Singapore

The bus to Singapore was pretty hectic. We had been told that we could buy a bus ticket to Singapore for a better price at the bus Station, so aiming to get the 2pm bus we headed straight there. When we arrived it seemed that our request was considered laughable. We asked at several counters if there was a bus to Singapore but they just grinned shook their heads and waved us away. Apparently the 2pm and the 5pm buses were all sold out and it was ridiculous that we were even still trying to buy a ticket. Already packed and ready to leave we were determined to get to Singapore somehow and after a little more asking around we found that we could still purchase a bus ticket to the border town in Malaysia and from there we should be able to get another bus into Singapore. So that's what we did.

The bus left at 4pm and I think we arrived at the border town about 8pm. I forgot to mention earlier that the buses in Malaysia have all been amazingly spacious and this one was no different. There is loads of leg room and the seats are extra wide which means that there is only space for 1 row of seats down one side of the bus. We should have made the most of it. When we got to the border town bus station we were directed to where we could buy our ticket for the bus into Singapore. That was where it started to get a bit mental. We bought the tickets but had no idea which bus was the right one, and neither did anyone else. The station was outside, and everyone was queueing next to a different bay and rushing for the buses as they drove in. We rushed over to a couple of the buses that looked like they were about to leave and one of them waved us on. The bus was already pretty full and not at all similar to the long distance VIP buses that we had taken previously, more of a rattling old local bus. We heaved our bags over to the storage holder but the conductor, or whoever he was, just waved us away saying 'no, no, no' so we had to drag the bags onto the bus. At this point it wasn't too much of a problem as there was space to lay them down in the aisle. About an 20 minutes later a few people seemed to be rustling in their seats and gathering their belongings, and I took this as an indication that we were nearly at the border. Before I had time to get to our bags in the aisle everyone was getting up from their seats, and by the time the bus had stopped and opened the doors everyone was frantically clambering over them in a manic attempt to get out. Once the coast was clear we got our stuff off the bus to see everyone running and pushing into the building that looked rather like a large airport terminal. Shrugging we followed at a rather leisurely pace and queued to get through immigration. Once through we followed the crowds and headed back down towards the coach bays. It was at this point we realised we didn't have a clue where our bus would be. Everyone else was queuing and running with a purpose and we were stood clueless faced with about 30 different bays and coaches at each side of the escalator. Asking didn't seem to help as we were just directed from one side of the building to the other, all the while whilst people were running  and cramming onto buses and leaving.

Eventually we spotted another western couple who had been on our original bus looking equally as lost as us. They didn't have a clue which bay our coach was supposed to be coming into either, and we all supposed that by the way everyone had been in such a hurry, by this point we had probably missed it. Unsure what to do we wandered and asked around a bit more until we were given what sounded like a definite instruction. We traipsed over to a long queue on the other side of the building and waited until a bus pulled up. By this time the queue was pretty long (and I use the term queue loosely), I assume that we were not the only ones who missed our original bus, and so the number of people waiting to cram onto this one was laughable. By the time we reached the front of the queue not only were the seats full, but so was the aisle and I doubted that we would fit. There was no space to get on at the front of the bus so the conductor waved us along to try the door at the side. It opened, Justin jumped in with his bag and as I stepped up to get in it closed in-front of me. I called over to the conductor to open the door again but he just shouted something and shooed me away as they seemed so fond of doing at the bus stations! I went over to the front of the bus where they were about to close the door and asked him again to open it at which he just began shooing so I stepped in the bus and explained loudly that he needed to let me get on or let Justin get off. He sighed and said 'full' 'full' but the doors opened and although I think he was hoping Justin would get off I managed to jump on and wedge myself behind the doors must to his annoyance. At least this time we were near the door so when the bus pulled up to the Singapore side of the border we were in a prime position to leap off and begin running with the rest of the crowd.

The bus on the other side of the border was a little easier to find without quite as much bother and at about 10pm (a little later than scheduled) we arrived in Singapore. I had hoped that we could stay with my cousins Graham and Gill, but when we called Gill she said that she was still in Thailand and that Graham was in Sydney. She told us that she would be back tomorrow though so we only had to find somewhere to stay for one night.

We headed off towards Little India as we had been told that was where the cheap accommodation was and found a bed in a dorm for about double the price we had been paying for a double room previously. Controversially we ate in a Chinese that night (all the Indian places were closed!) and the next day we took the bus to the centre of Singapore to see the main sights.

We started off in the Botanical Gardens which had many beautiful plans and flowers, and luckily several pagodas to shelter under when the now predictable afternoon showers started.

There were many Orchid Hybreds in the garden and several of them were named after celebrities and political figures. This one on the right for example was named after Margaret Thatcher! Not literally though, it still had some floral and unpronounceable name, but in some way it was linked to her.

That evening we were able to meet up with Gill and thankfully she was able to offer us a place to stay for our two remaining nights in Singapore which was brilliant.

Another benefit of having family in the city was that we got insider knowledge on what to see and the best times to go. For example, apparently you can go to see the Marina Bay Sands which has the most amazing infinity pool and view over the Marina, and pay $20 Singapore dollars (about £10) to get up to the view point. Or what most people don't realise is that you can go up and have a drink in the bar (which is on the same level as the view point and is only separated by a red cord) and enjoy a cocktail and the scenery for exactly the same price. Before going for a drink we managed to fit in a quick visit to Sentosa - basically a theme park on an island equipped with beaches and resorts - to have a go on the surf machines, however thinking that it would be safest to lave my passport at home whilst battling the waves I turned up without any I.D. to be greeted with the sign 'No I.D. no ride'. I have no idea why, but without any I.D. I wasn't allowed to go, so Justin had to go alone.

 After the cocktail we nipped down and had a quick peruse in the floating Louis Vuitton Store.

 The Marina Bay Sands from the ground.

Chance had it that our visit coincided with a sustainable light art exhibition around the Marina which utilised everything from solar panelled plastic bottle lights to colour changing octopuses. We actually saw most of them in the day which is why I don't have many more photo's but luckily we stayed around long enough to see what I think was the best one. The mascot for Singapore is the Merlion (a lions head on the body of a fish) and they have a few of them dotted about the country but when I first saw this one in the dark, I thought that they had painted one in Neon colours! When they suddenly dissolved and were replaced by different colours I was thoroughly confused. Upon approaching I could see that it was another of the art installations which had fixed light beams either side of the statue and allowed people to go to a computer screen and select which colour they wanted parts of the lion to appear.

 On our last day there was just time for a quick dip in the residential pool before heading off to get the obligatory Singapore Sling cocktail at the Raffles Hotel.

Raffles Hotel

 Singapore Sling and the famous Monkey Nuts. Tradition dictates you must peel and drop the shells all over the floor! Of course I obliged and there was great satisfaction in hearing the waiters crunching as they came over to our table.

 (You can see I had a lot of fun...)

Although I was enjoying the mess, we did have a plane to catch so eventually we said our goodbyes and headed to the airport bound for Seoul, South Korea.