Day 158 - Singapore 🇸🇬

Singapore is the only place I’ve ever been where chewing gum is illegal. I didn’t know this as I innocently chewed some gum on the immaculate Singapore MRT. Luckily I got away with it.

I’ve visited Singapore twice, both times while travelling to and from Australia. It’s the perfect place to break up the trip to Australia, and the mix of cultures makes Singapore a really fun place to spend 24 hours. You can be transported from Little Delhi to the Buddha Tooth Relic temple in minutes. Every imaginable type of cuisine is on offer and the mix of Chinese, Malay and Indian cultures lends Singapore a feeling unlike any other city on earth.

I spent the rest of my time in Singapore eating delicious chicken and rice and sipping refreshing Singapore Slings at Raffles. I even got to enjoy the sunset from the top of the dazzling Marina Bay Sands skyscraper.

Singapore is a great place to spend a few days, but I was really surprised to learn about its politics. The People’s Action Party has been in power for six consecutive decades and Singapore is often described simultaneously as a technocratic dream state and a thinly veiled dictatorship.

I really recommend taking a look at this Polymatter video exploring the political situation in Singapore.

Skip the jet lag - the best way to fly to Australia

There’s no escaping it, flying to Australia from Europe or the US is a killer. Whenever people talk about traveling to Australia,  it’s almost always followed up by a caveat that although they’re really excited, they’re absolutely dreading the flight.

The first time I visited Australia, I thought the best way of making the journey bearable was to book the shortest flight possible. What a mistake.

I flew the route from London to Melbourne via Doha which takes just over 21 hours (assuming you don’t miss the connection for which they generously allow 50 minutes). When I arrived in Australia dosed up on bad airline food and last years Hollywood B-movies, I barely knew what day it was. I was so exhausted and disorientated that I couldn’t sleep for the next 3 nights. I survived on a diet of strong long blacks and daytime naps.

There is a better way though. As I write this I’m sat on a flight from Singapore to Brisbane - and I feel great. 

What’s the secret?  Yesterday I took an evening flight from London to Singapore with my friend Michaela. When we arrived in Singapore, we headed into the city for a bite to eat and a stroll around before getting a solid 7 hours of sleep at an airport hotel.  Even though the journey is longer,  allows you to make the most of your time in Australia as you don’t lose the first couple of days to jet-lag. Also, who can complain about an evening in a exotic new city?

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How to arrive in Australia without jet lag:

1. Book a flight with an overnight layover. An night flight is best, and the layover should be roughly two thirds of the way to Australia. For example, if you’re flying from Europe, a stopover of 15 hours somewhere like Singapore, Bangkok, or Hong Kong is ideal.
2. Before you fly, pack a change of clothes and a toothbrush into your hand luggage. You won’t see your checked luggage until you arrive at your final destination.
3. As soon as you board your flight, set your watch to the local time of your layover city.
4. Check into an airport hotel, go grab some food to eat and get a great nights sleep.
5. Get up, grab some breakfast and remember to set your watch to the time of your destination.

Let me know if this works for you! 

Update: So, after being in Brisbane for 3 days I have to admit that the first night's sleep was horrible... I made the mistake of sleeping on the flight as well as on the lay-over! Either way, breaking up the journey helped me adjust to Australia time a lot faster than on previous trips, and who wouldn't want to spend an evening in Singapore?