*Please note the author has taken creative licence to fuse both his time and that of the other two Paddies to make the story more fun. However, all is based on true life events.
After the craziness of Australia, the first stop on the Asian leg of our tour was to Singapore for a few days which acted as a nice introduction as it’s a city which beautifully fuses cultures from both the East and West. See how we got on below.
“With my passport missing in transit thanks to DHL, the Irish embassy issued me with a temporary one and promised to send the new one to Singapore as soon as it arrived so that I could continue my journey onwards. So with the flimsy passport in hand, I hopped on a flight to Melbourne and then flew out to Singapore to meet the lads.
I arrived at 3pm local time after some of the best plane food I’ve ever had and went to straight to the hostel, which was a serious trek away on the metro. Once I found the place in Little India, which was better than some of the hostels in Australia, we headed out to see a bit of the city itself and try some of the local cuisine. We headed to Marina Bay where all the famous skyscrapers are, including that of the Marina Bay Sands. After a quick walk around we stopped to watch some Chinese dancing show which was part of the Chinese Arts Festival as part of the New Year celebration.
After the craziness of Australia, the first stop on the Asian leg of our tour was to Singapore for a few days which acted as a nice introduction as it’s a city which beautifully fuses cultures from both the East and West. See how we got on below.
“With my passport missing in transit thanks to DHL, the Irish embassy issued me with a temporary one and promised to send the new one to Singapore as soon as it arrived so that I could continue my journey onwards. So with the flimsy passport in hand, I hopped on a flight to Melbourne and then flew out to Singapore to meet the lads.
I arrived at 3pm local time after some of the best plane food I’ve ever had and went to straight to the hostel, which was a serious trek away on the metro. Once I found the place in Little India, which was better than some of the hostels in Australia, we headed out to see a bit of the city itself and try some of the local cuisine. We headed to Marina Bay where all the famous skyscrapers are, including that of the Marina Bay Sands. After a quick walk around we stopped to watch some Chinese dancing show which was part of the Chinese Arts Festival as part of the New Year celebration.
The Bay
Afterwards we walked across to the Marina Bay Sands hotel and watched the water show which was quite spectacular as we chilled with the many hundreds of people. Once that was over and getting a few snaps along the way we strolled to the nearest food market to try some local food. Easing ourselves in we went for some Chicken Rice dish to begin which was fairly cheap and tasty too. Along with the dish they give you a small bowl of soup. But to me it looked very similar to the bowl you get when eating BBQ wings to wash your fingers with. So I decided to play it safe and not ruin my reputation on the first night the soup stayed still.
It was back to the hostel for an early one as I was fairly wrecked, but met some cool people there too, mostly from Indonesia who gave a bit of insight into the country before we visit.
We were up early the next morning to see some more of the city. We began in Little India which is full of colours and the smell of sweet curry and even stopped off at the Hindu temple, making sure we removed our shoes in the process. Next up was Chinatown which is all hustle and bustle. We visited the nearest temple which was beautiful but then got down to business for lunch and visited a huge food market. We guessed that the best places were those with the big queues so waited it out before trying some noodle dishes which were delish. With our bellies full it was off to the Botanical Gardens which were quite impressive, but at this stage having seen so many botanical gardens and having very little knowledge about plants, it could have been the Phoenix Park.
We were up early the next morning to see some more of the city. We began in Little India which is full of colours and the smell of sweet curry and even stopped off at the Hindu temple, making sure we removed our shoes in the process. Next up was Chinatown which is all hustle and bustle. We visited the nearest temple which was beautiful but then got down to business for lunch and visited a huge food market. We guessed that the best places were those with the big queues so waited it out before trying some noodle dishes which were delish. With our bellies full it was off to the Botanical Gardens which were quite impressive, but at this stage having seen so many botanical gardens and having very little knowledge about plants, it could have been the Phoenix Park.
Pair of Cinderellas That evening the lads organised to go on a bike tour and Night Safari while I was going to meet a friend for some dinner about 20km outside the city. Well they were two contrasting evenings to say the least. The lads had a great time cycling around the nature reserve and then strolling around the night safari and seeing a wide variety of animals before getting back around 12am. I on the other hand had a bit of a nightmare. My friend asked to meet in a place about an hour and a half outside the city, which would be the equivalent of your friend coming to visit Dublin and you saying, “yeah sure come on out to Navan and we will grab a bite to eat. See you beside the chipper”. Needless to say with no phone or map I got a bit lost but managed to make it to the drop location 20 minutes late, but my friend had already legged it. Fantastic! So a sneaky McDonalds was on the cards before a long trek back to the hostel with the help of some friendly locals who deciphered my muttered curse as a call for help.
The next morning involved a little trip to the nearest gym to try and get a free day pass to work some of the noodles off. This tactic has worked all over the world so far, just pretending that you have moved to the city and want to try out the local gyms before making a decision. That was until Singapore. It felt like we were criminals when we were asked time and time again what we were doing in Singapore, where we worked and where our official ID was. After 20 minutes of making up utter rubbish I half expected the police to rock up in the Merriah van and bundle us in the back. Needless to say the manager didn’t believe us so we legged it back to the hostel after wasting a few hours.
After some chicken curry noodle for lunch (unreal), we organised to meet a school friend in the evening to show us around the city a bit which was cool and afterwards went up the Marina Bay Sands itself to the rooftop bar for the amazing view. But by Jesus the price of beer in this country is crazy. One pint costs about €10. Needless to say we were sober Joes heading back down to the ground floor. Early night it is then!
After some chicken curry noodle for lunch (unreal), we organised to meet a school friend in the evening to show us around the city a bit which was cool and afterwards went up the Marina Bay Sands itself to the rooftop bar for the amazing view. But by Jesus the price of beer in this country is crazy. One pint costs about €10. Needless to say we were sober Joes heading back down to the ground floor. Early night it is then!
Up top of Marina Bay
The lads flew out early the next morning to Bali while I was holding on for my passport to arrive and it finally did in the afternoon so just missed the flight by a few hours. But it could have been worse. So I was straight online and booked a new flight to leave the following day. It was a tough day overall as it happened to coincide with Valentine’s Day and not one shagging card arrived at the hostel. Confidence was low. After a quick jog in the scorching heat which was not the greatest of calls, a chicken fried rice dish in Little India was on the cards which was probably the best food I have had so far. That evening I finally met with my friend, not in Navan, and went for some Chicken Katsu Curry, which must be the greatest dish since sliced bread. Afterwards it was back home to pack and be up early at 6am to make the flight and catch up with the lads, if the plane can dodge the erupting volcano!
Although we only had a few days in Singapore it is a lovely city/country that is well worth a visit for both its extravagant shopping and delicious cuisine. We were also highly impressed by the warmth of the locals who tried their best to help us out when we looked completely lost. Just one word of advice for the Singaporean government: lower the price of beer please.
See you in Indonesia!
The Lads
Although we only had a few days in Singapore it is a lovely city/country that is well worth a visit for both its extravagant shopping and delicious cuisine. We were also highly impressed by the warmth of the locals who tried their best to help us out when we looked completely lost. Just one word of advice for the Singaporean government: lower the price of beer please.
See you in Indonesia!
The Lads
