I knew Singapore was going to be a very unique city but I was still surprised by how different and special it really was. There is definitely a very futuristic vibe to it especially along the rooftop gardens and with some of the newest high rises. On our first day, we ate lunch and wandered through a couple huge malls. Sadly our budget did not allow us to buy anything....besides a $17 bag of candy /:, but the malls had huge, cheap food courts with an overwhelming selection of choices! Afterwards, we walked over to the Gardens by the Bay which is a new and very impressive park. One of the coolest things we did there was a canopy walk through a large, man-made tree structure (see pictures below). The sun had just set and the lights were beautiful. Our climb was perfectly timed and we got to see a Christmas light show with music before leaving. We all agreed that the city felt very romantic. For dinner we went to Little India and had an amazing $7 meal with banana leaf plates and great spices. Each of Singapore's neighborhoods felt very ethnically homogenous, right as we exited the MRT station we truly felt like we were walking into a 'little India'. It was also nice to avoid the tourist restaurants and eat local cuisine instead.
On our second day, we got a bit of a late start after sleeping in until 11am; however, we all felt catching up on sleep was necessary.
First, we went to Chinatown for a late lunch where we each chose a different stall at the huge hawker food court. Throughout our trip, each time we order different foods, we have been naming someone the 'winner' of the meal - the person who ordered the tastiest, most interesting dish. I would like to point out that I have yet to 'win' a meal and I continued to lose in Singapore, especially when I chose the fried wontons for lunch in Chinatown and the green tea flavored snow ice for a snack later on. Perhaps in Malaysia I will make better choices. After exploring Chinatown a bit, we walked through the scenic Colonial District looking at some of Singapore's older architecture and taking pictures with many statues including the large Merlion, Singapore's mascot. I was very excited to visit Bugis, the middle eastern neighborhood, for dinner. This area had a lively vibe and a beautiful mosque. We went to a Turkish restaurant and smoked shisa (hooka) which was a first for me. We split a bucket of Singapore's Tiger beer and some ifo (delicious) hummus, it was a relaxing night and the four of us really enjoyed sitting together and talking about our adventures so far.
Our time in Singapore went by quickly but definitely left a strong impression; each of us thinking that it would be a great city to live in one day.
We also had amazing luck boarding our bus to Malaysia. We arrived to the terminal only seconds after the bus pulled in and ran to the ticket counter where the woman had already printed our tickets and we were able to make it aboard. Next stop Melaka!
Katy
At the top, a bit scary
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