RickInOz

Sorry, this posting won’t be quite on a par with the radio missive by Alastair Cook, but it might be vaguely informative and insightful. A couple of people we met up with over the past few weeks said they found some of my observation posts interesting. Perhaps not earth-shatteringly so, but at least a glimpse through someone else’s eyes often reveals facets you may not have noticed. Anyway enough with the preamble, so here are some things we noticed about Singapore:

How clean everything is: many people will know that Singapore has draconian laws and littering is not only subject to a hefty fine. It also seems to have attracted a taboo in the sense that Singaporeans are proud of their nation and unwilling to sully it. A lesson perhaps for the United Kingdom, with London being famous for its filthy streets.

We must be getting ripped off by taxi drivers: the trip from Changi to our hotel after getting in from Doha was only $13. A similar duration ride in Adelaide would have been in excess of the 20 dollar mark, more so in the UK where taxis seem to charge a fortune. It is not due to cheap labour as Singapore exerts a minimum wage and the general standard of living is on a par with any Western nation. Perhaps they simply don’t see their fares as a captive market ripe for picking. Just for reference the Australian and Singaporean dollars are roughly on parity.

No pound-a-pint pubs here: alcohol is highly taxed here at an almost uniform rate of SGD70 per litre. This means an average bottle of beer will set you back at least $10 and a bottle of wine getting on for $100. Unsurprisingly, as a result, drunkenness and the associated behaviour is rare with most people opting for soft drinks. The latter are correspondingly cheap and we didn’t have to look hard to find 500ml bottles of water for 50 cents, far cheaper than most other countries I’ve travelled to.

Three showers a day compulsory: with near 100% humidity all day, everyday, it is not long before you become very sweaty if outdoors. The average year round temperature is in the high 20s, rising to mid 30s in summer. While this may not sound that hot it feels a lot more suffocating due to the humidity. As a result, air-conditioning is a standard feature everywhere. Cars will be supplied with air-con before electric windows, and all shopping centres are practically arctic to encourage shoppers to stay inside. On the way out it felt very uncomfortable after being in the dry, cold Adelaide winter. This time round less so as we have been somewhat acclimatised by the UK humid climate.

We are on the return leg now, with only a couple of hours before heading toward Sydney, and thence Adelaide. The city is in the full throes of preparation for the Grand Prix this weekend. Not realising this we booked into a quayside hotel and have had to make some tortuous diversions to get round the traffic and pedestrian alterations. However, before leaving today we took in the best views of the city from the Singapore Flyer.

Flying of a different kind soon and the next installment from Gibbon Lane with news of our family reunion.