Singapore

Singapore – what a megacity!

We are quite overwhelmed by this incredible juxtaposition of different cultures, architectural styles, people, nature and technology! And that’s after our arrival in Singapore was anything but relaxed.

We leave Nuremberg for Frankfurt on Friday evening and fly from there to Singapore in the upper deck of a Boeing 747-400. The catering and service are faultless, and we enjoy the relatively comfortable beds, sleeping soundly for almost eight hours without interruption. In Singapore, it is already five o’clock on Saturday afternoon, so we are a good seven hours ahead of ‘our’ time.

Entry into the country is very straightforward, and ten minutes after arrival we are already standing at the baggage carousel, waiting for our only checked suitcase. But even after fifteen minutes, the carousel hasn’t moved an inch. The other 400 or so passengers are also slowly becoming impatient.

To cut a long story short: first, something about irregularities is mumbled over the loudspeaker and four people are named who should report to one of the counters. But the carousel still isn’t moving. Those waiting are now complaining to the staff, who are already handing out cola and water to calm everyone down.

Now there is another announcement that the luggage cannot be unloaded due to heavy thunderstorms. A glance outside seems to indicate a unique weather phenomenon: if there really is a thunderstorm raging where the plane is parked and the sun is almost shining just 200 metres away, that is more than unusual! In any case, after almost two hours, a little man sneaks through the crowds, who of course can’t do anything about it, but explains how to file a missing baggage report with Lufthansa, because no one can say how long it will take.

So, we report our suitcases as missing via the app and write to the driver we booked in advance, who has been waiting patiently, that he can finally pick us up. He also knows nothing about a thunderstorm and drives us without our suitcases, but safely and without any problems to our hotel, the Maxwell Reserve Autograph Collection in one of the hearts of Singapore. More on that later.

Top Secret: We booked the driver through WelcomePickups.com, with whom we have been very satisfied on many occasions.

Maxwell Reserve Singapore, Autograph Collection

We are immediately impressed by this hotel: from the entrance onwards, it is perfectly and consistently furnished in a harmonious style and decorated to match, down to the smallest detail. The lounge area, for example, is housed in a dark wood library. And right down to the fittings in the bathrooms, there is no break in style anywhere.

The staff are extremely helpful and courteous. And during the welcome cocktail, Franz Lehár’s operetta immediately comes to mind: The Land of Smiles. No, it’s not a fake permanent grin, but genuine warmth! The staff clearly enjoy making their guests happy. And the nice ladies even manage to make us forget our worries about the missing suitcase for a while.

Chinatown

After this warm welcome, we set off in our ‘flight clothes’ into the hustle and bustle of Chinatown, at the southern end of which lies Maxwell Reserve; we walk less than five minutes and are already in the thick of things. The first thing we notice, which is very pleasant, is the cleanliness in the halls of the Hawker Centre, a large food market. Although there are a lot of people eating and drinking here, there is no rubbish, no plastic cups and no paper towels on the floor. And again, there is a lot of laughter and joking.

 

Later, as we stroll through the centre of Chinatown, we notice again and again that grumpy faces are not part of the street scene here. It is colourful, sometimes even garish, it is busy and sometimes loud, but everywhere there is a relaxed atmosphere.

So we treat ourselves to another glass of alcoholic beverage in one of the countless small pubs and soak up the atmosphere of this small island of old houses with a maximum of two floors in the middle of the skyscrapers around us. It is quite a curious sight.

We are once again hugely impressed the following day when we take the usual trip on the hop-on hop-off bus. There are two lines here, both operated by the same company: the red and yellow lines, which meet at two stops where you can change buses.

We start with the red line because it passes closest to our hotel. The view from the upper deck in beautiful weather is simply stunning. And the famous Marina Bay Hotel isn’t even the highlight! It’s the architecture as a whole, which inevitably reaches for the sky due to the limited space available. It’s incredible how creatively you can build upwards: not just straight up, but with curves, finely chiselled facades, huge squares at dizzying heights, above which further floors tower…

I think you have to see it with your own eyes! I’ve seen towers in many cities, including Dubai, but Singapore beats them all hands down! And Singapore is by far the greenest city in the world: flowers are blooming and sprouting everywhere, the streets are lined with huge trees, there are well-maintained parks everywhere, and in the west of the city there is a botanical garden that is unrivalled anywhere in the world!

Sensational! Of course, we also see the pit lane of the Formula 1 circus, the Singapore Flyer, the artificial trees and so on. But what is really impressive is the juxtaposition of historic, small buildings and the gigantomania that is emerging around them. That’s what I meant earlier when I wrote about the different hearts of Singapore: these are, for example, Chinatown, Little India, Little Malaysia and a few other neighbourhoods dating back to times gone by.

And each heart beats distinctly differently from the others. This becomes particularly clear when you look at the shop displays, which now offer only food typical of the respective country. That’s why the alleys smell typical of each country.

All in all, a sensational sightseeing trip that is worth every penny. Only the way home from the nearest bus stop turns into a wet experience: as soon as we get off the bus, it starts pouring with rain. Although we use every balcony above us to avoid a few drops, we are soaking wet when we arrive at the hotel. The friendly concierge recommends a hot shower and dry clothes.

Our last evening in Singapore

When we tell him about our troubles with the missing suitcase, his eyes widen and he asks us about the type of luggage. We explain: ‘The brand is Rimowa.’ – ‘And your name is Hofmann?’ – ‘Yes!’ – ‘Then I have a surprise for you!’ He asks us to follow him and proudly presents us with our suitcase, as if he had found it himself. Regardless, we are relieved and the hot shower becomes one of the most relaxing we have had in a long time.

In the evening, we go out for another walk. It has stopped raining so heavily, and we don’t want to look too far for a small pub. We find one on Duxton Road and order a small glass of beer and an eighth of wine. After a second round of the same, I go to pay and when the young man presents me with the bill, I am stunned: it is actually 86 Singapore dollars! That’s roughly 60 euros! For a few drops! In a pub that isn’t even cosy!

After two large beers and two quarter bottles of wine at half price in the bar of our hotel, we go to bed relatively early because our driver is already booked for 7 a.m. to take us to the airport. But he calls at 5:45 a.m. and says he is already waiting for us in front of the hotel. Luckily, we are already awake and get into his car at around half past six, and he drives us reliably and safely to the airport.

Top Secret: We booked this driver through booking.com, which in this case was significantly cheaper and still reliable and even a little too punctual.