I don’t have a ton to say about Singapore because it was overall a great experience. This is by far the safest place I have felt I’ve traveled to. I felt completely comfortable walking around alone at night and exploring, though as a side note I was staying more towards the touristy things which tend to be safer anyway.
In order to discuss Singapore, I’ve got to point out that this was never part of my original plan. The reason I ended up there for three days was because someone I met in a hostel mentioned that getting back to the U.S. was cheaper if you make your own connection through Singapore. At the time the tickets to fly to Boston from Bangkok were a lot more expensive than I originally expected and with limited money options, I took the advice and looked into flying Bangkok to Singapore and then to Boston.
Sure enough, the tickets were significantly cheaper to make my own connection and would leave me in Singapore for three days. I was thrilled to visit the city that was not part of my original plan, knowing it tended to be more expensive than many of the places I had been on my way home but that it would only be for three days.
Of course, I had not realized or done a lot of research on Singapore and was treating it like any other trip I had taken across Southeast Asia, meaning I would book a hostel once I got there.
As I’m sitting on the plane with thirty minutes left until landing, the lights suddenly changed to red and white and the Singapore Independence song began. The air hostesses walked around waving little flags and there was an announcement welcoming people to Singapore for its National Independence Holiday.
I was excited to be there on a holiday weekend, wondering if any events were happening and thought it was funny luck I happened to randomly fly there at this time. As the plane landed, I walked into the famous airport that has the large waterfall in the center. I could feel myself walking quickly, excited to see all of the things I had only seen videos on youtube of.
I quickly went to baggage claim where I grabbed my bag and logged into the airport wifi to find my new hostel for the three days. For some reason I was naive to realize, just like in my home country, this was a holiday that many people would be celebrating, also though it was a city, it would have limited housing options.
My jaw went slightly slack as my lips parted with a groan when I saw there were absolutely no hotels or hostels available for the weekend that were under USD 500 a night. I searched every site I knew to find options but there were none that a broke college student could afford. I sat there for two hours searching and staring at a wall trying to figure out what to do next.
I felt like my only option, which I’ve had to do before, was to sleep in the airport. I have to put this as a disclaimer but I believe sleeping in the airport like that is possibly illegal but I had no idea at the time and didn’t know what else to do with a flight in a few days.
Luckily, after a bit of research I realized the airport had luggage storage. I stowed one change of clothes in my small backpack with a sweatshirt and some other needed items and brought my large hiking bag to be stored so I could still make the most of my visit.
One of the great things about Singapore is the public transportation system that goes right from the airport to all over the city. I was able to grab a three day pass and begin my exploration of as many sites as I could get to.
Though before that, I was on a mission. I had landed in the later hours of the day so at that point it was around 9:00pm. I had made a drunk decision in Northern Thailand to get my nipples pierced and one had been swelling over the sides of the bar, meaning I needed to get a longer one as soon as possible in fear of the skin growing over the ends.
Clearly, to those reading this, the piercings had not been done correctly and were a bad idea that I took out later but you are only young and dumb once!
I hopped on the rail and was on my way to find the only piercing place I could that was open until 10:00pm, as the rest were closed. I got off at a station where no one was around and made my way down the dark streets. At first I was worried but the more I walked, the more comfortable I felt as I saw young teenagers wandering with their friends at that time alone. I didn’t have time for fear, I was on a mission.
I found this small place that barely had a sign and creeped up some steep tight stairway until I reached a small door. I knocked and was answered by an annoyed piercing artist, to be fair she had every right to be annoyed as it was 9:49pm. I explained what I needed and she pulled out her options but warned me she couldn’t change it tonight as she had already cleaned up.
I was just so relieved I had found a longer bar that I thanked her, paid, and was on my way back to the airport for some needed sleep.
I won’t go into the whole fiasco of changing the bar, many people with piercings know never to change it while healing and if you do it hurts horribly. But that was the next few hours of my night as I changed the bar and found a place to sleep on a second story hallway.
The sound “Brrrrrrhhh” woke me up a few hours later and I realized it was a floor washing machine. It kept coming closer and I grabbed my stuff to find another place. I was absolutely freezing from the AC that must have been on antarctic mode in the airport. I found another space of floor a little ways away that had already been cleaned before I closed my eyes once again. Between noises and waking from the cold and the need to switch places from arms or legs falling asleep, I probably got a full three and a half hours of sleep. That did not stop my enthusiasm the next morning as I grabbed a coffee at the airport and made my way back to the rail to finally head into the city for some fun this time.
Usually I do a bunch of research into the cultural differences and ways to avoid being disrespectful before heading to a country. In this case I had made the decision basically the day of to head to Singapore so I really had no idea about what was okay in the country.
I hopped on the rail with my coffee in hand, not sipping it, just holding it and right in front of my face was a large sign that said no food or drinks. The rail had already started moving so I had no way to get rid of it. I honestly was pretty panicked, I think we’ve all heard of foreigners breaking laws in countries and being punished. I was terrified I would be arrested as I had no idea how serious this was. I wrapped my coffee in my sweatshirt carefully, making sure nothing would spill at all and waited for the first stop. Here I was sweating and looking around for cameras before jumping off at the first stop and throwing my coffee in the first trash can I came across.
I got back on the next train but I worried the whole weekend I would get in massive trouble when trying to leave the country or something. After that small mishap I truly wandered all around from the gardens and famous boat-looking hotel, to the different malls, and places to eat. I spent all day and a lot of the night enjoying light shows and day/night shows, before I eventually went back to the airport.
I decided that my hair was looking gross from the heat of walking around so I grabbed some hand soap and bent over the sink to wash it. I did my best to keep my hair from touching the sink bottom but it was not so great as soapy water ran constantly down my forehead and stung my eyes. After fighting for 15 minutes with it, I finally got it washed enough and wrapped my hair in my t-shirt to dry. It helped me cool down and feel a little better feeling just a little cleaner than I had been.
The next day was a tough day, I was feeling quite feverish probably from the piercing and tattoos, the healing process overwhelming my body and the lack of good sleep and major stress. I luckily found a back hallway that was a bit warmer to sleep in and got more sleep that night but I still didn’t feel very good.
I still wanted to see the aquarium as my boss from Thailand told me I had to go see it if I were ever in Singapore. So off I went. I did really well for most of the day but at some point I went to another mall while I was waiting for a show to happen in a few hours. There I saw people sitting on the ground by the sides of the building inside the mall and followed suit. I sat down and drank some of my cold water just watching people walk around and shop. I felt so hot and sweaty, my face felt like it was burning and my eyes were heavy. Next thing I know, I’m opening my eyes to the white walls across from me, realizing I just conked out for a few hours.
In my feverish haze I slept for two hours in the AC. Luckily that seemed to build me back up so I could enjoy my time at night to see some more light shows. Overall, my trip to Singapore didn’t have too many massive events but it really taught me that planning can make a trip go a lot smoother at times.
