Right so as I write this we are heading on the train again back to Kuala Lumpur having had a magnificent time in Singapore.
On our 2nd full day in Singapore Flo unfortunately woke up feeling pretty dreadful and we eventually came to the conclusion that I would go out and see the sights and she might join me later. This was fuelled as much by my extreme hunger as anything, particularly as we hadn't located anywhere nearby that wasn't Indian food (obv as we were in little India, wake up Tess!) and I really wasn't feeling that at 10am. So off I headed out on my lonesome having stocked Flo up with plenty of water and ordering her to keep me updated. I headed back to Orchard on the MRT deciding that there would definitely be somewhere for breakfast. I was right. I ended up having a bizarre breakfast of 2 half boiled eggs (?) on a plate (??), some peanut butter on toast (proper bread!), a cup of tea WITH milk and lemon juice. Surprisingly delicious and filled the gap nicely. I then headed in the direction of city hall and felt very knowledgeable as I didn't need to read any tourist signs...sad I know!
At city Hall I first visited St Andrews Cathedral which was originally commissioned by Raffles himself. It was significantly smaller than many of the cathedrals back home but was lovely and simple. Just my type of church. After some quiet reflection I headed towards Raffles hotel to see the famous Long Bar and of course the hotel. After some mild confusion- I was carrying my guidebook in 1 hand, my camera in the other and had my normal gormless face- one of the doormen asked me if I was lost, which I assured him I wasn't although I proceeded to go in the completely opposite direction to the long bar. Clearly I'm inept at reading simple signs....eventually though I made it to the Long Bar having had a nice ole nosey around the hotel which was beautiful and much more old fashioned than the rest of Singapore so offered some peace and quiet. The Long Bar was a lovely old room with, interestingly, a long bar!! It was filled with people drinking Singapore slings and eating peanuts but with the price slightly out of my budget range ($26) and my travelling pal currently unavailable I decided now wasn't the perfect time. Oh and it wasn't even 12. I thought it best I hold off...
Flo joined the land of the living shortly after so we headed for some lunch down in an equally brilliant food hall before browsing some more shops and Flo managed to even make friends with the shop assistant in the shop where her watch is from thus he allowed her to try on her watch for a taste of home...we've found that everyone out here has been super friendly, offering us directions and asking us all about our travels.
We headed back to the hostel to glam ourselves up slightly as we decided to head to the top of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel to get the best glimpse of the skyline. Having somehow or other wrangled a restaurant pass (our clothes clearly passed muster despite being slightly wrinkled as several others were turned away...) we headed to the 57th floor and were greeted by a magnificent 270 degree view of Singapore looking out across the city and the bay. We left at the insistence of our stomachs and headed to boat quay for a spot of dinner before heading back to Chinatown for a Singapore Sling (couldn't leave without one) upon Fran's recommendation. Despite it being ridiculously busy and them forgetting our order 3 times over we had a delicious cocktail and evening in Chinatown before heading back to our hostel for the night.
Our sleep was once again generously interrupted by our dorm mates with an Indian mans phone ringing constantly all night whilst at 6:30am they decided to start chatting. And there was the snorers as well. Anyhow we headed to town to stock up on food, return our MRT cards and, in flo's case, by some last minute tshirt purchases to allow for our ever shrinking wardrobes. We then headed towards woodlands on the MRT but unfortunately spent the majority of our half hour journey standing with our backpacks which was fun with Flo helping a little girl do her English homework. Prepositions at that! Finally we made it and headed to the bus interchange. After seemingly going around the houses, literally, and starting to be a bit tight for time, we asked a very nice lady if she knew if the bus actually stopped at the station. She looked it all up for us and it turned out we'd got on the wrong bus. The much longer route. Awesome. Luckily she spotted our stop before we did so we made it to passport control in the nick of time. Now on the 7hour train back up to KL, it's more comfortable and the air con works (woo) and there's a tropical storm outside. Thunder and Lightning and bucketfuls of rain. Next up the Grand Prix :)
Update, we have since arrived in KL and despite the train being significantly more comfortable it was also significantly late. 2 and a half hours at that. Eventually, after a short ride on the LRT (overground) and a short walk accompanied by a very helpful and friendly Malaysian we made it to our hostel at 11:30pm. Pretty tired but thankfully the dorm was not full of snorers but people with good dorm etiquette (!) so we've had a great nights sleep :) Flo's off to qualifying this afternoon...she's beyond excited as I'm sure you can imagine ;)
Lots of love
Tess and Flo xx