Third day Singapore and then over the border

My last day in Singapore was all about Marina Bay. And the Marina Bay Sands Hotel of the same name. And this from all perspectives - from the front, from behind, on top, inside and underneath. 😉 I just didn't make it into the pool, that much can be revealed.

My morning walk first took me to the Singapore Flyer, the third highest Ferris wheel in the world at 165 m. Financed by German investors (whose promises of returns were unfortunately not fulfilled due to lower visitor numbers than expected) and approved by TÜV Süd. However, just under €30 for one trip was a little too expensive for me, even though one trip around takes about 30 minutes. I also had another spot in mind for the view from above.

After the SUPERflyer came the SUPERhotel, for which I got access to the observation deck at the ticket counter for a paltry €20. But as with concert tickets, I don't care about the price of such highlights. 😉And then I was at the top and had a gigantic view of the bay and the harbor in front of it. And was speechless. I also had the best day in terms of weather with sun, light clouds and initially no rain in sight. I jumped from shade to shade (it was unbearable in the sun) and kept saying to myself: “I’m standing on top of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel now…”. An unforgettable experience!

When the thirst was too great, the water was empty and the envy of the people splashing around in the Infitiy Pool next door was too great (only those who are staying overnight are allowed in), I went back downstairs with a heavy heart. Since all three towers are connected to each other, I strolled past and through a lot of luxury, cooled my body down briefly before I finally went on to the SUPERflyer and SUPERhotel to the SUPERtrees.

The SUPERtrees are located in Gardens by the Bay, an approximately 100-hour park on artificially raised land. The Super Trees are plant-covered steel frames with heights between 25 and 50 m and are used, among other things, to grow rare plants. They were also on my “Bucket List of Buildings & Towers” – and I’m now right in the middle of them. At 35° C and appropriate humidity. How standing can make you sweat so much! Luckily, there were water refill stations along the way and a refreshment car also came by and loaded up with chilled drinks (you can tell you're in Singapore. In Vietnam or similar countries they would have been happy to offer me self-crocheted wallets in this situation.)

Now enough superlatives, then something real again and off to Kampong Glam, the Muslim quarter in Singapore. And suddenly another world appears in front of you. Towering over everything is the Masjid Sultan, the large mosque, which was well attended when I visited the neighborhood on a Friday. It was correspondingly hustle and bustle around it, which is why I sat on a bench with an iced Kopi (Singaporean coffee) with all sorts of spices such as cardamom, nutmeg etc. and watched the hustle and bustle (and foreign) goings on.

When the coffee was empty, another neighborhood was waiting for me: Little India. In fact, everything that glittered here was gold. Something completely different and unique in its own way. In the hawker center you quickly forget which country you are actually in, and I enjoyed another roti prata with mango lassi (although the indefinable curry sauce was significantly hotter this time).

And presto it was evening and I went back to “my” Marina Bay Sands Hotel for two more highlights: the “Garden Rhapsody” show, a music & light show at the Super Trees and finally the light & water show “Spectra”. in front of the city skyline. Unfortunately, the former wasn't quite as impressive, as you couldn't get to the scene in the evening without a ticket because of the Singaporean Christmas Garden and you couldn't hear the music from far away. Nevertheless, the place from which I watched the show was not to be despised, as I was standing right at the foot of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel, which was illuminated with snowflakes. 😉And I took another 178 photos.

The Spectra show in front of the Event Plaza at the Marina Bay Sands Shopping Mall was really impressive, especially because of the backdrop of the gigantic skyline.

Yesterday it was time to leave and, packed, I made my way to the bus station. In the hope that, on the one hand, the bus actually runs and, on the other hand, the bus driver doesn't smoke or drink while driving, doesn't yell at or insult passengers, and doesn't drive 200 things on the country road. You read a lot in the reviews and you can only hope that you are lucky. We actually did and the fact that, along with Jasper, a Danish student, we weren't the only European on the bus and at the border calmed me down a bit. Ie take the bus to the border in Singapore: check out. Get on the bus and drive to the border to Malaysia: get out, stand in a long queue with all your luggage, get an entry stamp, have your luggage checked, load everything back up and finally drive on. The planned 5.5 hours, including traffic jams, delays, border stops, etc., ultimately turned into 8 hours, but you're used to grief from German trains.

And then I end up in the epicenter of Kuala Lumpur: my hostel is nowhere other than on the 5th floor of a mall.

When in KL, then definitely Petronas Twin Towers again, even if I was already there in 2010. This time we didn't just go to the bridge between the two towers, but up to the 85th floor at 360 m.

And now I'm sitting in the Suria Mall with a much-needed coffee since I didn't really sleep much or soundly today. It should also be a rather relaxed day when I want to plan my next trip. Because I might throw my previous plans overboard and change the route a little...