SINGAPORE
Modern Singapore was founded in 1819 by Sir Stamford Raffles as a trading post of the British Empire. Where Hong Kong was my prelude to New Zealand, the home of Raffles’ Singapore Sling twice became my precursor to Australia.
Latitude-wise, Singapore sits at 1° north of the equator, which made for incredible amounts of heat and humidity. Loved it though. Bunked it twice at the Inncrowd Backpackers on Dunlop Street which had super comfy & clean air-conditioned rooms to beat that swamp-like heat.
Singapore Sights (First Stopover)
Met a cool Welsh girl and we chummed around checking out the ‘Merlion’ fountain, Raffles Square and did a boat tour of Marina Bay & the Singapore River. We then grabbed beers and obligatory 'Singapore Slings' at the Raffles hotel. The heat in the island city-state was so overpowering, making in probably the only place where I’ve ever taken five showers in one day, under the sun in a rooftop stall no less.
Night Safari (First Stopover)
Night safari…? Well, why not?
Aside from some shameless sponsorship, it was kinda cool to visit a zoo at night - which is all this was.
Many of the other animals stood incredibly still for my camera and seemed to radiate their own inner light…
Some enlightened beasts indeed.
Setback (Second Stopover)
Travel has its bummer moments too.
I was supposed to arrive in & exit Singapore in the early hours of a March morning. My bus from Kuala Lumpur took longer than expected crossing into Sing, making me miss my flight back to Aussie. Sadface.
I checked back into the place I'd stayed 2 years previous (Inncrowd Backpackers - highly recommended) and headed off on foot for another mosey.
