Singapore continued...

Back again, in a internet cafe in Bangalore!

So, I just wanted to finish off my experiences in Singapore. After the jewellery showroom the tour took us to the National Orchid Garden located in the Botanical Gardens where we saw lots of different types of the Singapore National Flower (the orchid) it was all very tropical and there were some very unusual plants there. Our final stop was Little India, as soon as you got off the bus you could smell all the wonderful foods they were cooking, unfortunately I didn't see too much of it there as we only had 20 mins.
Another thing I noticed about Singapore as we were on the bus was that it is so clean, there is no graffiti anywhere, also the guide was telling us they only have a 2% crime rate that is because of them having really strict punishments for any crimes comitted there.

After the tour finished I went back to the hotel for another sleep before I went out for the evening, I really was so tired to go out again, but obviously I had to do it! I took myself down to the quayside, I'd read about it in the guidebooks. It was suprisingly easy to find places there, I navigated my way on the buses as it was really cheap. I was pleasantly suprised when I got to the riverside, it looked amazing, there are just restaurants and bars lined up on the banks of the river. I had a walk around, then I stopped at a seafood restaurant for some Chinese fried rice (I know I'm not very adventurous!) and a glass of wine. It was so nice just sitting by the water and watching people go by. After I'd eaten I decided to take a walk and treat myself to a river cruise on a bumboat, that was a really great experience, there are so many of these boats going by and they are all lit up with the little orange lanterns. I tried to take a few snaps of the Singapore skyline, but they didn't come out particularly well, which I was a bit annoyed about. I was actually really overwhelmed by this stage, I have always wanted to come to Asia and I just couldn't believe I was actually there, I was just a bit sad that I was there on my own and had noone to share it with, but I guess that will take a while to get used to. After the boat trip I had another walk, as its the Chinese New Year at the moment there were lots of decorations and things going on, I witnessed the Chinese dragons doing a dance which was cool. As it'd been a really long day, I had to go back to the hotel earlyish for some sleep so I could get up early for the next day.

Saturday 11th Feb

Up bright and early today, must be the jet lag. Had a nice breakfast at the hotel, then thought I would go and do a bit of shopping as thats what Singapore is really known for. First stop was to buy another camera, I just couldn't resist it at those prices, I even did a bit of haggling and the guy also threw in a camera case and a bigger memory card, I was quite chuffed with that!! I walked along the main shopping road, Orchard Road, which is a really really long road full of shops and shopping malls, I was amazed at how good the shopping is, I was disappointed that because of not being able to carry much more I couldn't really buy anything, mind you it was probably a good job for my wallet! There are so many Western shops there, Marks and Spencer, Top Shop, Dorothy Perkins, I couldn't resist a quick look! Then I headed towards the famous Raffles hotel and had a look there, really posh! After that I took a walk through one of the many shopping malls towards the Worlds largest fountain (Fountain of Wealth). You are supposed to walk around it clockwise 3 times with your hand in the water, it's supposed to give you wealth in the future...lets hope so!!

Had a quick lunch there, then thought I'd better head back to the hotel as my flight to India was at 9pm. So thats where I left you last time as my flight was nearly ready..unfortuntately I didn't get a chance for my Singapore Sling, but I'm going back there in a week or so, so hopefully I'll get one then! On the whole, I absolutely loved Singapore and had the best time I would really recommend it.