Once upon a time in a land far far away, there was a kingdom where everything ran like clockwork, with no rubbish in the streets or plaguing the rivers, everybody walked around the spacious pavements smiling, the air was filled with the soft scent of flowers, toilets flushed themselves and waiters brought cold water every time someone entered from the blissful heat.

Singapore for us was a fairytale city which should be used as a model for all other capitals. The city itself is a modern masterpiece, with eco-friendly technology decorating the skyline, art houses and museums peppered between the shops, cafes and cinemas, and just around every corner there's a park or a big patch of grass.

We spent two captivating days exploring the city's buzzing markets, stimulating our minds in the endless galleries and sampling foods from across South East Asia. When walking across the roads, a helpful timer shows you have long you have left. There was a certain atmosphere that's hard to put into words, a quiet confidence that everybody is working together, a silent energy that pulses through the food courts, shops and stylish bars.

The mighty Merlion, the half-fish half-lion personification of Singapore, stands at the entrance of the city's business district. It doubles up as a fountain and an ambassador for the nation.

We felt so inspired by this city that when it came to going to sleep in our basic but friendly hostel (Pillow Talk at £22 a night) we chose not to. Spurred on by the country's blaze of culture, we wandered the roads until the early hours, watching buildings flickering in colours and the young and old parading in their fashionable attire.

Near to our hostel, which consisted of two big rooms full of bunkbeds and one lounge piled with books, maps and a breakfast table, there was a good-sized football stadium positioned in the Lavender section of the city.

Here we met a premier league fanatic who stayed up until the early hours of the morning to watch all the games. His brand new Everton shirt was the tip of the iceberg in terms of his dedication. He could name nearly every player right down to league two, stayed up every night (sometimes until 5am!) to watch matches, and he even knew about Lancaster City. This 23-year-old said there was a huge following of premier league fans in Singapore who, no matter what their team allegiance, will all meet up and watch games together, despite the inconvenient timing.

He also gave us a new insight into this fairy-tale city. Being a youth, he isn’t allowed much freedom and finds the 'Nanny State' too imposing. We did notice clusters of surveillance cameras everywhere we went and were a bit nervous about getting fined for Jaywalking. Even though we attempted not to walk on the road without an offical crossing, this was harder said than done. Some roads don't have the safety of white and black stripes, so me and Sam just ran across as fast as we could.

As we were drove out of the city on a comfy well air-conditioned coach, after having been chaffeured to where the vehicle was leaving from, I felt an over-whelming sadness that the smoothness and luxury of our time in the city may never be repeated again; but at the same time a happiness I had experienced it all.