Singapore - A Cultural Crossroad

It was April when I visited Singapore.

We stayed at a hotel just off Orchard Street, the main shopping area. Singapore is very clean and well organized. You'll find a huge variety of orchids growing off trees, like weeds. The public places and streets are manicured and you'll incur a hefty fine, if you litter in this town! They ban cars from the downtown core during business hours and have the most efficient and cleanest subway system I've seen.

During my short stay I visited the Zoo, where you can have breakfast with the Orangutans! They take you around the exhibits on a small tram, and most animals had very natural surroundings. I was very upset when I saw a gorilla stuck in a blue plastic cage with no greenery at all. He seemed quite angry at the world, and tried to scare us away from his window... Hopefully he has a better quality of life now.

I also saw quite a few temples, went to the Botanical Garden and took the cable car to Sentosa Island. Boogie Street is where you'll find open air restaurants and a street market at night.

It's Asian heritage and old colonial English influence makes Singapore the cultural crossroads of Asia.

Click here to find out more about Singapore

For more information e-mail Chris Boecker