A Trip to Singapore

Hi! Writing this post on my road trip. Just couldn't wait to blog about this ;)

My first visit to Singapore? Yup definitely. I've never been to this country before although its very near Malaysia. Now I'm gonna divide this post into tiny bits. Let's start with the first day...

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Landmark Village Hotel

Its a tradition of mine that whenever I enter a hotel, I'll take the picture of its chandelier. Then I'll compare which hotel has the prettier one. Well, not exactly. I'm just always attracted to chandeliers, no idea why ;)

The hotel was cold cold cold. My mineral water even tasted icy outside the fridge. I spent a lot of time in the bath tub warming myself and my feet other than sleeping. We went swimming in the morning of our last day there. The swimming pool water was even colder. 

Marina Bay

The shopping mall was classy but the only thing I like best about the place was the boat-ride. The boat drive even let us try driving the boat. My sister tried skating at the skating rink which was empty at that time. She looked graceful and people were taking pictures and some were video taping the "show" Shhhh...I don't think she realised ;) The shopkeepers were pretty queer- the ones promoting facial products literally pulled you into the shop, made you sit and put on the trial products for you. I felt like saying "I'm here for a vacation, not for some posh make-over" after she concluded the trial session by saying "Its just $500 come on, its really good." The boat ride was relaxing and it even drizzled a bit to our surprise. 

Universal Studio Singapore (USS)

And when we reached USS, its a must to snap a photo with the turning globe outside the main entrance.

My friend reminded me to go on the roller coaster and that's the first place we headed to. I was ultimately shocked to the max!! Guess what? My 6 year-old brother wanted to ride the roller coaster too! He begged and was extremely excited so we decided to see if he fit the minimum height requirement and he reached right at the line. For the first time in my life, I witnessed a little boy going on a REAL ROLLER COASTER. Its the scary red one usually meant for adults. When I think back, I only dared enough to go on a roller coaster when I was 13 or 14 so this is definitely a first one. He even went on the mummy roller coaster near the Egyptian pyramid. That was really scary to me and I did not dare go on the blue roller coaster when our heads would be turned upside down. 

Here's the restaurant we went for lunch. It was right next to the Madagascar ride. One of the few halal restaurants we found in USS. I had tomyam soup with rice-me favourite spicy sour :))

The Madagascar ride really shocked me when we were on the boat and suddenly saw a heavy waterfall. Some people even put up their umbrella.

It rained around 3pm and we just had to sit down at a shady area because the raincoats wouldn't keep us from getting soaking wet. I had Cinammon churros ( I want more), hot corn and cheese with nachos.

When the rain subsided around 4 only did we continue watching the shows- Rockafella and the one which showed how real movies are made in Hollywood. Wow the thunderstorm felt so real. I promise you I was about to run out the door when the big ship came towards us- I was in front row.

Inside the theatre

Shrek's House

Since it rained and we had little time to spend outdoors, we spent time going on the rides till 7pm when USS is officially closed. Even the gift shops were halfway closed and security officers were standing at the sidewalks "ushering" people out.

The Singapore ZOO

We spent another whole day here. Starting from the morning till 6pm. I loved the zoo! It was so alive and GREEN. ;) We got the tram and it took us around the place so we made sure we visited every part of the big zoo. The lion dance at the entrance was really entertaining as small kids were performing too. My brother spent a lot of time at the wetland in Kids Zone. We had to literally catch him because he wouldn't come out of the water. Everytime I caught him he would say "Let me go and I'll follow you" but everytime I let him go, he would run out of sight and laugh cheekily. Boys..

 We had lunch at KFC in the zoo then continued our tour to the Rainforest Show. Right after the show, we were suppose to watch the Elephant show when it suddenly rained heavily. Singapore rains a lot I see. It was thundering and the show was cancelled so we just sat there to avoid the windy and wet weather. Even in the shaded area, the rainwater made us a little wet. Finally when the zookeepers realised that people were still in their seats at the Elephant Show, they decided to release the elephants so we watched them eat, bathe and shit ( it was non-stop and seriously a lot man).  I read that elephants spend most of their lives eating. So the next time you see someone eating too much, you can say " Don't be an elephant."

The elephants had paintings of their own which cost hundreds of dollars. O.O

Bugis Street

Nobody told us that Chinese New Year was not a good time to visit Singapore because there was nothing much to see on the roads. No fireworks are allowed in the country and only the government can shoot fireworks on CNY eve. Many shops were closed so I took that as an opportunity to save money and I just bought souvenirs at the open shops. Later that night, we had dinner at an Arabian restaurant along the road at the opposite block of our hotel.  

People

If you ask me about the tourists, I would say that majority are from Europe and Indonesia. About the local, I'm sorry but I have to admit that my first impression of the people there was not so good. I felt that most of them were not hospitable and many people I met made me feel that they were having a bad day or perhaps woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Yes, the country's system on imposing a high fine on those who throw trash is very good for the country's image. Its all about paying fines. Pass the speed limit and say goodbye to your $250, then $500 and then go to jail. One day in jail = $50. Stay in jail until your debt is finished. So now I get the pressure and why many of them decide to migrate to other countries. However, a taxi driver mentioned that the strict laws makes Singapore a very safe place to live in. Despite the tight rules and regulations, I have to agree that when people are forced to do good, it eventually becomes a habit. So if you ask me this question "Would you want to live here?" Hmm I'm not quite sure about that but I would definitely want to visit again.

Food

The first recommendation we got was Zamzam restaurant. We also tried a Moroccan restaurant for brunch. Halal food is pretty easy to get but just double check at the McD and KFCs to see if its halal or not. Singapore and Malaysia share a common diet so food wasn't particularly different for me.

Transportation

The MRT is good if you know the way and have the map. The taxis are convenient but avoid the black Bentleys. I heard they cost a fortune! $.$ The buses are pretty easy but the problem is you don't know where its heading to so if you're up for some adventure, you can just hop on and hop off at random places :)

Or you can take the boat like this

The plane ride was very quick. Only 45 minutes from Changi airport to LCCT. You wouldn't even have time to sleep or do anything. On my trip to Singapore I did get jet lag for the first few hours though.. 

So at the end of my trip to Singapore, I did not have the chance to visit Botanical Garden or ride the double decker bus. Maybe in my next visit, who knows several years from now. It was definitely a trip to remember and I hope to come again! If you're up to some adventure, getting wet after heavy downpours, walking, travelling till night, visiting cultural places, see clean roads and go shopping, Singapore would be the right destination for your next holiday!