Singapore was the last leg of a 4-month, 7 country trip around South-East Asia on my gap year back in 2008. We only spent 3 or 4 nights there and were pretty weary after lugging our backpacks from hostel to hostel for 16 weeks non-stop. Towards the end of any long trip, no matter how amazing it is, your mind naturally turns to the return journey and the home comforts you’ve forfeited in order to go on this incredible adventure. By the time Singapore came around, I had seen one too many Buddhist temples, I reacted nonchalantly when confronted with paradisical white-sand beaches and I was truly spoilt by the fantastic surroundings I found myself in. As a first step towards returning to the Western world after experiencing the colourful villages of China and the pristine islands of Thailand, cities like Singapore and Hong Kong tick the box. Singapore for example is so developed and sophisticated, with such a large number of expats and a myriad of international communities, that you feel as if you’re in a slightly more humid and tropical Western city.

         What stands out in my memory of Singapore was our hostel in Little India, the stunning Botanic Gardens, Singapore Sling cocktails and monkey nuts in the one-and-only Raffles Hotel, smart restaurants along the river and a particularly chic street market (chic at least compared to the ones we’d experience in the rest of South-East Asia…) Singapore is a fascinating country/city I’d like to explore a a bit more, but I have to say that of the two I preferred Hong Kong. Which is why in May I’ll be heading back to Hong Kong for 4 nights! Singapore will wait for me.