chewing gum and haircuts at the border, my first trip to singapore
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You know all the old stories about it being a fine city? Well, Singapore has powered ahead, and is now one of the leading cities/societies in the worldTRANSCRIPT
Chewing Gum and Haircuts at the Border: My First Trip to Singapore
http://www.directasia.com/blog/travel/chewing-gum-and-haircuts-at-the-singapore-border/[14/06/2013 21:27:36]
By Craig Hindmarsh on 31 / 01 / 2013 Comments : 1
Chewing Gum and Haircuts at the Border:My First Trip to Singapore
I’ve met a few people on my travels who carry with them very old guidebooks. They can be afascinating way to see how a country has changed in the intervening years. But if you had aSingapore guidebook from the seventies and arrived at Changi Airport or the Woodlandsborder checkpoint today, you would see a very different country indeed from the one describedin such a book.
Older guidebooks warn males who wear their hair long that they will be required to have ashave and a haircut before they enter Singapore. Today, thankfully, men with unorthodox hairstyles are allowed in relatively unfettered, although they may attract more attention from borderguards than those with short-back-and-sides. But when I saw they scan your luggage on theway in to the country, I realised: these guys still mean business!
Woodlands and SkyscrapersI first arrived in Singapore from Malaysia via the Woodlands checkpoint, and what a contrast itwas. After having spent a month in places like Penang, KL, the Cameron Highlands and finallyJohor Bahru, Singapore was something of a surprise. But a very pleasant one. After beingamazed on the train by how many golf courses had been squeezed on to the island, I exploredthe beautifully clean streets and stared up at the dazzling skyscrapers. It was terrifically wellorganised, and very easy to get around. And the chewing gum legend was true – there reallywasn’t a single splodge of the stuff anywhere!
There were no tuk-tuks to fall out of, no broken pavements to fall over, and enough health andsafety directives to make even my own safety-obsessed Britain look like a bad day in Bedlam. Idoubted that I would be making much use of my travel insurance on this leg of my trip.
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Written By Craig Hindmarsh 21 more posts
Chewing Gum and Haircuts at the Border: My First Trip to Singapore
http://www.directasia.com/blog/travel/chewing-gum-and-haircuts-at-the-singapore-border/[14/06/2013 21:27:36]
Shopping and EatingI was also struck by the sheer number of shopping opportunities Singapore offered up. But aswell as giving me plenty of window shopping to do, the impressive shopping malls gave mesome respite from the heat outside: air con seemed like a great way to keep the customerscoming, I thought.
Without doubt, business is something the Singaporeans are very good at, but I noticed theyseemed to do it with a bit more of a smile on their faces – a bit more of a swagger than backhome. Customer service is taken seriously here – that is, provided with a genuine smile.
And then there was the food: every cuisine on the planet, often for a very reasonable price.But the Chinese food in Chinatown was particularly memorable, along with the surroundings. Irealised Singapore wasn’t all impressive skyscrapers. You could get a sense of the country’shistory and culture too.
While time spent in Singapore is invariably time not spent chewing Wrigley’s Extra, it doesmake up for it with having just the right balance of old and new. Just how I like it.
Wikipedia Chewing Gum Ban in Singapore
Tags: changi, chewing gum, chinatown, holiday, singapore travel, travel, woodlands,
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About Craig Hindmarsh
A former animator, I switched from visuals to text after the 4,385th time Ihad to draw a drawing that was slightly different from the previous drawingwhich was itself slightly more different than the next drawing, but onlymarginally different from the current drawing.
Chewing Gum and Haircuts at the Border: My First Trip to Singapore
http://www.directasia.com/blog/travel/chewing-gum-and-haircuts-at-the-singapore-border/[14/06/2013 21:27:36]
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Deny on 31 January 2013 at 5:44 PM said:
Ditto! Exactly how I felt when I first arrived in Singapore 8 years ago…
Chewing Gum and Haircuts at the Border: My First Trip to Singapore
http://www.directasia.com/blog/travel/chewing-gum-and-haircuts-at-the-singapore-border/[14/06/2013 21:27:36]
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