Kasia on her travels: Singapouring the praises

Alas I only had a very short time in Singapore but I fell for it, like big style. Like started looking up how I could possibly get a job and move there style. It is possibly the perfect place for me. I loved the multicultural nature of it, I loved the fact that it felt like East meets West. Everything I miss from home coupled with all the good stuff from Asian cultures that I love. The more I saw of the city itself (didn't have time to explore the rest of the main island) the more I liked it and was wowed by it.

I was staying in Little India which I loved, thanks to some great tips from the brother of a friend who is living out here I had myself a very tasty curry for my dinner not long after arriving. Yum! Thank you Rob. I was staying in one the of 'Fragrance' hotels a small chain in Singapore and I was in the Elegance on Dunlop Street. Online it seemed like it was going to be quite big but was actually tiny and when I checked in I asked for a double room and was told that alas there were none but I had been put in the 'largest of the superior twin' rooms. The guy on desk made such a fuss about me being in the largest twin room, with superior in fact just being hotel speak for the cheapest rooms we have that I was expecting to walk into something akin to the monster room in Nha Trang, I'm not kidding you could've fit this room easily 6 times in that room. It was tiny!!! I can only imagine that the other twin rooms involve standing beds to be any smaller than this one. Still the room itself was nice and the hotel was in a great location so all in all it was grand. A room is only crash pad after all.

I also loved Singapore for the fact I finally got to see The Hunger Games. I've been excited about the film ever since I read the books when I was in Nigeria last year and for reasons not entirely clear it was cancelled from cinemas in Vietnam where I had hoped to see it. OK so they said it was too violent, but actually more about depicting people rising up against the heavily controlling state. Anyway you might think it's a strange thing to do to go to the cinema when you're travelling but I LOVE going to the cinema and it's one of those things I really miss. I even had a choice of places to go and watch it. Of course I chose the most confusing one with screens on about nine levels of a twelve story complex and box offices all over the place too. I actually couldn't find a floor with a box office on it thanks to making the mistake of going up the escalator rather than in the lift, well we all know how I feel about lifts right? Finally I found one on level five and then my screen was on level 12. Most confusing cinema ever. But frankly I didn't care and I loved the film, can't wait for the next one.

After the early morning cinema adventure I navigated my way around various locations including Boat Quay (old Chinese quayside), Raffles landing place (well that's obvious), Cavenagh Bridge (old bridge), Merlion Park (the symbol of Singapore), Marina Bay (fancy fancy fancy hotel complex and all sorts) and finally Chinatown. I loved it all. I think I walked around gawping most of the time, and managed to get myself lost at one point accidentally ending up inside the Fullerton Bay Hotel and not being able to find a way out thanks to the space age doors. Special.

As usual there are some pics below of my adventures, I could make them all integrated and stuff but it usually goes wrong and I get stressed and I'm way too chilled out for that so there you go. Oh and if anyone is reading this who happens to have some kind of shiny job going in Singapore that doesn't require me to be a financial or IT specialist let me know.