Singapore

So as mentioned previously, Singapore wasn't a country I was intending to stop in, but hey what's an extra stamp in my passport eh?

I've been to Singapore before but the last time was more than 10 years ago, so it was nice to see it through the eyes of a grown up. Singapore was warmer and much more humid than NZ but all in all I quite liked Singapore - there was quite a cool, funky vibe about it. Maybe something to do with the entire country being basically just a city (it's one of the smallest and most densely populated countries in the world).

Anyway, as Singapore had been quite a last minute thing, I was without my trusty lonely planet and hadn't done any research about what there was to see so I resorted to a hop on - hop off tour. Although to be truthful it was sooo frigging hot that I didn't do too much hopping on and off, but managed to see a fair amount from the comfort of the bus :)

Quite a change from the accommodation I usually stay in (hostels)! This was the 2nd cheapest place on the airport hotel reservation list (I figured that 2am was no time to go looking for the cheapest one, located in the red light district!)

A beautiful sunny day

An unusual water fountain in that the water flows down and inwards (rather than shooting upwards). Good feng shui apparently, as water represents wealth and flowing inwards means that the wealth stays with you.

Old Hill Street Police Station. I just took a photo of it cos it looks cool with all the different coloured shutters :)

OK I don't actually remember, but having seen some portuguese architecture in Brazil and Macau, I'm gonna say this is portuguese! (The Portuguese did actually occupy Singapore, so there's a possibility I might be right!)

A funky building that looks eerily 2 dimensional ;)

In the centre of the picture you can see 2 rounded buildings - the exhibition centre. It was designed to look like 2 durian, the national fruit of Singapore (which I'd never seen before)

closer...

Loving the clouds in this picture

A rain tree, which gets its name because when it rains (apparently a daily occurance in Singapore) the leaves all close up and allow the rain to fall through to the ground

The amazing lushness of the greenery certainly did lend weight to the idea there was plenty of rainfall, although I couldn't see any (menacing) clounds in the sky.

And the DEEP gutters seem to suggest a lot of rain as well...

Hmmm food glorious food. Laksa. Hmmmm

Raffles Hotel, the oldest and most exclusive hotel in Singapore. Even her majesty has stayed here!

The Singapore Flyer. When completed in 2008 it will be the world's largest ferris wheel - equivalent to a 42 storey building.

The blue, yellow and green are seats for a floating stadium that is under construction. A bit crazy sounding but I imagine it would make going to events quite exciting...

Singapore, framed by some dark, angry looking clouds. (sorry about the reflection)

And finally, from the safety of the bus, I saw the rain. A brief but very thorough downpour.

I still can't decide whether I love this or hate it...

Locals out having dinner on a saturday night

Weird fruits! The Durian is the green spiky one in the back, behind Mr blue shirt. I tried some - it's not disgusting, but definitely an acquired taste. With a very potent smell!