Following last week’s trip to Malaysia by the Woodlands checkpoint to the north of the island, I set out this Saturday to try getting to Malaysia by the other road route, the ‘Second Link’ at Tuas on the west coast. I didn’t have much luck…

The south-west corner of Singapore is dominated by industry. Thanks to some forward thinking/paternalism in the middle of the last century, the gently rolling hills of this corner of the island were scooped up and used to fill in some pesky bits of sea. The area is now nice and flat and is covered in various factories. Small outlying islands have been adjoined and turned into an enormous petrol refinery where access is restricted to prevent terrorist attacks.

The upshot of all this is that there exist some lovely nice wide roads that are relatively free of traffic at the weekends and in the evenings, so not bad cycling conditions. Whilst most people like nothing other than to tour the more picturesque regions of the world, scaling the Alps or cruising the country lanes of Cornwall, I’m quite a fan of industrial areas.

Whilst I will freely admit that the Alps are stunning, there is also a beauty to behold in industrial wastescapes, in a refinery, or a container port. One of my favourite spots in London is Creekmouth, a massive expanse of nothingness near Dagenham. It overlooks the river where it is nice and wide and deep enough to receive big ships, and affords a great view of the Ford plant and the sewage works to the south.

These places are full of life, there are always lights twinkling, flames burning atop narrow stacks, machinery moving back and forth, night never really falls on these places. From the window in my apartment I can admire the constant to and fro of the truly massive container movers of the Keppel port, ships arrive and depart all day, heralded by a blasting poop of their big horns. The stacks of containers rise and fall, ships bob up and down as they are relieved of their cargo and instantly replenished.

This kind of activity dominates most of the south coast of Singapore. As you head further west, the air becomes heavy with fuel fumes and warehouses which looked like small blocks of flats from a distance loom above you, immense and windowless, impressing upon you the sheer scale of everything. Singapore might be tiny, but its influence is huge, a massive amount of stuff comes in and goes back out every single day.

Some might think this the antithesis of what cycling should be about, why do I glory in what most find ugly and depressing? But there is beauty nestled in amongst the concrete megaliths. Many of the roads remain tree-lined, beautiful views of the sea appear suddenly in between factories and shipyards, workers collapse and sweat in shady patches under the trees nestled in the corners by the fences.

All of this rolls by me on my way to the second bridge to Malaysia, and it would not let go its grip. The Tuas checkpoint is for motors only. The approach is a motorway, so I had little choice but to bend the rules and slip onto the road from which I am banned and make my final approach to the barriers. At the bus and coach checkpoint the police were very friendly, and told me to turn around. Then ensued a quick discussion in Malay, and they suggested I try ‘upstairs’, at the car and motorbike checkpoint. This involved doubling back down the motorway, doing a u-turn at the first junction, and climbing the drag up to the top deck, where after a number of phone calls to the bosses, I was told to go back again.

So rather than take my lunch in Malaysia as planned, I retraced my route back to the industrial wastes and found a food court I had passed on the way to the bridge.

Food Courts are something that the UK could think about introducing, they really are great. The concept is simple. You have a communal seating area surrounded by various stalls. Most stalls specialize in a small number of dishes, so the quality is often rather good. Other stalls operate a ‘pick-n-mix’ system, with a number of dishes on offer. Rice is dumped onto your plate and you pick and choose what to have alongside. ‘Aunties’ and ‘Uncles’ from the drinks stalls stalk the tables and shout your orders back to their colleagues and return sharpish with a variation on your order. Others prowl and remove the used cutlery and crockery so that subsequent diners may take your place.

You don’t hang around a food court at lunch time. Singapore is busy, to say the least, and it can be impossible to find a place to sit in the popular places. Clued up Singaporeans reserve their spots with little ‘Handy-Andy’ packs of tissues, whilst first-timers walk in endless circles with their food going cold in a futile attempt to find a seat.

Most importantly, food centres are cheap, a meal and a drink will set you back between $3 and $6 (1-2 pounds). If we could introduce this system in the UK, I think it would be incredibly popular. A cooked meal, tasty and quick, costing probably about three pounds, it’s got to be a winner!