Searching for frogs in Singapore

Ahh Singapore – a city of shopping, efficiency, strict rules against chewing gum and … frogs?!

We arrive in Singapore at 6am and head straight for our friend Barb’s place, she had convinced us that we needed to see the frog farm in Singapore – they don’t write about it in the travel brochures, nor was there any information on it at the airport. 

But, on next to no sleep we take a cab and head for farming country.  Even the taxi driver laughed at us when we told him where we wanted to go.

The farm itself is a little disturbing, thousands of frogs trapped in small concrete pens – all ready to be sold off to become someone’s meal – and I thought they only ate frogs in France. The frogs are huge, no sign of the cute green tree frog here.

But the region is beautiful – full of unusual farms accessed by a shuttle bus that drives from farm to farm.

After the Jurong frog farm we visit Bollywood Veggies – a large edible garden that you could take hours to meander through. 

The greenery in this part of the country, close to the border with Malaysia, was quite unexpected and quite beautiful, and seemingly a world away from the hustle and bustle of the Singapore most visitors experience.

Of course, in the three days we are in Singapore we take in the obligatory tourist sites – Little India, yep, it’s authentic, as soon as we step into this precinct local stall holders try to entice us, they all but beg us to buy their wares; Arab Street, tick; Orchard Road, tick and Raffles Place.

All visited in a whistle stop tour of Singapore.

We also catch the train out to Sentosa Island to witness all the kitsch of the various “worlds”. I loved it, but was very surprised to learn it’s not a man-made island. The island formed naturally but has been turned into a giant “theme park” complete with fake beaches and rocks, as well as a Universal Studios theme park. 

Singapore is a beautiful country, it is incredibly clean, easy to navigate and friendly but in some ways it is a little too perfect, almost soulless. Still, I’m definitely heading back for the shopping!

Read about more of our adventures in Asia here.

Fast Facts

We travelled in 2011.

We were here for three nights.

Was it long enough? It was definitely long enough to see everything we wanted to see, and more.

Highlights: The surprising natural beauty of the farming region, Sentosa Island, the shopping!

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