So I thought it was about time I wrote my first blog, I apologise that it has taken me so long to update you all!! Its weird it seems like I haven't had a moments rest which is pretty crazy considering I am supposed to be on this `Constant Holiday`. So I finally have a few minutes free to let you know all about my time in Singapore.
Singapore itself is an incredible city; its beautiful, clean, easy to navigate with great transport links. All in all not a bad place to start my journey! The one downside would be that it is incredibly expensive. This meant that I learnt how to be a cheap skate fairly quickly, this was not too much of dissapointment, in fact I actually found that by doing what the locals do in order to keep cost down I gained a much greater insight into the Singaporean culture. For example I ate daily at the Maxwell food centre; a canteen with over 100 different food stands with meals averaging 4sgd (about £2). Admittedly I was sceptical at first and I'm absolutlely sure I have eaten some questionable meats over the past few days, but honestly the food was delicious. I particularly enjoyed the local favourite hainese chicken and rice which I had on a number of occasions (I don't think I have had one meal without rice yet).
My favourite thing about Singapore was by far the coffee -although this may have been down to my jet lag and general lack of sleep. Luckily I found a traditional Singaporean coffee shop in Chinatown which served this sweet/salty coffee with the traditional breakfast of kaya (coconut & egg jam) on toast with half boiled eggs, not everyone's idea of a good breakfast I know but I loved it!
My first day was spent mainly walking, being the sensible person that I am I thought it would be a good idea to walk the whole of Singapore. From Chinatown, to little India, on to Arab street (the Malay area) then on to the more affluent areas of Marina Bay and Boat Quay. I must have walked miles!!! Given the humidity I looked ridiculous, as you can imagine my Tina Turner hair was out in force, my face was bright red, I was wearing sports sandals and stopping to read my map every few minutes. Mind you, I may have looked like an idiot but I cant imagine another city where I would be able to experience an insight into so many different cultures and religions in one country over such a short distance; from the thousands of curry houses in Little India to the bustling night market in Chinatown.
My second day in Singapore was a lot less adventurous, I decided I deserved a rest so I took the tube to Sentosa Island. Sentosa Island is a purpose built tourist attraction/holiday resort with hotels, theme parks, water parks and man made beaches. Of course was in no position to be paying for entrance to any of these attractions so I settled for free day on the almost empty beach lying peacefully by a palm tree in the sun- I thoroughly enjoyed my first taste of beach life!!
On my third day in Singapore I thought I would check out Orchard Street (The famous shopping street), of course as previously mentioned I can not fit one single extra item in my back pack as it is absolutely full to the brim so buying anything was really out of the question. The whole street reminded me of New York with the sky scrapers and designer stores so I thought that at least justified treating myself to a Starbucks as I couldn't do any shopping (not sure when Starbucks became a treat)
The rest of the day was spent aimlessly wandering the beautiful botanical gardens filled with beautiful flowers and waterfalls. Unfortunately the gardens are so big that I found them harder to navigate than Singapore itself, as you can imagine my aimless wandering soon turned in to a desperate attempt to find the exit in the mid afternoon heat! Typical!
So that was Singapore, 3 days and 4 nights of being a complete tourist. I have already become an avid map reader and ditched the straighteners!! Whatever Next!?!
I'm in Bali now (paradise) and have already met some amazing people and had some incredible experiences which I can't wait to share.