each leg. to be the 10th best in the world! The I set about finding an established zoo is most definitely worth a visit and colonial type hotel in the centre of was very extensive and offering a night Singapore. Following my arrival I was safari. The public transport is efficient taken from the airport to my hotel in and reasonable and taxi drivers were the city centre which was a 35-minute apologetic for charging 20 dollars for a drive and during this period I was able 30 minute drive. to engage quite extensively with the taxi I had been given the impression that driver who was not afraid to boast that Singapore consisted of much concrete and modern architecture. However, this was not the case and beautiful gardens and greenery existed everywhere with the central reservations of most roadways and dual carriageways lined with lovely trees. I learnt that the Singaporeans were superstitious and in fact deeply religious and my visit to their National Museum and Art Galleries demonstrated the real heart of the Singapore people and a desire to make their mark in the world. Taking the sky high views on the www.visitilife.com 27