Singapore: sling your hook!

Another day's worth of travelling, and we are now in the land of Oz! We actually had a great morning in Singapore before we went to the airport. Typically we stumbled across things that we wish we had seen on the first day. Like an all you can eat Asian buffet (we had nearly run out of Singaporean dollars so couldn't take advantage - gutted...), and a really interesting shopping centre (these are more Steph's words than mine). The attention to detail in their buildings puts us limeys to shame. Steph and I sat in front of the shopping centre's very own water feature for about 20mins. It was very impressive and quite possibly the cheapest form of entertainment that Singapore has to offer. Speaking of pricing - we also visited the Raffles Hotel, which is the home to the renowned Singapore Sling cocktail. We walked in, chose a seat, looked at the $30 price tag and walked out again. This was made even more disappointing when Steph informed me that they encourage you to eat nuts and throw the shells on the floor. I like to make unnecessary mess as much as the next man, but why would I pay $30 for something I do for free at home?

Anyhow, We are in Brisbane/Brizzy/Brisvegas now, staying in a pretty lively hostel which serves cheap food, organises trips and is full of young travellers. We have an en suite which we are sharing with just one other person, which is nice compared with the 30 that we shared with in Singapore. It has good kitchen facilities, a bar, a television room with a catalogue of dvds, a swimming pool and a tennis court. Not bad for $20 a night.

We popped down to South Bank which seems to be a popular cafe/bar area, with a man-made beach by the river. It's quite a laid-back district which directly faces the far more hectic city centre across the river. We plan on spending quite a bit of time around here, and specifically the beach, before we head south on Saturday. On our way back to the hostel we got caught in a massive rain shower. We brought some pack-a-macs for such an occasion, but we didn't expect to be using them on the first day in Australia! It did, however, make us feel at home. The whole atmosphere is also closer to what we are used to, compared with the melting pot of East meets West in Singapore. We both agree that it lacked an identity there, but Brisbane seems to have it in spades! So far, so good.