Singapore to Malaysia

For the umpteenth time I have confirmed I am a travel masochist. I was walking along the sidewalk the other day and the ground below me gave out. The stones below me actually crumbled leaving me falling about a metre deep, having to climb out with my pack on, the edges of the sidewalk taking some Canadian chunks of flesh as souvenirs. I began thinking 'holy crap Malaysian sidewalks aren't the safest' which quickly morphed into 'holy crap I'm in Malaysia?' 

My last day in Singapore had been a long but good day with the blisters to prove it. From 9am to 10pm I was wandering around the city visiting the sights starting with the expansive Botanical Gardens. JP had mentioned that 40% of Singapore was forests, a fact which is hard to believe considering how small and densely populated it is, but after spending hours through the giant and beautiful Botanical gardens and seeing it wasn't even one of the biggest parks I'll definitely trust him on that statistic. My sightseeing also included visiting the Jurong Bird Park. I'm not normally a bird person but it was pretty cool to see all the different birds there. That said, my time spent as Bismallah Biryani was ten times more enjoyable. JP and his friend Varun recommended it as the best biryani in Singapore, located in Little India and while it was the only one I tried there, I'll agree. The mutton biryani was so delicious that you didn't even notice that the surroundings were not the usual immaculate Singaporean surroundings.

Back at the giant Marina Bay Sands I decided to take a friends advice and I went to the bar Ce La Vie to have the most expensive drink of my life. The view however was fantastic and the drink was delicious, plus it'd feel wrong leaving the country without having a singapore sling. The $29 I spent on one drink may seem ridiculous (and it is) the more ridiculous thing was the people paying $25 to enter the observation deck next to the bar and that does NOT include a drink. After the drink I returned to gardens by the bay and saw the light show put on in the super tree Grove.

After Singapore I entered Malaysia arriving in Mersing and taking the ferry to the Tioman Islands. For 25 rm a night ($8) I found myself at SPBC in an empty dorm room in a bungalow along the beach. I spent hours walking around still mildly in shock that I was in a tropical paradise in a remote Malaysian Island. I'm also in shock at how many people are studying these big books. Clearly proof that everyone on the island (except frugal me) is here for diving or lessons.


Things I've done: most expensive drink ever, walked endless hours in singapore, had Indian food in little India (at a place highly recommended by two Indian friends), sipped a Singapore sling at the top of the Marine Bay Sands hotel, fell though a sidewalk, had te tarik , entered a country through a border crossing (U.S. doesn't count)

Lesson learned: If you are travelling to a Muslim country know when Ramadan is and if you are there when it happens carry a lot of snacks or you may find yourself stranded food less until restaurants open at 7pm.