Singapore

Singapore

After a comfortable 4 hour flight from Taipei we landed in the city state of Singapore and took the MRT to Chinatown. We stayed at Royal Hostel, built in an old colonial building in the centre of Chinatown. I was very impressed with the familiar architecture. It didn't feel like I was in Asia, despite the abundance of Chinese lanterns and signs. The street names were familiar and English was everywhere. After dumping our bags, we walked around the area and sampled some Hianese chicken. I was looking forward to trying some Singa beer in Singapore. However, at S$7.95 (£3.70) I decided one was enough.  

On the flight to Singapore, we'd read an article about a small, lesser known island of Singapore called Palau Ubin. I liked the sound of that as it wasn't high on the list of things for tourists to do, so we made our way to Changi Ferry point, via Tanah Merah subway satation in order to reach the island. In the port we were able to try more local food, with Hianese pork, rice and vegetables being my choice of today. Delicious. The boat to Palau Ubin was short but pleasant, and the island itself was small, tropical and quiet. There seemed to be very little in regard to road vehicles there and most tourists hired a bike to get around. Winnie and I decided to hire a tandem bike for novelty's sake and spent the next 2-3 hours biking around the beautiful little island, stopping at lakes, jungles and coves to take in the scenery. 

The only downside to being in such a humid and green area, was the amount of mosquito bites we got, so if you choose to visit, ensure you put on some insect repellent. We made our way back to the hostel to do some much needed laundry. The hostel also had dryers, unseen in Korea, so we were pretty excited, which sounds really pathetic!! 

We went to Boat Quay that evening to meet our friend from Korea, Roger, who had just landed. The Boat Quay area was really nice. The mouth of the river, surrounded by bars, restaurants, hotels and banks. This seemed to be a very popular area with foreigners, as English was heard everywhere, usually with the overly-loud, over-enthusiastic American twang to it (meant in a playfully true way). We waited for Roger to check in, then went for food in the quay. 

Although the restaurant we chose said they will give us 40% off the bill and free beers, we somehow still ended up paying S$146 for some fish, duck and a beer each. 

Whilst our stomachs were full and our wallets were still stinging from the meal, we took a walk around the area in the direction of Raffles, the famous hotel in Singapore, known as the birthplace of the Singapore Sling. Before I came to Singapore, I'd heard how clean it was, but seeing it in person was inspiring. I hear you can be fined for spitting, dropping litter or even not-flushing the toilet after you've used it. This was a very welcome change to Korea. The colonial Raffles Hotel building was erected in 1887 and has been an outstanding symbol of Singapore since. We entered the immaculate building and found the Long Bar, the home of the Sling and found a table. A very entertaining band was playing and the atmosphere was wonderful. You could really feel like you were back in the early 1900s. We then unwittingly did what every tourist probably does. We stared at the drinks menu for about 10 minutes, only to order 'The Original Singapore Sling'. It came with fresh peanuts and tasted great, though the S$31 price-tag was less so.

We ended the night by going for a walk, back towards Marina Bay/Boat Quay. However, we got caught in a rain storm so we bought some beers from a 7-11, and sat drinking and talking under a bridge until late, taxiing home when we got tired. 

The next day we decided to to more of the conventional tourism things. We had thought about going to Sentosa Island and going to Universal Studios, but decided we'd rather check out the Marina Bay area. We met Roger and walked toward the famous Merlion, then round to the Marina Bay shopping mall, beside the iconic Marina Bay Sands hotel. I had toyed with the idea of paying S$500 for a night in the hotel, only to see sense and save my money. Since then, it seems every one of my friends who has visited Singapore has stayed there! Winnie and I, upon seeing the hotel, had a conversation about booking a room for that night. However, as we were to leave the next morning, we felt it probably wasn't worth it. After losing $10 in the casino, we decided to ride the Singapore Flyer. 

After walking Roger back to his hostel, we went back to Chinatown for some dim sum and then for a walk around the Chinese market. That night was spent in the Night Safari, which was very much worth the MRT and bus journey there. The wildlife was undisturbed by our presence and almost getting my head taken off by a flying squirrel was an unforgettable experience. The included fire show was also worth seeing. 

There was no rest for the wicked, we were up at 8 am the next day to prepare and catch our flight for the next leg of our journey: Bali.