Return to A Sexy Island: Notes From A New Singapore

Return to A Sexy Island: Notes From A New Singapore

Language: English

Pages: 280

ISBN: 9814382671

Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub


Singapore got sexy and the country's best-selling author got jealous. After five years chasing echidnas and platypuses in Australia, Neil Humphreys returns to Singapore to see if the rumours are true. Like an old girlfriend getting a lusty makeover, the island transformed while Humphreys was away. Singapore is not just a sexier island, it's a different world.So Humphreys embarked upon a nationwide tour to test that theory. He went in search of new Singapore, visiting only locations that either did not exist five years ago or had been extensively rebuilt, renovated or revamped in his absence. From the cloud-topped heights of Marina Bay Sands and Pinnacle@Duxton to making ill-advised bomb jokes at the subterranean tunnels of Labrador Park, Humphreys walks, cycles, kayaks and swims across a rapidly evolving country, meeting Guinness-swigging aunties in Resorts World Sentosa, eccentric toy museum owners in Bugis, political activists in Aljunied and a security guard at Marina Barrage ready to ‘tekan' anyone who crosses his path. In new Singapore, Humphreys discovers a country still grappling between the economic rewards of progress at Biopolis and Fusionopolis and the historical cost at Bukit Brown Cemetery.With Humphreys' characteristic honesty and wit, Return to a Sexy Island provides an insightful account of new Singapore; its best bits, it ugly bits and, most importantly of all, what it's really like to pee in the world's best toilet. Every Singapore resident and visitor should read this book.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

wee wee? It’s so much easier, cheaper and cleaner to wait for the rains to fall. Singapore does not think this way. The city favours self-reliance and innovation rather than rely on the whims and fancies of Mother Nature. Marina Barrage will prove more dependable. From the outside, Marina Barrage has all the allure of the former Queenstown Remand Prison. The low, grey, drab entrance did not bode well, nor did the inescapable presence of armed security (understandable considering they protect the

coaster with a couple of dusty bandage-covered mannequins beside the track but an entire movie experience that begins the moment guests join the queue inside an enormous Egyptian tomb. We were ushered into mine cars and swiftly sent hurtling through the tomb’s darkness in every conceivable direction, with flames licking the ceiling and scarab beetles scurrying across the walls. In movie-related theme parks, the most memorable attraction always pays clear homage to its cinematic origins to engage

slipped, scraped my knees along the cobbles and dropped and soaked my street directory. With dusk closing in, I rolled onto my back to allow the spots in my eyes to clear. Despite being flanked by the bustling AYE traffic and the neighbouring blocks up and away to my left, I was desperately lonely. The thought occurred to me that I had strayed too far. I was still trudging along the former KTM railway, I knew that, but whether I still had the permission of the Singapore Land Authority was

never going to happen. The issue of trust remains a sticking point in new Singapore. Like the permanently closed Toa Payoh Viewing Tower, public facilities and attractions are built for residents, but they are not always accompanied with a sincere belief that they will be used sensibly. If Australians should be proud of anything, it’s their stunning state and national parks. Many happy weekends were spent with our baby daughter strapped to my chest as we hiked, climbed and explored our way

Singapore is getting its house in order. I’m not even Singaporean but my pride swelled as I followed the guide around the visitor centre as she explained the cleaning processes. By the time I reached the exit, I struggled to stop myself entertaining the MBA students with a quick burst of “Majulah Singapura”. Feeling euphoric, I nipped across town to Bedok Reservoir Park. I fancied kayaking in a dusky setting and possibly a zip through the aerial course at Forest Adventure, which opened in 2007.

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