A quick ferry hop back to Mersing and we were on our way to Singapore.
Which also means only 2 weeks left in South-East Asia. Apparently Singapore is a fine country, it looks pretty but you get fined a lot if you make it a mess although the road sweeper we saw was sweeping up the leaves then blasting then back onto the road. We were amazed at the cleanliness, no cigarette butts, no rubbish dumped in bushes, and finally more cars than bikes. Even zebra crossings actually have a meaning.
We found a nice place to stay for the week but had to stay in a dorm bed before moving into the double. We did try 3 places before hand but didn't know how to open the doors, unless some ones sitting at reception and can buzz you in.
We sat down to look at the attractions and sites but could only come up with going to the zoo and visiting the multiple shipping centres, think reading oracle times a million on one road, Ryan's eyes rolled whilst Maz's lit up.
First on the list then was the zoo. An hours train and bus ride later we arrived. Singapore did let us down the the bus driver was yet another lunatic.
The zoo was one of the reasonable priced attractions only costing $40 to get in, Ben and Jerry's however was unreasonably priced at nearly $30........but worth ever cent.

We were really impressed with the Zoo, it was clean and clearly well maintained and the animals all seemed to have plenty of room in their enclosures.
The tree roaming orangutans were quite amazing to watch as they were able to swing across the zoo over our heads.
We got to see white tigers, lions, cheetahs, panthers. They weren't in cages and had space to free roam but there was enough water to stop them from have a nice human feast.

Having arrived during national week we'd thought the city would be having a national holiday, but every August 9th they celebrate independence from Malaysia and through a massive party, much like queens jubilee. Street parties, flags covering everything from people's faces to buildings. There was also a fireworks show at marina bay sands, which we duly attended. Apart from celebrating independence they also use the day to embrace others from different races, religions and cultures. Love thy neighbour etc etc.
Apart from the fireworks they had concert, military parade, air show and boat show. We couldn't see the military parade as it was for residents. The air shoe included a chinook carrying a giant Singaporean flag, escorted by apaches helicopters, f16s doing fancy flybys with smoke, commandos parachuting to a platform. The boat show we couldn't quite see but the sirens and canons sounded good.
By this time the sun had gone down and every one had their cameras mounted on stands eagerly waiting for the start if the firework show to begin. We believe we were the only people ooooing and aaaahing in the traditional British way, the rest cheered and some actually screamed.
And we didn't have to pay a penny.

With the train network so easy and most shopping centres above them we manage to negotiate them with easy. We managed to pick up a cheap hand luggage suitcase for our trip to Borneo.