Sweet Singapore!

We got up at 4:30 am to get a cab to KL Central. We had the nicest cabbie ever. We liked his "no joking" phrase that he would say at the end of every other sentence. He told us how great the trains were - you can check into your flight from the train station and your bags get checked straight from train cargo. We took the bus to the airport though, because we weren't rushing and it was a lot cheaper. The lines at the airport took FOREVER. They were completely inefficient and it was frustrating.

After we finally checked in we had Old Town Coffee for breakfast one last time. They had perfectly soft boiled eggs on toast and a sweet bun with chicken ham (no real pork in a Muslim country) and melted cheese. We also had to have one more amazing cup of milk tea and white hazelnut coffee.


The flight to Singapore was a breeze, it took under an hour. Customs was equally easy. Our bags were waiting for us at baggage claim. If only all airport experiences could be so pleasant. We took the subway into the city - it was clean, easy, and quick. Our first impression of Singapore was that it is a very clean and nice city, but a lot of rules! We checked into our hotel - a renovated opium den! - and then went off to find some food. Maxwell Center has dozens of food stalls, all very cheap, and some of them are world renowned for their fantastic dishes. We scarfed down some delicious fried rice, egg, veggies, Hianese chicken and pork. We also had some refreshing pineapple juice with big chunks of fresh fruit in it.


After stuffing ourselves with delicious food, we got back on the subway and headed to Orchard Street, where all the big shopping is. Singapore is clearly a wealthy country. It was overwhelming. In less than a kilometer, we counted three Mont Blanc stores. How unnecessary. It felt very superficial in this area, so after a bit we decided to move on, after snacking on an ice cream sandwich - a chunk of mint chip ice cream wrapped in multicolored bread. Interesting.


It was a gorgeous day, and many areas were very picturesque. We went to the City Hall area, and saw the Supreme Court, Parliament, and many tall buildings (that are all quite close together). The Children Olympics is being hosted here, so many of the roads are closed due to parades and other events. We saw the new hotel that was just built with a giant cantilever on top - it is impressive, holding a bar, restaurant, and Olympic sized pool. Ironically, our only negative impression of the city is that it is TOO clean. It almost feels like Disneyland here. Cops are everywhere, and there is a general feeling that you need to ask permission for everything.


We saw the War Memorial, then were lucky enough to see the military practice a 21 gun salute for the upcoming parade. Afterward we thought we stop at a bar or cafe and have a cold one, but everything was closed! We decided to buy some brews and head back to Maxwell's to sit and nosh on some snacks. In a 7-11 we found a Singaporean beer called Baron's that was 11.8% alcohol in 50mL cans. Whoa. We sat in the outdoor section of the Maxwell Center as the sun went down, chowing down on some tasty dumplings and spring rolls, and after a couple Baron's, we called it an early night and headed back to get some much needed rest.