Second Stop - SINGAPORE

After two days in Dubai, it was time to move on! After about 7 hours of flying, I arrived at my next destination: Singapore! The flight was longer than the first one, but I was able to sleep almost the whole time, so I was somewhat rested when I arrived in Singapore. I took a taxi from the airport to my first hostel (in Dubai, there are only hotels), which was centrally located: The Hangout! I stayed in a dorm room with a total of eight beds, four of which were occupied. At first, I was a bit afraid to leave my things unattended there, but I had a relatively large safe right next to my bed for the 'important things'. There was also a very large shower room, which was very clean and had hot water, so EVERYTHING WAS GOOD :)

My first day started late, as I arrived at three o'clock in the afternoon. Through a friend who lives and works here, I got in touch with Syimah, she lives and works here. We spontaneously met up for dinner and then she became my personal guide for the next two days, which was really great because the city is very very big and there is a lot to experience!

We first visited the Marina Bay Sands (of course only the lobby), the 5-star hotel, which consists of three 55-story hotel towers and is famous for its infinity pool located on the 340m long roof garden. The hotel rooms there are unaffordable for people like me, they start at 500 euros per night!!!

After that, we went straight to the light show at 'Gardens by the Bay', which can be reached via a bridge from the hotel or the shopping mall next door. 'Gardens by the Bay' is a 100-hectare park. There are many parks and green spaces, such as the Botanic Garden (see other entry about S.), which reflects a government strategy to improve the quality of life for its citizens, which I personally think is great because when you visit the city, you really feel that this initiative has been implemented/is still being implemented :)

The main attractions in the Gardens are the 'Super Trees' (25-50m) which are structures covered in plants and light up in many colors at night. There are two light shows there every evening, where the lights move in sync with the melodies of musicals. The show lasts about 15 minutes and really captivated me, as well as the other visitors who were all lying on the ground and looking up :) I think it's hard to explain - the pictures speak for themselves!

The last sightseeing stop for this evening was the 'Spectra', a laser light show at Marina Bay. It is also free for all visitors and consists of a music symphony, water fountains, and colorful lights created by lasers and projectors. All together, it is very impressive and is supposed to reflect Singapore's history and its path to being a multicultural society.

Light Show and Skyline

I'm not sure if I mentioned it anywhere in my text, but this weekend the Formula 1 was also in town, which most people probably know! You can see from where I watched it in the next entry (Day 2)