Singapore (Day 40, 4232 km)

Love it or hate it (I'm as yet undecided, although I don't think I'd want to live here) I don't think one can fail to be impressed by Singapore, la. Clean, efficient, mostly excellent customer service beyond the call of duty and with a smile, a cheap train system that runs every 6-8 minutes, far cheaper taxis than the west – there are a lot of things in this city that most western cities only dream of achieving, la. Actually, one gets the distinct impression that Singapore was designed by engineers... Yet there still manages to be room for an oriental flavour – Chinatown, Little India, food markets and the like all add their spice. Even late at night, things are bustling and alive, la. Singapore people seem to say things how they are – a much more direct sense of humour, which I found a nice change.

But of course, la, everyone is also aware that Singapore is a “fine” city – no eating, drinking, smoking, spitting – of course, but also some other interesting ones. There are parks, but very few places to actually sit and read a book... (not sure if one is allowed on the grass?) There are advertisements everywhere for the army, navy and airforce, and together with the rapidly emerging cashless facilities (smartcards on trains, buses, taxis, vending machines, parking garages, radio toll roads, and much, much more) keeps me wondering if perhaps they filmed Starship Troopers here...

I arrived late on Sunday afternoon, and was bowled over by the respectful, friendly, unbiased and extremely helpful information I received on where to find a backpackers, how to get there by train, where I'd be able to find the shipping company tomorrow, all as shown on my free map – wonderful! Although I had to change trains twice, there was always plenty of information and signposting, and it was a piece of cake – yes, things are different here from Indonesia, la!

(The other thing different from the rest of Asia that I've been in is that OSH is alive and well - everything has good safety designs, emergency stops, etc, as well as the usual fines ($5000) for misusing them. The train has continual public service announcements about standing behind the yellow line, not leaving bags unattended, reporting unattended bags, cautioning the young and elderly to use the lift rather than the escalator, etc. Nice, maybe, but it must get repetitive for those who hear it every day!

A lot of the train system is underground, which can sometimes make the stations hard to find. In fact, I've found whole shopping malls under there, in areas which didn't seem to have anything except high-rises!

(A small thing which I enjoyed – the trains here don't have doors at the end of the carriages, so it's like you're in a hollow tube, and you can see from one end to the other – this means that you can see every bend, rise and dip, as it happens, from the inside – like the “wormhole” screensaver...)

I checked in at the Inn Crowd, a dorm-style backpackers which was highly recommended by the tourist information lady (and also by Lonely Planet). They seem to make a serious effort to be helpful and friendly and get things done, and as a result they seem to be continually full, and extremely busy as a result. They are in the heart of Little India, which is as the name implies, including shop mannequins with red dots on their foreheads and altar shops. I had a huge curry and rice meal presented on a big leaf for $5 – I got away with only moderate discomfort the following day. Also just down the road is Sim Lim Square, the place to buy a bargain digital camera (or any other electronic goods) if only I could afford it, and I wasn't intimidated at bargaining such a serious amount of money.

The next morning I went off to find my bike – first to the shipping company and the expected charges. Compulsory 3rd party insurance here, minimum 1 week, so off to the AA to get that, and some other permit (an ICP). Then I find out that there is also a $4/day charge to have my foreign bike on Singapore roads at all, so I make a mental note to leave asap, before heading down to the Land Transport Authority to get my Autocard smartcard to organise these charges. Here I find out that in addition there are a ring of gantries through the CBD and in other congested areas, where if one wants to ride one must have a transponder fitted to one's vehicle, with another smartcard attached and topped up – otherwise a $70 fine per offence. This could prove tricky, as of course there doesn't seem to be a way around these gantries, and I'd prefer not to hire a transponder for a day... aha! They turn them off at night time, so I will have to wait until 7.30pm to make a dash for the border! I start wondering whether the $70 option of getting the bike towed to the border would have been easier!

Off to the port to get a temporary port access card (complete with photograph) and try to find my bike. Nobody quite knew where my wharf was, except that it was a long way away (Singapore has one of the biggest ports around) and I should take a bus – the bus driver was one of the few unhelpful (or at least unknowledgeable) people I've met – he didn't know and he really didn't seem to care. But eventually, after being dropped off in the wrong place, powerwalking everywhere, and asking a few surlyish but helpful gate guards, I came to the right place – unfortunately it was now after the 5pm deadline I'd been given, so I wasn't hopeful. But this seemed to matter not at all... There were people in the office, and they dropped everything to help me on my way...

Unfortunately, the bike wouldn't start – odd – it worked in Darwin. They tried pushing me (at their suggestion!)... Maybe the fuel was too low (one needs to drain most of it for the voyage). So one of the guys obligingly took my fuel container and drove off to buy me some fuel! Still nothing... sparkplug ok, fuel ok... hmm. Some signs were there that told me it was going to be a bit more serious, so I wheeled it the 3-400m to customs, and got that part of things sorted out – I am sure that by now it was well after the shipping guy's hometime, but that didn't seem to be a problem for him at all – he showed me where there was a petrol station that might allow me to look at it under some light, and told me where there was a motorcycle mechanic.

Anyway, it turns out that some odd noises I heard on the last day's ride in Australia were bad – a slipped timing chain due to a disintegrated guide (oddly enough, not the custom piece I made, but the original piece) had caused two bent valves. Serious though that is, it doesn't seem to have caused any other damage, so I find to my surprise that motorcycle mechanics in Singapore are open until 9pm! (Shops don't seem to open very early, though – my sort of place!) He agrees to order the new parts for me, grind the new valves, and let me use his torque wrench. The process has taken a long time to get the right parts, etc... especially with public holidays...

It seems like a long time since I was making my own path, but finally I am again on my way, treating the bike gently. After paying my extra $8 for the extra 2 days, excluding weekends and public holidays...

I hope everyone is well. God bless!