Part 1:
We flew to Singapore with Jetstar, a really good budget airline in Asia. On arrival we were instantly happy – it was organised, cosmopolitan and very friendly! We took the subway to our hostel, found it no problem and checked into our dorm. Singapore is a complete mix of cultures and ethnicities which appealed to us instantly. After sorting through our stuff we headed downstairs and were basically forced to drink beer by the hostel owner to celebrate the upcoming National Day! We met a nice couple from Italy who gave us loads of tips for Tioman Island and another guy called Raj who was planning a 2 year trip using a private plane (jammy).
After a few beers we went in search of Little India to satisfy Ahmad’s curry addiction. It felt like we were back in India after 5 minutes, there are loads of Indian eateries serving up scrumptious scran! We had vegetable thalis and I could barely eat most of it due to the chilli content! The best part was having a cup of chai again, although it could have done with more sugar!
We had already booked our train to KL for the following morning and due to an early start we went to bed early. We were a little gutted that we would miss National Day fireworks but never mind.
The following morning we got up at 6, got ready and took the subway and a bus to Woodlands where we went through immigration and boarded the train to KL. We had been shitting it a bit entering and exiting the country because they charge tax to bring in tobacco and we have 10 packs of golden Virginia and Chinese fags! They also have scanners but luckily nobody noticed and we didn’t have to pay $8 per pack – fucking expensive!
Part 2:
The journey from Tioman to Singapore was straight forward and very efficient. We arrived about 5pm and went back to the hostel we stayed in before. Ahmad was very upset to be leaving Indian food for a while so we headed out and ate a substantial amount of curry and biriani! We went to bed early which proved to be fruitless because in the 24 bed dorm, we were right next to the door which kept slamming and we barely got any sleep. The only thing getting us through the night was knowing that in the morning, we were checking out and going to a decent hotel!
We arrived at the hotel at 9am, checked in and went straight to the buffet breakfast where we ate until fit to exploding. The room in our hotel was awesome with an ultra comfy huge bed and the en suite had a bathtub – super treat!
The day before my birthday the hotel staff gave me a cake (I didn’t have the heart to tell them my birthday was actually the day after) and we generally spent two days eating well, swimming in the pool and sleeping. I didn’t want to write this blog entry because we didn’t do anything of interest but Ahmad keeps insisting!
At this point in time we are about to check out and make our way to the airport. We have a flight to London (via Amsterdam) leaving at 11pm arriving 7am UK time. We have lots of errands to run in London before meeting Lucy (can’t wait!), one night in the Ibis and then on to Rio, Brazil!
I can’t believe we are about to embark on our last continent. I am so excited about South America because the weather will be bearable (damn cold in the south though!), we will be in hostels the entire time which means we will meet people easily and have more fun (always the way), the food and wine will be amazing and the standard of transport is good. Mostly though, I hope SA will have the same feel as Africa (less touristy) and more memorable. The more intimidating a country is, the better it is to travel!
Part 2:
The journey from Tioman to Singapore was straight forward and very efficient. We arrived about 5pm and went back to the hostel we stayed in before. Ahmad was very upset to be leaving Indian food for a while so we headed out and ate a substantial amount of curry and biriani! We went to bed early which proved to be fruitless because in the 24 bed dorm, we were right next to the door which kept slamming and we barely got any sleep. The only thing getting us through the night was knowing that in the morning, we were checking out and going to a decent hotel!
We arrived at the hotel at 9am, checked in and went straight to the buffet breakfast where we ate until fit to exploding. The room in our hotel was awesome with an ultra comfy huge bed and the en suite had a bathtub – super treat!
The day before my birthday the hotel staff gave me a cake (I didn’t have the heart to tell them my birthday was actually the day after) and we generally spent two days eating well, swimming in the pool and sleeping. I didn’t want to write this blog entry because we didn’t do anything of interest but Ahmad keeps insisting!
At this point in time we are about to check out and make our way to the airport. We have a flight to London (via Amsterdam) leaving at 11pm arriving 7am UK time. We have lots of errands to run in London before meeting Lucy (can’t wait!), one night in the Ibis and then on to Rio, Brazil!
I can’t believe we are about to embark on our last continent. I am so excited about South America because the weather will be bearable (damn cold in the south though!), we will be in hostels the entire time which means we will meet people easily and have more fun (always the way), the food and wine will be amazing and the standard of transport is good. Mostly though, I hope SA will have the same feel as Africa (less touristy) and more memorable. The more intimidating a country is, the better it is to travel!