Friday, September 11, 2009

Discoveries

Singapore wasn't on my list of "must-visit" places during my time in Southeast Asia. I discovered a tiny Disney-fied Asia gem, full of great holiday adventures (night safari, need I say more?) and really excellent shopping. Thirty-six hours in Singapore? Full of discoveries.

1. The night safari is totally camp and totally fun.
When I was in Kenya, I wasn't able to go on the night safari to spot number five of my big five safari finds: the spotted leopard. Well, check mark my friends, thanks to Singapore's nocturnal zoo adventures, I've spotted the leopard, granted in a bit more sanitized setting than the Masai Mara. I also braved the bird cage where I was attacked by a bat. Ugh.

2. Uniqlo: I'd read about this Japanese take on the Gap. Bright colors, high end fabrics, and low low prices made my discovery of Uniqlo one of the highlights of my trip (in addition to revisiting TopShop where I happily spent my Kenyan trip's per diem in London last April. Ahhh the retail memories)

3. Crocs are cute. I know, seriously.

4. Singapore is perhaps the most sanitized country in the world, with cleanliness ratings on all of its food stands. (Starbucks got an A, and its latte was a welcome re-discovery for my caffeine addiction.) I was sick for the first time on this trip after visiting, as I think my body didn't know what to do with food this clean.

5. Drug possession is punishable with death by hanging. I also was extremely careful not to litter. Singapore: Like Disneyworld with stronger drug laws and less freedom of political expression.


2 comments:

Gustavo Bonato said...

Interesting. I'll include Singapore in my "to go" list. I'll remember not to take my usual bag of heavy drugs with me.

Andrea said...

I had two different taxi drivers tell me about the whole death by hanging situation. They take it pretty seriously over there.