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Published: August 27th 2016
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Big Yella Fella
Farewell Australia! 6th of July 2016 -- the day I had been patiently waiting for since my visa got approved in April, but one that had also come around too quickly.
I was finally living THE dream! Anyone that has had the pleasure of knowing me in the last 10 years, would certainly know that I've always wanted to base myself in London on a working holiday as a gateway to the rest of Europe -- however life constantly got in the way (boys, jobs, responsibilities, Eurotrip 2013, fear of taking the leap, money etc etc...) -- therefore, with only myself to worry about and the feeling of being stuck in a rut, my New Year's resolution was to be in London by September. And I did it! After some hard core saving, I was able to apply for my visa in April and be in London by July.
But not without a stopover in Singapore. And after saying my goodbyes in the lead up and also the minor mad rush at the airport -- too early in the morning, luggage too heavy and line in customs too long that by the time I got through my flight was making a
Pod Life
Met a Space Pod Hostel final boarding call (oops!) -- I finally got on my flight. Farewell for now Australia! To Singapore, I flew Scoot airlines and for a low-budget airline, they were quite good to fly with. Being low budget, they aren't a full serviced carrier so they didn't feed me nor did I purchase any of their food as I slept most of the flight. Safe to say I was comfortable.
I arrived in Singapore at 3:30 in the afternoon and took a taxi to my hostel. And, yet again, was blessed with a wonderful driver, who took the time to chat to me and point out places of interest as we went past them. My hostel was a bit tricky to find, being down the Boat Quay area, but it was in a great spot surrounded by restaurants and bars. I stayed at Met A Space Pod -- basically a space themed hostel, where everyone slept in pods rather than your standard bunk bed. I spent the rest of the afternoon/evening walking around Singapore, having some dinner and a sneaky Singapore Sling (...and a Cosmopolitan) before bed. After having less than 3 hours sleep the night before, I was pooped!
The next day, I awoke to some awesome weather -- thank goodness, as I'd planned to go to Universal Studios on Sentosa Island and the weather report leading up showed thunderstorms. My trip to Sentosa was also my first trip on the MRT and my, was it easy to work out. I arrived at my destination at HarbourFront and walked over to Sentosa via the Boardwalk. Before heading into Universal, I walked around the resort abit first – so many different attractions! I also had a sneaky selfie with the Sentosa Merlion. My phone quickly dying and needing it for my entry ticket, I went into Universal for what turned out to be 8 hours of the best fun I’ve ever had at a theme park alone! I went on all but 1 of the main rides (140 minute wait – I don’t think so!), most of the smaller thrill rides and skipped the really little kids rides otherwise that may have looked creepy. My favourites for the day were a toss-up between the Transformers and the Mummy rides. I also really enjoyed the Steven Spielberg’s Lights Cameras Action attraction where they recreated a category 5 hurricane in New York
in one of the sound stages. I concluded my day with dinner at Chili’s, recommended by my friend Lucy, and it was delicious! Naturally, I had the chilli with tostada chips (because when at Chili’s…) and the tastiest Long Island Iced Tea I’ve ever had (thanks again for the recommendation Lucy). Upon arriving back at Clarke Quay, I joined the masses sitting along the river and listened to the band play at one of the restaurants lining the river before heading back to my pod for the night.
After sleeping quite well that night, I was ready for a full on day as it was my last day in Singapore so the plan was to see as much as I could of the city. I started off with Little India, and as I was wandering around it started to bucket down with rain out of nowhere. I took shelter in the Mustafa Centre, a massive shopping complex selling literally everything that’s open 24 hours a day! After getting lost in there, I then found a hawker centre for a cheap lunch and to finish drying off. I then spent the day wandering up Orchard Road and walking around the
Gardens of the Bay
featuring Marina Bay Sands city. I stopped by Raffles Hotel to check out the Long Bar, splashed out on an expensive Singapore Sling for the tourist experience, and ate my weight in the peanuts provided. Then off to Gardens of the Bay to wander around for the rest of the afternoon and so I could see the light show at the Supergrove trees - which was spectacular! I ended my day in China Town, where I wandered the markets and had a late meal in the food markets and finished it off with dessert – Ice kacang. Picture our version of the humble snow cone but with an assortment of different jellies and toppings included creamed corn. Then with belly full, back to my pod for one last slumber.
All in all, my time in Singapore was an absolute blast and a well-deserved holiday before the rest of my flight to London. On the 9
th July, I arrived at the airport excited at what was about to come yet also devastated that my research of the epic Slide at Terminal 3 had left out one minor detail – it was situated in the arrival hall, not the departures hall and I only realised
this after going through immigration for my flight. I will be back Singapore! To London, I flew Garuda Indonesia as it was the cheapest direct flight under Singapore Airlines, which was double the price. Garuda was just as fabulous to fly with as I remember from Bali 2009 – at check in I was asked what my seat preference was, whether I wanted to be seated near the window and if I’d prefer no one to sit near me and I ended up with a whole row to myself which made the 13.5 hour flight much more comfortable. When I wasn’t sleeping, I was eating as Garuda are quite generous with their food. All in all, a pleasant flight.
And then we finally touched down in London. And I couldn’t believe that after years of wanting to move over here, I had actually made it!
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Carole
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Have a blast!!
Thanks for sharing Singapore... Looking forward to following your next 2 years ...stay safe xx