So, after having a Subway, (If you have no idea what I'm talking about, go back and read the posts about Singapore in the correct order ;)) I went to the MRT station in Bugis Junction. There I got my own Singapore Visitor's Pass. At last, I was free to go wherever I wanted to (taxis were just so expensive and not really a good idea for sightseeing ;) ).
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MRT underground station
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I had to check the map on a bus station before I actually knew which bus I had to take and which route I need to take. Finally I decided I wanted to go to the Chinese Heritage Centre (as it was called in all the online articles I read about Singapore!). I got on a bus (we have to swipe our card at the card reader in the bus, which is WAY easier than getting a ticket!), which was so full that I had to wait near the driver, at the front of the bus, where there was another boy, no, MAN, who looked to be English, and a bit older than me. We talked for a bit and I came to know that he had been to Australia before he made it to Singapore, and he was so fascinated to hear my story, about how I wanted to stay there for the long duration of my studies ;)
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MRT bus
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I asked the driver how many stops were left till we reached the place (in Singapore buses, they do not say where they are stopping, so if you were too far away to see the signs at the bus stop, you wouldn't know where you were!), and the bus driver replied, 3. I patiently waited for 3 stops and when we arrived at the place where I was supposed to get off from the bus, there was no significant building in sight, (I assumed that the Heritage Centre would be a very large building, with it's name written across the building in HUGE letters or something of the sort. There were buildings everywhere, but nothing that looked so significant.) Before leaving the bus, I asked the driver where the centre was and he showed me a building from across the road( the road which was about 40ft wide- I'm not so good with estimating in feet :S- so it looked kinda far away!) When I tried to cross the road, he said it wasn't possible and that I should go behind this building under construction and emerge at the other side of the road, which was so confusing, and by the time I crossed the road, I could not identify the building the bus driver had pointed out!
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Apparently this is the place, but I never saw it, probably because the bus driver misunderstood my request and I was dropped off somewhere else totally :S
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I went around asking people about the Heritage Centre, and maybe it was my accent, or they just did not know the place, everyone I asked repeated it in their own accent (which was hard for me to understand!) and said they had no idea what I was talking about! One person lead me to a Chinese mall there though. So I thought at the time that it must have been the name of the mall. I was so disappointed, but I did not stop the search. That is, until Iko called me. By then I was exhausted from all the wandering around in the hot streets (even these streets had trees and stuff, but I guess the humidity was so low that it felt hot, and the fact that there was no breeze didn't help either!).
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So it was while I was still searching for the place in vain that Iko called me. She asked me to come over to her place and texted me her address. I got into a cab (getting cabs in Singapore is so easy! They have this board kinda thingy attached on top of them which says either "Taxi" in green, which means it is available or "Hired"/"On Call" in red which means they are unavailable! Or you could go to the nearest Taxi Stand where Taxis would be waiting for you! How cool is that? ;) )
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Taxi Stand
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I read out the address and the driver took me there. It was a condo and I couldn't find her apartment. Then I called her and she said she was coming to get me so I waited by the pool, looking around. It was so beautiful! Honestly, no words suffice to explain the serenity and tranquility I felt by being there! Then I saw a girl in shorts and a Tee coming towards me. I didn't think she was Iko until she actually talked to me. Honestly, I thought she would be different. But she looked so young and energetic that she might as well have been 20 ;) And anybody who just met her would have a hard time believing that she was the mother of two, let alone married!
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West Bay Condo
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The Play-thingy near the pool
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View from the balcony of an apartment in West Bay
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So she took me to her apartment which was empty then. Her hubby, Matt was apparently at NUS, National University of Singapore, which is pretty close by and her two kids, Adam and Sophie were at school, which was also nearby.
Iko was the best host I could have asked for. I am planning on writing a different post about her, so I wouldn't go into details about how great she is here. I rested there for a bit and then she offered to take me to the Chinese Gardens. The minute she mentioned it, all my tiredness was gone and I was full of adrenaline, ready to go explore the place! :D
We took the overhead trains and went to the Chinese Gardens, which was this park kinda thingy with an endless carpet of green grass and gigantic trees shading the areas. Iko snapped pictures of me (again, I do not have those pictures I lost my camera! Shame! :( ) and I was kinda posing near every significant thing in sight ;) I honestly admire her patience and enthusiasm as I dragged her from place to place in the HUGE park.
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Overhead MRT trains
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Chinese Garden
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Chinese Garden
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Chinese Garden
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Chinese Garden
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The most memorable part was climbing the 7-storey traditional house thingy. Iko and I ran all the way up the stairs and despite me being younger than her, she was way faster than me! Talk about energy and being fit! ;) I was exhausted by the time I reached the top and I felt a bit dizzy because a submarine was all I had throughout the day. I rested for a bit and then went around the dome kinda place (the view from each corner was different, but equally amazing~!), taking pictures as I went.
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View from one corner of the place
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Then we went to this lake-kinda place and we sat there for a bit feeding the fishes. We did try to go to the Turtles and Tortoise museum, but it was closed for repair or something. We did go in to this garden kinda place where really old trees were planted, but the trees were so tiny you wouldn't be able to guess their ages correctly! ;) Apparently it was a technique they used to make sure the trees didn't grow so big.
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Believe it or not, these trees are over a 100 years old! |
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We then went to Clementi market and had lunch there, but not before Iko took me on a tour of the Chinese stalls there. I saw a whole bunch of different things including black chicken and endless varieties of herb and spices. The place even smelled different!
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Black chicken |
We went to an Indian place and took some lunch and went home in time to pick up Sophie and Adam from their school. We walked out the back door, across the street and through the garden there and we reached their school. It was so nearby and so convenient that I could almost imagine myself doing the same thing! Almost! :D
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There you see the garden/park like place across the road from the condo. :D
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There we met Matt and I was lucky enough to go inside the school. I remember the ceiling which was painted to look like the sky on a sunny day, the blue sky with fluffy white clouds. It was so fascinating! And the health measures were noteworthy! Every one who visited had to sanitize their hands to prevent the spread of Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease, which was somewhat common in the area. (I couldn't find any pictures of the school from Google, mainly because I don't remember the name of the school!:( )
We came home through the park like place. I helped Soph change her school uniform and then it was fruit time for them. Soph was drawing while eating fruits (she would make a fine artist ;) ) and Ad was his usual jolly self, running around, in Soph's Pink Dress, which was apparently his favourite ;)
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The family so graciously took me in! :D
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Soph, Ad and Iko
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Ad in his favourite pink dress :D
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Then it was supper time. Iko decided that we would have supper by the pool and we helped set up the table. I should also point out here that Iko is an awesome cook! ;) All the dishes were super delicious, but I especially liked dessert, coconut ice-cream with dragon fruit. It was an awesome combination ;) After having a lot of fun, it was almost 7pm when I finally waved goodbye and took a taxi to my hotel.
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The pool at the condo
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I dragged my luggage bag into my room, and I turned on the lights. But the lights did not turn on. I went back to the reception and asked if there was no electricity in the room, and they said there would be. I went back and turned on the lights. But this time, I had put the key in it's place, which was right above the switch to turn on the lights. And like magic, the lights turned on! I thought that was pretty cool ;) But the room looked pretty depressing, because there were no windows! (Iko's apartment had this awesome balcony which overlooked so much greenery that it was a sight for sore eyes!)
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A standard double room, I was in a single room
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The only relief was Iko asking me to go and stay with her for the rest of my journey. Not only was I able to save $100 per night, but I felt like I had a home there I could return to. It was with these comforting thoughts that I dozed off to sleep (at almost 8pm! Early, huh? ;)) after the long long day!
I'll hopefully write about the Day 3 in Singapore next year! ;) (Coming Monday!) Meanwhile, have a look at these beautiful snapshots of the beautiful Singapore, and a sneak peek into the places I went on Day 3! :D
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National Orchid Garden |
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Singapore Botanic Garden |
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Lobby of Quality Hotel, Marlow, |
Ciao! :D
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