Thursday 30th July
A travel day. Having sourced the strongest drugs from the pharmacy we could, we made one last desperate attempt to like something from the handicraft market… and failed miserably! Ah well, all we need is photos really! Arriving from our flight to Singapore it was instantly recognisable how different this place is! Very corporate, very tidy, very organised! So we made our way to one of the only parts that doesn't fit that description; Little India, and checked in to our cell. And a cell it was! No windows and just enough room space to open the door, close it behind you and climb into one of the bunk beds! Brilliant. Feeling stomach brave we ventured out for a short walk, watched some Chinese show rehearsals for National Singapore day (August 9th) and befriended Katie.

Friday 31st July
Having teamed up with Katie we decided to take ourselves on our own walking tour of Singapore, and walk we did! All day! With sights such as the biggest shopping centre, Fort Canning National Park, the oldest shopping centre, The River Side, the widest shopping centre, Raffles' obelisk, the most modern shopping centre, the harbour area and much more (including a few more shopping centres). Most surprising was the escalators, they didn't care where they put them!; indoors, outdoors, round corners, through walls… all in the name of making shoppers lives more easy. I've never been more pleased to see my prison cell than that evening! But no rest for the wicked… we took ourselves off to get some dinner and exchanged poverty stories with Katie.

Saturday 1st August
Braving a bus to somewhere we had no idea it was, we got off about six stop past our destination… 3kms in the heat later, we arrived at MacRitchie Reservoir… a bit of man made water and jungle paradise in the heart of Singaporean chaos. Choosing the tree top canopy walk, we negotiated out way out of the park HQ through the school kids and followed signs for HSBC (very subtle sponsors of this walk!) for far too many kilometres. Once at the top, the views were worth it and we even saw a few wild monkeys, but having already added a few extra lengths to the walk at the start, we were happy to grab a bus home. Dinner featured a garlic naan with more garlic pilled atop than you could even begin to imagine… this thing could open up a garlic market selling garlic related items every day for a year and still have enough garlic left to call itself a garlic naan!

Sunday 2nd August
Again braving the bus, this time sitting next to the driver to ensure we got off at the correct stop, we successful navigated ourselves to, around, and home from the botanic gardens. The fact that Singapore's middle name is clean-and-organised meant that immaculate gardens were almost expected! But it still managed to impress, even with such high expectations. Shade hopping we then made our way over to Sentosa Island; the tourist hot spot for beaches and entertainment just off the southern most tip of Singapore. Arriving by train, having negotiated yet another shopping super mall in order to find the station, we soon discovered why Sentosa's beaches are so popular… soft sand, clear water, beach front bars and more volleyball courts than ever. Fitting right n with all the athletic beach dwellers we watched a few games of volleyball, noted how it often seemed to be the westerner team member that let a side down. Apparently this Island had been designed by someone trying to emanate Disney World, which was quite obvious when we made our way to the central area named View Point - the view was of bars, cafes and rides where you can part with your precious cash. We succumbed to the Tiger Tower (viewing tower with beer sponsorship!) where we were greeted with views of the whole Island - you could see where they had made 'mini islands' off the main Island to provide shelter for the sand and swimming waters of the man made beaches and bays - truly Disney! We were also treated to views of the monstrosity that will take over the Island in a years time; a mega complex of… you've guessed it… more hotels, restaurants and shopping centres! They know how to destroy a green area for commercial gain here!

Monday 3rd August
Checking into our second hostel, this time even more centrally located inside Little India, we were greeted by many 'please sir's and 'thank you sir's… how quintessentially Indian… and trooped off to the World famous Singapore Zoo. And we got there by ourselves on public transport! It was excellent, and for most of the animals (but not the poor old leopards and pumas, as they like to escape!) gave a real impression of open and large enclosures. We managed to see the feeding of the white tigers, orang-utans, giraffes, jaguars, various monkeys and chimps, the water show featuring penguins, a sea lion and dugongs, as well as see many, many, more crazy beasts including polar bears. Highlights included Nikki feeding the giraffes by hand and the pumas, not to mention the enormous fudge brownie ice cream we shared afterwards. All animal-ed out, and it getting dark, we headed to the city river font to see Singapore by night. Wandering along taking too any photos we even bumped into Owen and family, our travelling friends from Borneo (the small world gets even smaller!) and enjoyed the tipple every tourist must; a Singapore Sling.