It's the little things that matter

I can't help it. It's like admitting to a dirty secret, like I kill cows, wear leather knickers and eat cheeseburgers. And believe me, that is totally beyond bad for a vegan.

But I can do nothing else. I admit. I like Singapore.

Most of the loose hanging creative types we meet roll their eyes to the heavens and groan should I be brave enough to whisper this.

Clearly, I am a lost cause. I may as well tattoo lackey to the government over my face. I have no opinions of my own, I do not know what I want, I wait to be told, and when I am, I'll be grateful. Because, I will surely be reminded, you do what you're told in Singapore and, wagging finger, warning eyebrow, there are limits on free speech. Do you want that, lackey? Do you?

OK, Singapore may be a benign dictatorship, but blow me, people are honest, taxi drivers use the metres, the trains work, the food is excellent, the juices freshly pressed, and the streets are clean. And if you're towing kids around Asia, that's all pretty important.

As is the quality of the entertainment. And we can't do much better than one of Asia's top attractions, the Night Safari.

Go on, admit it. This is wonderful. You can't failed to be charmed by a tropical forest that comes to life at night. One that is lit atmospherically and beautifully, the nocturnal animals simply appearing, often without visible enclosure, so beautifully is it landscaped, so carefully designed, in all its smallest details, all for you to creep along the trail, brush away the leaves, and ssshhh! Can you see the hyena?

Well of course we have no photos. We are too busy tripping over each other in the near darkness, oohhing and aarhing at the sounds and the sights.

And if you should ever doubt the value of that dictatorship to the small children of England, bear in mind that at the Night Safari, Shark, Squirrel and Tiger say it has best toilets they've seen anywhere in the world.