Day 1, Marina Bay Sands

Day 1, Singapore

At this moment we are sitting (and sweating) in the hostel garden. The whole group is complete, and maybe the best news, we are all still alive! Yesterday we arrived in Singapore after a long, but smooth flight. Our first impression is a clean and green country, with a climate that is comparable to a subtropical swimming pool. After arriving in the hostel we went for our first dinner to a typical Singaporean food court where, among others things, the first frog legs are eaten. The rest of the evening, the nightlife of Singapore was explored by a part of the group, while others went back to the hostel for catching up some sleep.

This morning the alarm clock was set at seven ‘o clock and with a basic breakfast of toast and coffee we went (almost on time) to the city tour.

Our first stop was at the financial district with a nice view on the Marina Bay Sands. Our enthusiastic tour guide, Mr. Foo, told us everything about the new developments of the city, and how this connects to the rich history of this place. The second stop was right in the middle of China town, where we visited the impressive Thian Hock temple. We also went to the city’s Botanic garden, with its nice collection of orchid flowers and other tropical species. Last stop was Little India, full of small shops, colors and interesting flavors.
After the morning program, we tried to reach our next destination, the City Gallery, through Singapore’s underground metro jungle. Here, we almost lost our first group member, because the trains here aren’t waiting for some “slow” tourists. Fortunately, there are not that many tall people in Singapore, so even when you’re lost it’s quite easy to find back the group: just look up!
The City Gallery demonstrates and explains Singapore’s mission to make the city a great place to live, work and play in. We saw some impressive, large models with the city’s masterplan and got some insights into the ideas for future developments. Very interesting!
Now we are getting ready for our second Asian dinner, or will some of us already go for the American fastfood option? Afterwards we continue with the one and only Singapore pub crawl.

Roel & Jorinde