Yo, Singapore is expensive.

That was my first thought when I landed at the bougie Changi Airport at around midnight – with all trains and buses done for the day, and a Grab taxi costing me 25$ for a 20 minute ride (something I would have paid 5 dollars in any other Asian country).

But, did I have a choice? Haha, no. Off we go!

I checked at my hostel, which was the first hostel to NOT have the outlets at the bed, which caused lots of distress to my retarded retired phone battery, but had an amazing lounge area, with piled up books, pool table, guitars, some dry noodles, and other weird stuff that created a cozy pub atmosphere.

I woke up early next morning determined to explore Singapore – but my strong desire was not destroyed but rather drastically humbled by the drizzling rain outside. Well, I walked miles under the pouring rain in Nha Trang, so some little sizzle-drizzle in Singapore did not stop me. Its just when the streets are drowning in sunshine rather than rain, it changes your perception, you know?

Resisting the tempting calls of souvenirs and the smell of delicious Turkish food, I walked around the area, and also went inside the Mosque. No hijab of head covering was required, but the helpful lady at the entrance gave me a green dress to cover arms and legs. She was kind of shocked at me wound from the bike crash – and assumed it was my “Thai souvenir”. Not like its any less painful if it is from the Philippines… My wound looks worse than it is, although it hurts quite a bit, but more than that hurts my dignity somewhere in the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

I ended up trying some Turkish donuts – lokmas. And made my way through the rain, powered by the sugar boost, to the Helix Bridge, overlooking the Art Museum and the fanciest, most expensive mall I have seen in my life – the Mall on The Shore. The management seemed to collect famous brands like Thanos collects the rings – the mall had everything from not so small coffee shops to Versace and Dolce Gabbana. The lowest level was decorated with the water canal, where you could get a ticket for a boat ride. In the evening, the boats also featured the Phantom of the Opera actors and musical accompaniment (see pics!). I am a big fan of both the book and the movie, so it was the highlight for me of this particular part of my tour.

Of course, I saw the lookout point (but didn’t go up, its expensive, for what? White fog?), which looks like a boat that sits on top of the three skyscrapers. At the feet of the skyscrapers are the Gardens with conical / firework like metal structures, covered in green ivy. I tried some Laksa in the nearby stores, which advertised the dinosaur exhibition – my stomach voted for Laksa being more important than the exhibition ticket, so I just watched some dinosaur figures in the food plaza, that would come alive from time to time, move their heads and roar.

The day finished in the Chinatown, where I gladly purchased a new pair of elephants pants for 6$ – an irreplaceable piece of clothing in Asia. They cover your legs from the Sun, but are very baggy so you do not feel hot, and are also great for cafes or airports with string AC. When my old pair got torn, I tried to sew it back but it kept tearing apart more and more so I gave up and through those away.

And yes, as you might have guessed – next morning I got to know some amazing folks, Jack and Cooper (Wisconsin based), Lois from Germany, and my Canadian fellow Jess from Halifax. Jess left the breakfast area early, heading to the Singapore Zoo (apparently second best in the world), and me and Jack and Cooper got together for some Vietnamese coffee at the local coffee shop at the corner. They have not been to Vietnam yet, and I was desperate for some salt coffee, so I volunteered to introduce the boys to this best coffee in the world.

After saying “Cam On” to the coffee shop barista and melting her heart, we met Lois and set out together – quite spontaneously – to the zoo as well. The zoo is really distinct for its open concept – there were no cages per say, which created an impression of walking in the park rather than among cages. We met Jess there – quite expectedly, and hang out together afterwards. My concern (a shared concern, by the way) was, however, that we paid too much (50 bucks) for too few animals. As long as the animals are happy, I guess.