Yay for Singapore!

I think I just had one of the best weeks ever! My week in Singapore was just the best, all I hoped it would be and more!

I flew out the day I finished school, what a way to finish a hard years work. After I had cleared out my classroom Annalisa and I went out for an iced coffee to fill in a few hours before I took off. We chatted about the fun I was bound to have and she helped to sooth my nerves. I got home just in time to do a final check of my bags (had I filled them enough with stuff to load off on Si?) and then my lovely housemate, Jim, dropped me to Heathrow. No one could have wiped the smile off my face once I left that car and checked my bags in. I actually remember jumping to touch the ceiling of the passenger boarding bridge as I walked onto the plane. The people behind me must of thought I was a crazy woman. Oh, it was a great feeling and I cannot even begin to imagine how big my smile will be and how high I will jump when I get on that plane back to Wellys.

The flight was pleasant enough and I managed to sleep a bit. I arrived in Singapore about an hour before Si so had time to change into a cute little dress I had picked up in a London market weeks before for that very occasion. The night before Holly, my housemate, had painted my nails to match my dress. Hehe so with my matching dress, nails and lip gloss I was ready. I am getting teary thinking about when I saw him for the first time, I was overwhelmed with joy and could not have been happier. The taxi ride to the hotel I couldn't stop staring at him, was a dream come true. After we checked in we went down to the food court to get some food and went for a walk around the neighbourhood taking in the sights and smells. We came across a table tennis club where we watched some old guys battle it out.   I'm sure if Si wasn't so tired from the flight he'd have got involved in one of the games.

We decided to walk to Orchard Road the next morning and have a look around some of Singapore's famous malls. It was a pleasant enough walk in the morning but if we had of left it any later the heat would have been unbearable. I was lucky because of the heatwave I had just experienced in England so was kind of used to the heat but still found it hard because of the humidity. Poor Si did not cope so well and we had to find refuge in the malls with their air-conditioning. The shops were impressive and there were some good sales. Si picked up a pair of cool shoes and a top. We decided to catch a taxi back to the hotel (a very wise idea) and made some plans for that night and the next day. The Night Safari was something we both wanted to do but we were really treated to something special when we booked through the hotel and were introduced to our tour guide, Peter. Peter was a Singaporean and had a great sense of humour. He had us both in fits of laughter from his very first joke saying that we were on a karaoke bus trip. Awkward jokes aside he actually gave us a lot of background information about the development of Singapore and its history. A highlight of the bus trip was when he pulled out a glow in the dark hand clapper, this was his way to get our attention in the crowds of people at the Night Safari. I laughed out loud when we got there and had a toilet stop to come out and find Si holding this clapper above his head, Peter had entrusted him with a very important job.

First pic together in a while :)

The line to get on our tram took quite a while but the wait was pleasant enough with the fans blasting down on us. Unfortunately I couldn't get any photos of the tram ride because flash photography can scare the animals. I thought it was a great concept because the animals seem to be in pretty natural habitats with no fences or anything and your tram passes very close by them. We both noted that at times it was very close to the animals and how could they be so well trained to just keep on with their business and not attack the people in the trams. Highlights for me were the hyenas,  giraffes, Asian elephants, hippos and the rhinos. It was a great way to see them all relaxing back in the tram, much more appealing than walking around the zoo in the heat of the day. When the tram ride finished we had a spare 45 mins so did one of the walks, this caused us to jump a few times because hearing things rustling in the pitch black is quite scary. It was a very enjoyable night.

We had to get up early the next morning to catch a bus to UNIVERSAL STUDIOS! I had never been to a theme park this big before so was pretty excited, actually we were both very excited. My parents had given us advice on the best rides so as soon as we were through the gate we headed straight to the much talked about Transformers ride. The wait time was 40 mins but we figured it would be best to do it first thing before lines got too crazy. I can see why this is my dad's favourite ride, it was AMAZING! It was a 3D motion ride and made you feel like you were right in the middle of a Transformers movie, very impressive. It was so good that we went on it another two times later that day. The Mummy ride was also a highlight, especially the 6 little Asian girls crying their eyes out the whole time and the Asian man turning around to us at the end saying, 'It's over, so soon?' We would have loved to do that ride again too but by the time we got back there it had closed up for the day. I think that day may have been the hottest day we had there and in the middle of the day it was unbearable. We quickly decided that lining up for average rides was better than sitting around because at least the lines were in the shade.

Getting excited!

Optimus Prime!

In the Hollywood Street

Clever me! I got a rain coat to protect me from the water in the Jurassic Park ride 

We will even ride a Sesame Street ride to get out of the sunshine

Nice shot!

At about 3 we decided to go explore Sentosa Island a bit. One place we ended up in was an incredible but overpriced candy store. A small pick'n'mix cost a huge $4.20! We ended up down by the beaches but it was just too hot though so we ended up in Vivo City mall to take advantage of the air-conditioned space. After that we went back to Universal Studios to catch a few more rides before our bus ride back. A tiring but great day!

Love this shot!

Not many lollies for that price!

A visit to Chinatown and the National Orchid Garden were what filled up our next day. This was also the first time we used the MRT, Singapore's underground system. Once we had the map it was very easy to manoeuvre around. Chinatown was a lot of fun but there A LOT of intense smells that I don't think Si enjoyed too much. We had a very nice order your own yum cha and Si happened to come across some games of checkers which he enjoyed watching. It was great to observe the banter from the onlookers after various plays were made. Of course we couldn't understand anything they were saying but they were so animated it was great to watch.

Chinatown!

Intense checkers action!

Not surprising he lost in the end - he clearly wasn't paying enough attention!

I think it is fair to say that I appreciated the Botanical Gardens and the National Orchid Garden slightly more than Si... He willingly came along though and posed for some great pics! I thought it was really beautiful.

Nature shot 1

Nature shot 2

He's loving it!

Nice orchids there

Oh, would you look at those!

:)

A friend of mine had recommended a day trip to Pulau Ubin, a small island just off the coast of Singapore, so that was our outing for the next day. When we got there we hired some bikes and went exploring around the island. It was nice to be out of the hustle and bustle of the city, a scorching day but the heat didn't seem to effect us so much out there. As we were cycling along Si spotted an iguana in a swamp and some monkeys. We also got up close and personal with some pigs. We left our bikes for a bit and went on a boardwalk through the wetland and along the shore, it was stunning. We had great fun and I would highly recommend the trip out to Pulau Ubin. There's also a great spot to get food back at the ferry terminal, we were both fed for $6!

The start of the ride

Wild piggies!

Family!

It was heating up!

Great views

On the boardwalk

Along the track

Cup handles - genius!

Mmmmm yummy!

Our time at V Lavender Hotel was over and the time had come to move to a new part of town and live the high life for one night of our lives. For an early birthday present my parents got  me a night at Marina Bay Sands and what a spot it was! The roo would have easily bBreen 3x the size of our last one and we were on the 50th floor looking out to an amazing sea view.

View from the garden

View from our room, pretty amazing!

Si on the balcony

A few floors above was the famous Infinity Pool, you know the roof top pool that overlooks all of Singapore?!? Wow, wow, WOW! What a view! After a swim we went an explored the mall, the Egyptian exhibition at the museum and walked around the amazing gardens. We filled I  our time well and for this one night lived the high life of cocktails and expensive meals. I can't thank my parents enough for their gift!

The Infinity Pool

Looking out over Singapore

In the gardens

This building is the museum - impressive ha?

Pretty!

Check out wasn't until 11 so we sayed in our room with a view until the last possible moment. We left our bags at the hotel and spent our last day together popping in and out of the casino, walking around the mall and sitting around chatting and enjoying each others company.

Saying goodbye this time may have been harder than the first time but I won't say anymore about that because I will start crying again. No more hard airport goodbyes for me I've decided. I have had enough to last me a good long while now.

Thank you Si for the best week! I will never forget it and am even more excited about coming back home now!

Perfect timing, I just touched down in England and looks like the heatwave has gone and it is back to the traditional cloudy, grey, English summer... At least I only have 4 days of it before I am off adventuring again.

Next stop Prague!