S I N G A P O R E < in 21 hours >

Sarah Escherich
Jan 18, 2015
7 min read

G'day my peoples! (It's gonna be a long one, so grab your tea and get situated in a cozy corner...)

So I've been in Australia (North Shore Noosa) going on 4 days now, and no matter how hard I try, I can't help myself but to briefly adopt an Australian accent every time I start a conversation with a local. I sound dumb, but it's fine with me. The energy here is so contagious - everyone is as friendly as can be, helpful to the point of sacrificing their own time and energy to help a homie out, and the relaxed culture is hard to beat. It's taken these past few days for it to really sink in that I'm across the world (according to my Grandpa I'm upside-down, technically speaking of course), but I've got this feeling like a part of me has been here before... that feeling enhanced by a meditation guru I met at a marketplace in Noosa, who told me, "Your spirit has lived here in a past life. You need to walk through the grass, really connect with the land and feel what it has to tell you." Do with that what you will, but as cliche, and potentially wacky as it sounds, I really do feel a connection to this place. It's hard not to in Noosa, it really is paradise! But before I get into my love affair with this country, let me tell ya 'bout Singapore.

My layover may have only been a quick 21 hours (not even a hint of sarcasm there, it really did go by fast), but my time in the city was well spent. I arrived at 3:30am on a Wednesday (morning?), breezed through customs and found myself waiting for luggage (that never came.. due to the fact that it was kindly being held for my next plane ride to Brisbane.. lesson learned: read the luggage tag receipt), and headed immediately to a pay-per-use lounge in the arrival terminal that had been recommended to me. It. Was. Magical. It was appropriately called "The Haven", and I booked a nap room for 4 hours, which also included a glorious, hot shower and a hot breakfast upon checkout. Highly recommend it for a long layover. I stashed a few extra apples and a can of Coke from the complimentary breakfast bar (all about the freebies when traveling, and just in general), and began my day at 8:30am. I checked my backpack and small bag at the "left luggage" service counter (a little over $2 USD per piece for all day storage!), and bought a day pass (around $20 USD) for a hop-on, hop-off metro bus.

A metro/subway train from the airport took me straight into the heart of the city, and I emerged from the underground station, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, to the muggy heat of Singapore. I spotted some token tourists, lathered in sun block (which I neglected to remember, sorrrrrrry Mom, but I got a good tan (burn)), sticking out like sore thumbs, and headed towards my people. Yep, they were waiting for the same bus. The bus ended up being one of those huge red double-deckers (super inconspicuous..), and I ran straight up the stairs to the open air seats. I stayed on the bus for a good hour and a half, people watching, gawking at the architecture and city hustle, and mapping out my plan for the day. Once I rode through the entire bus route, I had decided on a (sort-of plan), I hopped off the next time the bus stopped at the Little India neighborhood of the city, and walked straight into a huge Indian market and festival! The colors, smells, and sights were remarkable. Since I have never been to India (now it's on my top must-travel-to countries) I can only describe is as World Market coming to life. Some quick snaps I took walking through the market and main street:

Hopefully these pictures do the neighborhood justice - my every sense was overwhelmed walking around - it was hard to leave, but I was on a mission to go for some cheap eats in Chinatown, so I hopped back on the next uber-tourist bus and made my way on down to China (town).

The Chinese New Year celebration is something spectacular - and I was only seeing the preemptive setup! The streets were lined with brightly colored medallions, hung like Christmas lights above the main street, everything spectacularly clean (as was the rest of Singapore - you could actually eat off the sidewalks they were so immaculate - but then again, you'd get arrested), and stunning all around.

I wandered through some back streets and came upon a quaint sub-neighborhood, quiet and colorful, and noticeably serene. A block or two deep, I came upon two gorgeous Buddhist temples, and took a long stroll through each. In the first temple I was guided to put on a long skirt by a volunteer monk (I'm assuming here), and an insane amount of incense was burning throughout (heavenly scent to me). The sacredness of the site was understood:

Then, I decided food was needed, quickly. I found my way back to the neighborhood center, and walked up and down, looking like a fool, but so distraught about which food to eat. So I decided on a few - prawn dumpling soup with bok choy, followed by some sort of noodle concoction that was AMAZING and by amazing I mean delicious and SO CHEAP. I paid somewhere in the neighborhood of $4 USD for the whole deal. I sat down at a big table in the marketplace center, and was promptly joined by some (soon to be) new friends. My favorite new homie had to be Natalie, a woman from Paris who was super sassy and well-traveled. When we talked about surfing, it wasn't that she liked to go for a surf every once in a while, she liked to "do the surf" on a regular basis in Biarritz. I can't make fun though, she spoke fluent English, compared to my sad common-phrase knowledge of the beautiful French language. She recommended a few surf spots in India that she claims are untouched and up-and-coming big wave surf, and we agreed to meet at the airport later for a drink before our respective flights. Why was she my favorite, you ask? Well, she recommended I take a dip in the Changhi airport pool in Terminal 1 prior to my flight (who knew?!), and it was my saving grace after a long, sweaty day exploring the city.

After my meal, I poured some water on my head and looked for my big red bus. At this point, I needed to see some water, and I needed it now. I took my tourist sleigh all the way to the marina, in search of the fabled 'Mer Lion', and ended up slowly strolling around the entirety of the marina for the rest of the day. I perused in and out of some jaw-droppingly gorgeous waterfront hotels, stopped to gaze at the water and chat with some fellow backpackers/wanderers, and sat on a huge tree branch overlooking the canal, pondering whether or not I should drop in on a water taxi below (I decided against the 20 foot drop).

By then it was getting close to sunset, and my legs were about to fall off and quit on me. My spirits were salvaged by a coconut water peddler, who gave me two for the price of one (I love you coconut man).

With life back in my bones, I continued over the bridge to the largest hotel I've ever seen in my life - Marina Bay Sands Hotel - look it up, a description won't do it justice. I gawked around for a bit at the Art Museum on the waterfront, and hung out with the lily pads until it was close enough to sun down to enjoy a fabled Singapore Sling.

I walked through the huge mall area across the street from the hotel, and stared into the revolving pool of wisdom, as I decided to name it... those of you who've been may know what I'm talking about here.

I made my way up elevator numero uno to what I thought was the rooftop of the Marina hotel, but little did I know it was floor 6, rooftop garden floor. I strolled through the gardens, high above the city, and continued past the hotel into what I can only describe as an other-worldly sight.. just do me a favor and check it out - please tell me if you've ever seen anything like it..

I walked through it all, in awe of the beauty around me, until the need for a cold beverage became too powerful. I sat with my sore feetsies in the pond for a spell, and made my way back to the Marina hotel for that Singapore Sling. Finally, I found my way up to the rooftop pool and bar, which had the most killer view of the city.

To my surprise, I could not woo the pool guard to allow me in to the hotel-guest's only area, so I devised a quick plot to overthrow the system. I went back downstairs, befriended a door man, who recommended I make a new friend in the hotel lobby who seems to be checking out of their room. I went for the sweet older couple who looked like they remembered what a good time was, and scored a soon-to-be expired room key (hey Bette & Jerry, you rock!!) I proudly re-entered the elevator to the top, and gave the pool security man a hug for putting up with me. It was worth it. I rewarded my efforts with a Singapore Sling (or two), enjoyed the sunset with some new fellow traveler friends, and headed back to the airport to meet up with my homegirl Natalie before our flights, but not before going for a night swim and shower in the airport pool.

I can't tell you if I've ever felt a stronger sense of utter exhaustion or complete & overwhelming joy from a 21 hour time span. It was all worth it, to end up here: