Sunny Singapore is a sharp contrast to the Gili T’s which flew by like a dream. Imagine this, one moment you are living on a Balinese island where you are surrounded by white sand beach and the fastest mode of transport is horse and carriage. There’s no cars, motorbikes or public transport. You can walk the entire island in an hour and a half.
Then you get into Singapore, a bustling Metropolitan centre where there are rules and technology for everything. Old meets new. They call it a fine city because there are fines for everything which is why it will probably also be the cleanest city you will ever go to.
Against the Law:
-Drug trafficking is punishable by capital punishment (Carrying over 5G)
-Soliciting – you never get hassled shopping at the markets here.
-Counterfeit goods
-When you enter Singapore, you are allowed to bring in only 1 pack of opened smokes
-UV drips used to whiten skin (Used in other parts of Asia)
And my favourite … no durians allowed in the MRT station.
What are durian’s you ask? Let me explain.
Durian is known as “The King of Fruits” in SE Asia. It is considered a delicacy in Asia but like most delicacies you need to try it a few times before you can fully appreciate it. An acquired taste if you will. Some would say eating Durian is worth the trip to the East to experience it.
This fruit is easily recognized by it’s distinct smell. A smell that some find so strong, nauseating and offensive that it is banned in some mass rapid transit (MRT) stations, some hotels and even airports.
“... its odour is best described as pig-shit, turpentine and onions, garnished with a gym sock….” Wikipedia
We decided to give it a try, and well, what was that saying about a picture being worth a thousand words? Out of seven people, one person LOVED it, 3 hated it, and 2 were neutral. I would definitely give it a couple more chances but it’s not the first fruit I would reach for.
We LOVE Couch surfing! Couch surfing is an international non profit network that promotes a cultural exchange between locals and travellers. We were intrigued by couch surfer when we met a few people who worked for couch surfers in Ubud.
We knew Singapore is a relatively expensive place to stay so we decided this would be a place to give it a shot.
We were so fortunate to meet Ryan and Summer, this amazing Singaporean couple who took us in even though they already had three guests from Austin, Texas already staying at their place. We have been floored by their hospitality. They came and picked us up from the airport, and have been taking us out for lunches and dinners at all the best local spots, they did our laundry and took us shopping, and had been a wealth of information for travel advice.
Summer won my heart when she took me make-up shopping. I have gotten so dark, that it was actually difficult for me to find a powder to match my skin! Everyone is into light skin here which is so opposite of back home. The makeup choices are great though – I love the Japanese products especially the fibre mascara which makes your eyelashes look really thick and beautiful.
The past few days, we have been 2 guys, and 5 girls living in a2 bedroom apartment with four guinea pigs and one cocker spaniel. And you know what? It has been soooo FUN!
This was the first day when we arrived, Ryan and Summer took us to Tin Tin where we sampled the most famous Hainanese Chicken with Rice – a local specialty. Afterwards, we went to Chinatown, and Little India to do some shopping and touring. At night, we decided we would cook them some Mexican food partnered with cake, local fruits and cocktails. It made for a great day!
Yesterday Seb and I started craving a bit of one on one time so we went on a date and toured the city on our own.
Our intention was to go to the Singapore Flyer for sunset, which is a Ferris wheel that gives you a great view of the city. But when we got there, we realized that tickets were $30 each which we found expensive for a Ferris wheel. So we took photos from the bottom and walked through city centre.
We did the same thing when we went to the Eiffel tower in Paris with no regrets. We can ride it when we’re old and don’t have energy to walk!
Afterwards, we went to Clarke Quay which is the happening place to go for drinks. One thing I forgot to mention is Singaporean people are so great. The other day, we were walking around with the Texan girls looking for a place to eat and we were approached by this local couple. They took one look at us and said you guys should come with us, we know a place with lots of food, air conditioning and wifi. They were this elderly Asian couple who just came from church so we trusted them. And sure enough they rescued us from the heat and brought us to some good eats.
This particular night we had kind of a repeat. We found ourselves a little lost looking for the MRT station and this girl tells us to follow her since she’s going the same way. We got talking and she recommended Clarke Quay for drinks, and we were not disappointed. There were tonnes of cute restaurants and trendy cafes overlooking the water.
They had all these concept bars and I was particularly floored by this place called the clinic. It is fashioned to look like a hospital complete with wheel chairs and stainless steel tables. They even had frozen cocktails attached to IV drips that were poured into glasses I’m sure. It was brilliant!
This Saturday we are looking forward to the
Singapore Beerfest 2010. The whole couch surfer community is going on Friday and with over 250 different types of beer, live performances and 25,000 expected attendees you can’t really go wrong!
Afterwards, we’re going to Tocadisco - award winning DJ and producer from West Germany. He’s created over 60 remixes with other well known D.J.’s like Axwell, Mylo, Tiga, Steve Angello and David Guetta.
The added bonus is he’s playing at Zouk which is rated number 10 on the list of 100 best night clubs in the world. It comes in just under the Ibiza super clubs Pacha and Space. It’s credited as the club that created the club scene here in Singapore.
We’re pretty stoked to be here to catch the show. Well especially Sebastien who is a big fan. Will keep you posted!
