Day 43 - Singapore (02/23/2020)

After a very pleasant bus ride and a smooth border crossing, we made it to Singapore (country No. 3 of our world trip).

In the city with the fourth highest cost of living in the world, we stayed with May and her husband Chloe, as the Marina Bay Sands Hotel exceeded our backpacker budget.

The rental of apartments through Airbnb is actually prohibited in Singapore. Therefore, we had to pretend to be friends of May to the security personnel and neighbors and under no circumstances mention anything related to Airbnb. We also had to secretly smuggle our luggage past the security personnel of the residential complex during check-in.

The fact that proven lying in Singapore is not only punishable by a fine but also by up to eight strokes of the cane should only be mentioned in passing.

Similarly, the possession of chewing gum without a medical prescription, chewing gum, or eating and drinking in public transportation are strictly prohibited.

Nevertheless, Singapore really impressed us. The city is not without reason one of the most important metropolises in Asia. The meticulous cleanliness, the perfect metro network that runs completely underground of the city, and the skyline will truly amaze you.

In the two days, we explored the area around the world-famous Marina Bay Sands Hotel and downtown Singapore.

We can only recommend every visitor to Singapore to visit the huge park Gardens by the Bay. With countless trees and plants, you feel more like in a jungle than in a megacity of Asia.

The Cloud Forest Dome with its 35-meter-high waterfall spectacularly demonstrates how important the preservation of biodiversity is on our planet.

However, the highlight of the park is the Supertrees, which are illuminated at night. After sunset, a unique light show takes place here every day, accompanied by the aria Nessun Dorma.

After traveling almost 3,500 km by train, bus, and ferry, tomorrow morning we will travel by plane for the first time.

We are leaving the big cities behind for now and fulfilling a big dream on our bucket list.

From Medan in Indonesia, we will immerse ourselves in the jungle of Sumatra for 5 days, hoping to discover some of the last remaining orangutans on this planet in their natural habitat.

So our first real adventure awaits us!

Bianca & Michael