Those who follow me on Instagram should already know that I moved to Asia two months ago, specifically to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. But my very long trip started elsewhere, with a rather short two-day stay in one of the most developed and modern country-cities in the entire world. Today I will take you on a tour through Singapore, its beautiful architecture, its weird rules and its amazing upgrades to almost everything I know.
Arriving at the airport I already noticed that this was not just a regular country, but something very special. As I walked through security I find myself at the entrance, where a dressed robot is cleaning the floor, driving around, avoiding any contact with people and walls. So, at this point I was already amazed, but walking a little bit further I get to a huge dome with a waterfall crushing down in the centre, and a train driving through it from time to time. Is this really an airport?
As it was around 4 am in the morining, I get outside to take a taxi to my hostel, which wasn't that far. During the drive I look around, so many beautiful city lights and a rather common conversation with my chinese driver. This nice gentleman took around 30$ for this 15 minute drive. I was too stunned by the city, that I forgot to set the price before leaving. Never forget to do this! Singapore is more expensive than any other Asian country, but compared to Europe you should still be able to travel on a budget.
After a short sleep in my capsule hostel, which also was pretty cool (for this one I payed 22$ for the night, including breakfast), I took my camera and started walking around the hot, humid city. First stop: the stadium. A beauty, where I could find people jogging around as a morning excercise. Very quiet and peaceful.
Walking along the river, I slowly got closer to the famous gardens. It was also amazing to see a great variety of animals and plants, such as comodos, otters and carnivorous plants. As hot as it was, the beauty of this place got me for a couple of hours.
It was amazing as it was crowded. Lots of chinese tourists, not that many Europeans. But it was amazing to see how they got this huge variety of plants growing in a temperature regulated dome. For around 20$ you get a ticket to see both domes and the gardens outside. I highly recommend to visit this place also at night, which is a whole other experience. The Marina Bay Sands is also a couple of meters from there, if you are into rich people life.
There are many more things to do and see, as food to taste and activities to enjoy, but my time in Singapore was over with the night, as my flight was at 7 am the next day.
Overall I enjoyed my short stay, but I really have to say that this country feels a lot like it was made for tourists. If you take your time to visit Sentosa, you will understand what I'm saying. If you're an architect, nevermind, this is your place to be.
There is one thing I have to warn you about, Singapore is the safest country in the world for a reason. There are rules, many rules, and some of them might not make any sense to you, but if you don't respect them you will see yourself paying big fines, or even spending a few nights in prison. Here are some that I found the weirdest:
- No smoking, chewing gum, littering, feeding pidgeons or spitting in public. (Fines up to 1000$ or up to 3 months in prison)
- No homosexuality. (Up to 2 years in prison)
- No making noise after 10pm. (Fines up to 2000$)
- Eat Durian on public transport (Fines up to 500$)
- Drugs (death penalty, it even says on your Visa when you arrive)
If you don't break any of these, you will be fine, and will enjoy this country every second!