Singapore

The writer William Gibson memorably described Singapore as "Disneyland with the death penalty". Perfect then, for a family holiday; no crime and plenty for Cian to do.

Having tired of so-called 'holidays' in northern hemisphere winters (cf. Ireland 2010), we decided we wanted to go somewhere (a) warm; and (b) English-speaking.

That tends to limit your options in this part of the world. Hong Kong - close but not particularly warm; Hawaii - too ostentatious in these days of austerity (and the jet-lag is an absolute bastard); Australia and New Zealand are a little too far for a week long break); and the west coast of the United States is, well, part of the United States (though we did give some thought to the people's free republic of San Francisco).

So Singapore by default. Yet, it turned out to be a wonderfully relaxing holiday. Not invigorating, not stimulating, not mind-expanding; rather cosy, contained and cheerful - just what the three of us were after.

And the warmth. Ahh, that rich balmy, tropical air that suffuses the city. Even as I write this the memory of same is bringing a cold tear to my near-frozen eyes. Everyday was t-shirt and shorts weather and despite the New Year period having the highest monthly rainfall, we only had one prolonged afternoon shower on our first day and the rest of our stay was blessed with blue skies.

By contrast the Hokkaido Shimbun informed us this morning that Hokkaido is suffering through its coldest winter in a decade. We have had sub-zero temperatures for over a week now and 'de paper' told us the freezing spell will continue until the middle of February at least.

Apparently McDonalds in Singapore are hiring.

I could do that.

Pride doesn't keep you warm...