I got up and took a taxi to the airport for my 1 pm flight to Singapore (translated: Lion City)
Around 4pm we landed in Singapore
My accommodation is in the city center but I am not sure I will stay here. Although the sleeping room is air conditioned and there is free WIFI, I have to share the room with 19 other people and it is quite crowded in there. The rate is 18 Euro and I am already longing for my private room on Bali which was also 18 bucks. But that’s the way it is and so I don’t complain.
In Singapore
I might be wrong, but I experience it to be hotter than in Bali . Probably because in Bali I didn’t have a/c at all and here you come out of an air conditioned room or store and the heat and humidity hits you pretty hard.
A Formula 1 race will be held here in 3 weeks time but unfortunately I wont be in S’pore by then. In several malls there are stalls promoting the GP and every shop in town that is a proud sponsor of one of the teams lures you by giving you the chance to win a picture with one of the drivers. Would have loved to watch it, though.
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| Clark Quay, just next to my hostel |
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| F1 stall at the mall including race simulators |
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| Turn 10 at the upcoming GP at St Andrews Rd and Parliamt PL |
After 6pm some of the museums are free of charge and so I had a look at the
Shopping hasn’t proven to be much of a bargain, at least not for electronics. Although there are entire malls for it, the prices are everywhere the same and not at all cheaper than in Germany
The tube, metro, subway or whatever you may call it, is the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) here in Singapore. A clean, air conditioned and very efficient way to get around. It runs every 3 minutes during peak hours and every 6 minutes off-peak. Even all the stationes are air conditioned and instead of buying a ticket and stamping it, you just tap a card on a reader. This even works at supermarkets, fast food places and all the busses.
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| Funan Digitalife Mall |
On a side note: Lots of burgers at McD or BK come with mushrooms or a mushroom sauce. I havent tried it yet, but I sure will. Sounds exactly like my kinda thing.
As you might be aware of BK's slogan is "have it your way". So on the doors there is the common sticker with "push" or "pull on it. It comes with a witty subtext reading "PUSH-Of course you can have it your way and pull, but these hinges are pretty stubborn". Me likes.
On another day I went to the ethnic quaters. First up was Little India north of the Colonial District. While you can walk normally on Singapore's street, you have to constantly look out for people not to run into you. There are so many people on the street that you need like 10 minutes for some hundred metres. Also all the pavements are crammed with food stalls, tables or random card board boxes. There are your steriotype-like tunes from the speakers and all the different spices in the air makes it a trule unique place and it feels like another town entirely. Most people gathered around the temple coming in, leaving, chatting, meeting others.
There was a market on and while I thought it was crowded on the normal street it was nothing to what I have encountered there. It is like hippest club during peak hours where you sometimes need to wait 20 seconds before the crowd even moves on. Apperently it was a second hand market where you could by dirty, used boots for S$2 or scratched watches without any strapes. Some touts didnt even bother to present their merchandise on a table but chuck their goods on the ground.
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| market in Little India |
In comparison Chinatown is much more tourist orientated presenting their merchandise neatly arranged in display cases or on proper tables. Also you see much more "foreigners". Food Street and the night market were pretty deserted when I was there but the temples proved to be a real sight.
Hindu temple Sri Mariamman has a great colorful entrance and was a lively place. I choose to disregard the "compulsory donatiation" request on taking pics inside.
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| Sri Mariamman Temple |
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| inside the Hindu temple |
While you are kindly asked to leave your shoes ouside entering a Hindu temple, you need to keep your footwear on if you want access to a buddhist temple. The Buddha Tooth Relic Temple allegdly displays one of Buddha's teeth. I was there after 6pm and so this section of the temple was already closed.
The rest of the temple was simply breathtaking. The 4 meter high figure of Buddha in the center comprises of a copper base and is covered with 300 kg of pure gold. On the side walls you have lots of minature Buddha all with a different guesture.
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| Buddha Tooth Relic Temple in Chinatown |
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| 4m statue of Buddha |
On one evening I wanted to go to Marina Bay Sands but realized half way that I had forgotten my camera. Since it is not worth spending S$20 for the observation deck without being able to take any pictures I wandered around Marina Bay looking for a thing to do when I noticed some kind of stage and shops. The ice-cream producer Ben&Jerry held its annual ChunkFest where they present their newest creations. They wanted S$15 for a pint of ice-cream and so I just appreciated the music. There was a band playing and so I sat down and soaked in the atmosphere. The cover band was quite good and you could tell those guys are pros and so I stayed around and watched another two bands.
With my camera on me I tried it once again to get to Marina Bay Sands, a hotel-casino-mall-resort where three skyscrapers share a boat-like connection on top.
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| Marina Bay Sands Resort |
It is located pretty remotely and it takes ages to get from one place to another. After a 30 second elevator ride to the 59th floor that cost me 20 bucks you have the most amazing 360 degree view of Singapore.
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| shopped pic of Singapore |
On one of the following days I succumbed to the temptation and went shopping on Orchad Road, the shopping road in S'pore with mall after mall on each side. The sheer number of shops overwhelms you and you dont know where to begin. So I went with the flow and visited 4 malls highlited by the lonely planet. I didnt buy anything but finally found a supermarket. Usually you just have your 7eleven overpriced mini markets but no Coles or Woolworth.
I saved the alleged highlight for my last day in Singapore. Sentosa Island is just 15 minutes from the city centre and easily accessible by bus. It has become more and more popular over the years and is now packed with attractions (Skyride, Universal Studios, Resorts, animal parks.
I had saved some money to spend here and did so by luging down the hill. Although it was just a short run you could at least choose from two different tracks. I was looking for someone to race but there were only families or scared girls. Still it was good fun but a bit pricey.
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| luge track |
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| getting up the hill after the luge runs |
Next up was a seqway tour along the beach. Having never done that before it is not as difficult as it seems. You just lean forward to accelerate and lean backwards to stop. Especially on the beach you have a blast just mucking around with these vehicles. As a matter of course I pushed too hard and found my self lying in the sand several times.
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| Seqway tour to the beach |
There is a free public bus giving you access to all the remote parts of the island. But since it was quite a hot day I stayed near the air-conditioned shops and attractions.
Beach was probably nice but since I have seen so many beaches already. I am a bit spoilt so decide for yourself
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| Sentosa Beach |
In the evening there was a Chinese new moon party just outside my hostel with free Tiger Beer and some great food. Unfortunately I didn’t know that and had dinner shortly before coming back and so I just stuck with the beer.
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