So, Singapore.  So much to see, do and eat, and so little time to do it all in!  Thanks to some very helpful friends back home we were armed with our own little version of the lonely planet.  We'd already booked our hostel so we jumped from the Melaka bus to a local bus.  Once at the hostel we found out that our booking was not quite right shall we say.  So for the first night we were given our own room and very odd it was too - a double bunk bed?!?!?  Luckily it was just us in there!!!!

We wasted no time getting out and about and headed for the MRT to take us to the highly recommended Clarke Quay.  What a civilised affair the MRT is!  There are markings on the ground that tell you where to wait for the doors to open - only after everyone else has got off of course!  Just like the tube ;o)  

The sight that meets you at Clarke Quay is not at all what you'd expect to find in the middle of a city.  It's made up of a series of disused warehouses, that line the once busy port, now renovated into a hub of bars, cafes, restaurants and shops.  What an excellent start.  It was here that we were told to look for the Satay King restaurant - apparently the best satay in the world!  Since my new found knowledge of not being allergic to peanuts, I took the bull by the horns and decided to play chicken with my medical insurance!  Luckily I won.  The food was amazing and Richard assures me the satay was pretty damn good too.  We continued to wander around, stopping for a drink here and there and sussing out where else to come back to and eat!  We crossed over the river into Boat Quay, slightly quieter and possible to get a table on the river too.  The lure of free drinks found us sat at one of those very tables!  Round 2 was to be the Singapore speciality of garlic and black pepper crab.  Delicious.  Messy, but delicious!  What a great start, can't wait for tomorrow....

We decided to visit the famous Orchard Road where the shops go on and on and on and....... you get the drift!  The road itself is absolutely massive and would test even the most ardent of shoppers to complete - myself included!  Luckily for Richard my budget didn't stretch to Prada, Channel or Gucci - even Topshop managed to miss out on my trusty Visa card (how, I still don't really know!)   We headed for a food court in the basement of a highly recommended shopping complex.  After much deliberation we opted for a sushi lunch combo - with optional coleslaw (?!?!?)  After yet more window shopping we crashed for possibly the most expensive drink we've had since leaving - still not London prices, but nearly!  After our latest fuel stop we made our way over to the new Vivo shopping centre on the harbour directly opposite Sentosa Island.  As luck would have it there was an outdoor concert and art exhibition there, so we avoided the shops for a bit!   After sitting watching the band for a while - alongside a giant snowman - we made our way back to Little India in search of a great curry.

Little India on a Sunday is completely different to any other day of the week.  The Indian community don't generally work on a Sunday and all congregate in the streets of Little India to chat.  So when we arrived back and found the streets rammed with people, market stalls, music, lights and general commotion we were a little shocked.  As luck would have it we bumped into some fellow English backpackers who had just eaten, by recommendation, in a tiny place that we'd already walked past.  So we headed back and found that it was in fact huge - upstairs - and packed.  Although we were the only westerners in there the food and service was amazing.  We even ate the traditional way - with our hands - so as not to stand out anymore than we already did!!!   The rice and poppadoms were basically unlimited so you had to actually stop the staff from continuously refilling your plate.  Needless to say we waddled out thoroughly satisfied and headed back to our 20-bed dorm!

The next day we made our trek out to the popular Singapore Zoo.  Everyone that we've met or spoken to about this country said that we had to go here, so off we went.  It's quite a journey as it's a long way out of the city, but we navigated our way successfully - via a sushi bar ! - and arrived early afternoon.  The main thing we'd heard about the zoo was that wherever possible they don't have the animals in cages.  Tigers not in a cage, hmm, sounds dodgy to me!  However the set up is fantastic and they merely use moats, or simply huge ditches to separate you from the animals.  This gives the whole experience a much more natural feel and you get to see them more clearly than any other zoo.  The highlight however are the orangutans.  These are free to roam the trees all around you - and they are absolutely gorgeous.  

After a good few hours here we headed out and over to the night safari, another top attraction.  As it wasn't yet dark we stopped for dinner in their buffet style restaurant, to kill some time, and to eat of course!  

The whole point of the night safari is a chance to see all the nocturnal animals up and around.  We began with the animal show.  Very entertaining and great to see animals such as leopad cat's for a change.  We then boarded the safari train to do a tour of the park.  After this we walked around the parts the train doesn't cover.  We saw loads of animals, and all of them active!  A long day, but great fun.

Day 3 was dedicated to Sentosa Island.  We got the MRT down to the harbour and the bus over the bridge.  After paying an entrance fee for the island you can hop on and off their buses for free.  Our first point of call was to the beach.  Again, another strange thing to be doing when less than half an hour ago we were in a city!  It is here that you can find the southern most point of South East Asia.  From here we walked up to the luges.  These are go carts that you can race down a windy track, albeit a short and marshalled one, but great fun all the same.  To get to the start you have to take the chairlift to the top, so great views of the island too.  After much childish fun we left and made our way over to the 4D cinema.  On our way we passed the famous merlion, Carlsberg sky-tower and fountain ???.   The cinema was a short film starring Leslie Davis and Eric Idle and on top of the 3D glasses you have the pleasure of getting wet, blasted with air, tickled by feathers and shook about in your seat!  Having done everything we came for we boarded the cable car back and took in the views of the city.  

A quick freshen up and off to one of the most famous bars in the world, for the most well known drink of all - Raffles Singapore Sling - well it just had to be done.  Raffles itself is a beautiful building that draws you in instantly.  Once at the Long Bar we put our order in, along with every other person in there - and settled back on our bar stools with 2 cocktails more expensive than our hostel!!!!  The bar is lovely though and they still have the tradition of having monkey nuts along the bar that you simply crack open, eat and then drop the shells on the floor.  After my courage at the Satay King I even braved these too!  Having finished our drink (yes, just the one at these prices!) we made our way back to Clarke Quay for drunken prawns and chilli crab!!!   Mmmm.........

Our final day in Singapore and what better way to leave than from the no 1 airport in the world (voted 10 times apparently)  - Changi.  We decided to have a stress free day and to head there late morning, check in early, do some shopping, send some parcels home and generallly make the most of their amazing facilities.  Incredibly we still managed to end up running for our departure gate before it closed - I guess that tells you that there's plenty to do seeing as though our flight wasn't until 8pm.

And so we leave South East Asia behind, heading on to the main leg of our journey - New Zealand.  We've had great times here and will definitely miss the amazing food, but time to move on............ and sample some of that famous Kiwi wine!!!!!!!   Plus it'll be nice to travel in a bit more comfort.