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Having not been allowed to extend our stay with the old lady who lived in the shoebox, 'no room at the inn', we ventured out in search of a new guesthouse. We asked along the main road ad were told $20 per night each, when our previous was $15 for both of us we searched on a little more. Nope, $20, $20 everywhere. In true Sean and Laura style, when the next place quoted us $22 each, we took it.
The place itself was a dream in comparison to the last. Ac rooms and little duvets for people who feel the chill like Laura. The ac unit was next to the top bunk so Sean had that one and it was perfect for everyone. The people also were a lot friendlier than the last and we spent a pleasant evening on the roof with some Germans and a Luxembourgian discussing economics, world politics, travels, and the ease with which a machete can be smuggled into various countries. Ask us sometime and we'll tell you.
About twenty minutes after we arrived, despite the many warnings from the lady at reception about the rain which we ignored, it began to pour, in true Singapore style it does nothing by halves. Luckily we had forgotten so many things from the room we hadn't yet left so we settled down till it cleared. After that it was a brilliant day so it was worth being useless and forgetful for the soaking it saved us. We spent the day at the Marina after a quick stop by FedEx and of course the now-standard morning Starbucks. Oh and we could hardly go before a sumptuous sushi buffet (we are living Singapore style now, didn't we say?) which was incredible. All you can eat so we only had one meal that day. Fill your boots.
The Marina Bay Sand Hotel is the weirdest and most impressive building. We looked back at where we had walked and realised we were walking along the F1 track which runs through part of the city. We had heard it was expensive to go up to the deck on top and told ourselves we would just check the price and walk away, which we did but gave in and headed back down the escalator and so, $40 lighter we went up. We could see the city area, the business district, the wheel, the golf course where the Singapore Open was currently being held, the 1 track and a random football pitch on the river. To make it worth the money we stayed up until dark and saw the city in lights. Walking round the bay to see the famous Merlion we were also just in time to see the light and fountain show at the Marina Bay Sands from across the river. For once, very unlike us, a day of perfect timings.
Our final full day we meandered round the last sights and tried to take it easy before more travelling. We went to Chinatown and saw the Tooth Relic Temple (faithful readers will remember how we were callously turned away in Kandy) and even better this one was free. Many floors of museum and relics and the tooth chamber itself were paved with gold. The downstairs room still a functioning temple and a hundred people chanting with the monks. On every floor you could 'adopt' Buddhas or lights or gold slabs and many souvenirs to purchase which slightly cheapened the experience but it did mean the temple was free for us so we can't complain. An incense stick and a prayer on the way out and we moved on into the rain to Sa Lau pat food market. The biggest food market, and the cheapest way of eating so a well frequented place by us, the hawkers centers and food markets are massive halls with tons of different stalls. This one in particular had loads of nationalities and was the biggest we had seen. In a celebration of our new jobs we shared a Korean dish of Kimchi and noodles and headed back for our final night and the last hot shower until who knows when...
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