SignPost: Singapore

From Johor Bahru I took a bus to Singapore. It took a bit over an hour to get to the bus station in Singapore. There was a lot of traffic but the roads were pretty good and crossing the border was faster than I expected. Singapore is probably the most expensive country in Southeast Asia. The hostel I stayed in was about $14 USD per night and the average price for a full meal was about $9 USD.

The first night at the hostel I meet a Japanese guy and we had lunch together the next day. We became good friends. We stayed in contact and we later meet in Japan and went to see his band play in Shibuya district, I will talk more about this in the "Tokyo" post.

I was told that Singapore was extremely strict, and it was true. On the subway, people cannot carry durian fruit because of their distinct smell. Anyone smoking will be charged about $750 USD, and anyone eating in the subway is fined about $370 US dollars. Chewing gum is okay but selling gum is not allowed, so you pretty much need to smuggle gum across the border. I was told that the whole country is pretty much watched by cameras that are located everywhere and everything has to be in perfect order. I thought Singaporeans smiled the least in Southeast Asia. With all that being said, I did feel safe and everything was well regulated, but I did not feel the warmth and kindness that I felt in Thailand and Malaysia.

I visited mosque Masjid Sultan. I thought it was one of the best mosques in Southeast Asia. It was big and the architecture was incredible, but what caught my attention the most was the surrounding area it was located in. I felt like I was walking toward an Arabian castle in the middle of the desert passing by an oasis full of palm trees and street markets.

Heading toward Masjid Sultan

From another side

At night

From the inside

On the second day, I woke up early because I planned to visit the Singapore Flyer, Gardens by the Bay and the famous Merlion. I took the subway to the Gardens by the Bay. The garden was amazing, it had all kinds of plants and interesting designs.

Inside the gardens, they had posts on certain flowers and their representation in some cultures as well as plants and their medical use.

I think I found Aslan (Character from the chronicles of Narnia)

A working clock, pretty cool design

Nature is beautiful

I found this guy crossing the walking path inside the garden

I visited the Merlion statue. Everyone who goes to Singapore for the first time visits this statue. It is half lion half fish. The fish half represents the fishing industry back in the days as Singapore was a fishing town. The area had some really cool building designs just like the two pictured below.

Merlion

Panorama picture of the downtown area of Singapore.

I walked a lot in the downtown area to observe the busy life. It was very similar to the US. Everyone was extremely busy and people seem to be more depressed as they smiled less and conversed less. I'm pretty sure some people might disagree with my observations, but Singapore was just too materialistic for me.

I talked to two college students at the hostel about Singaporean language and they said they mainly use English, but they had their own English called Singlish. It is basically a mixture of English, Malay, Cantonese and other languages. Singapore's main population is made up of Malay and Chinese people. Singapore was actually part of Malaysia at one point.

I visited Bugis Junction and bought some souvenirs which were at a good price. I did not go to Orchard Road (very famous for shopping) because for the reason that it was only a shopping area and I had seen plenty of those in the US. I was looking for cultural areas, and I only found a little bit of it as Singapore was way too advanced that there was barely any culture left.

Good needed protein.

I ate my dinner and was ready to leave Singapore and head to Malacca, Malaysia in the next morning. You might ask why I keep jumping to other countries then head back to other cities in Malaysia? Well, my simple answer is that I had no plans, so I went wherever the wind took me. Other backpackers recommended a city and I took their consideration.