Where to start...wake up to a very very loud australian lady snoring so loudly that my bunk bed curatin was vibrating...at least it woke me up early for a big day of exploring!!
I walk through Little India- which really is how i imagine India to be - but the little version obviously. the streets are full of bags of spices, hanging lines of herbs, tropical fruits and vegetabes, flower Leis, beautiful silks and gowns hanging from the shop windows and the smell of incense- the streets were pungent to say the least!
So through Little India to the MRT station (very efficent train/underground system that links Singapore) and i buy an all day ticket. Having highlighted certain areas in my LonelyPlanet guide i then set off to explore (in flipflops- more on that later!) I firstly head to Sentosa island from a friends reccomendation and was not dissapointed- a wonderland of things to do... universal studios, chocolate shops, casino, chocolate shops, gondolas & beaches. Having walked round and stocked up on a few chocolate bars i then get the bus back the main island to start my disorganised wander around the city. And when i say disorganised i mean terribly disorganised- zig-zaging all over the place, going back on myself constantly, returning to the same MRT stops i'd already been to after reading something in my guide, looping the same shopping malls but coming from different doors, walking up the same street a few times from different angles but by the end of it i now have expert knowledge of the MRT system.
To detail a few of the places that i visited (some on numerous occasions): Raffles Hotel & Museum - took a photo of the Singapore Slings on offer but didnt actually have one, Singapore Art Museum, Orchard Road and Shopping Centre - amazing; I even went into Topshop, the Central Business District-watched various street performances (i think they were advertising things but i was too excited by the Justin Bieber christmas music that was playing), walked through the Colonial District- was tempted by the Chilli Crab (highly reccommended by Pat but decided against it), Central shopping mall- i was here SO MANY times; i just kept ending up there for some reason. This brought me to about 3 o'clock and i hadnt eaten so i found a small restaurant advertising Singapore and Japanese noodles- they were lovely!!
So by this time flipflops starting to rub a lot, blisters on my feet, still torrential rain, humid i take a trip to Marina Bay- and it was aaaaamazing!! walked from the MRT stop to the Singapore Flyer (big wheel) and the Marina Sands complex. I tried to go into the Marina Sands casino to get the view but i wasnt allowed in due to my beach attire (damn flipflops- i was very angry at them by this point!) So i had to enjoy the view from the bottom, which to be fair was very good! I went the ArtScience Museum to see the Titanic Artifact Exhibit but weighed the cost (which was quite a lot) versus its rellevance of Singapore and decided against it. So now with sore feet, still baking hot and a big walk back to the MRT ahead of me i decided on a Hippo river cruise which was...amazing! the cruise is hop-on-hop-off and takes you from Marina Bay up the river to the Central Business District and back again. So i take the boat up the river and from this angle you really get to appreciate the amazing architecture of the buildings, plus you get a semi-decent pre-recorded tour guide pointing out some sights. After one loop of the river it was about half 6 and i knew that the river cruise is a completely different experience at night time so i waited for sunset. Found a bar on the river front by the CBD and had a couple of drinks watching the sunset and reading by book.
Once night time (only an hour later), I hopped back on the Hippo and set sail again, and yes, completely different experience- so so good! The boat was completely full so i stood at the front (Titanic style- maybe Titanic is a Singapore thing after all...) and saw another side to the City. I have many many pictures so there is little point in explaining what i saw but it really was lovely- plus it was accompanied by a woman playing plinky plunky music on a guitar type thing. There was also a trip of Chinese school children who all wanted an individual picture of themselves with me- not sure why, but i guess its because i am so beautiful??
So after the long, long day, blisters on my feet i take the MRT (again) back to Little India to my hostel and have a pot noodle in front of the TV, and head to bed after booking the next leg of my journey. A flight to Vietnam in the morning. and YES the Australian woman snored all night long!!