A Singapore break

One of the things on my not-bucket list in the year of turning 50, was to visit my brother in Singapore. He’s currently living there on an 18 month-ish break from his usual UK abode – it seemed like an opportunity to catch up with him for much less fuss and cost than a trip to the UK and re-visit a fave destination at the same time.

So off mum and I went a couple of weeks ago and had 5 nights with my brother and his family. We had a really lovely time, combining family stuff, lots of sightseeing and touristing with a 3 1/2 year old, great food, Tiger beer and I even caught up with people from my ILN/library life as well.

Singapore fascinates me and I’m not done with it yet. The (at least) two Singapores living side by side makes it an interesting place to visit and the juxtapositions are endless- from high end hotels with infinity pools on the roof to Hainanese Chicken Rice for $2 from a hawker centre just a stone’s throw away. From the highs of tips for expats living in Singapore to the lows of some of the stories of human rights restrictions. The personal stories of people I know support both ends of this spectrum. Each time I learn a little more and come away with more questions than answers.

This trip co-incided with Diwali and we visited Little India in the days leading up to the parade. It was colourful and happy and a cornucopia of sights and sounds and smells.

While we’d both been to Gardens by the Bay before, this time we made it into the Cloud Forest dome which was breathtakingly beautiful and a marvel of engineering rolled into one. Pictures tell a thousand words.