Nikita: Bangkok and Back Again

The journey was the comfiest ever and i fell asleep better than I would usually in a normal bed. As we were arriving to Hua Hin (a place in Southern Thailand) the guard on the train woke us up to let us know we had to get off at the next stop. I was dying to use a non moving, non gross floor and clean toilet and paid 3TB to go to the one on the platform. I only noticed the beauty of the platform once I had returned (the train station in Hua Hin is one of the first built in Thailand). We had landed (metaphorically) in Thailand.

With our backpacks on our back and a little happy spring in our step we headed off to find our hostel. It was called Tid Tarad and like always we spent about an hour walking around the town looking for it. Once we did find it, again we were too early for check in so we freshened up and headed out. The guy at the desk gave us a map and suggested we go to the floating market and temple (which was perfect as we were planning on going to a floating market on our way back to Bangkok. That meant an early start and getting into tiny little boats with our backpacks). We were happy with this alternative and decided to head back towards the train station where the minibus point was for these excursions.

The tale of the monkey and the dog:
It was a little mission away from the main town but we passed the amazing resorts and popular hotels and realised we were in the holiday destination and thought this is what the boys had enjoyed over the past two weeks. The sun, sea and sand. Our first stop was the famous Hua Hin temple and as we walked around it taking pictures and gazing at the beauty of the place we encountered a group of young girls who were singing and wearing non temple attire behind the temple (so respectful, but then again that also happens here so I wasn't too surprised at it). As we got into the minivan again with our iced drinks we seen the most funniest (and cutest) thing ever... A monkey on top of a dog (to be specific it was a Shih Tzu). It had us in absolute hysterics as they appeared to be best friends. We watched the monkey climb a tree and then run after the dog and just jump on top of it again and the dog would just carry on walking away. It did this numerous times and at one point the monkey sat down next to the dog and held onto its little paw. What a thing to see at a temple.

The rest of the day was just not going to match up to this! We headed to the floating market and adventured around and into the stalls; Charlotte once again off on a mission to find tie dye items and not surprisingly I even ended up buying a tie dye dress (which was worn when we went to the sky bar in Bangkok). Shopping! What more did we need. We even adventured to the night market (it was practically on our door step) later that night and brought gifts, ate fresh sea food and more clothes for ourselves! Like I've mentioned previously, our first days are always the most productive!

Let's go to the beach, beach lets go get away:
A day at the beach. There is honestly nothing else which happened all day apart from a late brunch at a healthy eating cafe and lying on a sun lounger. The best part of the day was at night when we went out out the night market again on the hunt for a lobster. The thought behind this was sparked by Charlotte's dad and when we seen the price of it (1,700TB) we soon changed our mind and instead enjoyed an amazingly delicious sea food platter (it contained: one meaty fish, squid, clams, prawns and mussels), chicken satay and fried rice. What a meal and it was complete with a chocolate, peanut and banana roti for two.

The last journey:
Packing my bag for the last time was so not a sad thought. Travelling from Bangkok all the way back to Bangkok I had obviously brought a few things (including pieces of wood which spelt out my name) and in turn had made my back pack heavier to carry. It was also the last journey we were taking together on a minibus and it turned out to be the shortest journey so far and one of the easiest. Until we got to Victory Monument (the usual drop off point for minibuses to Bangkok) and we had to catch a taxi. It honestly seemed like the driver had no clue where he was going. He kept hold of the map (the map was one Charlotte picked up the last time we were at CHERN with directions about how to get there) and it felt like we were driving in circles (a lot of the roads were also closed because of the protests happening in Bangkok)... an hour later and we had finally recognised the area our hostel was located in and directed the driver to our lovely place we called home.

The hunt for the elephant trousers:
We were starved! So obviously the place we hit was our local; the quiet little place on the corner which we found the last time we were here. It does the most amazing Iced Mocha and the food... oh the food is proper yum. This time I went for the burger and dessert. What a meal! We then headed back to the hostel to pack and figure out what we needed to buy as we would flying out in a few days. Flying out to come home! After a long evening on the WiFi, my last lot of laundry and films we decided to head out for a little street food. We asked at the desk where's the best place and he directed us to go past a police station (where the officers were lined up and it seemed like they were getting briefed... it looked like it was going to be a long night for them) and towards a little place which served an amazing small pork noodle and crab fried rice. There were a few newspaper clippings on the wall; one described the place as a 'grotty, small fish' but no doubt the food was good and amazingly cheap. We then completed our first night in Bangkok with fresh pumpkin cakes in bamboo for dessert, sprinkled with fresh coconut. What a way to end our night in Bangkok and tomorrow night would be so much better!

So I knew I would be coming back for a while now and it hadn't dawned on me that I hadn't brought anything even though my bags were getting heavier. Definitely a last minute shopping spree was needed. So the hunt for elephant trousers were on because these were so cool and I knew the twins wanted a pair too! What we didn't know was no where in Little India and China town sold any (we only realised this after walking around for two hours in and out of the market) until we eventually got a Tuk Tuk to Siam (which from recollection we knew there were stalls which sold some).

What we didn't know is that the protests had moved from our doorstep at Democracy Monument to Siam and we were walking through it... again! To be honest, don't believe what you see on the news; it is one of the most peaceful protests ever. As we walked through there were families and people of all generations selling 'Shutdown Bangkok' merchandise and listening to the presenters on the stage whilst tourists (and us) walked through. It was a little intimidating as at moments they would cheer loudly and blow their whistles (more intimidating as we couldn't understand a word they were saying) but we carried on through and even found ourselves buying into the merchandise. It would be one T-shirt which I know would be part of the political history there. So... still no sign of elephant trousers so we took a short metro ride to an area called NaNa where (joy) we found elephant trousers and so much more (I even ended up buying a football T-shirt and Charlotte a full on basketball kit complete with a Run BKK cap... oh yeh)!

From our sports kit to our new dresses and the Hangover sky bar. What a way to end the three months. From squat toilets to an amazing night time view of Bangkok at the highest point in the city coupled with a Hangovertini (a blend of alcohol, honey, apple and rosemary) - what a drink! It was a beautiful place to end our travels and together. The boys (Ed and Mark) were flying out after us so we all had arranged to have one last night in Bangkok together. We all looked and felt a million dollars as we were all smarted up (especially Charlotte in her Van's which had survived the epic country hopping after being refused entry to the top in her flip flops - yep, theres a strict dress code!) and entered the plush State Tower, up the valeted elevators and to the top floor. The pictures do not do it justice and it was absolutely breath taking.

(A little cringe moment when Ed's drink was spilt accidentally by a couple who then brought him another one... it's even too cringe to write about but just imagine a really awkward moment and times that by ten. It was just the long pause.)

And off to Koh San Road. What a difference and what a night. From high class to reality... what a night!

Saying goodbye:
It was a little sad saying goodbye to the boys. We'd travelled through three countries together, shared accommodation and meals (more than I've done with a lot of my close friends at home) I was definitely going to miss them. It was always smiles and jokes with the boys (some times cringe moments too) but it was always fun! So many memorable moments and some which we'll even bring back home when we meet.

And Charlotte she only lives ten miles away but it took a flight to the other side of the world to meet her. No tears because we knew we'd meet again but only a bacon, chicken, tomato and mozzarella panini to part our ways. We are totally bringing the high angle selfies home! This would the first journey in three months I would be taking on my own (ironically, it's not the longest one because the sleeper train to Penang was 18 hours).

An amazing statue of the Hua Hin buddha.

This is a buddha people put a gold leaf on when they are preying. They also light an in sense stick and candle.

A Ganesh statue in the temple grounds too.

The Bangkok central protest point in the Siam area.

Hua Hin night market. It was lit up with fairy lights and stall lights down the central market road.

The monkey on the Shih Tzu. Do I need to  say anymore.

Our sea food platter with a side of salad. This fish had more fish on than the fish we ate on the previous night.

There was a little dance performance in the centre of the floating market.

Yo yo yo!

And what a change! (We both preferred the other outfit)

Hangover two sky bar!

There was a live band playing on the roof top. How classy!

The night sky line from the roof top.

The main highway which runs though Bangkok lit up.

And smile! 

Malaysia In Pictures

Singapore Changi airport 5am in the morning. The check in counter hadnt even opened. This was after the taxi moment (which I didn't even realise had happened).

Batu Caves.

If you can look past the mess theres actual statues of gods in the little temples.

The long staircase to the caves. I was absolutely battered by the time I got to the top.

The inside of the caves. It actually looks cleaner than it did in reality when we were there.

The crazy big rich shopping centre.

The little secret food places at the bottom of the crazy big rich shopping mall.

It's a random shaped shopping outlet.

Petronas towers from down below.

The Petronas towers! It was big when you were standing below and looking up.

The fountain outside the towers and behind the shopping centre.

Petronas towers at night... yes there's two of them!

The second class train to Butterworth (Penang)

The ferry :) Yes it does look a little sad but it got us there in under 15 minutes!

George town at night as we were crossing the sea in the ferry

Little Chinese temple in George town

Smile! Our friendly driver who showed us around Penang

These little pieces of art are sprawled across George town

Children on a bike.

Collection of cats!

Temples, Towers and Terror in Malaysia

As I mentioned in my previous blog, the next 24 hours would be a trying time which genuinely brought me to tears. 

As we left Singapore for the airport I had stupidly managed to pay the taxi driver $100 instead of ten and had only realised I'd done this when I was waiting to get my money exchanged. What an idiot, I had genuinely given the man a mornings worth of work paid! Stupid, stupid, stupid; after beating myself up about it for the next 45 minutes I decided nothing can actually be done about it so mentally had to let it go. We'd checked in easily and boarded our flight on time and even enjoyed the free WiFi Singapore airport had to offer before we jetted off to Kuala Lumpur. The fifth country in the last three months!

Down town China town:

It was one of the shortest flights ever. Once we'd landed we headed towards the bus station as we'd been told the easiest way to central Kuala Lumpur was by bus by a local who sat next to us on the plane. The bus was honestly one of the worst buses I'd travelled on in ages. It was an old school coach style bus which was full of locals and us. Once we made it into town we were jumped upon by numerous taxi drivers and the one we chose had decided to park a mission away and make us carry our own bags to his car (how rude). It was a sharp hit of reality as this taxi didn't smell and feel as clean as the ones in Singapore. It was however really kind of him to call our hostel to find out exactly where it was in China town and oh boy, were we central. Even as we walked to the entrance of the hostel we were attacked by vendors from nearby market stalls selling everything from watches and bags to food. 

First impressions of the hostel were nice but the man on the desk was really unhelpful even when we just asked for a map as we couldn't check in till after 2pm. So we decided to go book the next leg of our trip at the train station. Our first days in a country are usually productive. 

The whole feel of Kuala Lumpur was pretty dirty and hot. Again in my head I think the no sleep the night before and stupidly over paying the taxi man was still eating away at me and I was clearly not giving this new city a chance.

Batu Caves:

Conquered the 272 stairs in my new stupid heels I'd brought in Singapore which I was wearing at the time we randomly decided to do the caves because we had time to kill (it wasn't a great idea as the rest of the week my feet were in so much pain). What a mess! There was rubbish, shoes and trash everywhere. It was absolutely horrendous. It was hard to see it as a religious place where people came to be blessed. The temples and surrounding areas were horrible to look at and the only thing which pulled at my heart strings were the little children who were made the climb to the top and the parents of a child who looked like he had a disability (they carried him and a chair, for him to rest on, all the way to the top). I couldn't look past the mess to appreciate I was in a Hindu temple even with my lack of sleep. Below the caves as we exited the train station felt like I had walked into the old school belgrave mela (only more messier and busier). 

It was such a hot day, such a hot day and sure I was dressed in an appropriate attire (knees covered) it wasn't appropriate attire to walk up the many stairs though! If the caves weren't bad enough (this was definitely a fall from heaven) the hostel we had checked into was on the worst street ever. As we walked down it, returning from our Batu caves trip, I was so hot and bothered and was so not impressed at the stall vendors referring to me as Miss India as I walked down the street to entice me to buy something. I literally lost my shit and shouted no every time someone called at me. To top this, the room we had was a massive shambles. The odd green and pale yellow walls, the minuscule TV was big a Charlotte's iPad and the fold up door for the shower was just the icing on the cake. It was the grimy bed covers which topped it for me and I sat there and cried about the whole day (what a day it had been)! After a little hug from Charlotte and a kind reminder of everything that went wrong today from her too, I took a shower and decided to nap it out of me.

(In this time Charlotte had decided I should eat something as I hadn't eaten anything since the day before and went wondering; taking the key with her and leaving me in a room which was slowly warming up as the key controlled the electricity. She didn't realise her leaving had woke me up but she'd left a cute little not saying she was getting some food. She returned with a Nandos- what a girl!)

After munching down some food we decided to adventure out to the night market (yup another market) and invested in a few more bracelets.

Trek to the twin towers:

After shaking off yesterdays terrible ordeal we decided to go see the towers and the shopping centres of Kuala Lumpur. We found a Debenhams, Marks and Spencer's and Body Shop! We did however loose ourselves in a massive designer shopping mall which was connected to the Marriott in the hunt for food. In the end we settled for a Japanese place at the next shopping centre (amazing lamb, rice and bean sprouts). Then headed towards the famous Petronas Towers.

In the hunt we lost them and ended up (again) asking where they were and were kindly pointed at them by another doorman (its easily losable in the skyscraper land). Eventually reaching it we found out it was closed on Mondays and couldn't get up the towers so we lounged about in the shopping centre and waited for nightfall to take pictures. So worth the wait. After a delicious Starbucks we'd decided that we'd quickly drop by before we left for Penang in the morning... again no luck! The tickets to go up the tower were all sold out (how are tickets to go up a tower which is still there at all times of the day sold out? What is with that).

Disappointed, hot and tired we headed back to the hostel to walk to the tram stop to get our train to Penang. Carrying my bag a sorry thing to be doing in this heat (such a bad idea shopping!)

Here we come Penang:

It was our first train journey in South East Asia and it was pretty good. Travelling in second class wasn't as bad as the pictures showed it to be. It was a little battered but that was to be expected but it got us there (even though it turned up late and at one point all the power went out). We then made our way to the ferry to get to George town. It was pretty late and it was a good thing there was two of us as it didn't look like something I could confidently do on my own. The cheapest journey ever (1.20MR) and included an open top windy view of George town at night. It looked pretty cool. Even as we drove down in a taxi towards our hostel the roads and buildings looked cleaner and safer than Kuala Lumpur.

The hostel was very quiet when we arrived (there was only six people staying in the whole hostel) and way better than the one in Kuala Lumpur (thankfully). We made ourselves at home on our bunks and had an amazing (clean) good nights sleep.

Just when we thought it was all over:

After a long sleep (think the tiredness of all the travelling is slowly catching up) we headed out to explore Penang. The first stop would be searching for a post box then biriyani! It was an absolute mission to find a post box. Anywhere we asked too also had no idea where a postbox or what a post office was. We did eventually find one after trekking half way across the island in the heat and after a cheeky street vendor samosa. Worth it! Although hunting for the biriyani place became a bit of a chore and when we did eventually find our way there we were sweaty, hot and bothered and had decided just to head back to the hostel once we'd eaten.

Lucky for us though that didn't happen and as we walked through Little India (in the hunt for a bracelet) we bumped into a lovely Tuk Tuk driver who asked if we wanted a lift. We accepted because we were too tired to walk back. As we got into his bike Tuk Tuk he offered to take us to the beach and as we didn't have to walk there we were happy to go. He then took us for a lovely tour around the city. The nicest tour guide and driver ever. He'd been working in Penang for most of his life and knew a lot about the city (lucky for us). He took us to a few places in the city where there was art on the walls and encouraged us to take photos next to it. A little cringe but we did it! There was a fat cat on the wall, a boy climbing a wall, two children on a bike; it was all little quirks about Penang we would never be able to see if we looking for it on our own. He then took us down to the docks and walked around with us explaining the history. What a guy! He showed us numerous other buildings, the beach and pointed out to us the Japanese prison (no one could escape the Japanese back in the day) and eventually took us back to our hostel. It was the highlight of our Malaysia trip and we left Penang feeling we'd done it properly. We even enjoyed traditional Indian food in the evening with our new room mate and indulged in an ice mountain dessert which contained kidney beans and sweet corn in its centre.

And off we go again but back into Thailand. After a morning brunch at the Indian place again (an amazing dosa) we were this time taken across to the train station via a taxi ride. It took ages (not that we were complaining because we were travelling in air conditioned circumstances after all). Next stop and sleeper train journey to Hua Hin in Thailand. This was meant to be a 17 hour journey and it was.

The train journey was really slow but shockingly safe. We even had a smooth border crossing. The train stopped let us out and waited till everyone was ready (what wasn't nice were the toilet conditions on and off the train. Usually I'm ok but mother nature decided to pay a visit while I was doing the most awkward bit of journey!) We met a lovely Thai lady and a cool Malaysian man on our journey! I would definitely recommend travelling second class sleeper... The seat turns into a bed at night! And what a bed, the bottom bunks are bigger than the top and they do up your bed for you and give you a thick blanket and a pillow. So much better than a sleeper bus... you even get meals! I got a complimentary orange juice because the waiter person thought I was pretty (it's damn good to be back in Thailand)! The happy, friendly smiling people who welcomed us into their country and became home. We were coming home! 

Romantic Nando's for two in our hostel.

The night market behind the hostel. 

One of the many shopping centres we visited in Kuala Lumpur getng ready for Chinese New Year celebrations.

The delicious lunch at the shopping centre. The lamb was cooked amazingly.

Petronas towers at night.

Charlotte and me at the top of the stairs at Batu caves

Hummus and Pita bread. Our slap up lunch after an epic fail journey to the towers on day two. 

The most filling grilled vegetable sandwich ever.

The map of the island an all the things to see.

The comfy living area of the hostel in Penang. Such good bean bags.

A strange Indian dessert made of ice and rose water and had sweet corn and kidney bean in the centre of it.

My Indian mix rotli and chicken. Was so yum!

So good to be back in Thailand. Missed the food!

My sleeper bunk bed. So spacious

Singapore: I Love This City!

This was definitely my best country to visit! The bright lights. The beautiful city. The tall buildings. The amazing hotel. Everything was so perfect about Singapore it kind of ruined Malaysia... but oh my god Singapore!

We got into Singapore at night. We decided to fly because of the longness involved in training it across to Kuala Lumpur (and it would have been a normal seated train as all the sleeper seats were taken). Even the airport is amazing; instant WiFi, I was in heaven (not quite but it would do for now). As we made our way through town in the back of a clean smelling and looking taxi, we drove past the Singapore Flyer (honestly the only words which were coming out of my mouth was Wow and Oh my god), tall buildings, proper roads (it honestly looked like we were back in the UK, we- me and Charlotte- were so not used to seeing good roads after being in Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia for the past two months)... we were both totally in awe and even more in shock when he pulled up to the Hilton on Orchard Road (was not expecting it to be this epic!). This was definitely Singapore.

After settling into the plush room and sneaking Charlotte in and out to grab some food (we ate the biggest cannelloni EACH), we headed down Orchard Road to explore our home for the next five days (this was the longest place we would be settled into since leaving Koh Samet last month).

TVT and exploring Singapore by foot:

The whole original point of being in Singapore was to experience and learn how companies operate in the Asian market (especially communication companies as that is my working background). So thanks to Nilesh (top badminton player and a great role model) he introduced me and helped set up to see them here. 

I spent the day at TVT and learnt so much about digitisation and adhering to country guidelines for TV content and how programmes from the US and UK are modified for Singapore and other countries in Asia which don't tolerate nudity or violence. Talking to the team there I understood that you have to be accurate and perfect as any mistake would upset the client; similar to PR, because its the channels reputation to put suitable content on and releases to announce accurate information. Lunch was interesting as in Singapore and Malaysia there is a whole market of God available; from Indian to Chinese to Western to Italian, all the choices you could imagine. I opted for Chinese as the two girls I was with also were. It turned out to be pretty simple; you choose six ingredients and tell the chef how you want it, take it and add whatever sauces you want. 

(Here's a strange thing I learnt about Singaporean culture. To reserve a seat on a table in a cafeteria, people place tissue packets on the table. Not sure if its true but I genuinely seen a tissue packet on a table!)

After TVT I met with Charlotte back in the room (she had enjoyed a quiet morning in with a Starbucks from down the road) and we headed out towards Raffles in the hope to enjoy Singapore's Singapore Sling. We decided to walk (at the time it didn't seem like a bad idea but oh boy was it) and followed Orchard Road down to Fort Canning Park (by now we had already passed through a HnM, Zara and numerous other shops and made numerous purchases). Such a peaceful park in the middle of Singapore! As we tiredly and sweatily made our way through the park we had come across a stunning view of the city skyline and the quay which was apparently famous for its multitude of food outlets and night life (what a find). 

Charlotte had spent the morning watching the Singapore channel and suggested some places she seen to eat. The place we did stop was at a kebab house which honestly served the most delicious lamb kebab. After scoffing it down, we carried on walking towards 'Raffles'. Not in the right direction at all and we ended up walking 20 minutes later back on ourselves as we realised we needed to turn left instead of right. On the bright side we enjoyed the stunning night time views Singapore was offering. Eventually we got to Raffles (we didn't even realise it until we asked the doorman of another hotel and he pointed across the road; we looked pretty dumb... this was not going to be the last time that happened) but we still didn't get there as we spotted the Singapore Flyer and decided to go there instead. So we again carried on towards the lights in the sky.

The Flyer:

Well considering I am well scared of heights, I've done well here; completed a bungee jump, walked up mountains and now the biggest wheel in the world. I think the pictures totally speak for themselves. The view of Singapore was incredible! The lights, everything lit up and the epic marina view was awesome from the top. The best part of Singapore! (We even nearly adventures onto the F1 track after as we spotted a carnival but it turned out to be a practise performance for the Chinese New Year celebrations... oops!)

SingTel, China Town and Night Zoo:

So another opportunity set up by Nilesh to see another company. This time it was one he worked for. SingTel is a giant in telecoms here and I was greeted by the Marketing manager and shown around the business solutions centre. She explained her role in SingTel, its audience and gave me a great introduction to the structure. It was really interesting for me because I've worked with marketing department's whilst at Proactive PR and it was really hard getting stuff from them; now I know why , they have to do a multitude of tasks! But like I said SingTel is widely known in Asia and to give you an idea of how big, think BT.

Their office was a walk away (so I was told) but in my new shoes it took ages to get back. Once I was back, we were back out again headed towards China town (after cheeky lunch at the hard rock cafe behind us) . We decided to get a metro pass as we were going to the night safari later too. Chin town was crazy hot and stuffy, so we definitely didn't stay too long. We had a look around, took some pics and left (little did we know we'd be encountering China town again but in Kuala Lumpur). We headed to Raffles as we wanted to give the famous drink a try. And it didn't disappoint... it was strong, expensive and came with free peanuts which you could peel and drop it on the floor. Well I'd expect it to be free after the cost of he drink and additional service charge on top! How cheeky!

Night safari:
The journey there was long. First we had to get the tube to the edge of Singapore then a bus (ok it was all clearly signposted but it was so much effort!) Would I say it was worth it... maybe its different if you compare it to a normal day time zoo. Similar animals and you also get to trek around parts of the safari too. The best part had to be the show at the end where the little otter things put the right recycling material in its right place! Little geniuses. I had to be reminded numerous times by Charlotte that it was a night safari not a zoo! Whoops!

Universal studios and Little India:
What a day! A theme park and then Indian food, what could be better. We had an epic journey; we caught a train, bus and cable cart! What a long ass cable cart! But we eventually made it to Universal studios. It was located on an island full of resorts and parks. It even included a hard rock hotel! Universal studios as amazing from the start. We experienced most of the rides; getting completely drenched on the Jurassic park rapids and taken or n amazing 4D adventure with bumble bee in the Transformers ride to eating spaghetti in space with Sesame Street's Elmo and Big Bird. What a day! It totally did not feel like we were travellers any more.

We were starved! The only thing we had managed to munch that day was a hot dog (Charlotte nearly walked away with the dummy hot dog if it wasn't the lady at the stand that chased after her to tell her she had the wrong one!) We'd decided yo visit Little India to indulge in the delicious Indian food we'd heard so much about. Well of course whilst we were in a hurry to find food there was a parade happening. I had no clue what they were celebrating but it was looked like Belgrave Road on Diwali, even the shops looked like the Leicester shops! We hurriedly looked for a place to eat and found a quite little corner restaurant which served really tasty food. I opted for a biriyani and a masala dosa (don't judge that's the most I'd eaten all day!)

Museum and Hotel:
We made the most of the hotel on our final day. We woke up and left the hotel at 1pm to head to the National Museum where we took part in a guided tour and learnt how the British claimed Singapore and broke down the port and made life here a little harder than it was. Great job! Throughout the tour Charlotte and I were pointed at and referred to whenever the British were mentioned... lucky us! It got really awkward when she told us we had claimed the land even though India and China had used the port of Singapore for years and never stated a claim. So we shuffled back to the hotel, head down and not too proud of ourselves, to enjoy a cheeky cocktail on the roof of the hotel and a night in before our early 7.30am flight to Singapore... and trust me the next 24 hours would be the hardest of this trip so far!

(P.S... just a little shout out to Starbucks; without you our trip to Singapore would not have been complete without your daily iced frappés and wraps!)

The wing of the plane through the sky. What an amazing view of the sun and clouds.

The beds at the Hilton... so amazingly comfortable.

So amazing. It was so amazingly plush. The carpet was so comfortable too and oh my god the bathroom was epic too.

The lobby as you enter the hotel.

The shopping centre down the road from the hotel. It looked well impressive at night and even during the day. Inside were shops like Armani, Gucci, Dior. Sadly no purchases were made there... apart from at the HnM located in the pass by below ground which you had to use to cross the road.

The shopping centre during the day. Still looks impressive right? Well I think so.

The Clarke Quay at night which we stumbled upon whilst we were looking for Raffles.

The Singapore Flyer at night which we dropped Raffles for and went to go on to enjoy the night view. And what a view it was!

What the hell is this about? There were so many nice cars in front of this hotel every night we came back.

The metro pass card which we needed to give a $10 deposit toward a guarantee safe return of the card. 

A view of the Singapore Flyer structure and sky line.

At the Singapore zoo and watching a weasel put rubbish in its right recycling place.

Another animal which we also seen at the zoo. This one jumped up and grabbed the piece of meat.

My visit to the SingTel office's business solutions centre with all its cool technologies.

Singapore Sling and the free peanuts from Raffles hotel's Long Bar.

Me and Charlotte with Donkey at Universal Studios.

The all spark at the transformers ride.

Oscar the Grouch 

Oh yeh.. Universal studios!

Classic Universal sign

The cable cart which connected the main Singapore island to Santosa.

Smile (eventhough we were in a cable car above the sea!)

Singapore' s Changi airport. Such a big airport.