Hello. I've just returned from Singapore this morning. It was one LONG bus ride. 11.5 hours to be exact. I was chilled to the bone by the blasting air-con. Unlike my sis, I can't just curl up and sleep in every imaginable position.
But I am safe and sound, despite the bus driver's crazy speeding. Praise the Lord for the that.
Singapore - I was asked to go for the purpose of 'baby-sitting' my 19-year-old sis. I'm scratching my head just like you: Why would she need me there? Now, when I was 17, I flew to Australia all by myself.... ^_^ Well, my parents did not want her to go alone and insisted that I go along.
We had a long bus trip there. My Malaysian cousin, who is working in finance, picked us up and immediately started expressing his opinions about Singaporeans. Most of them were not too complimentary. But he did praise the government for their competency, and the efficiency and safety of the public transport. I merely listened. My cousin has plenty to say about society and history, being a very widely-read person.
After a shower we were taken for lunch with all my relatives in Singapore. It was a GOOD lunch along Clementi Road. Stewed claypot fish, spinach with century egg, crispy skin chicken, claypot brinjal, and sweet mangoes to finish off. YUM.
Next, another cousin took us around the CBD area. My impression of Singapore:
Dinner time came. Liz zipped off with her friend, and I braved the public transport system to get to some place an hour away. Fortunately, my cousins had given us their ezy-link cards [Go cards for the brisbanites] and I whizzed away on the MRT. Crossed 2 interchanges, went on the LRT as well and reached my destination. Compared to Brisbane, the transport system here is SUPER efficient. Everything connects properly and I'm not left feeling stressed because this bus is late, or that train is early.
Jabez was there soon and we went off to have a dinner of ribs at Cafe Cartel. It was cheap in Singaporean dollars and the portion was HUGE! Felt so stuffed.Then, Jabez helped me to get home by bus safely.
Day 1 over! Last thoughts: Ate too much! Great public transport and toilets. Malls and buildings are not my cup of tea...
But I am safe and sound, despite the bus driver's crazy speeding. Praise the Lord for the that.
Singapore - I was asked to go for the purpose of 'baby-sitting' my 19-year-old sis. I'm scratching my head just like you: Why would she need me there? Now, when I was 17, I flew to Australia all by myself.... ^_^ Well, my parents did not want her to go alone and insisted that I go along.
We had a long bus trip there. My Malaysian cousin, who is working in finance, picked us up and immediately started expressing his opinions about Singaporeans. Most of them were not too complimentary. But he did praise the government for their competency, and the efficiency and safety of the public transport. I merely listened. My cousin has plenty to say about society and history, being a very widely-read person.
After a shower we were taken for lunch with all my relatives in Singapore. It was a GOOD lunch along Clementi Road. Stewed claypot fish, spinach with century egg, crispy skin chicken, claypot brinjal, and sweet mangoes to finish off. YUM.
Next, another cousin took us around the CBD area. My impression of Singapore:
- Orderly, clean, pleasant. I appreciated the cleanliness, especially the clean toilets everywhere! Whew. This is a relief in comparison to Malaysian toilets, which are disgusting.
- Lots of greenery everywhere. That's a great step by the government to keep things environmentally friendly and keep the temperature cool and nice.
- Sadly uninteresting. All I could see were buildings, malls, trains, buses and cars. There isn't much character to the city or it's people. Granted, the CBD has some nice heritage buildings. The Fullerton hotel, the Raffels hotel, the banks...all lovely buildings. However, there isn't much more. There is a lack of depth to the landscape.
Dinner time came. Liz zipped off with her friend, and I braved the public transport system to get to some place an hour away. Fortunately, my cousins had given us their ezy-link cards [Go cards for the brisbanites] and I whizzed away on the MRT. Crossed 2 interchanges, went on the LRT as well and reached my destination. Compared to Brisbane, the transport system here is SUPER efficient. Everything connects properly and I'm not left feeling stressed because this bus is late, or that train is early.
Jabez was there soon and we went off to have a dinner of ribs at Cafe Cartel. It was cheap in Singaporean dollars and the portion was HUGE! Felt so stuffed.Then, Jabez helped me to get home by bus safely.
Day 1 over! Last thoughts: Ate too much! Great public transport and toilets. Malls and buildings are not my cup of tea...
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