Traipsing in Singapore: Part 1

Flower Dome, Gardens by the Bay

Singapore may be a lot of things, but it definitely is not boring. One can do and explore so many things in this tiny island-country. Let me share with you what I and my gang did when we went to Singapore a few months back.

Singapore's Changi International Airport is very tourist-friendly, especially to first-time tourists. There are big signboards in English everywhere. There is free wifi and there are surfing stations which anyone can use. The airport itself is pretty big and they can afford staging exhibits to entertain visitors or travelers. When we arrived, there was an exhibit about the Porcelain Trading History of Singapore.

Singapore's transport system is super efficient, everything is interconnected. We rode the train from the station inside the airport and did not get lost (thank heavens!) because of the large and numerous signs everywhere. We arrived at Bugis Station, which was connected to a mall where we had lunch.

Noodle lunch for 3 Singaporean dollars each

Everything is super spicy!

And then just as we were about to leave the mall we saw this:

Hilarity ensues!

We checked-in at Backpacker Cozy Corner Guesthouse and were lucky to have had a room-for-four all to ourselves. It's a dormitory-type guesthouse and strangers sharing rooms, toilets, and washrooms is a common sight. We rested for a little bit and in the late afternoon we wandered around the area. The old colonial houses were a treat to the eyes.

There were a lot of hole-in-the-wall shops and restaurants with cute interior/exterior designs and decorations we could not resist taking pictures:

We walked further down the road and reached the famous Raffles Hotel.

Old-world Charm

There were shops and restaurants across the Hotel. Owners reside just above their shops.

We walked further and passed by this memorial spire for the victims of the Japanese Occupation during WWII:

We were already tired but we had a glimpse of two Singapore landmarks and got excited to walk some more.

Finally:

The Singapore Flyer is actually a restaurant. It rotates very slowly. A full rotation takes about 60 minutes which would give the diners time to eat properly and at the same time take in the 360-degree view of downtown Singapore!

From where we sat, we could see Marina Bay, home of Singapore's Gardens by the Bay (Flower Dome and The Supertree Grove) and the Marina Bay Sands Hotel and Casino.

And yes, we walked!

You can walk up the man-made tree towers, there are restaurants in some of the 'trunks'. The trees are connected by a bridge so you can walk from one tree to the next. The giant trees experience was both awesome and post-apocalypse-freaky for us.

After going around the area, we decided to go back to our hotel. It was almost dinner time. Since we didn't know how to go back to our hotel via public transport and there were no taxis in sight, we decided to walk again! The way back was harder since we were already tired and hungry. 

The black line marks our walking adventure

I'd say we walked at least 40 kilometers back and forth. We ate at the Indian restaurant beside the hotel and bunked down immediately after.