So, neither technique worked in preventing the jet lag. After finishing the previous blog Ollie and Connor showed up and all 4 of us headed out so they could both eat. On returning to the hostel around 8 pm we all swiftly went to bed. I then proceeded to wake up at 2 am whereby at this point I heard Ollie Fred and Connor head downstairs, having also been awake for even longer. I swiftly followed where we sat outside the hostel all night until at 6 am when breakfast was served. At this point there appeared to be a commotion outside between several Indian men. Next thing we know some guy has been punched then kick to the floor and smashed into our hostel door, before we even knew what had really happened it was all over and done with. All the while Fred and Ollie stood next to the door which served as the breakfast bar peeling their eggs. To be honest I thought I was dreaming still as its one of the most random things I’ve ever seen at 6 in the morning.
After our eventful breakfast, we headed to the Marina Bay area to catch the sunrise (that’s how early we were) The area conformed much more to my visions of Singapore, slightly more upmarket than Little Indian. There were countless high-rise building creating a stunning skyline, the crown dual was definitely the Marina Bay Sands hotel, it looks like a spaceship perched on stilts. We then headed to gardens by the bay, home of the supertrees. To be honest, we didn’t really spend too much time wandering the gardens but they looked lovely, the supertrees, on the other hand, were very impressive and when fully covered with flowers will look stunning. By this point, it was only about 9 am so we headed back to the hostel for a nap.
Later in the day around 1 am we headed to the Marina bay sands hotel again and this time due to not being ridiculously early, were able to go up to the rooftop which housed the viewing platform, several bars and restaurants plus the amazing infinity pool overlooking the city. Understandably the swimming pool can only be accessed by hotel guests, however, I would highly recommend a night or twos stay if one can afford the £250 per night price for the most basic room. Additionally, don’t pay the 20 S$ to use the viewing platform at the top of the hotel, simply pay the 20 S$ to access the bars up the top whereby the money is redeemable for a drink, you can then enjoy the exact same view with a Singapore slinger in hand for the same price. When we reached the top of the hotel the views were amazing but within 30 minutes the heavens had opened and you could barely see the adjacent skyscrapers. Also well worth a look is the big shopping centre within the marina bay complex, once again all the shops were very much out of our price range but the mall is very impressive fitted with its own canal where you’re able to take a gondola ride, (if you pay) we, therefore, didn’t bother.
Later that evening we were due to do a free scooter tour laid on by the hostel but due to the bad weather, this was cancelled, (hopefully we can go Thursday provided the weather is better). I mean it was probably best it was cancelled as by this point all four of us were shattered. We headed to the Tekka centre in little India which is a big complex with lots of food stalls and had a bite to eat (we’d been here several time now) it seems to be where the locals go and you can get a main meal for 4 S$ which works out about £2.20. I also had a ABC juice drink which consisted of apple beetroot and carrot, not going to lie it wasn’t great, but it was the little lady cutting up the beetroot outside the stall that sold it to me. It also amazes us how all the Indian people eat with their hand (I assume they wipe with the opposite one), personally it really isn’t for me but it is obviously ingrained in their culture and is a real spectacle. After food we all headed back to get hopefully a better’s night sleep. Luckily, we all did.
The following morning (now Wednesday) we headed to China town and Clark Quay. China town was lovely better than little India. Here Ollie took us to the Maxwell food centre which has amazing Chinese food. It is very similar to the Tekka centre but in my opinion better. We ate chicken and rice from a famous stall there and it was delicious. For such a simple dish it was so good! Once again, its where the locals head for lunch and stuff so it cost 4 S$ again. Near the Maxwell centre, there was also a big Chinese market area, we went down to the fish section where you could buy live frogs, eels and also a tortoise plus many other fish. To be honest it was cruel and I’m not really sure who’d want to eat any of it.
After Chinatown we headed to Clark Quay which reminded me of Shoreditch, there were loads of bars and fancy restaurants although they were all empty, however it was only mid-afternoon. I imagine it gets lively at night time although it’s for people with more of a budget than us. Therefore, we head back to the hostel and to the pub next door, the Prince of Wales for the pub quiz. We took along a few travellers from the hostel to the pub (German, Canadian, American, Brazilian, Belgium, Australian) at the pub we met a bloke who had lived in Singapore for about 30 years but used to live in West Ham and also had lived in Messing for a little while (small world). The quiz was a great laugh and the quizmaster was also English and very funny making jokes at our quiz team “Essex on tour”. We managed to come 6th in the quiz out of about 15 teams, and also beat the international quiz team we had taken with us from the hostel, so we did Essex proud. We then headed back to the hostel to carry on drinking with all our new international friends. After a fun night with everyone exchanging stories and stuff I headed to bed around 2 am, the rest of the boys were even later. Waking up this morning was a little hard and we all have a slightly sore head, but we are ready for the scooter tour tonight, weather dependent.
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