Singapore (Academic Travel Part 2)

Sunday, while in Kuala Lumpur, we were free so Jeannie, Stephanie, Chris and I decided to head to Singapore for the day. It was only an hour flight so we left extremely early and arrived around 8:20am. Singapore is an independent city state south of Malaysia. The city is extremely clean, there's no litter or graffiti, the public transportation system is on point and their crime rate is one of the lowest in the world. Singapore is known as one of the best run Asian countries due partly to some of their crazy laws. Such as:

• Selling gum is illegal
• Eating or drinking on the metro or anywhere in the metro stations is illegal
• When getting on the metro you must stand to the sides of the doors until the exiting passengers get off
• Failure to flush a public toilet is a public offense which can result in caning or large fines
• Connecting to unsecured Wi-Fi hotspots is considered hacking
• If caught littering 3 times, one must pick up trash on Sundays wearing a bib that says "I'm a litterer"

Not breaking any rules in the metro!

Therefore, we made sure not to break any rules in order to make it back to Kuala Lumpur! Our first stop was the Singapore Botanical Gardens, where we were able to see some of the native plants to southeast Asia.

After, we had lunch at Newton Food Center, an open air market known as a great place to go to sample the many local cuisines of Singapore. We had a great Indian lunch from a small stand, but since it was Sunday, a lot of the stands were closed so we didn't get the whole experience of the market. However, it was worth the trip for the great, inexpensive food.

Haji Lane was next, a small shopping street, located in the Muslim quarter. They are known for their small, colorful, independent shops and we spent some time wandering in and out of the many stores.

We then headed down to the Marina, where the Financial Center is located. We walked through part of the Financial Center to the Marina and got drinks at Sky on 57 at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel. The view was stunning and we could see for miles. We had views overlooking the city and the water. Singapore is busiest port in the world, which was not surprising considering the shipping vessels waiting off shore.

View from Sky on 57

Our day ended with a ride on the Singapore Flyer, the world's tallest Ferris wheel. The ride lasted around 30 minutes and we were able to see all of Singapore. There is so much to do there that we barely touched any of it. While we saw what many say are the main attractions, we all saw other places we would like to visit. However, it was time to return to Kuala Lumpur for the rest of our travel!

Jeannie, Me, Stephanie & Chris on the Flyer