Neat things about Singapore

Chris and I were chatting the other night and thought it would be fun to share with you some of the really neat things about Singapore - the things that make living here really easy and fun.

Travel

Lots of the really neat things fall into this category, and we should definitely start with Changi airport - absolutely the best airport in the world. If you have not had the good fortune to pass through Changi (more like "glide through" really, since it's so easy), think of the horror that is JFK, then its complete opposite, and that is Changi. The staff are charming, everything works smoothly and efficiently, they have wonderful shops, restaurants and public spaces, you get through immigration in a matter of minutes - in and out of the country - and by the (short) time you get from the aircraft to the baggage hall, your luggage is waiting for you. Class!

Moving on to cars. All cars that you buy in Singapore are fitted with am IU - an in-car unit, which is equipped with a smart card, which you load with cash and from which money is automatically deducted when you pass into the ERP (electronic road pricing) zone. The ERP is a form of congestion charging, but better in my view (differential pricing according to time of day; hence three or four times as much during rush hours). The result is that, for the most part, the roads are remarkably quiet and free flowing. The smart card also works in virtually all car parks, so the appropriate amount of money (a pittance by UK standards) is deducted at the leaving barrier. Clever stuff. Car parks themselves are pretty clever: there are signs at the entrance telling you how many spaces are available on each level, and in some car parks, a green or red light above the actual space will indicate whether it is occupied or not, so cruising for an available spot is made easy.

We have a car here, although I have decided not to drive in Singapore, so I have the pleasure of being driven to work and picked up most days by the lovely Chris. Now that is one of the really neat things for me about living in Singapore! When we get back to the apartment block, there is an LCD sign next to the security barrier that lights up with the words "Welcome home SGV 7085" (the number plate). I smile every time I see it.

And we drive on the left

And taxis are a fraction of the prices in London

Anf plugs are the same as in the UK

Leisure

It's fair to say that leisure opportunities are limited somewhat by Singapore's size, but it punches above its weight in this department, as in many others. Worth a special mention are the Botanic Gardens (http://www.sbg.org.sg/) which are centrally situated (within walking distance for us, although it's a half hour walk and if we attempted it most days in the heat of Singapore we'd be little more than a puddle of sweat by the time we got there), extensive, and free. You can see individuals and groups doing Tai Chi (and line dancing, bizarrely, on weekends), there is a concert stage set on the water and two fabulous restaurants inside.

Worth an extra special mention is the orchid garden set within the Botanic Gardens. It is absolutely amazing, and all the visitors we have taken to see it have been blown away. They began an orchid breeding programme in 1928 and today there are over 1000 species and 2,000 hybrids in the collection, displayed in the most beautiful tropical setting. Did you know that there are two basic types of orchid - terrestrial and epiphyte? The terrestrial grows on the ground, naturally enough, and the epiphyte establishes itself on trees. Just thought I'd let you know.


If that's not enough outside space for you, how about the MacRitchie reservoir? Named after James MacRitchie, one of the engineers involved in its construction, this was Singapore's first reservoir and today, as well as fulfilling its water catchment role, it has more than one square kilometre of primary forest that includes rubber trees dating back to the 19th century, acres of secondary forest, turtles in abundance, frolicking baby monkeys and a tree top walk which gives stunning views of the island.

If you're into music, you can have the indoor stadium experience minus all the hassle of getting to and getting from a venue like Wembley. Singapore Indoor Stadium is a 15 minute drive for us and while it's obviously a whole lot smaller than the big UK venues, it's just the right size for Singapore and you can get into and out of the car park in 10 minutes flat.

Sticking with the cultural side of life,the Singapore Arts Festival starts this weekend and we went to the launch event last night, which was an amazing piece of water theatre on the Singapore river. The picture below gives the teensiest flavour of what was going on. It's a show called Water Fools, by a French street theatre company, and the "plot" begins with a man driving a mini and towing a caravan (on the water). His car breaks down, so he gets out and reads a newspaper (not clear whether he was waiting for the AA to arrive in a speedboat). A cyclist passes by and sprays water into the man's face and then his head bursts into flames.

Surrounding this activity, there is a woman in a big red frock (she of the piccy below) sat atop a giant hamster wheel being driven around the river by a (seriously perspiring, I imagine) young man. Fireworks are going off, there's a giant four poster bed occupied by a young woman with pigtails (don't ask) a woman with a bicycle and coloured balloons and all manner of strange goings on. Ah, the whimsical French.....

And finally - the prices. Apart from housing, cars and cheese (no cows on Singapore), pretty much everything here costs less than a half of its UK equivalent. Hot lunch at a hawker centre can be had for a couple of quid and the taxi ride from Changi airport (about the same distance as Heathrow to the West End) is about 20% of the price of a black cab. Go figure.