Singapore, Day Two

There's nothing like reliving your childhood in the middle of a 5 million person city in Southeast Asia. This was my day two in Singapore-a free, guided razor-scooter tour through all the main hotspots of the city.


Our tour guide, Michael was a second generation Singaporian, and has led these tours for the hostel for awhile. This is him, talking at spot one,



A store dedicated to the traditional paper goods used to burn for your ancestors, so they have proper accessories in the afterlife. From old traditional money, to a iPad, they have made everything in paper so you can write the name of your relative and burn, in ceremonies as often as once or twice a day. He lead us around the corner to a busy street, preparing for the dumpling festival, honoring this guy



While his name escapes me, they honor him with dumplings, related to the story that he was unhappy with his job so he jumped into a river and drowned. The townspeople were said to drop rice dumplings into the river so they fish would not eat him and save his soul.

Further down the way were two temples, one Tao and one Hindu. The Tao temple was grand and red, and busy with people running in and out for their daily prayers


The whole room was filled with smoke, from people with incense praying first to the sky


Then turned to face and pray to the Buddha inside


In the Taoist temple you shake wooden sticks till one flies out, giving you a fortune. We were helped and guided by many, happy to teach us about their faith.

The Hindu Temple had a Buddha inside so you found both Taoists and Hindus praying at the Temple








We switched directions completely and headed to the Colonial district, to the outside of the infamous Raffles Hotel



With rooms at S$1000 per night, there is not one chance of staying there, but it is home to the Singapore Sling cocktail, impeccable service, and colonial charm.

The rest of our scooter afternoon took us to the modern skyline of Singapore-the Marina Park and the Financial district.


















You could really see how modern architecture is a main priority for Singapore, and they are developing in energy saving, space maximizing ways. They even include in their design some fun aspects for the passerby like misters above on the sidewalk and this bowl-perfectly built to hear the conversation of those across the way from you



By this point, it was lunch time, and Michael scooted us over to a food hawker center in the middle of the business district.



It was built in the late 1800s, and was set in between some of the most modern skyscrapers in the city, a reminder of how much Singapore has changed. The food was alright, and I got to sample these little guys...



Whole little salted fish that weren't bad, but VERY fishy and VERY salty. Behind them was some kimchi, that was just too pickle-y for me (meaning I think it has turned, yuck). But my bento box of salmon was surprisingly cooked very well, with a nice dipping sauce and some watermelon for dessert it made for a decent S$6.00 meal (about $4.00 US)



The main highlight after lunch was a visit to the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple (read right to left)



In it is a rumored tooth of Buddha, but dentist experts apparently aren't convinced. It was however a beautiful building







With some interesting scultptured of warriors


And a cool awesome rooftop garden with a gong in the room of 10,000 buddhas






After a quick stroll around Vibrant Chinatown...






...We headed across the bridge at Clarke Quay







And back to the hostel to relax after our six hour scooter trip around the city. Just when I thought I couldn't like Singapore anymore, after feeling like a kid all day, we went back out with some of our scooter friends to see the Fountain of Wealth, the largest fountain in the world, according to Guinness Book of World Records










And back over to the Marina Park,






To see another fountain and light show










Singapore, I just may have fallen for you

Singapore, Day One

Singapore- a city of cultural explosion of sights, smells and people. From one corner you have Little India, with sari shops and loud music, to Chinatown with tiny street stalls and mobile wok carts, to the metropolitan downtown financial area, to the futuristic Marine Park, to the glitz and glamor of Orchard Rd to...well, you get the point. You can travel just a short way to find yourself lost in a whole new world.

Originally, my time in Singapore was going to be limited to only a short 13 hours, from touchdown to take off of the planes. With a short schedule switch, we made the decision to spend three nights, a precious two full days, in this sprawling city.

Oddly, our first stop on day one was MacRitchie Reservoir, a large park just minutes from a metro stop, that was so close, but felt so removed from the city. Singapore is on a quest to be one of the greenest cities in the world, and they take pride in their parks, keeping the paths clean and offering outdoor activities like running clubs, kayaking and rowing.





While it was pretty, it was almost too warm to just walk, plus with improper footwear, it seemed inappropriate to do an 11 km treetop canopy walk with these fellas roaming around





So we headed back downtown, to where Singapore is most famous for-their shopping district, Orchard Road. The road itself is not very big in length, but makes up for it in depth and height. Shopping mall after shopping mall, you can get lost in a maze of consumer wonder-world of gadgets, clothing, and expensive designer goods



Mazes of levels underground led us deeper and deeper...



Till we found my favorite part of the mall, the food court. Situated a causal four levels under ground it was full of Asian specialties from all over and it took us about a half hour to narrow down which area we were going to get food from.

There was the dumpling maker



Hong Kong Rotisserie


And a oyster omelette bar



And heaps more. We decided to get beef noodles



And DIY soup



I must say, it was the best food I have ever eaten in a food court. The soup was fresh and simple, flavors delicate with spice. The noodles were what you would expect noodles to be, but just simply better then your average chinese food on your neighborhood corner.

After lunch, we traversed our way back to ground level, to find ourselves stuck in out first monsoon, without any proper umbrella or rain jacket.



We waited out the storm inside and as soon as it lifted, tried to make it back to the hostel without getting completely soaked, successful under all the mall overhangs and causal pit stops in familiar stores along the way. Being in Singapore is torture on a backpackers budget and space restrictions, especially since the stores are in the middle of their massive summer sales. But I made it through without a single purchase, promising to return when I win the lottery....a girl can only dream.

Goodbye & Hello

Whenever a portion of my travels ends, it's always a weird feeling. Did I get enough done? Did I see enough sights? Obviously, the answer is always no. I think I could get lost in these cities, places, countries, forever and still never move on. But sadly, my time in New Zealand had to come to an end. I met up with my friend Jackie, in Queenstown, where she worked at AJ Hackett, the original bungy folks. It only seemed natural to join in on the fun...













She said her goodbyes to her co-workers and friends and we started our journey. First stop, Auckland, for Jackie to do one last bungy, which for me luckily included a pretty cool bridge walk, with epic views of the Auckland skyline







Tethered in...








It was an active construction zone, hence the awesome hard hats in the photos. And that was it! Say goodbye to New Zealand, say hello to Southeast Asia! After a long 11 hour flight from Auckland, we landed in Singapore. I think Singapore is a great place to start traveling in Asia. It's an easy city, with plenty of public transportation, English speaking locals (literally everyone), but so different from anywhere I have been before. Being an international city, our hostel is in the area known as Little India, and at night it was a bustling hub of activity, full of new sights and smells. Oddly, our first meal was Chinese in Little India, but so good!

The food center


We ordered a Mongolian Chicken and fried Brown Noodles



The chicken was good, and gradually the chili peppers heated up, our first introduction to all the spicy food coming our way. The noodles were also pretty good, though mixed in was egg, chicken, two prawns, and one tiny piece of what was obviously squid. So much for just noodles...

So here were are, new day in the new city, greeted by a calm and relaxed street in comparison to the hub of last night



Ready to start this adventure in new foods, cultures, and sights