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Published: November 26th 2007
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Ok then! We wake and shower in our communal bathroom (not to bad actually, you get free soap and a towel in your room which is a very good thing in our situation!) and say prayers to BA for giving us a free toothbrush and paste on the plane.
We have not heard from the management about the free tour, so leave the hotel at about 10.15 to start our exploring.
We're both feeling a bit grotty in the same tops from yesterday so decide to go shopping first for a cheap top and some knickers! As we wonder around we can't help noticing how western it is, there is a Top Shop, River Island, Accesorize, Dorothy Perkins and millions of MacDonalds and Starbucks! Plus all the signs are in English and all the annoucements made on trains are too, which is soo wierd. After 15 minutes walking we discover that all the shops only open after 11am as they only close at 10pm at night. However as we wander round a corner we spot a street market and manage to buy a top and a pair of knickers for under 10 dollars (approx 4 pounds) Mum you would be proud
of my bargain hunting!
We nip into Starbucks to do a superman impression (i.e quick change in the toilets) and after speaking to a member of staff we find it is cheaper to get a taxi to Sentosa than use the public transport (what a shame).
The taxi driver is really nice and although his English is a bit sparse he manages to point out some of the tourist spots on the way. He takes us to the Harbour front where we can get the cable car over to Sentosa island.
I was expecting Sentosa Island to be like just an Island with a few tourist attractions dotted about here and there. However when we arrive I can't help feeling like it's just a big tourist attraction park - like Alton towers but with Sea Centres and shows rather than thrill rides. However it still looks beautiful and the island has 3 beaches so we jump right in.
First stop - the Carlsberg Tower, basically you get in a circular viewing car which takes you up into the skyline and rotates 360 degrees so you can see all of Sentosa and Singapore's coast line. The views are fantastic and I
get my first glimpse of the stunning beaches aswell.
After that we go to the Merlion Walk, which is a massive statue of Singapore's Symbol the Merlion. The history behind this is apparently when one of the first people to discover Singapore arrived on the island, the first creature he saw appeared to be a large Lion. Therefore he decided to use this as the country's symbol as the lion represents strength and vitility. They gave the lion a body of a fish, which I can't remember exactly why but think it represents the thriving fish market singapore has, aswell as to welcome visitors to the shore.
We then wondered along the beach front and as the temptation to jump right in overwhelmes us, we decided to do the tacky tourist thing and roll up our combats to go for a paddle! We must have looked damn sexy (or damn stupid!) as a couple of locals came and asked if they could have their picture taken with us!
Sentosa is also famous for being the only place to have pink dolphins so we decided to go and see the Dolphin Show aswell - those animals are so talented. Feeling in
a waterworld mood, we then moved onto the Underwater World centre, where we stroked stingrays (so squedgy) fed fish and made a new friend with a baby manta that just keep swimming up the side of the tank wall then sliding down the side with a big smile of it face - will try and put the video on for you all to see as it's alot funnier than it sounds.
After a game of Crazy Golf (respect!) we head back to our hostel and there is a message for us to contact the Manageress. It turns out that the free tour we were offered the night before is actually to take part in a Singapore Travel TV show! Bascially the company take us to different places in Singapore with a famous TV host there (apparently) and they just film us looking at the sights! We were unsure at first but it's free and we get on TV so decide, why not?!
The best thing we discover is that our bags have arrived from the airport - clean clothes at last.
We change and shower, do a bit of unpacking and then decide to head out to China Town for
The lovely beaches on Sentosa
Taken from the Carlsberg Tower some food.
As we stop to check our maps a local approaches us and gives us directions and advice - how nice is that! We discover that people here tend to eat quite early and as it is about 10.30pm not many places will be open, but we head to Smith Street, famous for being a street just full of food stalls, and even though they are packing up it still has a carnival feel to it. We head to a well known Hawker centre called Maxall but we're not quite adventurous to try the fish head soups or pigs trotters yet!
On our way back we manage to find another 24 hour Hawker Cafe that served a range of delicacies such as proper singapore chicken curry and fish cakes so decide to eat here - our plates are full and both of them only cost 9 dollars together - approx 3 pounds!
With a full belly we head back to the hotel for a good nights sleep ready for our TV appearance the next day - we're gonna be super stars!
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