Singapore

 During the spring festival I went to Singapore with my friend Alejandra. While Singapore has never been on my list of places to see, a friend was going and I thought hell why not! After 12 hours in Singapore I fell in love with the country.

Singapore was discovered by a man named Raffles. He wanted a port that would be in between China and India. It was  a small fishing village and he transformed it into a bustling urban city. Singapore was ruled by the British until WW2 when the Japanese occupied the city. The British claimed it back and then Singapore sought their independence in 1962. Singapore is a city full of rich history and diversity. It has four official languages- English, Mandarin, Tamil and Malay. Almost everyone in Singapore speaks English. All the signs are posted in English. They also have very strict laws. These laws are enforced with canning or heavy fines. Some of the laws include- no jaywalking ($500 fine), no eating or drinking on public transportation ($500), no spitting, ($500), no durians, and no littering ($500). These law create a very pleasant and clean atmosphere that is lacking in so many Asian countries.

I spent 5 days in Singapore. Some cities around the world have must see attractions. There are really no must see attractions in Singapore. So I just spent 5 days exploring the city.

The first day I went on an open air bus tour. It took us all over the city. We explored parts of Little India, Chinatown and the Marina area. We also went to a Hindu Temple and the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple. At the end of the day we went to Marina Bay Sands and saw a laser show over the bay.

Little India

Hindu Temple

 Buddha Tooth Relic Temple









On the second day I went to Universal Studios Singapore. Previously I have been to Hong Kong Disneyland and comparing it to theme parks at home they are a lot smaller. I have never been to Universal in Orlando but I would only assume it would be bigger than this park. Overall though it was nice to be at the park and go on the different rides!

 On the third day we decided to hop over to Indonesia. I figured why not say I have been to Indonesia too! Indonesia seemed poor with beautiful beaches and resorts. We show up and basically they said oh go to this resort that is where all the foreigners go. The beach was beautiful. However we couldn't swim in the water due to high algae.

On the fourth day we spent more time exploring Singapore. This included a trip to the Garden by the Bays, Singapore Flyer, Arab Street, and a river boat cruise. A very busy day!

The Garden by the Bay is a beautiful garden that has lush greeny. There were artificial trees that did the exact same things as regular trees only better. The gardens also had a lot of education that explained the importance of trees.






The last day in Singapore we walked around the city for the majority of the day. We explored along the river and saw a fort as well as old buildings. We stopped at the Raffles Hotel and had a Singapore Slinger.






This is a photo of the Merlion. The Merlion is half lion and half fish. He protects the city.


Singapore is a beautiful city. I enjoyed my vacation there and would highly recommend it to anyone thinking of going.