Singapore
The very name conjures up images of exotic travel, Raffles, one of the most famous hotels on Earth, the Singapore Sling...... This has to be one of the most cosmopolitan places on Earth. Where else do they have 4 official languages (English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil)?
Hot and humid, and bloody expensive best describes Singapore. The place is not what I was expecting. It is very multicultural, but it doesn't seem to have anything to set it apart from any other city I have been to, well, apart from the zoo.
Singapore zoo is something else. Whilst a lot of the animals are in enclosures, some are loose, in the trees above your head, like some of the Orang-Utans! There is a rainforest enclosure where you can get up close and personal with Lemurs and Fruit Bats, and an Australian enclosure where the only thing between you and the kangaroos is a wooden pole about 2ft off the ground. If you only do one thing in Singapore, make it the zoo.
I had heard all these tales of people saving a packet on cameras, so I spent a couple of hours pricing up a DSLR with a couple of lenses. Some of the prices were 20% higher than the UK! I couldn't believe it, one place was able to match the UK price on the camera, but not the lenses. I didn't bother getting one in the end.
Went for a beer at Raffles. Don't bother, £8 for a mediocre pint in a very commercialised setting. I had visions of a quant hotel, but it is geared up for people who want to be able to say "I went for a drink in Raffles". I did, it was shit. As for charging £400 a night for a room, I hope they are better than the beers!