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Hello!
Day one of my travels is well underway despite missing a nights sleep. I am currently sat in The Gardens by the Bay, on a tree stump, in a huge air conditioned bubble!
The flight to Singapore was a long one and I enjoyed watching the new film all about Eddie the Eagle. I also spoke to a guy called James next to me all about Dubai and got to open the first of many little envelopes!
When we touched down in Singapore the green landscape immediately stood out and it was nice to be out of the desert!
I made my way to the Metro station and eventually arrived at Green Kiwi Backpackers, my hostel for the next 3 nights. To say it's a dump is an understatement but it does the job and is somewhere to get a night's kip. I'm on the top bunk in a room of 6 and the lads I met at the hostel were all really friendly. As I ate the free breakfast I wasn't really sure what time of day it was but I enjoyed discussing my trip and time in Singapore with two German lads. It appears I am now an 'older traveller' and I get the feeling my time in hostels may be coming to an end. For now though... I'll make the most of it!
After freshening up I set off to explore my first city. I had to call at the bus office to change a ticket for Tuesday which all went very smoothly. I then made my way to the very impressive Marina Bay Sands Hotel, the bloody big one with a boat on top. I walked through the mall eager to get outside and as I walked around admiring the amazing view of the bay and the hotel I slowly began to melt! It's very humid here and a different heat to Dubai. In around 15 mins my whole t-shirt had changed colour and I was dripping wet through! I crossed a pretty cool bridge to get my panoramic view and then headed back to the mall for some lunch. I found the food court and around 10 mins of confusion followed! Noodles, rice noodles, beef, chicken and more noodles. I eventually picked Beef Singapore Noodles and sat down next to Sandra and Jolene, two 60+ locals, to tuck in. I introduced myself and spent a good half an hour chatting to them all about the area and what I should do whilst in town. I told them they would make the blog and they were delighted!
After lunch, by which time I was cooler and had dried off, I decided to head to the gardens I am in now. On the way I managed to take the obligatory jumping photo in front the amazing boat hotel. I'm still sat on my tree stump and every now and then I catch a passer by taking a photo of me, I also noticed the same this morning! I'm guessing that bright blonde hair on a guy is pretty rare around these parts and I am slowly becoming my own tourist attraction!
I'm going to head into the Cloud Forest now before finding somewhere for a nap and then a visit up the Marina Bay Sands Hotel for a beer at sunset.
Tra for now :)
Hi again, it is now 11:18pm and the doors on the metro have just shut, off we go. I am on my way back to the hostel after what has possibly been one of my best ever days travelling!
Since I wrote this afternoon I have met some incredible people and done some amazing things. After I finished writing I went to explore the rest of the Flower Dome before entering the Cloud Forest. This literally was a mountain in a dome with thousands of different plants in it. After a walk around I decided I was in severe need of a nap. I went outside and found a piece of grass, which is an exciting experience in itself when you live in a desert, lay down and fell asleep. Around 2 hours later I woke up itching like mad and covered in bites! Lovely!! :)
I dusted my self down and headed for the Marina Bay Sands Hotel again. This time I was going to go up it and have a beer as the sun set. This is exactly what I did and it was an incredible view from the top! I enjoyed a pint of Stella as the sun went down and I took in the view.
It was as the sun was setting I met a young lad called James from Leeds. When travelling I will literally talk to anyone and I have a few tricks to start a conversation. I used the 'Can you take a picture of my please' line and we got talking. It turns out he is 19 and heading to Australia to study for a year. Fortunately his mum has put him up in the best hotel in Singapore for 3 nights beforehand and consequently he was my pass to the infinity pool! We enjoyed another pint and a chat with some girls from Auz before he offered to lend me some shorts so we could go in the pool! What a legend!!
We got changed and went to the pool! This wasn't just any pool... The edge literally was hundreds of meters above Singapore and I was in it! We took lots of photos before going back to his room to change... I put my same old clothes back on! Haha!
It was at this point I connected to the hotel wifi! I posted a few pictures and within minutes I had a message from Vicki Malmo! Vicki is from Australia and was on the same tour as me this time last year in Norway! She was only in the same country, same city and same hotel! I messaged her and within minutes I met her and her family in the lobby! What a small world!!
Vicki and her twin, Tracy, ditched their mother and grandmother in the nicest way possible and the four of us headed off to find some food.
As I type this now I am navigating the metro to find my way home. I've just got on my last train and it's packed... 1 more stop :)
I am now sat at the bus stop number 01311 waiting for the number 133 bus. It shouldn't be long.
Anyway...
To get some food the four of us got in a taxi to China Town. The diver was a great laugh and dropped us right in the centre outside a very popular restaurant. Unfortunately it was too popular and we couldn't get in. We walked around the corner and found a great place where I enjoyed Black Pepper Beef and Spicy Rice.
It was great to catch up with Vicki after a year and after a lovely meal we all said our goodbyes and I set off to find my bed. I calculate that it is roughly around 37 hours since I went to sleep on Thursday night in Dubai so I am due a well earned few zzzz's tonight.
Tonight really has summed up why I love traveling. After planning everything to the nth degree things can still happen that make it even better! It is mad how asking someone in a bar to take a picture can lead to swimming in the most amazing infinity pool ever and it is even more crazy how putting a picture on Facebook can reconnect you with someone who lives on the other side of the world!
I'm now on the bus and ready for bed. My tracker shows I left the hostel 14 hours 20 minutes ago and I don't think I could have asked for a better start to my trip!
I've now got one more road to cross before I connect to wifi, upload this and head to bed...
It's now 11:54, I've proof read today's blog, my girl is on my mind and it's time for bed.
Night all!
Tom x
- comments
FG What a brilliant start to your trip. Hope it carries on in the same way. X
Gwen Froggatt Just enjoyed reading your blog. You sure make a lot friends on your travels. Enjoy. Xx
Grandma What a fantastic day you've had Tom love the blog !!! I'm with you ion your travels . Your first day !!! You must be wore out . . I am reading it x gran x
Margaret Williams Sounds like you're having lots of fun on your first Day. I love reading your blogs too...and so will you in years to come! Stay safe and have fun xxx