Singapore Adventures

---

Note: I havent had a chance to type these up until now so please note they are backdated 😊

Singapore is both sedate and vibrant, compact and vast. The people here are more than welcoming and will go out of their way to help a lost traveller or confused tourist. It is simple to get around by subway (a system from which Australia could learn a thing or twelve) and the majority of signs are in English which is always a bonus. We hardly ever got lost (I say hardly because we all know about my sense of direction!)

The heat is the main confronting issue for us here. We left Brisbane towards the end of winter to step into 33 degree, 89% humidity... quite a shock! The locals don't seem as exhausted by the constant perspiration and the burning sun as we are; being a ranga I have made good use of my sunscreen already!

On the first day here we dropped our bags at the hostel and caught the SMRT (yes..it really is called the S-M-R-T for those who also have the Simpsons song stuck in their heads!) to Marina Bay area. Met a kiwi by the name of Greg who kindly asked us to take a pic of him with an exhibit to gain free entry to the Andy Warhol show...or as he put it 'we New Zealanders luv free sheet'. We discovered our first Hawker Centre purely by accident about 1 min walk from the hostel, similar to a food court but locals have little stalls where they cook and sell some absolutely amazing food at very affordable prices.

On Tuesday we headed across to Sentosa Island via cable car (Tim's face = priceless, not altogether convinced about this form of transport!). We wandered around in the heat, saw the beautiful Merlion statue & headed to Underwater World. The animals all looked so despondent, something we would see at the Night Safari as well. We headed up to Marina Bay Sands Skypark that night for breathtaking views and even more breathtaking drink prices (read: $38 SGD for two heinekens)

Wednesday started out slowly; we weren't altogether sure what to do as we thought we had seen all Singapore had to offer - we were wrong. We decided on a hop-on hop-off bus tour, something that is suprisingly as useful as it is touristy 😊 The cultural precincts turned out to be amazing and vibrant - we explored these yesterday on foot.

Following the bus tour we headed off to the Night Safari, the only one of its kind in the world. The animals are so close you can almost touch them; hardly any fencing here, just moats and slopes. The animals themselves are pacing, bored in their lovely but constrictibe habitats. The actual tram ride was pretty cool; driving in complete darkness through open exhibits flanked by tapirs (you'll have to speak up i'm wearing a towel!!).

So here we are on our final day, preparing to leave for Hong Kong tomorrow. Today's agenda features exploring Little India & Chinatown on foot and visiting the famous Newtown Food Centre for dinner.

Days away from home: 4

Saving grace: Air conditioning & fresh watermelon juice from the hawker centre..yum!

<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color:򇨣 font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">Meltdowns: none to report 😊

---