Believe it or not, this is an old story already. You are now allowed to buy chewing gum in pharmacies in Singapore. Well, only that kind of therapeutic value is allowed, but still. If you never heard about chewing gum ban in Singapore, here it is on Wikipedia . I really like this one “Chewing gum was causing serious maintenance problems in high-rise public housing flats, with vandals disposing of spent gum in mailboxes, inside keyholes and even on elevator buttons. “. Somehow reminds me of my childhood.

So, what should one expect from Singapore? I left all my chewing gum at home ( i think nobody really cares about it, I don’t think the x ray machines in the airport are so focused anyway ) and go ahead. It’s a great place. Even about 2.5 times more expensive then Malaysia , some final calculations shown about 30 USD / day / person were still enough . Then comes the fun. For example Little India. Looking almost like the real one after having it washed in a washing machine and properly dried after. China town is maybe a bit different then my favorite one in Bangkok, but the yellow+green block is so photogenic. You maybe heard  about the competitive society here. Well, they managed somehow to keep this feeling inside the skyscrapers and left the streets free of it. Walking around you may see people sleeping on the street, skateboarders under the bridge having a can of something and, with a little luck, you may catch a rare view of a brave citizen spitting ( the penalty is couple of hundred dollars for spitting) . I’ ve seen no one chewing a gum, however I suspect there are some, for therapeutic purpose.

Three days were just enough for our budget, so crossing to Batam in Indonesia plus a 22 hours journey on-board of a Pelni ferryboat brought us somewhere on Sumatra.