Singapore: Food and Shopping Galore, and More

They call the stuff on top of these buns "fluff"... despite the name, they are really tasty.
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We decided to stop in Singapore first as a gentle warm-up for our travels in Southeast Asia and China. As Singapore is one of the most diverse countries in the area, we were able to get exposure to many cultures in this one place. To be totally honest, the fact that everyone speaks English very well and also that it is a very clean and safe place (and that Kyle lived here for a month!) helped aide our decision to start here.

Setting off from London was a non-event - there were no delays on the train, Underground or at the airport. We both slept for a large portion of the flight, and before we knew it had arrived in Singapore's Changi airport! Getting through customs was easy, we didn't even have to show our onward tickets to Malaysia or tell them how long we were planning on staying; they didn't ask any questions at all. Let's see if it remains that easy in the other 10 countries we are visiting over here!

The scariest thing we saw was definitely the huge spiders along the side of the road

The bakeries in Singapore rival Western ones; some of the bread we tasted was the best we've ever had.
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We stayed at The Cozy Corner Backpacker Guesthouse (a hostel) in Singapore's Bugis area, a prime location for shopping, eating and sight-seeing. Wait - what are we saying - EVERY location in Singapore is prime for shopping, eating and sight-seeing, as this is all around you no matter where you are! We were expecting very wet and rainy weather all week in Singapore, but luckily managed to enjoy sunny periods on most days, and no rain at all despite some cloudy moments. The weather was hot and humid but not too unbearable, just right for easing our bodies into hotter temperatures. Speaking of rain, it did start pissing down the morning we left for Malaysia, and we were very glad to have picked the 9th of Jan as our leaving date!

Raffles Hotel is a stunning building, a big part of Singapore's history.
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One of the more common dishes in Singapore is chicken rice, and therefore Kyle saw it fit to have on the evening of our arrival. Dan went for the prawn noodle dumplings and had so much trouble trying to order water to drink, he ended up ordering two litres of Tiger beer... oops! We quickly found out that drinking in Singapore is much more expensive than eating, as the beers were double the price of our meals; we didn't make that mistake again. For the rest of our time here, we had many, many choices for food; we ate everything from Singaporean to Indian to Japanese to Chinese to Malaysian (even sadly to American, as a Taco Bell was conveniently located in a shopping mall and we HAD to have it). As we were off alcohol the rest of time, we managed to try some very different and interesting drinks, from strange ice teas to many tasty fresh juices including dragon fruit with curry powder, sugar cane (Kyle's favourite) and coconut (Dan's favourite).

Downtown Singapore is a modern and bustling financial centre in Asia with many large skyscrapers.
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There were more things to see and do in Singapore than initially expected. We thought we were going to be bored after a day or two, but managed to keep ourselves busy the entire time. Of course, it helped that on Day 3 we ended up sleeping in until 6pm as jet-lag murdered us.

Travelling on a budget means a lot of walking around and seeing sights. Therefore, we walked... and walked... and walked some more. In fact, we walked so much on Day 2 that we both ended up with many massive blisters on our feet. Perhaps this could have also attributed to the 6pm wake-up on Day 3? Kyle's Dad gave him a travel first aid kit which contained some plasters ("band-aids" to the Americans reading this) which have been very useful indeed.

One of many Hindu temples in Singapore, this one located right in the heart of Chinatown.
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On our first full day (this is where we abused our feet) we set off walking to explore the Arab Street area & Little India. We liked Little India so much we decided our last dinner in Singapore would be here, and on the last evening enjoyed delicious veggie curries and dosai, an Indian pancake with masala spices, potato, garlic and onion. Back to the day of self-abuse, however - as the clouds cleared up around mid-day, we decided to visit Sentosa Island while the weather was good, and hopped on a cable car across the sea to the island.

One of many Hindu gods worshipped in the temples.
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Sentosa Island, to those of you who have not heard of it or visited Singapore, is trying to be the Disneyworld of Singapore, with several attractions, fountain light shows and other tourist pleasures. Underwater World with its dugongs, sharks and many other sea creatures was a treat, as was the Butterfly Park and Insect Kingdom, which has more beetles on display than you would ever imagine and was an eye opener for our future trip to Borneo and Peninsular Malaysia (caution: VERY large spiders). The rest of Sentosa was enjoyable - pink dolphins performing with people from the audience, a luge ride, nature treks, and delicious food from Taste of Singapore, where we ate a medley of chicken and lamb satay, deep fried soft-shelled crab, laksa and tandoori chicken.

There are many mosques in Singapore, this one is our favourite from Little India.
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That evening, when we left Sentosa, we headed to Orchard Road, one of Singapore's shopping meccas. This street is lined with many ultra-modern shopping malls, and the good thing is that no matter what evening of the week it is, they are all open until very late in the evening. It sure beats the 6pm closing of many of London's stores early in the week! Throughout the week in Singapore we visited many shopping malls including Suntec City, VivoCity, Plaza Singapura, etc, etc as the list goes on and on. Sometimes we would find ourselves in a completely different shopping mall than we started out in, as they seem to all be connected somehow. Whilst we did not do any shopping in Singapore (our backpacks can not take any more weight or items), we have made up our mind to try and return to Singapore one day where we can do the city properly, i.e. take a couple empty suitcases and a wad of cash.

Friendly Singaporean reflecting in the Muslim cemetary.
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We also went to Chinatown, where we visited the Chinese Heritage Museum and ate the best sushi we have ever had (at Sushi Tei China Square Central - luckily this is a chain which can be found in Bangkok, Hong Kong and Shanghai, so we'll have it 3 more times). We were refused entry in the Raffles Hotel lobby for wearing shorts and sandals despite other tourists walking past us in similar shorts and sandals (an old Irish couple approached us and said it was because we were too young and good looking, and we think that is probably indeed the reason). We also went through the downtown business district, walked around Fort Canning Hill, went to the Singapore Museum, and strolled along the Singapore River where Boat Quay and Clarke Quay reside.

Dan doing his part and helping a woman off the escalator at the MRT (underground) station.
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On our last full day in Singapore, we escaped from the hustle and bustle of the city and visited Pulau Ubin island, where some of the last vestiges of old Singapore hang on by their fingertips. This island is a little off the beaten track, as we had to get the train from Bugis station to Tanah Merah station, then waited for a bus for 20 minutes to go to the north side of Singapore island at Changi Village. From there, the fun began as we took our first bumboat ride across the sea to the island. It was only a short 10-minute ride but it was very nice to be out on the water and has gotten us excited about future, longer boat trips.

A bumboat on the Singapore River, a very popular means of transportation on the river and in the seas around Singapore.
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First thing we did at Pulau Ubin was eat lunch. We went to a seafood restaurant on the coast and had (VERY) fried squid and prawn rolls. The food was good and tasty and gave us the necessary energy for what was next... an arduous bike ride around the island. This is not a big island, and with only two main roads, you would be surprised if anyone ever got lost on the island. Well, we got lost. Getting lost meant that we ended up riding an extra hour along random gravel roads and through several muddy jungle paths. Kyle thinks this is the reason Dan is now covered in multiple insect bites, and let's just hope that they are not mosquito bites, eh? Once back on the right track, the ride around the island was very nice as the weather was hot and it was good to get some exercise and fresh air. We passed many old granite quarries which are now filled in with water, and we saw coconut groves, mangrove swamps, big lizards and mud skippers. The scariest thing we saw was definitely the huge spiders along the side of the road - there must have been at least 2-3 every 10 feet, and these things were bigger than the palm of a hand (we are now thinking of changing our Borneo jungle night walk... just kidding, we will try and brave it)! And I won't mention the two beaches on the island as we still harbour resentment to the fact that we could not swim at the beaches, as the idea of a beach on this island was only a small patch of dirty sand/gravel where you can see some water in the distance.

Kyle taking a break during the Dragon Trail nature trek.
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Back in Singapore for the final night we had our delicious dinner in Little India and then we relaxed in an air-conditioned cinema to see a film. We chose The Painted Veil as it is set in 1930's China, and gave us some good ideas for that portion of our trip. Mixed emotions leaving Singapore as it was a great place to visit, but we knew it was time to move on to the next country Malaysia. Let's hope the locals are as friendly there as they were in Singapore. But, give us more challenging destinations as we are ready for them!