Hey all :)
Guess who’s in Singapore?! This city is mental – the roads are like a mix between New York and India and the the architecture is so haphazard! It is a lovely city tho, the people are very friendly and helpful and willing to get an extra doller out of you. Well some are, most are just happy to help!
It all started early Monday morning with a tearful goodbye and a very, very long flight. Unfortunately the flight was made longer by a screaming infant sat next to me – all I can say is thank god for noise-cancelling headphones. They made sure my eardrums stayed intact! The flight was pretty uneventful, with hardly any turbulence, which I’m grateful for.
Trying to find my transfer from the airport was another matter altogether. They said to meet on B1 so down I go with my rucksacks and camera bag and the beesy bus is nowhere to be found. Unknowingly B1 is infact hidden on the way down to B2. However, a few phonecalls to the company later and we’re all sorted on the way to the hostel.
The hostel is cosy but very clean and quite up to date. The only thing it’s missing is aircon – an essential in the sauna that is Singapore. As soon as I entered the reception/kitchen/dining/living/crashing area I was asked to show the receptionist my passport and chuck my bags somewhere safe. Sitting down to log on to the internet to let family members know I’m here safe I get chatting to this guy, Stu. He had spotted my Alliance Wake Mag and said he rode when he lived in Scotland and told me I should check out Cairns.
Stu then says that he’s going on a tour of Singapore and did I want to come? Being that I couldn’t check into my room for another 3 hours I said yes and armed with camera, purse and mint polos we left with Justin and Sam (a really nice couple from Ottowa).
Walking around Little India was definitely an experience – the Tekka market and durian red conchil drinks a particular onslaught to my senses. Whatever you do, do not touch durian fruit – it’s horrible and leaves an after-taste for a good 4 hours after!! We then caught the MRT (Singapore’s answer to the underground) to Orchard Road – have a look round the very nice posh shops! The sales people are very persuasive but polite decline seems to work well.
Walked a lot around Orchard Road before hopping on the MRT to Marina Bay and Raffle’s Place. We walked right around the coat – saw some stunning architecture from the colonial era as well as cutting through the upmarket Fairmont Hotel. Saw a starbucks, decided a drink was in order and sat with view over the bay out to Marina Sands Hotel and the grandstand for the Grand Prix circuit. Definitely not in England anymore.
Walking around the bay, we reached Swissotel where you can go to the 70th floor for free and get fabulous panoramic views of Singapore. Definitely worth a look if you visit. Exiting the hotel we see Raffles right ahead of us so of course the Singapore Sling is calling. Traditional Singapore slings and nut shells on the floor of the Long Bar topped it off quite nicely before wandering around a bit more and deciding it was time for lunch.
Lunch means Chinatown which is thoroughly decorated with proper chinese lanterns, and a million stalls selling complete and utter kak to unsuspecting tourists. After wandering around Chinatown for a good hour and a half Stu and me decided Chinese food wasn’t on the menu for us today so back on the MRT to Little India for an Indian dinner. This involved rice, fried chicken in sauces with a masala sauce and poppadoms with a coke to drink. Yum! All that for £2!!! Crazy. On the topic of MRT – I can officially say that Dhoby Gauht station is the central hub – passed through it about 4 times today. The Singapore people use an EZ-link card which is basically an oyster card to travel and it’s so easy to use. You just have to remember to reclaim the $1 deposit that is issued with the card.
Tomorrow I think Sentosa is on the cards – a day lying on the beach trying to recover from jet lag sounds amazing right now as it’s been all go since 5.30am on Monday – no sleep since then!! So for now, it’s some socialising and some sleep!! Laters peeps xx
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