Work trip to Singapore - 19th to 21st March 2007

This was the start of a long work trip to a few destinations in Asia. After a 12-hour flight to Singapore, I quickly remembered why Singapore is so fantastic. I got to the baggage belt in the airport, to find my bags already there - surely the only place in the world where you can expect that to be the case most of the time. Then into a taxi, and within an hour after the plane landing, I was in my room in a city centre hotel. Everything just seems to work here, like nowhere else I've ever been before. Obviously, the weather was a minor but expected shock, coming from around 8 degrees on Sunday night in the UK, to over 30 degrees and 100% humidity in Singapore.

After checking into the hotel, I decided to go for some food - so I ventured onto the super-efficient subway to get to Newton Food Centre - a paradise of street food that won't make you sick. Open 24 hours a day, I spent a good $10, so just over £3, on more food than I could possibly eat, plus some delicious lime juice to wash it all down. Fantastic stuff, and great food is another reason to love Singapore.

Talking to expat colleagues here, and from both this and past experiences here, it seems that Singapore really is a very easy place for Westerners to live - everything works, the weather is good, the food is good, and the standard of living is very high indeed. The only complaints are that it can be a bit soulless and boring at times, and that because society is so regimented, some of the locals have been deprived of the need, and therefore part of the ability, to think for themselves.

I enjoyed my couple of days in the office, in particular getting the subway from hotel to office and back again. Compared to London, it was a fantastic experience, and if that's what commuting could really be like, I'd love to do it every day. A clean, fast, relatively uncrowded, air conditioned subway train, followed by working escalators at the station, and all for $0.66, or around 25p. Coming from London, it is hard to imagine how this is all possible, and makes it all the more annoying that we pay top prices for awful service.

On my second of 2 nights in town, I went for dinner and drinks in Clarke Quay, a place I'd highly recommend, especially for foreigners in town. It consists of a few big complexes, containing almost exclusively bars and restaurants, all set along the waterfront of the Singapore River. A really nice place to spend time, and although Singapore nightlife is hardly a patch on that of many other cities (especially European cities), it is still possible to have a few drinks and some fun, albeit in a very safe, clean and sanitised environment.

Checking out of my hotel and leaving town, reminded me of just how fantastic the service is in hotels - and this is true all across Asia - you really do get amazing service and value for your (admittedly not inconsiderable) money. There are literally people queueing up to carry bags for you, open doors for you, and do pretty much anything else you need. Europe and the USA has so much to learn from the standards of service available in Asia, from the good hotels.

So, an excellent couple of days in Singapore, marred only slightly by extreme tiredness and jetlag. On previous visits, I had really loved the place, and this visit reminded me why again. Life is easy and good, nice weather, good food, no crime, smiling people - if Disney World were a real country, it would most definitely be Singapore.