Singapore...

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I arrived in Singapore early on the Sunday morning. It was odd to see all the signs written pretty much only in English so it felt like being in a city in the UK, albeit a slightly cleaner one, except the weather was alot nicer! I had been warned about the humidity and it was seriously hot. I took a taxi ride to my hostel, Hangout at Mt Emily which was located in Little India. The hostel was really nice, it had a nice chill out TV area, free wifi, pool tables and the rooms and bathrooms were really clean. I couldn't check in till a little later and there were several people in the TV room who were in the same boat. There was also a really nice food court just around the corner which served everything from Korean to Sushi to Malay food. We all got talking and ended up spending the next few days together seeing the sights of Singapore. That night I went with one of the guys I met to Clarke Quay to meet one of his friends who had recently moved out there to work. I think it would be a very nice place to move for work as there is not really any language barrier and because it is located in the middle of Asia it is easy to visit other countries for your holidays! Clarke Quay is a really nice place, if a little expensive! Lots of bars, restaurants and a nice area to walk around.

The next day we took a walk around the main areas of Singapore, Chinatown, Little India, the CBD and marina. Considering there are so many different cultural influences the people of Singapore bring, coming from China, India, Malaysia etc it is really refreshing to see people getting along side by side and it is probably the safest place I have ever been too.

The next day we decided to go to Singapore Zoo which was simply amazing. We got to see so many different animals and the majority of them have a really nice area to run, walk, climb about in. Some even have free run of the Zoo! We saw White Tigers (which were beautiful), Chimps, Orangutans, Elephants, Polar Bears, Pygmy Hippos and loads more. We got to see the Jaguars being fed and jumping in the small lake in their enclosure - in my opinion they have the most amazing coats of all the big cats.

That night our group headed out to Clarke Quay to go to the Clinic bar. You basically have the choice of sitting in wheelchairs or hospital beds and get your drinks served to you in a drip. It was a good laugh although we did all feel a little uncomfortable sitting in the wheelchairs after a while. Again it was quite expensive so we moved onto another bar which had some good live music.

The next day I took a walk to Orchard Road, which is the main shopping area of Singapore and you can basically buy anything you want here. Every designer store and high street stores from the US and UK. Singapore has everything. I needed to buy some new trainers so actually bought something for a change rather than just window shopping. In the evening we headed to VivoCity which is located right on the marina - It is again another huge shopping complex and it took us 20 mins to find the Cinema, where we were heading!

As I had so much fun in the Zoo one evening we went to the Singapore Night Safari. The Night Safaris the world's first nocturnal zoo and is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Singapore.The Night Safari currently houses a total of 1,040 animals of 120 species, of which 29% are threatened species. The Night Safari is an entire open-air zoo set in a humid tropical forest that is only open at night. It is divided into eight geographical zones, which can be explored either on foot via three walking trails, or by tram. I couldn't get any pictures but it was great to see the animals more active than they are in the day and definitely worth a visit.

As we were in Singapore we had to make a visit to Raffles Hotel to taste the original Singapore Sling. I have to say they were gorgeous as well. The cocktail was invented by bartender Ngiam Tong Boon between 1910 and 1915. Raffles Hotel is an exclusive hotel and it was very strange to be able to throw the shells of your monkey nuts onto the floor which was apparently originally done in an emulation of colonial contempt for the locals.

On my final day I paid a visit to the Singapore Botanical Gardens and the Singapore Flyer. The gardens Botanic Gardens are set in 157 acres. It also houses the National Orchid Garden. I took so many photos of different orchids I think I could dedicate a whole album to them. In the afternoon I went down to the Marina to go on the Singapore Flyer. The Singapore Flyer is a giant Ferris wheel in Singapore. Reaching 42 stories high, it is currently the largest Ferris wheel in the world, with a total height of 165 m (541 ft). This exceeds the Star of Nanchang by 5 m (16 ft) and the London Eye by 30 m (98 ft). The views across Singapore were awesome from inside the capsule and you get an audio set to listen to a guide point out all the sights on the horizon.

On my final night we went to the Geylang area which is apparently what Singapore used to be like. It is a little busier but nothing like what I had encountered in the rest of Asia. Our main reason for going was for the food, Frog. The restaurant we went to literally had the frogs live in tanks ready for cooking. I was a little hesitant at first but it actually taste like Chicken but alot smoother and not quite as nice. We also had some great seafood to go with it.

My flight to Australia was the next day which meant I would be attending my first Grand Prix and meeting up with two friends who were also traveling!

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