Singapore is so clean!! They are not allowed to eat on the MRT and chewing gum is illegal. There are major fines. They really want to keep this city clean. It really is nice to go from Jakarta to fresh air and even greens. You could see the sky at night clearly with stars and the moon. Normally in Jakarta it is too hazy that you can't see anything. I wish Jakarta was the same. At least Singapore is close enough, that I can go there to breathe some fresh air every once in awhile.
Thank goodness for the MRT! It is so much better than trying to get around in Jakarta. Usually you are stuck in Jakarta traffic for 2 hours before you get anywhere. I wish they would just build one here. It would make everyone's lives a bit easier, and you would definitely get where you are going much faster. Maybe it would help with a lot of the air pollution here too. We took the MRT to the Lavender stop on the Green Line and walked about 8 min to our hostel on Lavender Street.
When we got there, we had to stand in front of a camera and a guy buzzed us in. That was something I hadn't really seen before. When we got to the top of the stairs, there was a man sitting at his desk, but it sounded like there were a bunch of people like a dorm. I wasn't sure we were going the right way. He checked us in and showed us our room. There was a guy sitting next to us that was just passed out in the chair. I think he may have been up all night working the desk the night before or something. I'm not really sure. Otherwise, I am thinking that he may have been drunk. Haha.
It was pretty late and there were other girls sleeping in our room when we got there, so we tried to get settled in as quietly as we could. We went out in the common area and used the computers and logged onto the wifi on our phones. I noticed that the guy that was working the front desk kept getting up from his chair and going over to the fridge. He was drinking liquor straight out of the bottle!! No wonder he was acting strange when we first got there. I didn't know what we were getting ourselves into, but oh well. It was a place to sleep and that's all we needed.
The next morning, we woke up around 9 am and started our day. They offered free breakfast of toast with jam, so we took advantage of that. Danna actually had a doctor's appointment that day, so we didn't have much time to explore before that. We went to a store called Mustafa Singapore to look around. Little did we know that it had like 5 floors and 2 buildings! We would never get through the whole thing. We only had about 45 min to look around and then we had to find the nearest MRT station to make it to her appointment.
Of course, like in any hospital, they were running behind. We had to wait quite awhile before Danna even got in to see the doctor. I sat in the waiting room and used my iPod to look up directions to our next location. We were going to be meeting up with a friend (Mildred) that used to work at Bina Bangsa School with us, so we didn't have a lot of time after the appointment. We decided to go to Little India to get some lunch.
We walked around for awhile and tried to find a good restaurant to get some food. We found a place that looked pretty busy. That is usually a good sign if there are a lot of people eating there. After we were seated, I started looking around and saw that everyone was eating with their hands. I just looked at Danna and was like, "Uh....I think there isn't any silverware here. Everyone is eating with their hands...." The waiter took our order and thankfully, he brought us some silverware right after. Haha. I was a bit relieved because I wasn't sure how I felt about scooping rice and curry with my hands. Anyway, the food was delicious!
After we ate, we walked around some more to try and find a place to buy some Indian clothes. Danna ended up buying one shirt and I didn't really find anything that jumped out at me. We decided we would have to go back the next day, because it was time to head to Chinatown to meet up with Mildred.
When we arrived, it didn't take long to find Mildred, because she ran up behind us and scared us! The lantern festival was going on in Chinatown, so Mildred walked us around and we got to see the beautiful lanterns hanging above the street. We decided to eat in Chinatown. We got a variety of dishes and shared with each other. I really like doing that, because then you get to try a lot of different types of food.
After we were done eating, we walked down by the water. We waited just long enough that we could hear the Grand Prix race starting. It was so loud! It was like we were right there. We walked even closer and we could see the tops of the racecars driving by on the track. Races don't usually peak my interest that much, but it was pretty cool to be so close at such a popular race.
We decided to go back to Mustafa and look around since it is open 24 hours. I found a backpack for travelling, which is what I really wanted for our October trip. I found one that fit me well and wasn't too bad for price. I also bought some other gifts for family and cockroach traps of course. Haha. That's where we get the good ones. This place had everything from electronics to food. I had never seen anything like it. It was like a huge department store with groceries and everything else you can think of all in one. It finally got to the point that we were so tired, and my feet were really hurting. We just had to get out of that store. Haha.
I slept much better the second night than the first night. The first night, it was so noisy in our room because it sounded like the window was open. The traffic was so loud! It also didn't seem very cool in there, even though the AC was on. I was sweating so bad the first night. The second night I switched and slept on the bottom bunk, and that seemed to be much better. I don't like climbing up and down from the top.
First stop on our last day in Singapore was Little India. I wanted to find a kurti that I really liked. I actually ended up buying two of them, and Danna bought another one. She had hers tailored and I also had one of mine done. They are beautiful shirts and the people that do the tailoring are so fast at it. After we left Little India, we decided that we should go and find something to eat. We walked to Orchard Road and we looked around. We found the mall that we were looking for and picked up a few things for teachers that asked us to get them things.
Then our search began for the Hard Rock Cafe. It was so close to the stop where we got off the MRT, but it took us forever to find it, because we walked the wrong direction. Instead of crossing the street, they actually have an underpass that you can take so it was a little confusing to us tourists. After a good 40 min of walking there, we finally found the place.
I decided after all of that, that I needed a drink. Danna and I both ordered a burger and we enjoyed some relaxing time at the restaurant. I bought a t-shirt from the store to add to my collection of other Hard Rock shirts. Hard Rock is always a little pricey, but you know they always have good food. I'm actually pretty excited to go to the new one in Jakarta (hopefully very soon!). As we were going out, we realised that they actually have a location in the airport so we could have just gone to that one. After all of that searching, and they have one at the airport....
After Hard Rock, we searched for the Funan Electronics mall. We hopped on the MRT, and took it to the nearest stop to the mall. City Hall was a zoo, because there were so many people watching the race. We finally got out of the crowd and into the mall. Danna was looking for a tablet to buy. After looking in a few stores, she found the one that she wanted. After that, we didn't really have that much time so we headed back to the Little Red Dot (our hostel).
We grabbed our bags and headed for the airport. Our flight was delayed by an hour so that gave us extra time to sit around in the airport. If you are going to have a delay or an overnight layover at any airport, I would want it to be in Singapore. That airport is amazing and has so much for you to do. There are so many shops and lots of restaurants that stay open 24 hours (including Subway!).
When we finally boarded the plane, I was pretty tired. I slept as soon as we took off until we landed. I really enjoyed my weekend away, and I can't wait to do it again! It was great to meet up with Mildred and I wish I would have been able to meet up with my friend too. Oh well, there is always next time. I will definitely be going back for a visit sometime in the spring.
The next morning, we woke up around 9 am and started our day. They offered free breakfast of toast with jam, so we took advantage of that. Danna actually had a doctor's appointment that day, so we didn't have much time to explore before that. We went to a store called Mustafa Singapore to look around. Little did we know that it had like 5 floors and 2 buildings! We would never get through the whole thing. We only had about 45 min to look around and then we had to find the nearest MRT station to make it to her appointment.
Of course, like in any hospital, they were running behind. We had to wait quite awhile before Danna even got in to see the doctor. I sat in the waiting room and used my iPod to look up directions to our next location. We were going to be meeting up with a friend (Mildred) that used to work at Bina Bangsa School with us, so we didn't have a lot of time after the appointment. We decided to go to Little India to get some lunch.
We walked around for awhile and tried to find a good restaurant to get some food. We found a place that looked pretty busy. That is usually a good sign if there are a lot of people eating there. After we were seated, I started looking around and saw that everyone was eating with their hands. I just looked at Danna and was like, "Uh....I think there isn't any silverware here. Everyone is eating with their hands...." The waiter took our order and thankfully, he brought us some silverware right after. Haha. I was a bit relieved because I wasn't sure how I felt about scooping rice and curry with my hands. Anyway, the food was delicious!
After we ate, we walked around some more to try and find a place to buy some Indian clothes. Danna ended up buying one shirt and I didn't really find anything that jumped out at me. We decided we would have to go back the next day, because it was time to head to Chinatown to meet up with Mildred.
When we arrived, it didn't take long to find Mildred, because she ran up behind us and scared us! The lantern festival was going on in Chinatown, so Mildred walked us around and we got to see the beautiful lanterns hanging above the street. We decided to eat in Chinatown. We got a variety of dishes and shared with each other. I really like doing that, because then you get to try a lot of different types of food.
After we were done eating, we walked down by the water. We waited just long enough that we could hear the Grand Prix race starting. It was so loud! It was like we were right there. We walked even closer and we could see the tops of the racecars driving by on the track. Races don't usually peak my interest that much, but it was pretty cool to be so close at such a popular race.
We decided to go back to Mustafa and look around since it is open 24 hours. I found a backpack for travelling, which is what I really wanted for our October trip. I found one that fit me well and wasn't too bad for price. I also bought some other gifts for family and cockroach traps of course. Haha. That's where we get the good ones. This place had everything from electronics to food. I had never seen anything like it. It was like a huge department store with groceries and everything else you can think of all in one. It finally got to the point that we were so tired, and my feet were really hurting. We just had to get out of that store. Haha.
I slept much better the second night than the first night. The first night, it was so noisy in our room because it sounded like the window was open. The traffic was so loud! It also didn't seem very cool in there, even though the AC was on. I was sweating so bad the first night. The second night I switched and slept on the bottom bunk, and that seemed to be much better. I don't like climbing up and down from the top.
First stop on our last day in Singapore was Little India. I wanted to find a kurti that I really liked. I actually ended up buying two of them, and Danna bought another one. She had hers tailored and I also had one of mine done. They are beautiful shirts and the people that do the tailoring are so fast at it. After we left Little India, we decided that we should go and find something to eat. We walked to Orchard Road and we looked around. We found the mall that we were looking for and picked up a few things for teachers that asked us to get them things.
Then our search began for the Hard Rock Cafe. It was so close to the stop where we got off the MRT, but it took us forever to find it, because we walked the wrong direction. Instead of crossing the street, they actually have an underpass that you can take so it was a little confusing to us tourists. After a good 40 min of walking there, we finally found the place.
I decided after all of that, that I needed a drink. Danna and I both ordered a burger and we enjoyed some relaxing time at the restaurant. I bought a t-shirt from the store to add to my collection of other Hard Rock shirts. Hard Rock is always a little pricey, but you know they always have good food. I'm actually pretty excited to go to the new one in Jakarta (hopefully very soon!). As we were going out, we realised that they actually have a location in the airport so we could have just gone to that one. After all of that searching, and they have one at the airport....
After Hard Rock, we searched for the Funan Electronics mall. We hopped on the MRT, and took it to the nearest stop to the mall. City Hall was a zoo, because there were so many people watching the race. We finally got out of the crowd and into the mall. Danna was looking for a tablet to buy. After looking in a few stores, she found the one that she wanted. After that, we didn't really have that much time so we headed back to the Little Red Dot (our hostel).
We grabbed our bags and headed for the airport. Our flight was delayed by an hour so that gave us extra time to sit around in the airport. If you are going to have a delay or an overnight layover at any airport, I would want it to be in Singapore. That airport is amazing and has so much for you to do. There are so many shops and lots of restaurants that stay open 24 hours (including Subway!).
When we finally boarded the plane, I was pretty tired. I slept as soon as we took off until we landed. I really enjoyed my weekend away, and I can't wait to do it again! It was great to meet up with Mildred and I wish I would have been able to meet up with my friend too. Oh well, there is always next time. I will definitely be going back for a visit sometime in the spring.
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