We needed to get from Thailand to Indonesia and flying through Singapore would actually save us money. So we were happy to stop here for a couple of days.
Singapore. A city of the future. The architecture and infrastructure are so advanced. If you drop into the center of the business district, you will never guess you're in Asia. Men and women are in modern business suits. Extremely clean, high tech, modern, and plenty of English. Everything looks brand new and the roads look like they were paved last week.
If you know where to go, you will find a good amount of culture in Singapore. We especially loved the ethnic neighborhood called Little India, which is full of colorful store fronts, gritty shops that sell everything, temples, and tons of Indian food.
Some things that surprised us about Singapore:
- 60%+ of the tourism in the country is for health care. The health care system quality here is among the best in the world and more affordable than in Western countries.
- It's extremely expensive to own/drive a car in Singapore, resulting in much less traffic (nothing like Bangkok!)
- It's almost impossible to find a cab. There are always lines at cab stations. This is so different from other countries in Asia where cab drivers pester you constantly to get a ride.
- Old cars are forbidden in Singapore. All the cars on the roads are nice and new because old models are exported from the country. Like I said... city of the future.
- Spitting in public places is illegal (I like this one).
- Chewing gum is illegal!
It's really a shame we don't have more photos. Camera still broken. We have a handful of shots mostly from our compact camera, and managed to squeeze out a couple from the dying D700.
Up next: Jakarta, Indonesia
The Singapore Flyer is the world's largest observation wheel. It was raining when we wanted to go, then we ran out of time. Next time!
We took a fun bus tour around the city since we had so little time to explore on foot.
Many of the streets have a canopy of lush trees above them. I loved all the green.
