Singapore Day 1

Singapore Does not Mess Around

We get to Singapore about 9:30AM. One of the first things we are greeted with is a notice that if we traffic drugs, we will be put to death. The announcement was on the custom forms, the flight attendant announced it as we were landing, and it was posted on a huge sign as we approached customs. 

After we go through customs, we take a subway to our hotel. The Singapore subway terminals and cars are very clean and efficient. The reason why is because they fine the hell out of you for anything and everything (see pictures below). For instance, if you get caught drinking or eating on the subway, it is a $500 fine. The crazy fines do not stop there. The government post signs all throughout the city listing what behavior is fine-able. Apparently everything in Singapore is fine-able. I could fill a blog with examples. Also, just for your reference, one Singapore dollar is worth about $0.83 US dollars, so its almost a one to one.

Sign on Subway

We get to our hotel. The lobby is pretty nice but our room was very underwhelming. The artwork and furniture was dated. The carpet was stained and coming undone along the wall. Also, we did not have WiFi accessibility in our room?! Part of the reason Danae and I are behind in our blogging. Anyways, this hotel cost the most by far out of any place we've stayed at or will stay in Asia. The reason being is Singapore is an expensive city (even by western standards), but more on that later. 

The Fairmont - Our Hotel from the Outside

The Lobby

Our Room

The Pool Area

The hotel's saving grace is it's location and the pool area. It is located in the middle of Singapore and right next to the subway station. In fact, the hotel is part of a complex that houses a large mall, that is partially underground. It's really kind of neat. The pool deck is on the 8th floor. 

The Pool Area

View of Downtown From the Pool Deck

Our first trip was to Little India. It was not that special or memorable, but we had a pretty good Indian lunch (which include a Diet Coke finally). The one thing we noticed however, was that the market peddlers are not as pushy as they are in Thailand. 

Some Shrine Located in Little India

Some Buildings in Little India

Lunch

Lunch - BTW, we finally got some black beans (left)!

Lunch

We also walked along the river. They had tons of shops and restaurants along it. One thing you learn quickly about Singapore is that it's very clean. Cleaner than any European or American large city. At the mouth of the river lies an impressive skyline. There are also some architecturally awe inspiring hotels. See below for some pictures. We also met an Australian Couple who were celebrating their 50th anniversary. They asked us if we were honeymooning. We said close, but its our 2nd year anniversary.  

Notice the Sign warning me that if I swim, I will be Fined

Fullerton Hotel

Museum

Floating soccer stadium - Can't see the Field b/c
They Setup Stage For their National Day 

Marina Bay Sands Hotel - Garden Ship Atop

Skyline

For dinner, we went to Arab Street. We were craving middle eastern food. The area is very happening at night. We selected a Moroccan restaurant, that had a great view of a mosque. We even heard the last prayer of the evening. 

Mosque

Arab Street at Night

Lamb Kabobs

Unfortunately, the service at the restaurant was terrible. A trend we experienced numerous times throughout our Singapore trip. We ordered hummus as an appetizer and two entrees. I got my entree right away (lamb kabob as shown). Reason that it came so early: it was meant for another table, and that person refused it for some reason. Danae never got her meal or our hummus nor did the server ever return, so we demanded our bill and left after 30+ minutes. I'll spare the details, but we had The same experience the next night, except neither of us got any food. Our theory why the service sucks in Singapore is because they add a service charge to every meal automatically. The servers have no incentive to be good.

Prices, one word: expensive. They have a value added tax (as does a lot of Europe) as much as 30%. They also have the aforementioned service charge. To put some of the costs into perspective, I had a pint of locally brewed beer and Danae had a vodka tonic, and it was $24 dollars during happy hour! Add about $20 for non-happy hour. Our server explained the government doesn't want it's citizens to drink so it makes everything very expensive. But even the food was expensive. Especially considering how cheap Thailand is. Plus the food in Thailand is better.

We had an early night because we were tired from our lack of sleep. In fact we were out by 930.