EAST MEETS WEST…

Arriving in Singapore you are hit by the cultural diversity of the East and technologic frenzy of the west.Public transport runs on time and cars stop for you at zebra crossings, yet you can still eat for next to nothing and still bargain for the price of a t-shirt, or bag or camera even! There's a real sense of East meeting West and fitting together just right.

We stayed in Little India and within a couple of hours of arriving were taken on a walking tour, through the sights of little India. We ate coconut cakes from Tekka Mall, drank rose petal and cold tea-like drinks from a plastic bag in the hawker's market, snacked on spicy Indian crisps and visited the local temple on a busy Tuesday prayer day. Later that day we went to Singapore Night Safari, something different and something which was well worth the pricey admission! We saw a bunch of nocturnal animals in conditions which are supposed to be close to their natural habitats. There were elephants, tigers, giraffes, bears, jaguars to name a few - it was a really cool way to spend the evening.

The following day we took in the harbour front, Chinatown and its busy street market. After buying a few souvenirs we were bellies were telling us something so we ate at Singapore's first ever chain restaurant, Komala Villas. What came on my plate was a bit of a surprise. I had a massive inflated pancake come roti, the size of a balloon. With it came 3 different vegetable curries, each one satisfying my taste buds.With a full stomach we went back to the hostel and got talking to some guys around the table, talking turned into drinking, and drinking turned into making a tin can tower and being thrown out the bar in the early hours. Needless to say, the hangover accompanied our shenanigans the next day, and having to check out in the morning I resorted to sleeping it off on the couch. We did manage to venture out for a little while and visited Hood Cho Temple where the tradition is to make a wish and rattle a bowl of sticks until one comes out, hand your stick in and receive a piece of paper with a famous Buddhist saying on it. This can be translated into whether your wish is good or bad and will ultimately come true or not.Mine was a bad wish and was deemed very unlikely to come true - but then my wish was for Watford to get promoted to the premiership next season!

We were hopefull of being involved as an extra in Bollywood movie, and with things looking promosing, are hopes of movie stardom crashed! The roles infact, seemed to be quit central, we would be required to free-style dance and be natural…this we thought we could just about do.However, as I would be dancing with 'Miss Universe'- the lead role I needed to be quite tall. Unfortunately I didn't meet that requirement, and to be honest I don't think it was a bad thing because I doubt my body would have either!

Our last stop in Singapore was Clarke Quay, the waterfront where the expensive restaurants and rich list turn out.We just took a stroll around, before heading back to collect our bags and make our way to the airport for an early flight to Phnom Penh, Cambodia where things will no doubt be a little less developed than here…