Took a quick, cheap flight on Air Asia to Singapore. Have flown Air Asia twice and they are efficient, have great employees and new planes. There are advertisements plastered on all of the overhead luggage compartments (like in city buses) and in the seat pockets there are magazines you can shop from. Great idea. Trapped, bored people make perfect customers. Place your order with the flight attendant, pay, and your purchase arrives at your seat. You also have to pay for all food and beverages. Nothing is free. It's a flying mall.

Flying into Singapore was a rush. The famous skyline is amazingly beautiful. It was a sight for sore eyes after grungy Jakarta. Scored a $9 shuttle ride from the airport to my hostel and all I had to do was wait half an hour with a baseball-sized blue sticker on my shirt so the driver could recognize me. Well worth feeling like a pre-schooler waiting to be picked up by my parents as it saved me a $30 taxi ride! A big, flourescent sign over the palm-tree lined freeway read "Have a safe and pleasant drive." There was not one old, junky car in sight, few scooters, no trash, and...it was quiet. Jakarta was the noisiest city I've been to. Cabbies honk at pedestrians hoping for a fare, buses honk at all vehicles to let them know they're going wherever they want to go, scooters honk at everyone to let them know they are there, basically everyone honks all the time. The quiet of Singapore was a welcome relief.

Checked into my quaint, old hostel near Little India that a guy from Singapore, whom I met in the hostel in Jarkarta, recommended. The creepy thing was, I'm pretty sure he was in the hostel lounge when I checked in! I pretended I didn't recognize him! I promptly crashed. Ten minutes later I woke up to find a very big mouse on top of my backpack six inches from my face attempting to get into my pack of Tums. I screamed, he took off, and I ate my last two Tums praying that he wouldn't return, smell it on my breath, and try to chew on my mouth while I slept.

I ate my way through Singapore. Had so many wonderful and different meals. Little India was a treasure for eating and shopping. Had samosa's the size of baseballs, naan with garlic and cheese, and ginger coffee. I found that I like mutton too. Chinese spicy abalone soup in Chinatown was another favorite. Malaysian street hawker food was different and tasty with lots of noodles, vegetables, and tofu in a variety of sauces.

Took the MRT (highly efficient and clean subway system) to Jurong Bird Park. Spent the day looking at over 5,000 birds, beautiful plants, and flowers. Spent a day on Sentosa Island which contains a large amusement park (for lack of a better word) with rides, beaches, exhibits, gardens, shopping, hotels, etc. It was classy, spacious and only cost $1 to get in! I've never been anywhere like it. Went on the skyway ride where I had a great view of the city and rode The Luge (part toboggan/part go cart) down a big, winding hill. Very fun. Feasted on Malaysian street hawker food and checked out the biggest candy store I've ever been in. I restrained myself.

I would have liked to stay in Singapore longer than I did but I was anxious to move on to a country a bit easier on my wallet. Hopefully I will be back some day.