Singapore, country number 4!

Some people had told us that Singapore wasn't very good, it was boring, there's nothing to do etc... Well we had an absolute blast to the extent that this blog would be shorter if we listed the things we didn't do! How you can get bored in this city/country is beyond us. We apologise for how long this blog will probably turn out, we'll try to keep it as brief as possible!

Day 1 - We got to our hostel around midday and wasted no time in heading out to explore. We also managed to spend an absolute fortune! We jumped on the underground and headed to the harbour front, which is how you get to Sentosa Island. Sentosa is a smallish island full to the brim of things to do and is the home to the newly opened Universal Studios theme park. There are two ways to cross the stretch of water to get there. One is a monorail, the other is a cable car. We opted for the latter which although a little pricey was worth it. We boarded by heading 17 storeys up a hotel where the cable car firstly took us away from Sentosa and up to Mount Faber. The view from the top was amazing as one way was the city, and in the other direction we were looking out to sea. We were only here briefly before getting back on the cable car to ride back down, through the hotel, and then across to Sentosa. We then transformed into little kids again, and within 10 minutes we were whizzing down the famous luge, not once but 3 times. Luge downhill, chair lift back up and repeat! Really good fun. After this we walked to the entrance of Universal Studios where there were lots of shops and restaurants. One of these was a huge sweet shop, where we indulged in a small bag of pick n mix each, which at £2 per 100g cost us an eye watering £6.50! By this time it was dark so we hopped back on the cable car to complete the loop back to the hotel where we got on, affording us a beautiful view of the city lit up at night. It was then back to Little India (the area we were staying in) for our dinner (predictably, an indian!) and then a well earned rest!

Day 2 - We bought ourselves a 2 day hop-on hop-off bus ticket that took us around 2 different loops of the city. Of course this also meant we had a great tool for getting around the city for a couple of days. Our first disembarkment was at the Singapore Botanical Gardens, home to an extensive assortment of all kinds of plants, but known for it's orchid garden. We forgot we were in a city as we wandered around past lush grass lawns, palm trees and the sounds of various small birds. We had our lunch here at their cafe - spaghetti with tomato sauce for the princely sum of £9!

It was then back on the bus for the short hop to Orchard Road. This is the Mecca for anyone who loves their shopping. With modernly designed malls on either side of the street and a lot of high class stores, this is where the people with a few spare pennies come to! Needless to say we were only there to have a look at the place and see what all the fuss was about. Our bus ticket also included a night loop which took us back over to Sentosa where you had the option of paying a little extra to see a show. We opted not to see the show as we had our own plan for the evening.

We are big roller coaster enthusiasts and love theme parks so we were excited that Universal had opened earlier in 2010. However before arriving in Singapore we realised that the two main attractions in the park weren't actually in operation. We made the decision not to go (especially as on par with everything else, the ticket price was extortionate) but we did find out about another ticket they sold. For just S$5 (£2.50) we were able to go in the park for a couple of hours from 7 - 10pm to wander round and see everything. The rides and attractions were all closed but we were able to go in the shops and see the themed areas of the park and then at 9.30pm, watch the evening fireworks show. Not exactly the same but better than nothing!

Day 3 - It was back onto the bus to complete the 2 loops during the course of the day. We got off in Chinatown on impulse for a very strange reason. Andy had spotted a shop selling nothing but wrestling figures and in the window had seen some that were worth a few pennies. So we of course had to get off to go and have a look. Andy has some at home himself that are limited editions/collector's items but the things in the shop were unreal (to a wrestling fan/collector anyway!) including one figure not even kept in a box that was worth around £500! Once the man working there realised Andy knew his stuff he swiftly locked it away in a cabinet - spoilsport! Anyhow, we then headed to lunch in a Chinese all veggie cafe (mock sharks fin soup was on the menu, very bizarre) before jumping back on the bus, finishing our loop and getting back on the night loop bus. We hadn't completed the loop the previous evening due to going into Universal Studios halfway through! It took us back over to Sentosa where we had an hour or so of our own time before needing to be back on the bus. Andy paid to have a go on a Segway, a strange almost futuristic method of transport. It's difficult to explain but it consists of 2 wheels with a platform between them that you stand on. To go forwards or backwards you simply lean slightly forwards, it detects your movement/body weight and off it goes! There is a handle bar to hold on to which is also used to go left and right. It was really good fun and something we won't get to do again without forking out and buying one for ourselves! Once we were back on the bus our final destination was Clarke Quay, a place full of bars, restaurants and nightclubs where anyone who is anyone in the Singapore elite goes on a Friday night. Of course we bucked the trend and bought a couple of soft drinks (which cost the same as alcoholic drinks cost in the UK) whilst Andy took advantage of their TV showing a live Man Utd match, so those drinks were sipped for the full 90 minutes!

Day 4 - As it was our last full day, we decided to get on the subway/monorail system and head away from the city centre in a big loop to try and see a little more of Singapore as a country. Once out of the city the underground goes above ground so we were able to sit and look out of the window. Unfortunately there wasn't too much to see other than hundreds of high rise blocks to house their huge population! At the stop where we needed to change lines to head back toward the city we decided to take a walk around the local area and grab some lunch. We discovered that we were near the Science Museum. It was one focused towards kids with a lot of visual and interactive things to do. We didn't actually pay to go in as there were loads of exhibits and things to do around the outside of the museum for free (cheapskates!).

Once we'd finished playing, we headed back to Little India for dinner. We were extremely lucky, as the road adjacent to our hostel had 10 different vegetarian restaurants and cafes on it! We were spoilt for choice which is the first place we've found this, anywhere! We ate in a popular Indian restaurant where we were the only tourists, and feasted on a huge set menu. As it is the time of year that Diwali (the festival of lights) takes place, the main road running through Little India was covered in lights and decorations, very pretty.

For our final evening in the city we headed back in to town to take in the sights and extravagant buildings lit up in all their glory. There was also an exhibition of sorts with many artists creating their own piece of art that had to use 'light' as a main feature (maybe linked with Diwali?). We relaxed by the water for a little while, and it felt like it was the first time we had stopped and done nothing which was bliss. We then took a short stroll around the harbour looking at the various pieces of art that were a part of the lights event. A very nice end to our last day.

Day 5 - We didn't need to leave for the airport until 3pm so we did have a few more hours where we could have done something but we had seen plenty already! Instead we relaxed in the hostel lobby, used the internet, and then headed back to vegetarian land where we had a brilliant lunch in a veggie diner. It was extremely colourful with a nod toward traditional American diners. They had everything from the standard noodles and rice dishes, to Indian, Mexican food and FOUR different types of veggie burger! An absolute treat that we made sure to enjoy.

Then it was off to the airport. Next stop, Australia!