The gateway to Asia

Getting up at 6am local Singapore time might  have something to do with it being 6 hours behind New Zealand. The landlady of the guesthouse is a lady called Rai. One of her shower units was spurting out a fountain of water from a broken handle so I thought it might be nice to help her out. Running my mind through what Magyver solution might work temporarily to ease the stress it was causing here. In her broken English and my inability to say anything accept English I explained I'd try to get a washer for her in one of the local hardware stores. When Jojo arose we headed off. 

We were staying in the outskirts of Singapore, just 5 mins from the MRT stop of Aljunied EW9. Far from the description so many people had told me of coming to Singapore, the area was quite working class with unpainted buildings and local people sitting outside cafe eating breakfast. We headed of down SIm Avenue and then made our way to Geyland Rd. Thankfully I had loaded the hardware store location in Google Maps on my iPhone and the GPS was taking us the rest of the way. Yeah, I know. Sam and technology. What am I like. I love it nevertheless. 

Ten minutes later the flashing blue icon was showing us at 777 Gelyland Rd. Sadly, the falshing blue icon could not tell me that the business was not there any longer. Back to our huuman instincts we went of in search of the washer. It was loads of fun too see the more real side of Singpaore. I joked to Jojo how bizarre it must be to think that our first day in Asia we are off searching for plumbing  supplies. We called into a few different bathroom and hardware shops. Explaining, we were looking for a washer, was an interesting challenge. After a few strange looks and some simple charades we had an understanding. We spent the next hour walking from shop to shop until we got the right washer. Delighted with our little adventure we headed back to the Sky Orchid guesthouse on Lor 27. I found Kai and she smiled and explained that the plumber was upstairs putting in a new tap. I smiled and said "ooh" and left her to it. 

We headed in to the city on the MRT and in search of some food. Impeccably clean and effeciently run, the MRT is a low cost and necessary option for getting around Singapore. We jumped off at City Hall and made our way out into the modern and clean city. Not knowing where we where we were we walked around aimlessly in search of something. We picked up a pair of Flip Flops for Jojo and head further towards the main river. It's quite hard to find the main shopping area. We found a row of eateries along the riverside offering a vast selection of seafood at a semi-reasonable cost. We continued until we found a small cafe/restaurant behind this row. At this stage our tempers were near flaring with the hunger inside. After ordering I noticed that the restaurant was called The Smile Clinic. Unusual combination. Food and dentistry. I had picked up some pretty bad tartar somewhere along the way that had being worrying me, so I decided to see how much having my teeth cleaned would cost. Jojo also needed some fillings done. After eating and paying we headed upstairs. For only €30 I could have my teeth fully cleaned. Jojo was advised to wait until he was stopping somewhere for a while. 30 mins later I was walking out with my new super white smile.

After some discussion we decided to treat ourselves to Singapore Zoo. We jumped back on the MRT and then onto a local bus route 138. Entry was on $14 dollars for the zoo. You could additionally do the Night Safari and the Bird Sanctuary as part of a package deal for $40. Now, I have being to a number of different zoos and safari parks around the world. Singapore gets my thumbs up. As a matter of fact, I didn't really want to go to a zoo after seeing how depressed the animals where in Shanghai. They have done an amazing job and the whole experience is quite special. The layout is beautiful and very well thought out. The animals seem to be fairly happy. They have created some interesting tasks and games to keep the animals occupied, while at the same time entertaining the crowds. There is an abundance of trees and wildlife growing everywhere and the animals are kept in very natural looking settings. It was worth every doller and showed me that zoos can be done a right way. So many countries could take a lesson from this. We also got see a fantastic water show called Splash Time with Dugoons, Penguins and particularly amazing performing seal. Jojo was in his element. We both loved it and it finished off our Singapore Zoo experience nicely.

After we got back to Sky Orchid we lay down to rest for a little bit. Expecting to sleep for an hour and get up to explore some more of the city by night. We didn't quite mean night, when we both woke at 11.30pm. Determined not to miss out and get some food we jumped on the last MRT into city. The city was fairly devoid of human life when we arrived. We picked up some homemade ice tea off a street vendor. We resigned to a McDonalds. Yes, Peter would be laughing now. Delicious. When your hungry. Now feeling more alive and awake we decided we start walking through the city back to the guesthouse. With no map and using our instincts we navigated through the empty streets of Singapore. After 30 mins or so we decided to stop someone and ask where Geyland was. We gave some poor girl a fright. She then quizzically asked where we walking there. She pointed in the direction and mentioned it was quite far. We thanked here and went on our way. After navigating across the main river and through more local areas we stopped a McDs delivery guy. He also mentioned it was a good distance. Another 20 minutes later we asked the last person. He also asked us questionally, where we walking. All in all we did the 8km journey in around an hour and a half. It was a fantastic way to spend an evening and was a brilliant way to see a city. Especially such a modern one as Singpaore. Once again, my expectations of a city are thrown out the window. I wonder what the learning is in this!