February 9-12, 2013 - Singapore

Feb. 9 - 12, 2013 - Singapore

Visa Fee: None
Exchange Rate: 1USD = Singapore $1.2

Feb. 9, 2013:

We left Phuket on a 10am flight to Singapore.  Upon arrival we filtered through immigration and picked up our bags.  There was one last bag screening check before exiting the airport.  When our bags went through the xray we were asked to step aside, show our passports, and to pull out the knives that each of us has packed.  I had a 4 inch camping knife I had brought along.  I always pack it in my first aid kit and carry it with me on trips.  I pulled it out, the guy gave it a look and asked if it was an auto open knife.  I said no and he gave it back and said I was good to go.  Alene on the other hand DID have an auto open knife and she was not good to go. She was old she would have to meet with the police and turn over the knife.  Flick knives or auto open knives are apparently illegal in Singapore.  I was told to wait in the lobby and wait for her to return.  So for about an hour I waited....luckily there was free wi-fi!  She finally returned, one knife lighter, and we were off to our hostel.

We immediately when for food at the local food court and took a nap.  The 4 days we spent in Singapore were the Chinese New Year holiday so not a lot of things were open.  Because we felt like being lazy and because it was raining we just had pizza delivered to the hostel and had a very chill night in.

Feb. 10, 2013:

The next day we met up with Alene's uncle's friend that lives in Singapore.  He very graciously picked us up for lunch and took us to a western food restaurant (one of the few restaurants that would actually be open for the holiday).  I order a big green garden salad.  I hadn't seen so many fresh veggies all tossed together with a side of ranch dressing in a VERY long time.  It was delicious!  During lunch we got to talking about the Night Safari at the Zoo and decided that we all wanted to go check it out that night.  We booked our tickets for the adventure right then.  After lunch Robert took us on a little tour of the city.  We visited the main shopping area in town and made a note that we would have to return to shop at the H&M.  Alene and I have a history of stopping at every H&M we see and we just couldn't let this one slip by. Even though neither of us have much room in our bags to carry anything else.

Once again Robert picked us up and together we went to the Night Safari.  The safari had an open concept, meaning your don't see the fences or barriers that keep the animals in place.  And most times its just a mote that separates you from the animals.  Its a little spooky being so close to hyenas without bars between you.  The first thing we did was jump on the tram route.  It was about an hour ride through some of the safari park.  Some animal enclosures had no fences what so ever.   They were allowed to roam freely across the road.  This was mainly for the hoofed animals and there was just cattle guards in the road to keep them from roaming too far.  After the tram we walked all the paths through the safari park to see the rest of the animals.  The highlight of the visit was getting to see flying fox bats up close!  The safari had a walk-in menagerie were one would typically keep birds, except it was full of flying foxes and smaller fruit bats.  It was super awesome.  There was a fly fox hanging at eye level directly over the path.  If I had wanted to I could have picked it up, pet or poked it.  I couldn't believe I was getting so close to such a large bat.
After the safari Robert offered to take us out for local food/noodles and since I dont ever turn down noodles we went to check it out.  Singapore has its own take on noodles and these were a bit spicy and definitely fried! But oh so yummy!  We spent about 4 hours at the safari and then had food making it a late night for us.  We got home and crashed.

Feb. 11, 2013:

It actually turned out to be a very nice day to go shopping.  It didn't rain but for about 30 minutes (it had rained almost all day the other days).  We figured out the subway system and went on a shopping spree.  We visited several different places but spent most of our time at the H&M.  I ended up with 3 new shirts, ooops.  After shopping we took the subway to the Marina Bay Sands hotel and casino.  This is that giant 3 towered building with a ship on top that I know you have seen in a photo at some point.  It was free to visit the rooftop bar to have a drink or S$20 just to visit the observation deck.  We opted to have a drink at the bar even though we knew it wasn't going to be cheap.  The elevator took up to the 57th floor.  The view was stellar.  Your could see the ocean, the city and the sunset.  We grabbed a S$30 glass of wine and watched the sunset over the city.  Check out these pics!

Once the sunset we walked around the marina and at 8pm we watch the water and light show.  This had to be one of the best free shows I have seen.  They incorporated lazers, lights, bubbles, projections onto the water mist, fire, and music.  The title of the show was Wonder.  And last about 30 minutes.  I got some pics of the show below, though they just don't do justice.

We had done a lot of walking and so opted to head home after that for some sleep.  I started work on my Indian Visa.  Boy is it a lot of work to apply for that thing.  They wanted to know the birth place of my parents, my religion, if I had any identification marks on my body, I also had to go ahead and book my flight out of India and a hotel while I was there.

Feb. 12, 2013:

Another lazy day.  We interneted a lot and finally went out for lunch and for a venture around the Marina Bay Park.  A park in which the country spent over a BILLION dollars to build.  It was quite impressive.  With what they called super trees.  They were metal trees that went a hundred feet in the air and in which they had planted plants all the way up.  There were about 3 different conservatories, a sky walk, and several different types of gardens.

We flew out that night to Manila!

On a side note, I have bought new flip flops.  They are ugly and man-ish but they are like walking on clouds compared to my worn out Tevas.

What I have learned:  Singapore is one of the weathest countries in the world.