Singapore: Raffles, Marina Light & Laser Show, Hard Rock Cafe & Oceanarium!

So I am entering the last day of Singapore tomorrow! Yesterday, I spent the day on the bus tour taking in some of the areas I hadn't got to visit yet. On the way, I stopped off at the famous Raffles Hotel :) I didn't have a Singapore Sling as the prices are quite hefty and I've heard it's pretty horrible! I instead had lunch there in the bakery which was really posh... I was asked if I wanted a newspaper... very formal! The hotel itself is quite unique in it's look, and it appears modern despite it being very old. The tour said it cost 400$ US dollars a night!

I then went to 'Merlion Park' which is a very touristy area with the famous Lion Statue shooting water into the Singapore River. The views here were incredible... Probably the best I've seen so far this trip! Here's a couple of pictures :

Yesterday evening I went to see the Marina Bay water and light show. This was amazing and potentially better than the Burj show in Dubai! They spray up a cloud of mist which then has images and lasers projected onto it. It was really clever and fascinating to watch. There was fire balls, water shoots, bubbles, fireworks... really worth seeing! I also ate a Nanyang Nasi Lemak which is a signature Singapore dish with rice, fried chicken and finish with a spicy paste. Probably the best thing I've eaten so far, it was so so good!

So today I decided I would head back to Sentosa Island as I didn't get to see it all the other night... Like I said I couldn't resist going to Hard Rock Cafe :) Had a bbq pulled pork sandwich :) I always love it in there, they had Beatles vinyls and pictures of Nirvana, Gwen Stefani and Guns n Roses amongst others :) They played Coldplay, Jamiroquai and Arctic Monkeys which I was very happy about being probably the only English person in there!

Walking up and down the island was seriously wearing me out (very hot again today), so I decided to part some cash and go into the Oceanarium/Aquarium, which is officially the biggest in the world! It was seriously cool and made Bournemouth's look stupid! Being in Asia I obviously saw fish from the Pacific Ocean and the Arabian Sea rather than the usual Atlantic stuff I have seen before. It took you from the smallest of fish to the larger ones, then stingrays, crabs and sea-horses, starfish (which I actually got to touch in one area), jellyfish (still the weirdest!) and then finally sharks... It built you up to the sharks at the end with them being the last things you see before leaving. The place was heaving but it's a great place to visit. The whole aquarium is surrounded by an 'open ocean' giving the fish masses of space to roam wherever they like. Really quite unique :)

So tomorrow is my last day! In my room of 6, I have just been joined by 5 chinese girls after everyone else moved out! Ha! I fly on Tuesday to Hong Kong so I am getting myself ready for that... Not long and I'll be settled in Australia where I stay for nearly 2 weeks, before starting the very slow journey towards home! I would have to say Singapore and Dubai is too close to call. Singapore slightly just edges it for me; simply because it's more cultured and there is slightly more to see that interests me. I like the idea of an urban city but also one that boasts lush green landscapes like Singapore does. It is probably the prettiest place I have ever been and certainly the cleanest. Yesterday a young child in a pram dropped there plastic spoon for their ice cream. Without knowing, their parents carried on down the street. Only one person passed before a local man, who looked in his 60s bent down and put it into the bin. They have a level of care and respect that is beyond our realms. Very telling...