Merlion City of Singapore

In Feb 2018 I made a short weekend trip to Singapore. My good friend, Suko (Japanese) whom I first met during her coral propagation trainer course in Koh Tao, Thailand the year before has invited me over and offered her place for me to stay. I have always wanted to see this inspiring nation, perhaps because Brunei is oftentimes being compared to Singapore. It is of course, very wrong to agree to that comparison - there is not much similarity except for the bilateral currency (SGD 1 = BND 1); even this is sort of false because while we can use the physical notes of Singapore Dollars in Brunei, no one accepted my Brunei Dollars in Singapore.

I am very lucky to have met Suko and to stay at her place. She even let me use her travel card so that I could hop on to any public transport in Singapore (which is an excellent system btw). So I took a different route than normal to reach Singapore. I bought the cheap 7 hour ride bus from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore. It was comfortable, and the view is mostly (and sadly) palm oil plantation. When we arrived at the border, I remember the Singaporean immigration officer was being suspicious about my visit as it was my first entry and I was on my own. He could not accept the fact that a small, asian girl like me do solo travel and backpack alright! :p

But he let me go because I told him I have Suko waiting for me.

As the bus drove into the dropping off station (an old mall), we got to pass through the city and the famous Marina Bay Sands Hotel came to sight. IT WAS INCREDIBLE. It was huge, and the architecture is admirable. Super fancy and I pray that someday I will get the chance to at least stay a night there?

I managed to get my way around to Suko's apartment fairly easily. The fact that Singapore is small, you can even just walk to get to where you wanted or simply take the cheap public bus. I felt safe and this is a better feeling than my last port of embarkation - Kuala Lumpur. Suko's apartment has a very nice view and because the location is not in the centre, you can see this blue sky and she even has a pool! OMG.

When I travel I am not all that keen for the city-like attractions and I would rather choose gardens, caves, hikes over things such as Universal Studios, Sea world etc. So the first place that I visited is the Tiger Balm Garden. Took a short underground, bus and walk to get here but it was easy to get to. I enjoyed this so much, as there are over 1000 statues and 150 murals form the Chinese mythologies. The place was quiet so at times it can feel creepy especially in the 'after life' dungeon where they display decapitated heads, bodies on spikes, tortures etc in hell for those who has sinned. I was beyond impressed, loved the colours and stories displayed on the murals.. I could stay here all day and just walk through the whole place.

A visit here is like being in an open air art museum, while at the same time you are learning about the stories of each sculptures. The garden has spots for people to practice meditation, photography and still art painting. There is no entrance fee (surprise!) and some of the walkway is so creative that it will take you through like a journey such as pathway below the ground level etc.

This park is huge and you can put on your running shoes if you want; a perfect place for a jog here. There are lakes, swans and educational garden such as the evolution of the trees garden as it walks you through the big bang to now. This is how you create a park - there are different themes and plants from many parts of the world too. There is an open air amphitheatre for a small orchestra performance or concerts.

At the centre of the garden is the busiest, and restaurants are not cheap in here. So I packed my own sandwiches and sat on the ground enjoying my little picnic. :) The National Orchid Garden has a fee to enter but it is worth it. I never knew that Singapore is huge on hybrid of orchids, and even has a section inside where they specifically create a new orchid species for dignitaries - President Obama got an orchid named after him too! Gardening is a thing here. There are huge garden shops at the outskirt of the city.

I bought myself two cans of orchid biscuits for the family at home. They tastes so good! Almost like a tea-infused-biscuity taste with a sweet smell. Other than that, it was a very lovely walk around the garden. You won't notice that you are in Singapore as the garden will take you to a different feel.

That is the must selfie with the merlion! Me and Suko strolled along the beautiful Marina Bay Sands area.. a reclaimed land from marsh to something. Fancy restaurants and bars are all filled by the elite residents of Singapore, expats and tourists. There was a firework show too at the hotel / eye of Singapore side but you can see it well from this Merlion side too. It was Valentine's Day night so the streets were busy and we saw couples all dressed up with bouquet of flowers, and roses.

A good cocktail to try: Singapore Sling.

The business district of Singapore is lined with high rise buildings, and when we were there I think there were a few carnivals / lantern as it was for the celebration of Chinese New Years. Street food is awesome here and you could sit at the hawker stalls just enjoying the sunset behind the skyline. Again, I love the fact that Singapore is small so you can easily get around by walking! Pedestrian and cyclists have their own lanes too.

Lastly, I just want to point out how beautiful Garden by the Bay is!! OMG you will feel like you are in an avatar-ish world! Another multi-billion project just next to the hotel which I think is a completely unique experience. The walkway starts at the corner of the hotel, through the hotel so you will get a peek of what the inside lobby and rooms look like, overhanging bridge towards the garden and a long walk to enjoy the rest of the area. They have everything, even a restaurant up in the canopy walkway so you can enjoy your meals and drinks with such a fantastic view.

I love everything about this garden - the colours, the plants, the design, the arts and sculptures, the live orchestra that was on rehearsal at the time (I got to enjoy the music for free!) and there was a couple who did their proposal here! All the families and friends were there with their smiles and balloons. It was a joy to watch and be part of this awesome creation.. from nothing, to something. :)

I can safely say that, Singapore Airport is the best airport I ever been to! The first and foremost reason is because there is no noisy announcement, everything is only display on screen so it helps so much when you are trying to sleep! Secondly, every parts of the airport is covered with a little bit of green spaces and plants. It adds so much colour, fresh air and they even let a loop of bird noises, frogs and nature sound in this garden spaces to let you feel like you are actually outside.

There is plenty of art and sculptures, and activities to do at the airport too. The monorail connecting to various terminal is very quick and reliable. The check ins are easy and automated. Who needs to queue anymore? I love this!

If I can say one thing I hate about the airport is... the WIFI. They only allow a maximum of 3 hours use, then you will have to register again at the wifi machine which requires a scan of your passport to get the wifi code again. Is this really necessary?

To conclude, I find Singapore an inspiring nation as I learned about their history how their founding father, Lee Kuan Yiew built an empire from a third world country to a first world, in 30 years. A visit to the Singapore museum also tells me that Singaporeans are very resilient to whatever that happened to them. During the Japanese occupation in the World War 2, although the nation was torn apart and suffered great hardship - Singaporeans had this mindset of 'keep digging, with or without the British' which is the will to continue (farming) without reliance from being liberated by the British forces.

A small, yet independent nation that has managed to sustain in making Singapore as an important port in southeast asia. It has created itself as a huge business hub in asia with more than 250 banks centred in Singapore. The story of breaking away from the Malaya federation was a bold move but necessary to make Singapore what it is today. Singaporeans are friendly as well, I can get to ask for direction to anyone on the street, really! No one bumps me when entering or leaving the bus, so there is respect in the public.

There is passion for business at every corner of Singapore. I don't see any empty shop lot - there is always something that needed to be sold, and services that can be sold. Probably this is why the economy is doing so well due to this drive for generating more, and more money.

Comparing Brunei to Singapore is not even close! Have you seen Singapore's infrastructures, public transportation, financial stability, roads, education and arts? Sorry but it is nothing compared to Brunei. They have more people too. Brunei is less than half a million population only!