Like so many places on Lewis the Lion’s journey so far, Lewis couldn’t believe it was already time to leave the continent of Australasia behind him and head to the continent of Asia; his first stop being Singapore. It was the first time he’d ever been to Asia in his life so he was both excited and a bit nervous at the prospect.
However, he didn’t exactly leave Australia trouble free as at first his flight was cancelled, then Helen’s passport went missing (and was then found) in the airport and to top things off, they wouldn’t let him on the flight without an outward bound ticket from Singapore. Travel could sometimes be stressful, that’s for sure!
Lewis the Lion gets ready to fly out of Australia
The replacement aeroplane was a huge affair with nine seats in each row.
There are 9 seats for each row in this huge aircraft
Surprisingly enough this time on his journey though, there would be no time-zone change but he would be crossing the Equator into the Northern Hemisphere, if only just. That meant that the weather he could expect would be tropical. Like on his other flights, he tracked the flight path from Perth to Singapore which took about 5 hours.
Flying to Singapore from Perth
Crossing the Equator back into the Northern Hemisphere and into Asia
A t-shirt shows that Singapore is very close to the Equator
Before Lewis the Lion flew into Singapore he was a little confused if it was a country in its own right? He discovered that it is, albeit small as it is a city-state at the tip of Malaysia.
As he flew into Singapore at night, a beautiful sight met his eyes. Lights from the tall skyscrapers were reflected in the river below. He could see a big, brightly lit wheel called the Singapore Flyer which reminded him of the London Eye back in the UK.
When the aeroplane landed, Lewis the Lion felt that he padded along travellator after travellator through this huge airport in order to get to the arrivals section. Christmas tunes were pumping out over the airport loudspeakers: Joy to the World and God Rest you Merry Gentlemen! Was Singapore a Christian country? He wasn’t sure but he would try to find out during his four-day stay there.
What was apparent was that Singapore airport seemed to be a real international hub with many people using it as a stop-off to catch connecting international flights. There seemed to be people of every ethnicity: it certainly seemed like an international melting pot. Signs were displayed in a range of languages but notably in English and Chinese (or at least a language with a character script). Tourist information was also available in English or Chinese, with the Chinese booklets opening up in the opposite direction, i.e. from left to right.
Many signs in Singapore are written in Chinese
Lewis the Lion’s first impression of the Singaporean people was that they were polite, friendly and helpful; even the customs officers! Lewis the Lion’s Singaporean friend, XY (Xiangyun whose nickname was XY) came to meet them at the airport to check that they had arrived safely: how kind! In fact over the coming days she was the perfect host to Lewis the Lion and Helen as she helped them to get to know her fantastic city and country.
Lewis the Lion enjoys China Town with Xiangyun
For now though, Helen had to withdraw some currency from the ATM so that they could catch a minibus to their hostel. Lewis the Lion wondered who the person was on each of the notes? Look out for Lewis the Lion’s next blog on the Singaporean currency to find out!
For now, Lewis the Lion headed out of the airport and noticed that he was travelling along wide tree-lined avenues. He thought that the trees looked rather like huge umbrellas as their branches were well-trimmed with a huge canopy above them. He thought they’d be great to shelter underneath should there be a heavy rainstorm. He had been warned to wear a raincoat and carry an umbrella here in Singapore as the weather was truly tropical: hot and humid with fierce downpours that came over quickly. Lewis the Lion was very grateful to be inside on one particular afternoon when he was in Singapore as the heavens seemed to open and there was thunder and lightning all around. He took a short video clip of this torrential downpour.
Lewis the Lion looks out on his first tropical storm
Otherwise, on this dark night, Lewis the Lion was reminded by some things from back home in the UK, notably that they drove on the left-hand side of the road and he discovered that he had to change his electrical appliances back to the 3-pin plug like in the UK.
For now he was happy to be in the technologically-advanced Singapore, as once again he was back to a world of good and free wifi!
Lewis the Lion discovered how much he relied on the Internet as he travelled and appreciated having free access with a good connection again now in Singapore.
If you were travelling to a far-flung country what luxury item would you like to ensure you had with you?
