Firstly, my first experience with Singapore Airlines was a good one...They are different to Virgin. Bit posher and luxurious... Leg room, food etc was that little bit better. The air hostess' wore a long asian type dress which was different! I took the metro straight from the airport to my hostel to drop off my bag. I saw similar things to what I saw in Dubai first up. Tall buildings, greener areas, parks, museums, shopping centers... In may ways I would say they are similar but in many they are totally different. As soon as I stepped outside it hit me. The heat and the humidity. It was energy zapping. It was like there's no air to breathe, it can be quite hard to deal with at times (me overexaggerating). After wondering around my hostel area, I dragged myself (quite literally) back onto the tube and to the Marina Bay area which is relatively new to Singapore with it's quirky hotel and shopping mall..
Here is the shopping mall and the hotel:
What you are seeing there is the Marina Bay Sands Hotel Skypark which is a boat shaped infinity pool at the top. The highest in the world (surprisingly not Dubai)... Then the Marina Bay Mall connected to it which has a lake and a fountain inside, as well as a gondola which can take you round.. Crazy!
I then wondered round to the Singapore flyer which was about 500m away. This is like the London eye but taller. You get amazing views of Singapore, you can literally see everything. In many ways this was better than the Burj because you could make out landmarks easier :) Here's a couple of pictures including something you've all been waiting for (you really haven't)
You''ll have to forgive the cringy classic 10 second timer shot and I had the whole carriage to myself! Also, I was close to crumbling of exhaustion and this point! Now I don't want to get all Michael Palin on you but Dubai was a place where eastern and western cultures met. Probably why it's the most likely destination for a terrorist attack now.. Singapore from what I've seen is more of a mixing pot of Asian cultures. This evening I went to Chinatown, Little India and also an area full of Japanese foods. The people range too with a vast number of different nationalities settling here. Dubai was purely UAE nationals apart from Businessmen.
Now to stop the formal tone, I have also noticed a few other useless bits of information. The 7 eleven convenience stores are EVERYWHERE. Nearly every single girl here wears short shorts. Like really short. Not that I was looking ha! Something that caught my eye. Also, Eating out is expensive. On top of normal price, a 10% service charge and 7% singapore government tax is put on top! And the best of all..they have an official 'Tintin shop' with old memorabilia and models!
So one week in now and it's been great! I do get a little lonely sometimes, it's hard not speaking to the people I usually do everyday. I miss not talking..or interactions... All I do is talk to my head which is a weird concept..and tiring after time! I had a good conversation earlier though with a chinese man who was trying to sell me my name engraved in chinese on a plank of wood for £75. No thanks mate.
