27th November

Today was our cultural tour of Singapore. Our friend of 4 tours, Geraldine, took us to visit key places for the three dominant cultures of this multicultural country. We visited Kampok Glam, which is the centre for the Malay culture, visiting the mosque and shopping in the area. We then moved onto Little India, where we were barraged by a range of sights, smells and sounds in the Hindu temple and sampled Indian sweets. A number of students then had Henna tattoos painted on their arms and hands. This was followed by an awesome authentic Chinese lunch in a Dim Sum restaurant and a visit to the Chinese Heritage Centre we we saw some of the history behind the strong Chinese presence in Singapore. When you see the bustling, cosmopolitan city today, it is hard to imagine that only 30 years ago it was almost third world and people lived in extreme hardship there.

Bianca Kahl

Seeing the variety of cultures in one city was crazy. Being in Little India made you feel like you were actually in India.

Amy Stott

Experiencing all the different cultures was amazing. Trying all of the different foods and unique tastes was pretty strange but also enjoyable.

Jack Bricknell

Today I learnt a lot about other religions and it was interesting to find out about how they go about their prayers.


Verity Schubert

I liked the differences in the religions but if you look closely they are partially all the same.

Anne Molinaro

We got to experience so many different religions and cultures today. The mosque felt rather sterile but the temple was so full of life. You could feel everyone relax more as we went through Little India and Chinatown.

Alana Standley

Assault on the senses! Pretty much sums up the whole day. Major culture shock!! However, I enjoyed it the lunch was delicious, however, I think Alysha is hanging out for anything but seafood right about now.

Julie Reece

Unlike previous years our cultural day in Singapore was slightly shorter, with a later start and earlier finish, which worked well considering the long haul flight to London we had at the end of the day. Our first stop was the Malay sector and the heat and humidity was gagging. I felt like I would end up in a pool of sweat on the ground. Solution! Buy iced lime juice from a street vendor which was sold in a plastic bag for $1.50 Singapore = just over one Aussie dollar! Yum! Soon our tribe followed my lead and the shop owner’s grin widened as we swamped her business.  The Indian temple was as usual a cacophony of sound + smells + colour + humanity. Fabulous stuff! The end of our day saw us have some time by the hotel pool chilling out prior to check out and the transfer to the airport. This time NO GROUPS OF 17 IN THE LIFT!!!!!