By Lynley Capon

Visitors to Singapore find themselves in a remarkable city.

When arriving by plane on a Wednesday afternoon, my husband Peter and I peered down at the huge industrial area at the edge of the island, separated from the rest of the well-laid-out city.

The airport and its city connections by MRT, the fast-track train, impressed us. Quick, clean and efficient, the MRT makes it easy to go nearly anywhere. In the suburbs, the trains run above ground, providing a great way to see the sights. Closer to the city centre, they glide underground. Although unaccustomed to big cities, I decided that getting around in Singapore was simple, thanks to the railway network being so well organised and clearly signposted.

Double-decker buses give a great view too, usually of tall apartment blocks, well painted, immaculately kept and surrounded by gardens and trees. Everything appears so orderly and clean that you wonder if you’re on a stage set. The roads are tree-lined, and there’s little rubbish in sight.

For two days, we stayed with a friend at her apartment near the East Coast Beach. Built around a beautiful swimming pool, the complex had the name Hacienda, consistent with its Spanish style. We walked along the suburban streets, with their trees and wide, even pavements, to the beach. There, we marvelled at the miles of coastline and at the sand, incredibly imported from Australia! Standing in that sand, we watched countless ships sail in and out of the port.

Shopping in Singapore looks fantastic. The entire city resembles a huge shopping centre. Although not a devoted shopper, I felt impressed by the huge department stores and retail complexes.

Then there’s eating and drinking. Food stalls, halls and courts appear everywhere. After just once sipping a decent cup of coffee during two weeks in Malaysia, I watched for a Starbucks and found one. Rival shops called The Coffee Bean appeared more numerous. And I grumbled about seeing so many McDonald’s restaurants. With the huge variety of Asian food available, who needs McDonald’s?

For two nights, we stayed at a small, but clean, hotel in Little India. That district looks closer to reality. The streets are a bit higgledy-piggledy, the buildings need paint and the smells resemble elsewhere in Asia. Even so, no stray dogs or mangy cats appear anywhere.

Don’t be absent-minded like us when examining the tickets home. Our tickets indicated a 4:30 check-in time, prior to a 6:30 flight. Peter assumed that meant in the afternoon so we slept in and were headed for breakfast at a huge food court when we received a call from our home city, Chiang Mai, Thailand. Our friend had waited for us at the airport there, but we’d failed to appear from the designated flight.

Peter had forgotten that airlines use the 24-hour clock, theoretically to avoid confusion. I hadn’t even looked at the tickets.

But catching a taxi in Singapore is so easy that we arrived at the airport in almost no time and boarded a flight to Bangkok.

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