Singapore revisited

7,265 miles and 12.5 hours later we find ourselves back in the steamy tropical fug of Singapore.

Singapore is still as amazing and strange as I remember it from 7 years ago. It truly is a city state; a concrete, vibrant metropolitan futurescape. Everything is done on a massive scale with huge plazas, highways, walkways and shopping malls. Even the gargantuan skyscrapers that dominate Singapore are built in fascinating futuristic shapes and colours. There’s nothing urbane or straightforward about this city.

It reminds me of something as a cross between the vision of the future as portrayed in the film “Logan’s run” where mankind lives totally cut off from the natural world and the optimistic ’50s style vision of the future as depicted in Disneylands future land. Only this is real and is home to some 5+ million people.

Its a fascinating place of huge architecture and evident trading wealth. From our hotel we can see literally hundreds of cargo and container ships all moored in the straits waiting to disgorge or load up their cargo.

200 years ago Singapore was a small fishing village when Thomas Stamford Raffles stumbled upon it and established a trading post for the British East India Company. It became a pivotal part of the British Empire and grew to be wealthy and prosperous gaining its independence in 1965. It is still evidently prosperous and still seems very British , in a colonial sense today.

We hope to visit the old colonial hotel of Raffles later in the week to try out the world famous “Singapore Sling” cocktail.

On the flight

On our way...

Our Hotel

Inside the hotel showing all 37 floors

Part of the cityscape