New friends, new country
As we made our final approach into Singapore, the harbor lay littered with cargo ships of all size. An oil tanker steamed southwest while the rest lay in wait of new orders. The city of 5.4 million stretched to the edge of the clouds. One of the richest cities on earth, Singapore is home to more millionaires than any other. It’s airport Changi International is a miniature city unto itself. Considered by many to be the best airport on earth, it contains day spas, cubicle beds for rent, koi ponds, and a butterfly garden. The whole city is a shock to the senses especially when arriving from somewhere subdued like I did coming from rural Australia.
In my original itinerary for my round the world adventure, I had no plans to visit this tiny city state, but the spontaneous nature of my trip allows for such last minute changes. While I was in Australia, I had the pleasure of spending 3 days and 2 nights on a wonderful liveaboard dive boat. While cruising the Great Barrier Reef and Whitsunday Islands, I got to know the dive master and his mom who was also a passenger on my particular trip. She invited me to Singapore in exchange for some photography lessons and help with IT work, and the rest is history. Thank you so much to my new friends for hosting me!
Where the hell am I?
Singapore was my first ever visit to Asia and my sixth continent overall – only Antarctica left! As my friend said, “Singapore is not really Asia.” So I figured it would be a training-wheels week before dropping into a crazy city like Bangkok.
Well much to my dismay, I got really lost for the first time in 3 months. I couldn’t find a SIM card vendor at the super airport and so I had no data connection after leaving the terminal. I had preloaded my friend’s address into Google Maps and the local subway iPhone app, but both somehow reset once I was out in the city – shit. So I then thought, “no problem, it’ll be easy to find a cell phone store or 7-11 to buy a SIM card. This is Asia, everyone has a smartphone.”
But after 1 hour of carrying my heavy bags through countless malls (there are 25 in the city!) and being told that no one has any cards in stock, I gave up. I didn’t need cell data to survive, but I did need to figure out where my friend’s house was. Oh and holy hell why is it so hot in Singapore!? Every store, mall, and subway station has their A/C units cranking out cold air in vain attempts to beat back the 100 degree-plus weather.
But back to my personal crisis, I finally found a Samsung store with free wifi (yes Apple friends, I cheated), and loaded up her address. Mercifully, it was less than a mile away and I trudged off.
City of Wonders
One of the most impressive things about this miniature country, is the wealth and breadth of the food, culture, and architecture to be found here. Oftentimes people talk about what you can’t do in Singapore like spit, chew gum, or others and not what an amazing array of things you can do. Do you love shopping? Check out Marina Bay Sands and Orchard Road. Love the great outdoors? Try the Botanic Gardens for the world’s largest collection of orchid species. Foodie? The city has a wealth of options from Little India, traditional Singaporean and other Asian food at hawker centres, to super high end celebrity chef restaurants around Marina Bay.
I personally checked out and spent the most time around Marina Bay. The mega hotel looks like a huge yacht perched atop three towers and houses the world’s largest infinity pool on the 50th floor. I’ll have to head to the roof on my next visit, but just viewing the structure from inside and the ground floor is breathtaking. Twice every night the hotel hosts a laser light show out over the bay that is second to none. Get your prime viewing spot across from the hotel before the 8pm or 930pm start times.
Inside the buildings is a mall that would make Donald Trump blush. The tenants are the who’s who of extreme high end fashion and home furnishings. The walls and ceiling are gold leaf or painted to look it and the floor a dark reflective marble. An art gallery and casino fill additional wings to cater to the high-end clientele. And perhaps the most impressive is the canal running through the center of the concourse plied by gondoliers ferrying shoppers from one end of the hall to the other.
