greetings from melaka, malaysia. i know many of you are concerned for the wellbeing of the prime minister, my dear cousin lauren especially, but not to worry, i have neither seen zoolander around nor have i heard the song "relax" during my stay here. but enough about that, onto singapore.
as ive already told you, we had a great flight to singapore. we were met at the airport by our driver who made sarah feel very special when she saw him flashing a piece of paper that said her name in big, capital letters. he took us to our b and b, 1bnbsingapore (original, i know), located in the cute area of spottiswoode park.
we were met by some one of the caretakers and shown to our room which was lovely. the b and b had so much character and charm - 5 or so rooms, nice little dining and living room and a nice kitchen. the people could not have been nicer which made this so much more enjoyable than some of the previous hostels we have been staying at. our room was perfect, complete with AC, and cable tv. we were quite exhausted after the journey that 5 minutes into jimmy kimmel we both fell into a peaceful sleep.
we woke up the next morning ready to take on singapore. we woke up, had breakfast then headed off to explore. after getting a bit lost on the way out of spottiswoode, we finally made our way and started in the direction of chinatown. on our hot, humid, sticky and sweaty walk there we stumbled upon the buddah tooth relic museum which is a temple with different rooms and floors - combining temple with tourist attraction i suppose. there is one room that is covered in wall to wall buddahs (1000 to be exact). it was very beautiful and the colors were magnificent. the temple, of course, was next to chinatown which was perfect.
we walked along, browsing each stall trying to sell us various knick knacks and jewelry. we made it further and further in and stumbled upon a place to have lunch. weary of our stomachs we trusted this place due to the mix of people - tourists and locals alike seemed to be eating there. we braved it and instead of water, enjoyed our first of many tiger beers (possibly one of my favorite to date). lunch turned out to be delicious. weve noticed that fresh juice is a very hot commodity in singapore and malaysia. the spicy food makes you desperately need a palate cleanser and cooler in between bites. sarah and i learned this lesson early and have carried it with us thus far in our travels. we walked around a bit more, contemplating buying more art for the apartment i dont have in the city i dont live in but decided against it because whatever could be found in chinatown we are hoping can be found in china itself!
tired and dragging, we headed back to 1bnb for a little r and r before getting ready for our night safari. we stared with dinner at the famed newton circus, a massive hawkre center full of merchants touting at you because obviously they sell better food than the stall next door. in true singapore fashion, we reserved our table as the locals do, with a packet of tissues! apparently, if the tissues are down no one would dare go near your table. the tissues also are vital to have because napkins dont seem to exist here. so whether its for making sure youre eating cleanly or wiping the sweat from your face after eating some chili, youll be glad you brought the tissues.
the night safari was incredible. you can walk and or take a tram through the designated paths full of animals from all over the world, mainly focusing on asian and african animals. sacha, jennifers friend whom we met for drinks the following night, told us that the lighting on the animals at the safari was done by a theatrical lighting director which made lots of sense after going through the safari. each animal was illuminated as if by spotlights and it was so cool to see them at night. the safari is so life like that you can rarely see the barriers between you and the animals, if there even was one. my favorites would have to be the tigers, lions, male elephant and the hyenas. contrary to what the lion king shows you, they are very pretty animals that i kind of wanted to just hug, but didnt, for fear of being bitten by the strongest jawed animal second to the lion.
the following day we decided to explore the colonial district which is full of great architecture and famous buildings such as the parliament buildings (old and new), courthouse, etc. this area sits along a gorgeous quay (pronounced key) full of river boats and taxis and cute waterfront shops and restaurants. we met sir stamford raffles who has a big statue right at the beginning of this area. we explored a bit, again, getting very sticky very quickly. sacha, who gave us an insiders guide to singapore, recommended a lunch place near by so of course we took him up on his offer and enjoyed some delicious prata bread, of course with juice, for about 3 US dollars! then we headed to the ancient civilizations museum which is housed a very picturesque building but honestly, the museum was a bit disappointing. sarah and i found ourselves most entertained in the exhibits designated childrens sections where the learning was hands on and much more fun.
as we were leaving the MRT (singapores version of the metro which is 1000 times nicer than any metro system i have ever been on) we were caught in our first downpour. the rain was coming down hard and fast and not one part of our bodies were dry by the time we reached cover under the police station. we waited, and waited, and waited until the rain began to clear and we made it home without being caught again. the second we entered 1bnb, the rain continued and did not look like it was going to let up. lucky for us, tonight was the one night we wanted to look nice because we were meeting jennifers friends, sacha and wendy, for drinks at the famous raffles hotel. while sarah and i seriously contemplating getting a room there, we figured our 1000 dollars were better spent elsewhere. we opted for a cab and made it raffles looking nice and dry. sarah went for the raffles famed singapore sling but after doing a bit of research on the ingredients i opted for anything other than what resembled cough syrup with alcohol (sarah referred to it as "fruit juice"). wendy and sacha were such lovely people and it was great to meet them. they even gave us some tips for penang which will be very useful.
we left them in search of yet another hawkre center, lau pa sat. both sacha and wendy recommended that i try chili stingray which, much to my surprise, was amazing. the best comparison i could get was the consistency of salmon, maybe even a bit more tender with the white color of swordfish. any fish lover should try stingray. exhausted, we made our way back home and sunk into bed.
i woke up not feeling so hot so opted to stay home from the national museum of singapore. i figured there was no better place to feel sick than at 1bandb. i fell back to sleep and woke up to be greeting by csi sunday on tv. nothing like a little horatio and gil grissom to make one feel better! sarah made it back and regaled me with singapores history and even brought me a present - percy pigs! who knew that singapore would have a marks and spencer? well that certainly made me happier. we were both starving so we made our way back to chinatown and got our lunch before downpour take 2 hit. this storm was amazing. the lighting and thunder were so close and the rain would not let up. we sat, took our time eating and drinking tea for a good 2 hours before the rain eased enough for us to buy umbrellas. we then made our way to little india which was not my cup of tea at all. neither sarah and i were finding anything we wanted to look at or eat for dinner so we decided to go back to the quay and eat along the river. everything was so beautiful when lit up and we had a delicious meal in an even better setting. we stayed along the river for a bit then headed home to pack up before leaving the following morning on our train to melaka.
my general impressions of singapore were quite good. the city, and country, were much more developed than i had expected, actually, i didnt really know what to expect. and they are right when they say that singapore is clean, there are people on every street corner sweeping up anything that hits the ground. you really take notice of it when there arent just various pieces of garbage strewn about. the people were overall very friendly and with the exception of the touting at hawkre centers, which is illegal, i never felt too out of place or awkward like a typical tourist. i think that feeling will quickly subside as we getting deeper and deeper into asia.
we are leaving melaka today for penang so keep your eyes out for that post. again, i am quite disappointed in all of my readers. my followers number is still a measly 7 people. jump on the bandwagon, folks! thats all for now!
as ive already told you, we had a great flight to singapore. we were met at the airport by our driver who made sarah feel very special when she saw him flashing a piece of paper that said her name in big, capital letters. he took us to our b and b, 1bnbsingapore (original, i know), located in the cute area of spottiswoode park.
we were met by some one of the caretakers and shown to our room which was lovely. the b and b had so much character and charm - 5 or so rooms, nice little dining and living room and a nice kitchen. the people could not have been nicer which made this so much more enjoyable than some of the previous hostels we have been staying at. our room was perfect, complete with AC, and cable tv. we were quite exhausted after the journey that 5 minutes into jimmy kimmel we both fell into a peaceful sleep.
we woke up the next morning ready to take on singapore. we woke up, had breakfast then headed off to explore. after getting a bit lost on the way out of spottiswoode, we finally made our way and started in the direction of chinatown. on our hot, humid, sticky and sweaty walk there we stumbled upon the buddah tooth relic museum which is a temple with different rooms and floors - combining temple with tourist attraction i suppose. there is one room that is covered in wall to wall buddahs (1000 to be exact). it was very beautiful and the colors were magnificent. the temple, of course, was next to chinatown which was perfect.
we walked along, browsing each stall trying to sell us various knick knacks and jewelry. we made it further and further in and stumbled upon a place to have lunch. weary of our stomachs we trusted this place due to the mix of people - tourists and locals alike seemed to be eating there. we braved it and instead of water, enjoyed our first of many tiger beers (possibly one of my favorite to date). lunch turned out to be delicious. weve noticed that fresh juice is a very hot commodity in singapore and malaysia. the spicy food makes you desperately need a palate cleanser and cooler in between bites. sarah and i learned this lesson early and have carried it with us thus far in our travels. we walked around a bit more, contemplating buying more art for the apartment i dont have in the city i dont live in but decided against it because whatever could be found in chinatown we are hoping can be found in china itself!
tired and dragging, we headed back to 1bnb for a little r and r before getting ready for our night safari. we stared with dinner at the famed newton circus, a massive hawkre center full of merchants touting at you because obviously they sell better food than the stall next door. in true singapore fashion, we reserved our table as the locals do, with a packet of tissues! apparently, if the tissues are down no one would dare go near your table. the tissues also are vital to have because napkins dont seem to exist here. so whether its for making sure youre eating cleanly or wiping the sweat from your face after eating some chili, youll be glad you brought the tissues.
the night safari was incredible. you can walk and or take a tram through the designated paths full of animals from all over the world, mainly focusing on asian and african animals. sacha, jennifers friend whom we met for drinks the following night, told us that the lighting on the animals at the safari was done by a theatrical lighting director which made lots of sense after going through the safari. each animal was illuminated as if by spotlights and it was so cool to see them at night. the safari is so life like that you can rarely see the barriers between you and the animals, if there even was one. my favorites would have to be the tigers, lions, male elephant and the hyenas. contrary to what the lion king shows you, they are very pretty animals that i kind of wanted to just hug, but didnt, for fear of being bitten by the strongest jawed animal second to the lion.
the following day we decided to explore the colonial district which is full of great architecture and famous buildings such as the parliament buildings (old and new), courthouse, etc. this area sits along a gorgeous quay (pronounced key) full of river boats and taxis and cute waterfront shops and restaurants. we met sir stamford raffles who has a big statue right at the beginning of this area. we explored a bit, again, getting very sticky very quickly. sacha, who gave us an insiders guide to singapore, recommended a lunch place near by so of course we took him up on his offer and enjoyed some delicious prata bread, of course with juice, for about 3 US dollars! then we headed to the ancient civilizations museum which is housed a very picturesque building but honestly, the museum was a bit disappointing. sarah and i found ourselves most entertained in the exhibits designated childrens sections where the learning was hands on and much more fun.
as we were leaving the MRT (singapores version of the metro which is 1000 times nicer than any metro system i have ever been on) we were caught in our first downpour. the rain was coming down hard and fast and not one part of our bodies were dry by the time we reached cover under the police station. we waited, and waited, and waited until the rain began to clear and we made it home without being caught again. the second we entered 1bnb, the rain continued and did not look like it was going to let up. lucky for us, tonight was the one night we wanted to look nice because we were meeting jennifers friends, sacha and wendy, for drinks at the famous raffles hotel. while sarah and i seriously contemplating getting a room there, we figured our 1000 dollars were better spent elsewhere. we opted for a cab and made it raffles looking nice and dry. sarah went for the raffles famed singapore sling but after doing a bit of research on the ingredients i opted for anything other than what resembled cough syrup with alcohol (sarah referred to it as "fruit juice"). wendy and sacha were such lovely people and it was great to meet them. they even gave us some tips for penang which will be very useful.
we left them in search of yet another hawkre center, lau pa sat. both sacha and wendy recommended that i try chili stingray which, much to my surprise, was amazing. the best comparison i could get was the consistency of salmon, maybe even a bit more tender with the white color of swordfish. any fish lover should try stingray. exhausted, we made our way back home and sunk into bed.
i woke up not feeling so hot so opted to stay home from the national museum of singapore. i figured there was no better place to feel sick than at 1bandb. i fell back to sleep and woke up to be greeting by csi sunday on tv. nothing like a little horatio and gil grissom to make one feel better! sarah made it back and regaled me with singapores history and even brought me a present - percy pigs! who knew that singapore would have a marks and spencer? well that certainly made me happier. we were both starving so we made our way back to chinatown and got our lunch before downpour take 2 hit. this storm was amazing. the lighting and thunder were so close and the rain would not let up. we sat, took our time eating and drinking tea for a good 2 hours before the rain eased enough for us to buy umbrellas. we then made our way to little india which was not my cup of tea at all. neither sarah and i were finding anything we wanted to look at or eat for dinner so we decided to go back to the quay and eat along the river. everything was so beautiful when lit up and we had a delicious meal in an even better setting. we stayed along the river for a bit then headed home to pack up before leaving the following morning on our train to melaka.
my general impressions of singapore were quite good. the city, and country, were much more developed than i had expected, actually, i didnt really know what to expect. and they are right when they say that singapore is clean, there are people on every street corner sweeping up anything that hits the ground. you really take notice of it when there arent just various pieces of garbage strewn about. the people were overall very friendly and with the exception of the touting at hawkre centers, which is illegal, i never felt too out of place or awkward like a typical tourist. i think that feeling will quickly subside as we getting deeper and deeper into asia.
we are leaving melaka today for penang so keep your eyes out for that post. again, i am quite disappointed in all of my readers. my followers number is still a measly 7 people. jump on the bandwagon, folks! thats all for now!
I am honored! Truly honored.
ReplyDeleteLove always, your # 1 follower (although clearly I need to step up my dedication and check for postings more regularly)
Miss you!