This summer I got the great opportunity to live and work in Singapore. Singapore is located in Asia and is a good place to have your base when looking at Asia for the first time. Finding yourself in Singapore, it is a big variation on what to do. One smart thing is to the the Hop on Hop of sightseeing busses around Singapore city center. They are worth your while.
When driving around be sure to hop of at Little India. Singapore is built up with areas reserved, in a way, to a certain culture. Little India is as the name say a area dedicated to the Indian way. Here you can get good curry and other Indian foods and cheap stuff from the many stores along the street. You can also have a look at some nice mosques that are spread around the area. Mustafa Center is probably the most known part of Little India. This is a HUGE store with everything you can possibly need. For me it felt a bit like a storage house with lots of cheap crap, but in fact most of it is ok quality for a ok price. So do have a look.
Another colonial part of Singapore is Chinatown. As Little India this is also a part of Singapore dedicated to one specific culture, China.Chinatown is beautiful I think. With wonderful small houses and interesting streets and cafes.
They also have a big street marked that sell all kind of souvenirs. Here is the perfect place to get some cheap gifts for back home. If you come here during the Moon Festival you have to come to Chinatown and by Moon cakes here. The Moon cakes are just made once a year at this festival, try the lotus flavored, it is delicious and very filling.
Another interesting food you can find in Singapore is Durian. This fruit you can smell before you see. If you get a sniff of something that remind you of old puke you are close to it. It is round and brown with spikes, but inside it is soft and yellow. It has a very distinct taste, either you like it or you don´t kind of food, it also have a strange texture like soft cream. You can also have it in ice cream, a often more popular way to try it among the tourists.
If you want to have a look at the nature, but don´t have the time, it can be a good call to look at the Urban Jungle. Take the MRT to Harbor Front and at Exit D “Telok Blangah” you should find a path up the hill. Keep on following this and you can have a beautiful overlook over the city framed by tropic plants that fill the hill. It is a nice and confutable walk that everyone can take.
When you are up there you can also take the cable car down again. The cable car go from the Jewel box and take you all the way down to Sentosa Island if you want to. It gives you a great view over the whole city, but if you are afraid of hight I do not recommend it.
Some of the best times in Singapore is spent at night. When the sun settle it is many places that are a bliss to visit. Have a walk to Arab Street. This part of the city follow the Arab way. Here you can admire the most beautiful mosque in the city, or maybe buy a carpet for your living room. The streets are crowded with cafes offering Shisha pipes (also called Hubbely bubbely or water piper) and ginger tea. This is a nice place to bring friend and just relax in the cool night after a long day.
If you want to have a look at the old fashion glamour of Singapore. Go to Raffles Hotel and Long Bar on the second floor. This part is open for everyone and offers a colonial bar preserved from when the first british colonized Singapore. Here you can drink, eat, talk and enjoy a live jazz band. Long Bar is also known to be the creator of the Singapore Sling, so it is a must to order one if you visit Raffles Hotels Long Bar.
The most beautiful part of Singapore by night must be Marina Bay. This is a newly renovated area of Singapore and the place is shining when the sun goes down. Have a wanter along the docks and look at the buildings light up like stars. Enjoy a water show that is held every no and then. But you have to go to Marina Bay Sands and go to the top to get a wonderful view over the city. And also have a peek at the world famous infinity pool. This is not open for public, so if you don´t want to pay for a hotel room, you just have to settle with a picture.
This is just some of the many things to experience in Singapore. I enjoyed it and hope you will too!
Young World 