Travels

During the past 5 weeks I have been discovering different parts of south east Asia. My trip began in Hong Kong where I spent a total of 5 days. I would best describe Hong Kong to Scottish people as a Chinese styled New York. The skyscrapers, the busy streets, the flashing lights, the colours, people from all over the world, the different foods; all made me think of New York. What I really liked about this city was how condensed and compact it was. It was possible to go from one side of the city to the other and still feel like there was as much going on. The wide range of cultures definitely has an impact on how lively this city is and definitely makes me want to visit this place again. Potentially, I would even like to live or work here in the future.

Singapore was the next destination on our itinerary.  Singapore is known for it’s clean streets, advanced transportation system and modern styled buildings and city infrastructure. Due to Singapore only being around 50 years old, Singaporeans or Singapore people are multiracial with a mixture of people from China, Malaysia and India. This further explains why in a city like Singapore you can easily feel in India when in ‘Little India’, in China when in ‘Chinatown’ or in Morocco when in the ‘Arab Quarter’. I visited the ‘Gardens by the Bay’ famous for its manmade giant trees, indoor botanical gardens and largest indoor waterfall in the world. Selling the famous satay dishes in Singapore is apparently very competitive. As a result, Singaporeans call out the words “satay” in various different tunes to attract attention to their store. It was very amusing to watch. I was also able to see the city by night from the boat ride experience. My favourite part of our stop in Singapore was sharing a meal with a group of Singaporean families who invited us to their traditional dinner. The different cooking methods and spices used contributed to a fantastic meal.