Singapore

Or: the 13-hour layover tour of the world's largest tiny city state.

From the outset, things felt neat, clean, orderly. It's China in reverse:

Big buildings abound: 

Our 'tour' included getting lost trying to find our hotel, getting lost trying to find Raffles (home of the original Singapore Sling), getting lost trying to find dinner. We eventually made our way to Marina Bay Sands boulevard, a 5* hotel made famous by Asia's Got Talent, Paul and my favourite (or perhaps only available) TV show in China.

I marvelled and gasped at the building made famous by my TV dreams. Karen and Clare just looked at me bemused. 

 

But Paul understood and gasped, or whatever the equivalent text message noise for a gasp might be. So much so that we've got a two-day layover in the summer and we're checking into the hotel at 3pm and parking there until we're forced out.