Our first flight with Jetstar was from Christchurch to Melbourne and was really bad, no free food or drinks or anything! Our second flight to Singapore from Cairns (via Darwin) was much better. We had two meals, drinks and a cushion for your neck so you actually sleep in (relative) comfort. We arrived at Singapore airport late in the evening, the place is huge and spotless. The toilets were more like 5 star hotel toilets and there are foot massage machines everywhere. We decided to go to the YMCA hostel as it was not that expensive and has pool gym and other good facilities which would be good for our bodies after lots of manic partying in Cairns. There was a free sky train (monorail) from the airport to the tube (MRT) station where we caught the MRT to Orchard Road where the hostel was.
As we exited Orchard Rd MRT stop we left the air conditioning for the first time since stepping off the plane and were greeted with an immense wave of heat and humidity. It was a shock considering it was 9pm and pretty amusing as we hadn't realised what the weather was like despite being in Singapore for over an hour. We started the walk to the hostel and it turned out Orchard Road is really, really long and the hotel is number 1! We walked for miles back past two tube stops we went through earlier trekking in the boiling heat with all our packs on and were dripping with sweat in seconds. We found the hostel had no space in dorms (which were twice price guidebook suggested) and the cheapest room available was 210 Singapore dollars (roughly 75 pounds)! Luckily we bumped into two guys who had had a similar problem the night before and they told us about a cheap hostel (which they would move to the following night) in the Little India area. So off we trekked again and finally got in there about 10pm and just crashed out as we were shattered!
We went exploring the city on our first full day and the place is immaculate! It was really nice to be in such a clean place. We had a look around the harbour area and went on the Singapore Flyer (their version of the London Eye) which is the world's largest observation wheel. The views were really good, there were so many construction sites though. New residential areas were being built including a huge one overlooking the harbour. There was a really nice golf course which was flood lit for night time rounds of golf, also, there is a floating platform in the harbour which has a large seated stand overlooking it. Sometimes there is a football pitch on the platform, when we were there it was a huge stage for some music as there was a water festival on that month. Check out the pictures.
After getting off the wheel we went to see the Merlion Statue, which is a cross between a lion and a dragon. We then headed to Lau Pau Sat Festival Market which is a huge indoor food market. It wasn't quite as we expected but the food was so good and really cheap. There was loads of small venders down little isles all serving different cuisines. There was even a western stand, which happened to have no one buying anything when we went past it!
After lunch we went to Changi Chapel and Museum. The museum is dedicated to Singapore's history during the Second World War. We spent a couple of hours looking at the exhibits which included lots of artifacts donated from POWs. We were feeling pretty tired after the Museum as it had been a long day and it is so so hot in Singapore, so we headed back to our hostel in Little India and went for a really good and really cheap curry. We then went back to the waterfront for some beers. There are loads of bars and restaurants lining the river and the place was absolutely heaving and there were people flying remote control kites (yes... kites) which had neon lites on which made for a cool backdrop. If you don't believe me visit www.goflykite.com! Drinks on the waterfront were ridiculously expensive though, it worked out about four pounds a pint!
On our final day in Singapore we booked a ticket on the night train to Kuala Lumpur then went to the shops! Orchard Rd is jam packed full with shopping malls. Literally every other huge building is a mall and some are over 10 story's high. It would take you years to go in every shop! There were so many shops selling massage chairs and equipment, so naturally I sat in one of the chairs for ten minutes to see if it worked! It did!
After walking the length of Orchard Rd again we went back for another curry in Little India this time at a slightly more expensive place. It was about twice the price (but not twice as good). We didn't have plates... you ate off banana leaves! It was then a mad dash to get to the station in time for immigration before the train. We made it no problems and after filling in the relevant forms we got on the train and into our beds! It seemed quite cool when we got on as there was some sort of air conditioning but when we finally got moving over half an hour late it got hotter! So it was a pretty uncomfortable night and we arrived an hour latein Kuala Lumpur!
