Singapore Sling with a Swing
New Travel Book by John Malathronas Reveals Singapore's Secrets
Raffles Hotel and other Raffles legacies feature strongly in the new book by John Malathronas, Singapore Swing, one of few books of travel literature about Singapore
Writers like Somerset Maugham, Joseph Conrad, Noel Coward and others have all visited and been influenced by Singapore, the old British Empire colonial outpost. Singapore features in their writing too, with languid tales of this fascinating place. But there are few extended works of travel literature about Singapore, so Singapore Swing by John Malathronas is a welcome addition to the Travel Writing bookshelves.
Author John Malathronas has published two previous and well-received books of travel literature, Brazil: Life, Blood and Soul and Rainbow Diary: A Journey in the New South Africa. He first visited Singapore 17 years ago, he reveals in the inevitable conversation with a taxi driver which opens so many works of travel writing these days. Now he is back for an in-depth look at the place in Singapore Swing, although it was a little puzzling that he never seems to reveal why he's there – except, presumably, to write this book.
Singapore attracted almost nine million visitors in 2005, including 400,000 from Britain. An incredible 24 million passengers went through Singapore in transit, no doubt stopping long enough only to marvel at its amazing airport. Singapore has many other things to marvel at, though, and Malathronas is a curious author keen to seek them out. They range from brothels and opium dens to the modern Singapore gay scene and the weird world of the Singapore Paranormal Investigators. A night out with these is like being in a surreal dream, as they do their Ghostbuster bit in places connected with the Japanese wartime invasion. Malathronas follows along, bemused and charmed and fascinated by them, at one time finding himself tucking into a plate of jellyfish, thinking it was cabbage.
To draw the reader into his own fascination with Singapore, the author reveals some titbits of information early on. Singapore is smaller than England's Isle of Wight, yet has four official languages. Even its dry season is wetter than London. These early pages lead into a blending of history, folk-tale and modern reality.
The history of Singapore is bound up largely with that of its founder, Sir Stamford Raffles, of Raffles Hotel fame. It's a fascinating story, and Malathronas weaves it well into his own tale. Raffles eventually left Singapore in 1823 at the age of only 42, not knowing he had only three years left to live. But before he died he bought a plot of land in London's Regent's Park and there founded what became London Zoo. As if founding London Zoo and Singapore wasn't enough, he also discovered the largest flower in the world. This bizarre flower is named after him, the rafflesia. It has a flower three-feet wide, which only blooms about once a decade and then gives off a smell of decomposing meat, to attract the flies which help it pollinate, so it can go to sleep for another ten years.
In the days of its founding Singapore was a wild and swampy place, where packs of stray dogs roamed the island, chomping on corpses. Worse were the tigers, which tucked into at least one Chinese plantation worker every day. From out of this grew Singapore, and Malathronas chronicles its growth very entertainingly in Singapore Swing, as fascinated by Singapore's past as he is by its future and the city streets of today. Anyone who has visited Singapore, even if only briefly, will be fascinated by this book.
Malathronas has some revelations too about Raffles Hotel, the tiger which was allegedly shot under a snooker table there, and the invention of its famous drink, the Singapore Sling. Oddly enough, although John Malathronas arrives in Singapore with his own arm in a sling, he resists the temptation to call his book Singapore Sling. Perhaps he didn't want it to end up on the food and drink shelves, rather than on the travel literature shelves, where it definitely belongs, up there with the best of them.
Singapore Swing by John Malathronas is published in the UK by Summersdale Publishing at £7.99.
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