So, I made my way down Malaysia to its Southern tip, crossed the Johor Straits and made it over to Singapore. While it is similar to its neighbor in many ways, in other ways it exceeds it. I don’t want to compare the two, but Singapore is impressive. It’s a port, financial center, a cosmopolitan city and a shangri la of food! The great thing about my trip there was that there was so much to see — and I didn’t have to go very far.

Yeah, we’ve all heard about not being allowed to chew gum and that American kid who was caned years ago for vandalizing cars, so you would think it’s squeaky clean. Yeah, it’s clean… but squeaky no. I actually saw some litter in a park and some on the streets!

But back to what I saw — besides a wee bit of litter — there’s a lot of diverse neighborhoods in this checkerboard of a city. Besides Sentosa Island, which tops my list of sites to visit, of course, you have to visit Singpore's various ethnic neighborhoods.  You've got a Chinatown — most of the inhabitants are of Chinese decent -- but there’s an Arab section, as well as an Indian one. The definite must see in the Indian neighborhood is Mustafa Market. That place takes up at least a entire block, is several stories tall and packed — I mean packed — with every kind of product you can think of. You can find gold to galoshes and everything in between, including a money exchanger. I’ve never seen a shopping center so diverse! But while some things are priced reasonably, I think electronics are a little pricey, when compared to US prices at least. (lol they actually make so much of the electronics next door in Malaysia, so you would think they would be cheaper, right? Nope.)

Although there are bargains to be had in Singapore — perhaps not on Orchard Rd. (subject of another post) — the one thing you can definitely afford — and there is lots of it — is the FOOD! Because of the cultural diversity, you can find so many types of food, including clever mishmashes of Indian, Chinese and Arab. Try Tanglin Mall near the Traders Hotel. It’s a real good place to buy foods, fruits and drinks and is less crowded than Mustafa. And, of course, I had to stop by at the famous Raffles Hotel and try a Singapore Sling. The drink was a little pricey and a bit too sweet; but, hey, I checked off another item off my bucket list!