Renee and I settled into a terrific hostel for our remaining 2 nights in Singapore, squeaky clean and newly renovated. Although we stayed in Chinatown, the subway system in Singapore is absolutely incredible allowing us to pop up out of the ground anywhere in the city within 15 min of leaving the hostel. We had to change our ways a bit in Singapore because it has “Rules and Fines” for Everything! The rules are clearly laid out everywhere you look, littering ($500 fine), taking a sip of pop on the train ($1000 fine) - I had to confiscate beverages from Renee on several occasions to avoid Subway fines. J-walking ($1000) – A daily occurrence in Indonesia for us. The list goes on.
We were busy bees visiting the Asian Civilization Museum, Historical WW2 museum, and made the 8 km walk through all the parks and green spaces of Singapore which are continuously connected through the middle of the city. We went during the heat of the day, so the trails were empty with the locals retreating to the air conditioned malls and restaurants.
A noticeable trend in Singapore is they like to Shop and they like to Eat. There are literally thousands of restaurants and street food stalls in the city, and they are busy all day. We couldn’t figure it out, so asked some locals why. They simply said that in Singapore there isn’t a “meal time”, we just eat when we feel like it…5 or more small meals per day. The food stalls are called “Hawker Food” and that is where you find the hidden gems. Wait in line a few minutes, pay your 3 bucks and Walla, some of the best Asian food you could imagine! (Chicken Rice is a local and now our favorite)
During our journeys we also entered the brand new Marina Bay Sands resort which is a mega destination which makes Vegas look like child’s play. It is the most expensive casino resort in the world housing the world’s largest atrium casino with 500 tables and 1600 slots, 7 celebrity chef restaurants among 43 other restaurants and a 150 m infinity pool on the roof of the 3 hotel complexes. Another stop was the Raffles Hotel which is the original fancy hotel of Singapore and the originator of the “Singapore Sling” drink. We went into the bar to order one up, but took a pass realizing the hefty price of $25 per drink.
We now find ourselves in Malaysia after completing the fastest, smoothest land border crossing ever.
PRICES
Hotel: $22/pp
Meal for two: $6-$12
Bottle Water: $0.50
Beer: $3.00
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