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SINGAPORE THE LAND OF BUREAUCRATS, GIN SLINGS AND LEAVING SOLID LAND FOR DOWN UNDER
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Welcome to Singapore...
...goodbye Singapore, hello Malaysia again!
The most helpful Malaysian border guards who managed to get us back into Malaysia even though we have VOID stamped on our passport from Singapore who wouldn't allow the Beast in without a full array of paperwork. We were allowed into Malaysia until minutes later we were on our way back to Singapore...
Our saviours! Roger Phillips, Kevin DeSouza (Regents Motors Land Rover Singapore) and Richard Goh Teck Sia (the Assistant Super Intendent of Singapore Police) who all helped us to get the Beast through customs and looked after us during our time in Singapore. |
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The Singapore numberplate
Singapore money. There are notes in S$2, S$5, S$10, S$50 and S$100 demoninations. Singaporean dollars - £1 = S$3.2 at 2005 exchanges |
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Singaporean cigarettes now feature the array of diseases that you can get from smoking - throat cancer, brain haemorrhaging, teeth decay, dying childrenm lung cancer... needless to say cigarette cases are very popular in Singapore. |
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The Land Rover advert featuring the Beast.
Us before our interview at Land Rover with Nick Syn from the The Strait Times of Singapore |
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Adrian's Singaporean family |
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East Coast Food Centre
Kevin and his wife Amelia showed us true Singaporean food by taking us to the East Coast Food Centre which consists of more than fifty little hawker shops all selling different food from rotis, satays and curries to seafood, curried skate and popiahs. A delicious introduction to Singaporean food.
Singapore's OK - this sign tells everyone what they should do to keep Singapore clean from not littering, regular excercise, keeping public toilets clean to the occasion where you spit, cough or sneeze and you should do it into a tissue and dispose of it in the bin. It is part of the Keep Singapore Clean campaign and includes banning chewing gum from Singapore.
In Gayleng, the red light and food area of the city (an interesting combination), you can go and sit down at one of the fruit market stalls and eat three different kinds of Durian from Malaysia and Thailand.
An interesting pungent fruit. The edible section is a pulpy yellow coated stone situated in three different segments. The flesh has been reported to taste like honey mixed with turpentine and is banned from public transport.
Greg trying Durian for the first time! |
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The autopass card reader which automatically deducts money from your prepaid card every time you drive under a motorway gantry or drive through a car park entrance. If you drive a foreign car into Singapore, you must pay an extra S$20 per day for the privelege of having your car in the country. |
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Singaporean skyline |
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Regent Motors Land Rover Singapore
We spent two days sitting in the Beast talking to interested people who came to have a look at the beastly explorers from the UK after we appeared in The Strait Times. Just a small contribution from us to raise awareness of Land Rover and to the wonderful guys at Land Rover who helped us out with our border issues and helped to make the Beast pristine again - THANK SO MUCH GUYS! |
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Singapore Police
A visit to the Police! We were invited by Richard Goh to join him for dinner at the Senior Officers Mess at the Police Academy.
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RAFFLES HOTEL
The colonial Raffles Hotel is one of the very few surviving old buildings in Singapore with fantastic architectue, shopping arcades and a true sense of being back in the 1880s (except with air conditioning)
The Singapore Gin Sling was invented in the Long Bar of Raffles Hotel, made from pineapple juice, cherry brandy, gin and a secret ingredient it is truly a wonderful drink to escape from the heat and hustle of Singapore. |
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CLEANING THE BEAST
We spent a day cleaning the Beast in preparation for her journey to Australia where you must clean your vehicle so that it is spotless and disinfect every surface.
All air filters must be blasted with compressed air, water thrown away and bottles disinfected and every surface must be wiped, scrubbed and then disinfected.
Only select food is allowed into Australia as well so we had to throw away much of the food that has travelled with us across a continent. They will not allow the vehicle in to Australia if it is considered to have seeds, insects or soil onboard! |
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Derrick and Jessie's family where we were introduced to the delights of popiahs and more delicious Singaporean delicacies |
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Just to show that Singapore does have an agricultural field... |
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A big thanks to all the garage mechanics at Land Rover Singapore who gave the Beast a good working over and helped us to get in and out of Singapore in one piece! |
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SHIPPING THE BEAST
After chasing paperwork around and working out the shipping dates with our freight forwarders, we had to get a pass from the port authority to get in to the port so that we could drop off our precious cargo.
A visit to the PSA Pass Centre saw us all issued with our passes, giving us permission to enter the port for a 24 hour period.
The Beast's final continental port of call...
...and the start of a small 10 day trip on the Arafura Endeavour from Singapore to Darwin. Goodbye solid land! |
