Unless you have been living under a rock recently, you will have seen in the news that Kim Jong Un, dictator of North Korea and Donald Trump, president of the United States have recently met in Singapore. Seeing this stunning destination broadcast on the news made me reminiscent of the all too short 14 hours that Jake and I got to spend there. I decided it was time to get back to writing about our travels and although I agree with neither of these controversial leaders about how to run a country, I do agree that Singapore is one of the coolest places on earth.
In writing this piece I have discovered something that I feel uncomfortable with about my personality. It seems that everywhere I go, no matter how lucky I feel or how beautiful the location, I can find something to complain about. I am acutely aware that this may be a trait associated with being typically British and if I had the choice I would much rather live on the optimistic side of life. It would appear that I have drawn the short straw in that to me – the glass is always half empty. The upside to this is that I can channel this into writing something that is occasionally funny and hopefully riveting. When trying to write something I deem to be worthy of putting out to the world, I find it much easier to create a story about something negative. This has been a serious problem when writing about Singapore in that I don’t have a bad word to say about the place! It is for this reason that I, first of all, thank you for coming back to read my blog after my extended ‘happiness hiatus’ and also ask you to excuse me for any slices of life that may be considered boring. Blame it on a good time!
Determined to procure a cheaper airfare and to explore another new place, Jake and I bought our return flights from Mauritius with the longest layover possible, giving us the opportunity to spend an entire day exploring the city of Singapore. Seeing as I am the person who shakes every last drip out of the nozzle at the petrol pump and who steals wine glasses with a restaurant name on them as a souvenir, it’s understandable that I would want to get the most for my money and this was essentially a free holiday! In hindsight, it is the best decision we could have made… despite the jet-lag!
My favorite part of our short trip was most certainly the mind-blowing attraction that is Gardens by the Bay. The attraction is overshadowed by the Marina Bay Sands hotel in which our two favorite politicians recently introduced their bad hairstyles to each other. In a similarly unexpected turn of events, I was rendered speechless by the magic and beauty of The Gardens, so much so that I can barely describe it and will have to refer you to the pictures for a more in-depth insight. What I will say is that I cannot favor any one area of the Gardens. The super-tree grove had me feeling that I was on a different planet and the Sky Walk bridge connecting the magnificent trees left me weak at the knees (literally… I adopted a crouch to walk all the way around like that would help me if I fell to my death!). The Flower Dome had a stunning display of Japanese cherry blossom and an exhibition to mark its bloom. The Cloud Forest’s waterfall and spiraling walkway again transported me to another world. The only issue is, as with any tourist attraction, the other people who are ‘enjoying’ it. I am justly selfish in wanting to experience this place without being hit in the head by a selfie-stick, but I suppose that’s what you get for going in the afternoon!
Jaw dropping in an entirely different way was Haw Par Villa (AKA Tiger Balm Gardens), featuring the extremely graphic ’10 Courts of Hell’ exhibition. It is here I learned that there is indeed “more than one way to skin a cat”, or at least in this case – a human. Offenses for being skinned alive, thrown into a hill of knives or being grounded like a piece of beef with a large stone included corruption, tax dodging, and dishonesty. I wonder if our political visitors would care to see this attraction, I’m sure that Mr. Kim, in particular, would be happy to hear that he will not be sawn in two for wasting food. For those of you with slightly weaker stomachs, there are some more light-hearted if not confusing elements of the park including a life-sized depiction of a turtle riding an emu and a very beady-eyed owl.
Heading back to the airport was not as glum a prospect as you would imagine and Changi airport has been voted the Best in The World six years in a row. To the butterfly house, cactus garden, and free foot massagers we marched (Socks stayed on of course!), and by the end of the day, we were knackered! After all this fun and excitement, we did not want to leave and I have added Singapore to my short list of countries to revisit. I try not to make a habit of returning to places because I would rather see something new, but in this case, the city is developing at such a quick pace and we only uncovered the tip of the iceberg. As a good friend of mine recently said… “Singapore, It’s not a goodbye, but a see you later!”
Hatties Travels 