A complicated entrance to Singapore

After leaving Malaysia, Singapore quickly teaches me that its many regulations are there to be followed.

The Sultan of Johor's Fountains in Johor Bahru, the state capital.

I stay an hour to wait at the border to enter Singapore. It makes it the second most complicated of my journey, after the incredible Uzbekistan!

And yet motorcyclists are storming into the country around me. Probably once every two seconds and we are not even at rush hour!

Several hundred thousand people enter Malaysia daily at one of the two entry points to Singapore. 300 counting only those who walk !

For my part, I followed the motorcyclists until I found myself in front of a barrier where I was asked for a special card. A customs officer quickly noticed my embarrassment and came to get me. "Wait here. He told me, pointing to me next to a small cubicle. A young customs officer then explains to me through the window of the cabin that as I followed the wrong path, they must now escort me to the office.

"I can just retrace my steps and take the right path", which I suggest.
" No. You made a mistake, it's too late. "

So I wait.

And I'm still waiting. For one hour.

Standing in the sun, I end up crouching down. Then lean against the plastic barrier to protect me from the sun. The hour passes in the heat of the end of the afternoon. "Is it still long?" », Which I ask a few times. " We do not know. You just had to respect the rules and follow the right path. "

Office

A very young employee finally arrives after an hour of waiting. He's on his bike and we ride together to the office ... about 2 minutes!

In the waiting room, there are less than ten people. I feel like a terrorist ... or a child reprimanded by the principal. I wait my turn, surrounded by a harem of women in full veils, a few Indians, and a family of Chinese.

I'm not really worried, I have nothing to hide. But I still have more than 30 kilometers to go to get to the hostel and the day is already almost over. Finally, it's my turn. The customs officer reprimands me for the umpteenth time on the fact that I went to the wrong place, before stamping my passport without further formality.

Highway

I do not know which road to take to get to "the south of the country", 35 kilometers further. And still with a Malaysian mentality, I embark on the highway. I was used to having no other option, and even being greeted there by motorists and authorities.

It's very different here! I haven't been driving on the shoulder for 3 minutes since I've already been stopped. Traffic officials then send me on a detour on less busy lanes. From detour to detour I return to my starting position and then end up making my way to the city center. It's longer, but it's actually quieter and more pleasant. Along the way, I admire the cleanliness and order of this city-country.

Singapore the urban

Singapore is radically urban, clean and orderly, especially in the Central Business District.

Singapore is resolutely urban. It is with good reason that we define it as a city-state (title also given to the Vatican and Monaco). It must be said that the country is alsoone of the smallest in the world. Even if it wishes to grow ... Its territory is today 20% larger than in the 1970s. They buy sand from Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia to enlarge their area and be able to build new buildings there. . In return, it is estimated that Indonesia has since lost 24 islands due to lack of sand!

I expected the signs to be more in Chinese. After all, Singapore got "kicked out" from Malaysia in the early 1960s because they were too Chinese and not enough Malaysian. But it's everywhere in English. The capitalist revolution was carried out even in the language of display.

It was also done in transport. There are a lot more cars here and fewer small motorcycles. Sign of wealth in the majority of Asian countries, where we abandon the speed of the scooter for the appearance of the car as soon as we have the means.

Everything is also more expensive here. In fact, goods are the same price as in Malaysia, if you forget that the currency is worth three times as much. What cost me $ 5 in Kuala Lumpur therefore costs me $ 15 here. It's not for nothing that Singapore ranks 4th most expensive city in the world.

Gardens by the Bay

I end this short visit by going for a walk and take the obligatory tourist photo at the gardens near the marina, which is called Gardens by the Bay. This fantastic and modern park covers more than 101 hectares in the very center of the city. It is half of Mount Royal Park. There are plenty of trails, small lakes, and especially the "super trees".

These man-made structures in the shape of trees soar more than 25 to 50 meters in the air. They serve at the same time as vertical gardens, and shelter innumerable ferns, vines as well as many flowers. They have solar panels that store the energy needed to illuminate them in the evening. And they channel rainwater for irrigation and fountains in the park.

Tourists from all over form a dense crowd under these trees, waiting for the musical and light show presented at nightfall. The Scandinavian blonde rubs shoulders with the black beards of the Middle East. All these people are patient while talking, the young people run and shout while playing tag. A mother has fun clapping hands with her little girl, and inspires a neighboring couple in their forties to do the same.

These half-artificial, half-natural trees seem to create the atmosphere of the future in this city. I think back to the last episode of Planet Earth 2 documentary from the BBC. The series ends precisely here by speaking of Singapore as City 2.0.

The famous and impressive “Supertree Grove” palm trees in the Garden by the Bay.

As in any good modern city, people here seem to have more time for recreation. Coming back to my hostel, I meet a lot of runners along the marina. As for me, I have finished running (or rather pedaling) for a week. I am soon embarking on a cargo freighter which will bring me to Taiwan. 8 days later, across the South China Sea!