Singapore at a glance

From the moment I got on the Tiger Airways plane bound for Singapore (my first trip to the island by the way), I knew that it was all going be so much different. Even though this small-once-part-of-Malaysia-now-a-fully-developed-country was approx 350km or 45 minutes of flight away, nearly every single bit of it was different from our country. And it was just separated from us by a strait.

And I was not wrong about it. There I was sitting in the plane beside two Singaporean girls busy chit-chatting among each other. Didn't mean to eavesdrop but just that their small little chat seems a little more interesting than the average random stranger chat you hear while in the bus or on the subway. From the Christian vs non-Christian relationship to the hot hairdresser at Toni & Guy and to everything under the moon. And it struck me, how perfectly tuned were their English.

Touchdown at the airport, hoped on a taxi driven by Chiew Yee's uncle and we were whisked to the apartment block we were staying. Along the highway, we were greeted by the many apartment & flat blocks towering the landscape. Lesser traffic somehow, probably it was still early. And nope you don't see any Protons or Perodua's on the highway. Haha. The Singapore-state-of-mind I guess.

And behold the sparkling cleanliness everywhere. No dirty rubbish strewn alley of a coffee shop. Rubbish bins aplenty mind you. Even at the bus hub, there's no black speck or patches of black oil stains on the roads of the bus parkings commonly seen here. And I found out why. When we were waiting for the bus late at night when the stations were about to close, we see the workers using water sprays to clean the roads and curbside. And this was at a neighborhood area, we're not talking about the city streets yet.

Since we were staying at the neighborhood area instead of the regular hotel, we could observe what the people here do daily. Most of them here walk and take the bus. Some cycle. And if they wanted to go downtown, they take the MRT. Hardly you see cars though. And everything less bustled somehow. At night its also a different sight. You see people jogging or just walking around the park. A couple was seen pushing their baby in the pram. Two friends walking their dogs. Girls wearing shorts and skirts walking along the road minding their own business. All this at 12 something in the middle of the night.

Which makes me wonder, is it really that safe out here? Till I saw a banner hung across the bus stop; "Even though the crime rates are low, it doesn't mean that it's safe. Be on your guard always" Back in Malaysia, can we even be that confident to say that crime rates are low? Haha.

Efficiency is the key. Everything is so much integrated. Especially the MRT system they have. Damn punctual and fast. And there's no need of buying tickets over the counters, thanks to the GTM (general ticketing machines) they have at each stations. Heck, even the escalators are fast. Min & Chiew Yee nearly fell because of it. Haha. And boarding the bus, we noticed that we were the only ones using cash. Everyone is using the EZlink card.

The people? Strange, but they all somehow appeared more tan. Haha. And they certainly know how to dress. Plenty of chicks I must say, which makes it a glorious sighting at each corner. LoL. But hey, that's a superficial assessment though. =p Doesn't mean that Malaysia doesn't have hot chicks. Maybe because part of the reason is that all the people are concentrated in that small island?

Anyway, here is it, 2 days in Singapore in 20 pictures:

#1 Flats and highrise apartments everywhere.

#2. Stayed in somewhere in an apartment at Hougang. It's actually quite huge inside compared to the outside.

#3. Hanged out on the roof of Vivo City with my travel companions, Jin, Min & Chiew Yee.

#4. After which took the monorail to Sentosa island. Camwhored like mad.

#5 Took some attractions' package which offered a 4D cinematic experience among them

#6 Went luging for the first time. Fun. It was like go-carting downhill.

#7 Took a skyride. And it rained halfway through. Saw awesome views of the island and the sea.

#8 Did plenty of funny & stupid stuff all the way. Haha.

#9 Walked down along Siloso beach. Saw people trying to surf the artificial wave pool at some surfhouse. Some failed miserably. But we were there to people watch actually. =p

#10 Headed down to Orchard at night. Admired the Christmas & New Year decorations...and the crowd as well.

#11 Day 2: Found the cheapest shop in Singapore.

#12 Went to Little India. The girls went to get some henna art done.

#13 Bugis Street. Similar to Petaling Street...just that they had adult shops in the open.

#14 Lunch at Nanxiang Steamed Bun Restaurant.

#15 At the Esplanade. Saw many white colored balls floating at the bay. Found out they were for the countdown event later during the day.

#16 Went on the Singapore Flyer. Superb views of the city, sea, F1 track, buildings, etc...

#17 Aerial view 1

#18 Aerial view 2

#19 Supposed to head down to the Esplanade for the countdown. Took a wrong cut and ended up at the opposite end of Marina Bay. Walked all the way to the Padang and eventually saw the fireworks from there. Long crazy night

#20 After which we went straight to the airport...and did more funny stuff. =p

More pictures HERE (day 1) & HERE (day 2)