Singapore - what a fascinating place. Very similar to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia but probably even more cosmopolitan and definitely more expensive. A city full of Indians, Chinese, Malaysians, Thai and expatriates its hard to tell who is a local and who is here on a holiday. And the cleanliness...as you walk around you see the infamous "Singapore: Don't Litter" signs everywhere and it must be drilled into everyone's head because you rarely see any trash on the ground....sometimes it feels too clean in that you are walking around a big Disneyland. Ok...so what did I do here...
The night I got in I spent some time catching up with my friend Tina and then ended up heading out on the town to New Asia Bar at the Swissotel. Really nice place on the 70th floor with panoramic views of the entire city....but all that comes at a price of $12USD beers. Met some local people who took me to an afterparty at The Living Room inside the Marriott (seems like a large part of the nightlife here is in hotels) and it ended up being a pretty late night getting back to the hostel at 4am and spent wayy too much money.
Next day was pretty much a waste since I was soo tired. Spent a little bit of time wandering around Disneyland marveling at how clean this place is. My brother flew in that evening and we went out with Tina to a co-workers farewell party as they were headed back to Brazil on Sunday...good times and got a chance to talk to a lot of expats and get their thoughts about living here....oh yeah, the apartment was unbelievable too and I guess when your company is paying for it why wouldn't you go all out. On Saturday, we got up and had a full day of sight-seeing...starting with the Singapore Flyer a massive wheel that gives you amazing views of the entire city (very similar to the London Eye). Followed that by a visit to Sentosa island, a man-made island which is really a paradise....very family oriented, but lots of beaches and attractions to keep you there and spend your money! We didn't cave in other than the sky-chair ride and a luge down to the bottom which was actually pretty fun. Wandered around for a while taking it in and I guess the best way to describe this place is that its just tooo perfect...doesn't seem real! Taking off for Jakarta in the morning so made it a quiet night after a long day in some solid heat....
Next stop...Indonesia!
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