Singapore

We flew direct from Hanoi to Singapore on 23rd November and because we had a flight out the next morning we decided not to book a hotel. This was largely based on the fact that I have a BA silver card and we were intending to spend the night in the lounge on the internet and getting pissed on free booze. So we decided to have a look into Singapore and get the last train back to the airport at 11pm and stay in the lounge until our flight was due to leave at about 9am - it didn´t quite work out like that courtesy of BA!

What to say about Singapore? Not much really. We didn´t have long there so we obviously didn´t have time to see anything major, but at the end of the day it´s just another city. There was a starbucks which is nice after being in Hanoi drinking coffee that has passed through a weasel (that´s actually how they make it) and there were loads of modern shops and designer gear. It was pretty good to be visiting a city a bit more civilised but the city is so expensive it´s offensive. We paid a visit to The Raffles hotel and paid $50 for 2 cocktails, we tried to get into a bar to watch a footy game and were told there was a $30 minimum spend per customer and then we swiftly left another bar after we clocked the price of a litre of beer at $28! It wouldn´t be bad in normal circumstances but definitely not when you´re on a travellers budget. So we looked forward to that last train while sipping a beer, very slowly, on the terrace of Raffles Hotel listening to the worst sounds in history - Madonna!

Besides the cost, Singapore should be noted for it´s order. If you´ve ever read 1984 by George Orwell then you´ll understand the concept of Big Brother in the sense that you are being watched. Most cities have CCTV, but Singapore uses the latest face recognition technology to enforce its laws. Jaywalking is a crime and if you happen to break the rules, a couple of days later you´ll have a fine on your welcome mat as the CCTV recognises your face, how mad is that!! Also, loads of other things are strictly not allowed: eating or drinking on a train $500 fine, smoking on a train $1000 fine, smoking on the street $1000 fine. I guess in Singapore the laws are to be respected and not taken lightly!

After catching the last train back to the airport, we checked in and were excited at the prospect of 5 star treatment courtesy of BA and Qantas. That was until we got to the lounge and it was closed and doesn´t open until 6.30am, arggghhhhh! So we had to spend the whole night in the normal airport lounge with cattle class, drinking coffee, playing cards and using the free internet. It wasn´t too bad to be fair but a far contrast from spending the night in the BA lounge. We managed to get cleaned up in the lounge after it opened and boarded the 12 hour flight to Sydney.. I slept most of the way so the flight was a breeze and we landed in Sydney on time, got through customs easily and caught a shuttle bus to our hostel. Stage 1 completed!