After several months of planning our “spring break” trip Rachel and I finally began the trek to Singapore. With only our small backpacks, limited funds, and empty memory cards for our camera we loaded a bus in Cheongju and headed off to Seoul. Like most bus trips in South Korea it took longer than it should and the heater was on full blast the entire 4+ hours.
After a night in a rather simple hotel by the airport we departed at 8am and boarded the AirAsia flight to Kuala Lumpur. Seoul to Kuala Lumpur is a staggeringly long flight at over 7 hours long. Normally on a flight of this length you would receive drinks, food and most likely several movies. Well we chose the most budget conscious airliner in all of SE Asia so we spent 7 hours packed like cattle into tiny seats, had to pay for a small glass of water and were not even offered any entertainment options. With sore knees and backs we landed in Kuala Lumpur and began our 5 hour layover. We were not aware that AirAsia has there own airport in Kuala Lumpur and it has just as many frills as the airplanes. 16 gates, 1 noodle stand and a duty free store the size of Russia. We spent the majority of our time laughing at the other tourists roaming the airport and eating Uncle D’s noodles. The 45 minute flight to Singapore passed without issue and we had finally touched down after 12+ hours in Singapore.Our first night in Singapore was rather uneventful. We loaded up in an airport shuttle and were taken to our hotel where we quickly crashed.
Day 2
Early the next morning we went to a great pancake restaurant where we stuffed our faces and enjoyed catching up with our friends Andrew and Daphne. With full stomachs and smiles on our faces we set off to explore “the cleanest city in the world”. Singapore is a city that is supported by fines and severe punishment. As a result is has emerged as the most beautiful, modern, and clean city in the world. We started our day off with a walk across this pristine country…ok not quite all the way but close to half. On our journey we stumbled upon colonial looking churches and government buildings, shopping and restaurants quietly tucked along river canals and some of the best looking street food my eyes have seen. We shopped, took pictures and walked until late in the afternoon at which point Rachel and I split ways with Andrew and Daphne. We headed off to go on a DuckTour.
Singapore’s DuckTour was a really great experience. We were able to see the skyline from the water and learn about the history of most buildings from the canals as well as driving through the heart of the city. We captured some great photos and pin-pointed locations that we would like to walk to after our tour was up. Our first stop, post tour, was the double helix bridge. Singapore has a bridge that was designed to mimic the DNA strand and is a really unique architectural feat. We then sat and relaxed under a lotus flower shaped museum and watched the sunset.
After a beautiful sunset we headed to the Singapore Flyer which is the worlds largest ferris wheel and stands at 541 feet tall. We purchased tickets for later in the night an then headed to a hawker stand are for dinner. The hawker stands are mini-restaurants that serve a variety of different foods. We once again stuffed our faces and headed back to take a 37 minute ride around the flyer. The view from 42 stories high was breath-taking and terrifying all at the same time. We got our feet back onto solid ground and walked with Andrew and Daphne for at least 2 miles through Singapore back towards our hotel for the evening.
After walking around for 14 hours on our first day in Singapore we were rather tired the morning of day 2. We took our time waking up and getting around and eventually headed for the Singapore Botanical Gardens. Since Rachel and I love gardens and plants it was a perfect way to spend the day. We lazily wandered through massive gardens. I think a few choice pictures will do much more justice than my words ever could.
After taking several hundred pictures of flowers we hopped back on the subway to do some souvenir shopping and eating in Chinatown. Singapore’s Chinatown is much like Chinatowns worldwide. They had an impressive selection of knock off items and trinkets that the average person will never use but “must have”. We carefully selected gaudy things that family and friends will certainly love and decided it was time to sit down for a break. We found ourselves relaxing in a food stall sitting next to the Singaporean ghetto version of Wayne Newton. It provided us a lot of entertainment to watch him polish his gold glasses and make sure his overly waxed hairdo stayed in place. After two long days of walking and shopping in the sun we decided to head to our hotel for the night. We had to change from our cozy hotel in Chinatown to one closer to the airport for our last night. By the time our subway got to the exit of our next hotel the sun was setting. Apparently it is a lie that Singapore is the most beautiful city in the world because we stepped off the subway into the dirtiest, smelliest red light district I have ever seen. Not that I have an impressive repertoire with those parts of town…Anyways, Rachel and I quickly walked 15 blocks of horror through the wonderful part streets of Singapore before finding ourselves at our hotel. We were so excited to get inside and relax. But then we got inside. The loud bass from the disco club below was quickly put into the back of our minds when the smell of musty libraries hit our noses. Apparently our budget hotel was offsetting costs by doing mold growing science experiments on the walls. Needless to say, we just closed our eyes and tried to fall asleep quickly until morning time.
A night in funky town and we were up and out of there early in the morning. We got to the airport early, checked out the butterfly garden (yes! There is a butterfly garden in the airport), ate baguette pizzas, and prepared ourselves for the craziness that Bangkok was about to offer us.If you would like to see more pictures from our trip visit Luke's Facebook page or follow this link Garden City
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