Anyways, my stay in Singapore got off to a rather slow start, as I arrived at my hostel only to see that it was locked with a "back when I feel like it" note on the door, and a contact number. Unfortunately, I didn't have a Singapore cell phone, so that wasn't much help. I eventually got a random passerby to call for me, and the lady came and let me in.
After unpacking and relaxing for a bit, I took off to explore the city. There were some very impressive buildings there, and I was especially captivated by this one building, called the Marina Bay Sands. It's basically three huge skyscrapers, with a giant deck resting across all three which looks like a boat (just the part that floats, no sails or anything). I ended up going to the top, where there was a huge viewing platform (great views of the city below), as well as a park of sorts. There was also an amazing infinity pool which went right to the edge of the building. Unfortunately, us common riffraff weren't allowed to use the pool, even though we'd paid about $15 US to get up there. It was only for use by Marina Bay Sands hotel guests, who probably spent my month's lodging budget on a night there. Oh well. I still hung out, watched the sun set over the city and the pool, and brainstormed business ideas which would bring me enough cash to so that I'd be able to stay at a place like this the next time I made it to Singapore.
The next morning I did some random admin stuff in the morning, including sending home a giant package full of souvenirs from Vietnam, Malaysia, and Bali. My bag was so nice and light after that. At this point I had about 2 hours before I needed to leave for the airport. Always eager to fit in as much as possible, I decided that that was enough time to see the Singapore Botanical Gardens, which had been highly recommended to me. After following some truly terrible and misleading directions from the manager of the hostel (very nice lady, but she never once gave me good directions in my 2 days there), I found myself far from the botanical gardens, but was too stubborn to admit defeat, and trekked 2 miles to the gardens. They were well worth it, especially the Orchid area.
Eventually I headed back, picked up my stuff at the hostel, and rushed off to the airport, where I barely made it in time to check in for the flight. I then flew to Bangkok, where I spent the night attempting to sleep on a bench at the airport, which is always a good time. (fun fact: since I had no Thai currency, I took out 400 baht from the ATM, which is about $13.50 US. Probably my smallest ATM transaction ever). And then the next day I headed to China! But this post is about Singapore, not China, so you'll have to wait for my next post for news on that front.
Pics below - enjoy!
Singapore's esplanade building is nicknamed "The Durian" because it looks a lot like the fruit. It also makes for some good artsy shots.
another artsy shot, this time of the Singapore Flyer (giant Ferris wheel, where each container can hold 28 people. Fun fact I discovered when linking this to the Wikipedia article: "Initially rotating in a counter-clockwise direction when viewed from Marina Centre, its direction was changed on 4 August 2008 under the advice of Feng shui masters."
old-fashioned river tours Singapore-style. By which I mean "inside a super-fancy mall."
scene at the Marina Bay Sands roof deck pool. Guess there are some advantages to being rich. . .
sunset at the Marina Bay Sands roof deck pool
the MBS building as viewed in the evening light
Singapore all lit up
as the joke goes, "Singapore is a FINE city." Within 45 minutes of arriving in Singapore I'd already broken the "no food in the subway" rule (accidentally), but rather than get a $500 fine, I was just asked to throw out my food. Whew!
artsy bird photo taken at the Singapore Botanical Gardens
some of the many Orchids on disply at the Singapore botanical gardensflowers
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