As always, I based myself in the Joo Chiat area, that colourful part of Singapore that hasn’t been modernised (and sterilised) like the city-state’s main tourist areas.

Sadly, my usual choce of hotel, the Astro (SGD $55/night), was closed for renovations, I chose one of the many Hotel 81s that dot the city. The one I stayed in, known as Hote1 81 Opera (SGD $85/night), conveniently located 400 metres down the road from the good old Astro. It’s basic with a capital B, but clean, quiet and very friendly, especially with a guilo (pronounced, ‘Gway-low’ – ‘Foreign Devil’, in Chinese) who can speak a bit of Mandarin and knows Singapore well. Mini-bar? It’s called the 7-11 convenience store just down the road. The only downside was that my particular room didn’t have any windows.

The Joo Chiat area has an excellent variety of restaurants, including Malay, Thai and Chinese that serve an amazing array of dishes, both local and foreign cuisine. I have eaten at a number of them over the years and so far have never been disappointed. However, my preference, especially when travelling alone, is to visit one of the local hawkers’ centres that one can find dotted around the city-state. In the Joo Chiat/Geylang area there are at least four good ones near my hotel. The food is excellent, with ample portions and surprisingly inexpensive. Best of all, one can meet the locals by sharing a table at mealtime. Want to try Malay or Indian food or some amazing vegetarian dishes (what these guys can make out of tofu is simply amazing)? Go to a hawkers’ centre and tuck-in.

“Where are the Kiwis?�
Rather then bore everyone with the details of the business side of my trip, I’ll focus on my observations during my time in Singapore. One of the most interesting things that came out of my sales calls was the query as to why the Singaporeans are not seeing a parade of New Zealanders coming to their country to do business. After all, it’s been some five years since the two countries signed a free trade agreement (FTA). Perhaps the fact that they haven’t been coming in droves made me stand out a bit more with those I met during my travels. Considering how mature and competitive the market is there, I had a lot of positive interest, which I’ll need to follow up on. There are just so many opportunities in Singapore if one is prepared to persevere.

Local travel; shopping
One can’t beat Singapore’s MRT metro system for getting around. It’s reliable, fast and good value. If I hadn’t been travelling with a 20 kg suitcase, I could have taken the MRT from the airport to within a kilometre of my hotel, but took a taxi instead – must be getting old…

It was fun to be able to just get on and off as I desired, as the system uses a rechargeable smart card for payment. In fact, I had some extra time one afternoon and did a tour of the city on the train. While much of the line is underground in the main parts of the city, outlying areas are serviced on raised tracks. The only thing I find strange about the MRT is that it doesn’t go to places like the city’s famous zoo and bird sanctuary, which considering Singapore’s huge tourist industry is rather strange indeed. Of course there are busses and taxis that can take one to those destinations and can often be paid for by the same card used for the metro.

I’m not a shopper so I can’t really report on having purchased anything exciting during my stay. I will recommend that buying stuff outside the main tourist areas can often be cheaper than the same item sold along Orchard Road; sometimes half price, would you believe? Singapore’s most famous street hosts any number of stores selling internationally renowned goods; too bad for them I’m not into buying brand names.