Cleanest City in the World
02 November 2008 | Singapore
Karen
But to get there sailboats must play "Frogger" crossing the Singapore Straits with the 250 gargantuan ships moving into and out of port at any time of day, plus many times that number anchored awaiting their slots to enter. So we had to identify those moving and those waiting - no mean feat dealing with the strong currents running between the islands either assisting or slowing our passage.
Amidst towering skyscrapers and hundreds of shopping malls we found incredibly weird statutes, parks, nature preserves, lush tropical greenery, and wide sidewalks teeming with flowers along the boulevards. Consequently we walked for days visiting Raffles Hotel for an original Singapore Sling (best to hang out there photographing the tourists drinking the concoction which tasted like red Kool-Aid but built up a bar bill of S$170), museums, electronics malls, Little India, Chinatown, restaurants nestled by the river, and the world class zoo. Two days after we visited the zoo a deranged man entered the White Tiger enclosure with a bucket on his head and became tiger dinner. So the tiger exhibit is closed until further notice!
We spent 2 weeks berthed at Raffles Marina being spoiled by daily newspapers delivered to the boat, free WIFI on Sora, huge free form swimming pool with boulders and waterfalls, gym, bowling alley, showers, Laundromat, efficient helpful employees and a choice of Bistro, Pub, or full service restaurant all within a few minutes' walk from Sora. To ease our journey downtown a complimentary bus took us to the nearest Mass Rapid Transit station where we were whisked every 4 minutes to the interior of the city for pennies.
We reveled in the luxury of this tidy city but are looking forward to the start of our new adventure in Malaysia, another melting pot of tradition and culture. KK