Singapore has been described as Disneyland with the death penalty, and to some extent we could see why as we drove from the airport after dark. The neon-lit skyline was aglow with more than the colours of the rainbow, and this island, a city-state smaller than Nottinghamshire but with five million inhabitants instead of Nottinghmshire's one million, seemed to be reaching up to the stars.
Our taxi-driver told us about the strict laws in place to maintain law and order, and we were amused to hear that spitting and not flushing the toilet were amongst many offences punishable by a hefty fine.
Great swathes of the city have been cleared to make room for more and more glitzy shopping malls, and Brian couldn't find the Singapore he remembered from his visit with the British Army 35 years ago. Luckily some of the lovely old colonial buildings and Chinese shophouses have been spared, and we managed to get a glimpse of the old Singapore when we scratched the surface.
I was drawn to the Raffles Hotel as if by a magnet, and although we couldn't afford to stay the night we splashed out on the sumptuous buffet breakfast there one morning. Oh, how I mourned the passing of the Empire as I sipped my Earl Grey tea (made with leaves of course) and tucked into perfectly poached eggs and exotic fresh fruits. This was the life I should have been born to.
Singapore's surprise for us was the sensational National Orchid Gardens, where we spent a wonderful morning wandering through what must be God's own backyard. Every colour, shape and size of these gorgeous flowers had been carefully collected, described, and displayed with love - pictures will follow soon!
While we were in Singapore we heard that President Obama was due to visit for the APEC meeting, and as a result the Christmas lights on Orchard Road were switched on early, just in case there wasn't enough bling in evidence.
They tried to talk us into staying for an extra day, but Prsident or no President, we had our itinerary to get on with and we had to head to Melaka.
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