Day 15 - Marina Bay, Marina Barrage and a Muslim called Samil

On Day 15 I woke up and decided to do some washing, so I washed my kilt, before leaving it to dry out on the line. I headed for the obligatory money change before deciding to go out to Marina Bay MRT to see what is there. The answer: not much. On exiting the MRT station, you are surrounded by construction sites, and you have to follow a series of laminated signs pointing to the 'Marina Barrage shuttle bus'. That sounded promising. The trip to Marina Barrage passed through more construction areas, and then we reached the barrage, which seemed to be a great feat of architecture, was based around a large, sweeping roof which you could walk up, since it was covered with grass and had a path. There were many people on the roof itself, flying kites. From the roof I saw a fountain area, which you could paddle in. I headed round the remaining sweep of the roof, and into the area, and soon I was paddling in the lovely, cool water of the fountain, and then I decided, what the heck! I took my shirt off, removed anything which could be water damaged from my pockets, and proceeded to get thoroughly soaked, which highly amused a small kid who had exactly the same intention. I then got talking to the boy's father, who was a native Singaporean Muslim called Samil, his son called Ahmed. We had a cvery interesting conversation, where I learned many facts about Singapore, especially about the educational system, which I strucured very similarly to that of England, and English is actually taught as afirst language to children, before Singaporean. We then got talking about Kembangan, and Sam told me that he lived in Bedok, nearby and that there was a large mall there with a hawker centre inside. He offered me a lift, and I gratefully accepted, and he took me to the mall, explaining that Singapore is smaller than you might think, and that the Merlion in Sentosa is not acutally the real Mrelion, the real one being much smaller and located in the CBD. He pointed out some of the sights on the way, and I thanked him when we arrived and he droppedm me off, having to head home. I headed into the mall and trawled the bookshop, looking for a 'bible' for Sydney and, after a lengthy search ended up with an alternative, so Sydney's adventures will be based on the bible of Frommer's, not on a Lonely Planet bible. Then I hit the food ourt, enjoying chicken rice (although the chicken was a bit dry) followed by (I couldn't help myself) Choclate Fondue, which had strawberries, banana, waffles, chcolate wafer bites and marshamallows, and rich choclate sauce. Bliss. I then headed for the aptly named 'Giant' hypermarket, where I found some books to read, Including one from the author of the book I had finished the previous evening (not included in the blog since reading is not exploration, and would seem quite boring and repetitive). I also found another book, and bought both for S$18, good value for books. I then headed back, to find that I had a new roommate, called Fahin from Sri Lanka. When I first reached the room, he apologised, but he was very tired, and so I took my book and headed to the downstairs cafe/bar to sit with a beer and read. After a beer I felt slightly peckish, and decided to brave some of the cuisine, only to find (to my delight), that they served sweet and sour pork. I ordered a small portion and it arrived, complete with fork. I sent the (bemused) waiter away to get chopsticks, and felt quite stisfied a while later when I finished the dish with a clan shirt. Well, as they say, when in Rome.. I then had another beer before retirting to the dorm, ti find Fahin was now awake and we sat and talked for a while about Sri Lanka and Scotland, and he told me that one day he wanted to move to the UK for work. After a while, pooped, I retired to my bed and slept.

Day 14 - Addicted

If you want to know where I went on day 14, the title is pretty self explanatory, but I'll give you a clue: I was there on days 12 and 13. Yep, Sentosa again, but not immediately. First, I headed to change some money (as always), and then I headed to an area of Singapore called Little India, which contained much of the Indian population of Singapore (no points for guessing that), but it also contained a shop called the Mustafa Centre. This is a HUGE department store, which sells everything, and I mean EVERYTHING! I had to go to the top floor to find menswear, and then I had to wade through Aisles of Trousers, Shirts, T'shirts, Pyjamas, Boxers, etc, until I found shorts. I then bought several pairs of very nice shorts at a very cheap price, which is good since I ripped my other pair in Hong Kong. I got two pairs of bermuda shorts, which have more pockets than I could ever have stuff to put in, and a pair of lightweight shorts, also with pockets. I then headed out to explore Little India, and also to find a shop which was called 'Indian Candys' (sic, no typo), which was in my bible (of Lonely Planet), although a traipse through LI turned up no result, but I did get a good picture of the Sri Veermakaliamman Temple (try saying that while drunk), as well as some of the colourful houses and shopfronts (will be on facebook as soon as I find a computer that works). I then found asmall food court hidden in one of the backstreets, and I had some duck noodles, of which the duck turned out to be more bone than meat, but it was really cheap, and it was food, so I didn't complain. I then decided to follow a recommendation from Joyce and Cheryl, and went back to the island of addiction, to see the 'Songs of the Sea' show. I discovered upon arrival that those with a ticket for the show got a S$3 discount on a Segway ride, so need I say more? On the ride I met a nice American couple, whose names I have since forgotten (I hope to get an email from them to remind me), and they were also going to the show, so we decided to sit together and watch. The special effects in the show were spectacular, a Pyromaniac's dream and the laser lights were enough to cause an epileptic fit (in a non-epileptic). Brilliant, but I felt the show was made very cheesy by the lipsyncing used by all of the actors, and the use of cartoon characters also made it seem a bit childish, as well as the plot (or lack thereof). The SFX were a saving grace, however, so it comes with a recommendation from me (especially if you have kids). I then said my goodbyes to the Americans, as they were headed back to Singapore island, and I headed back for (yet another) ride on the Segway, and the woman gave me another S$3 discount. My monetary funds then almost exhausted, I had one go on the luge before leaving for Singapore, vowing not to retrun tomorrow (but maybe to go again). I headed back to the hostel and found the room blissfully empty, and I got the room to myself for the night. Lovely.