Singapore

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Hmm hi so I just spent a very relaxing week in Singapore which was rather needed after Vietnam so pretty good although it does make for a rather boring blog.

I arrived in Singapore and found that my stupid accommodation which I had booked 2 months before and confirmed the week I left had fallen through. grrrr. I ended up walking to about 3 different stinking backpackers carrying ALL my stuff which was painful (probably no suprise to anyone i have ever travelled with but I ended up over the luggage limit at Vietnam and had to pull out 7 kilos worth of crap of my backpack and carry it on the plane with me) and still couldn't find anywhere. Ended up getting a phone card and ringing around but backpackers won't take you over the phone so the one that said there was a bed free by the time I walked over there (only about 15 mins) the bed had been taken. Grrr. So i rang a hotel which according to Lonely Planet is a really bad idea because the rooms were small. What an understatement!! mwahaha. This room was absolutely tiny, no windows nuffin. It was literally a single bed, with walls either side so u had to climb up the bed to get into it. At the foot of the bed was a cabinet which had a tv on and a bathroom. My wash house at home is bigger than the whole room. It was pretty funny. Oh and of course it was on the fourth stinking floor with no lift.

When i got there the guy told me to go look at the room (obviously rented out rooms before and then ppl left when they saw it) but honestly after lugging all my crap around for about two hours and then up four flights of stairs i just dumped it there in the room and went down to sign in. All kidding aside tho' it was clean enough, quiet and there was cctv cameras so plenty safe enough so I ended up staying there the whole week. Not ideal of course cos the good thing about staying at a backpackers is you meet heaps of ppl whereas at a hotel obviously you don't but i didn't mind to much. I am seriously thinking tho' of getting a bedroom with no windows because i kid you not i don't think i woke up before 9.30 once in the whole week. *grin* loving it!

OK so spent a pretty quiet week (don't know why but I thought Singapore was much bigger than it is). Singapore is famous for its Shopping and Eating but by the second day I had enough of both. Orchard Rd was pretty spectacular I must admit (oh and I saw a Piguet (sp?) watch in a bloody window for a bloody quarter of a million bloody dollars! holy crap what the hell can that watch do that makes it worth $250000. I was literally standing there counting the zeros cos i thort i had got it wrong. Anyways lots of big names and things around. Who knew that Louis Vuitton actually sold luggage - honestly tho' the $10 ones you can pick up from markets make a lot more sense than the $5000 they were selling. I had a great time walking around the fancy shopping centres and sneering at the cost of everything and the idiots buying it. (don't worry Lizzie when i find that rich man i'll be back and i'll be spending hehe)

Went to the singapore zoo and the night safari which was pretty good although i probably shouldn't have done them on the same day cos I spent like 6 hours at the zoo wandering around and having a great time and then by the time I went to night safari I was too tired to bother really. Did a tram ride which takes you around the park and then the show and then I left. So totally loving the MRT here tho' - i really like subway systems i have decided. The tube is still my favourite but the MRT was probably easier to use and smelt a whole lot nicer too :-)

Oh just have to tell you as well, I was wondering around the five billion shops they have in Singapore and couldn't find a bookstore (i wasn't really looking I promise) so i was wondering if these people read around here and then I found the bookstore and it was awesome! I told myself not to go in there but myself never listens to me and it was just amazing. It was probably bigger than my local public library, it took me about 15 minutes wandering around to find the fiction sections there was just so many books and things. It was great. I told myself not to buy anything but that myself really needs a hearing check cos I brought one or two (or three or four - who's counting anyways) books. There was just so much variety. Katie whatever you do don't let me near the bookshops in London. Last time I was there for only three days and went to the bookshop four times. Its ridiculous cos I don't take books with me when I travel cos I finish them too fast but there are just so many books and they have a different selection of publishers (i know everyone from work is sighing now cos its my favourite rant) but why the hell do the books in Australia only come for one or two publishers and then they switch around so that all the books in my bookshelf don't match!! ok i'm finished now i promise but its so frustrating!

Anyways had a nice time in Singapore, probably only needed 3 - 4 days here rather than 6 but still managed to have a good time and relaxed a lot too. The photos are probably just as boring as the blog but here ya go anyways. Off to Turkey next so yay!

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Comments

[Ian]

I Hear Ya Girl!
I know I used to roll my eyes (politely behind your back of course) when you went on a rant (tirade really) about your books but now I've been burnt too. I've been collecting these Chinese Zodiac coins from Perth Mint for 8 years and then I get to this year and they change the bloody design! Now I have to decide whether or not to start again and hope they don't change it for another 11 years. Anyway, great to see your blog resurrected and to read the lastest on your adventures.