Singapore!

I'm back from my trip and I had an AMAZING time! I made it to seven cities, three islands (four if you count Singapore), and three countries! 

First stop... SINGAPORE!

My overnight bus from Khon Kaen to Bangkok went very smoothly and I made it to BKK bright and early and had more than enough time to make it to the airport as well as Subway to grab a sandwich to hold me over for breakfast and lunch.  My JetStar flight went very well, I slept for the entire two hours of the flight, and landed in Singapore late afternoon.  Fiona's flight from Australia was delayed a few hours so I waited in our meeting spot in baggage claim until she arrived. A bit jet lagged but still excited for her first trip in Asia, Fiona arrived safely and I was SO happy to see her I was nearly brought to tears.  After we got Fiona's backpack, we grabbed a cab and headed to our hostel "Pillows and Toast" in Chinatown.  We grabbed some cheap noodles for dinner and had an early night since we were both exhausted from our full days of traveling.

Fiona and I had planned to only spend one full day and two nights in Singapore because its a very expensive city.  Fiona coming from using the Australian dollars for a month was more use to high prices, but I on the other hand have lived on Thai baht for a year and found the prices for food, accommodation, and transportation outrageous.  So we made sure that our one day in Singapore was jam-packed!  We had free breakfast at our hostel, toast, and even made some sandwiches to have on-the-go later in the day. Armed with our maps and Lonely Planet, we quickly learned how to maneuver our way around town using the MRT.  We spent the day running around Little India exploring temples, Chinatown checking out the market, and went on an expedition to find the Henderson Wave Bridge.  We made a special stop at the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple which not only had an entire floor dedicated to teaching visitors about the history and life of Buddha, but it also houses what is believed to be the sacred tooth of the Buddha.  **Sidenote: Did you know Buddha was conceived by a white elephant holding a lotus flower in its trunk entering his mothers womb? And that at birth, Buddha took seven steps in each of the four directions (East, South, West and North) and that lotus flowers appeared with every step? Learning something new every day..**  

That evening, we found ourselves being the only westerns exploring a Chinese food court where all eyes were on us, and ultimately decided on getting some Indian food from a different street.. the first time I've EVER had Indian food and I loved it!  I didn't know what any of the dishes were but I told the man I just wanted veggie dishes and not spicy and he handed me a plate.  After, we took a good look at the night life around Clarke Quay right on the Singapore River.  So turned off by the high price for drinks (around 15 US dollars which is nearly 500 Thai baht!), we decided to slightly splurge for ice cream instead.. chocolate ice cream with cookie dough, the first time I've had cookie dough in a year! Back home, cookie dough is probably one of my five basic food groups!  We had our bus tickets booked to head to Kuala Lumpur early the next morning and after scoping out the various restaurants, bars, light up fountains, the reverse bungee ride, and city lights that the area has to offer, we walked back to Pillows and Toast so we were rested up for Malaysia! 

Singapore was never too high on my list of places to go while I was in Thailand, but when I began brainstorming on ideas of where to go for this break, I figured since Singapore doesn't require a visa fee and it was convenient to fly to, I may as well make the stop!  After I bought my Singapore and Malaysia Lonely Planet and began looking into things to do, I was SO excited to visit Singapore!  Its an extremely unique place; one degree above the equator, Singapore is a country and city all on one island! Singapore's first language is English but is a place where so many different cultures come together. What I was most excited for though was that Singapore is a first world country! That means clean, no stray dogs, clean drinking water from faucets, trash in trashcans instead of in the streets.. everything I miss about living in a first world country!  Singapore even goes as far as to fine those who bring chewing gum into the country as well as those who jaywalk.  Good food, beautiful city, lots to do (including Sentosa Island which has a Wave House and Universal Studios, if we were ballers we would have gone there), (minus its SO expensive), I loved Singapore!

Henderson Wave Bridge

Little India