How about that Singapore Sling

Our three weeks in Malaysia was over and we got ourselves bustickets to Johor Bahru, where we learned there are buses to Singapore every few minutes. It should have been an easy transit, but wait, we left Tioman early in the morning, took the bus to Johor Bahru, took the bus to Singapore, enjoyed some minor hassle at the boarder and found ourselves in a guesthouse around 11 pm. Great, another 13 hour transit day. When traveling in Asia, don't be fooled by short distances. They may still take forever, as I learned the hard when traveling in India.

Back to Singapore, everyone knows Singapore. The odd little city-state south of Malaysia that is known for being on time when every other nation in southeast Asia is late. Before we left Malaysia, we learned that it is illegal to bring more then one pack of cigarettes in to Singapore. We also learned that a pack of cigarettes in Singapore is three times the price in Malaysia. As this was the last stop on my five month journey, I was running low on cash, and so was my travel buddy Niina. We decided to do the unthinkable and smuggle in some cigarettes. We didn't go crazy, we simply doubled up bought two packs each.

My partner in crime.

At the boarder, we both felt like criminals, our illegal cigarettes burning in our pockets. I had hid one of my packs in my guitar case, Niina had both of hers in her backpack . A middle-aged man checked my bag and after going through most of my belongings (except my guitar case) he was satisfied and let me through. Phew! Heart beating I picked up my bags and proceeded to the door, when I realised Niina was being led to a small room by security. I waited outside for her for about 30 minutes, that's how long they kept her inside. They interrogated my criminal friend and told her she was to pay a fine of 200 Singapore dollars. Luckily, she was able to convince the border security that she had no idea of this rule and, finally, they cut her cigarettes in two and let her go without a fine. Niina now has a five-year record in Singapore. Apparently, if she tries to smuggle cigarettes in to the country again, something very, very terrible awaits her. Lesson learned. A couple of cigarette packs poorer and a criminal record richer, we made our way to Little India in hope of finding a cheapish guesthouse, now that our cigarettes were gone.

Marina Bay Sands

If you ride in style, the Marina Bay Sands hotel with its famous Infinity Pool may be your choice of accommodation. If you ride with me, you will settle for a 14 bed dorm for 15 euros. (By the way, the hotel cost 8 billion Singapore dollars, about 5 billion euros, to build. I don't even want to think about how much a room would set me back.) Happy with our dorm and happy hour beer, we crashed in our cheap sheets.

The next day was dedicated to the zoo, as it's known to be one of the best zoos in Asia. Unfortunately, a public holiday ment us entering the zoo together with the rest of the population. The zoo is indeed impressive, with some animals lacking cages and big, lush areas for all animals to roam around.

White tiger or not,
I still like the turtles!

A white tiger.

Singapore is a very clean place. After spending over three months stepping in cow shit and being surrounded by insanity in India, Singapore feels a little lame. One reason why I don't mind sleeping in rooms where the roof is leaking or there's a cockroach or two is that they bring a little insanity to my travels. I don't travel to see things I can see at home (like a clean bed), I travel to learn and experience things that would never be possible in my organised home country of Finland. I'm not saying that you can't stay at the Marina Bay Sands if you like, I'm saying that I don't need to. That's why Singapore doesn't strike a chord with me. It's too clean, too organised, too polished for my liking. However, that doesn't mean it was uneventful. Let me tell you some fun facts.

How about that cigarette? The expensive ones that you buy in Singapore or the cheap ones you smuggle in you guitar case. If you light one up, be sure to do it in the right place. The guesthouse we stayed at, The Prince of Wales, asks its guests to please smoke in the yellow box. Do you see the yellow box? The town is full of yellow boxes, painted on the ground to tell you where you can smoke and where you cannot.

And what about durian. The "king of fruits" that smells like your worst nightmare. Whatever you do, don't eat it at the airport. I guess the fine for carrying a durian at the airport is too big to even write it out. I also heard there is an escalator in a park, if you do not wish to exhaust yourself by walking. So Singapore is not boring, in fact, I find the yellow boxes, rules and fines quite amusing.

No durian!

Another thing Singapore is famous for is shopping. There are shopping malls that look like spaceships and the streets are lined with all imaginable luxurious brands. We soon realised that we should have done our shopping elsewhere. My wallet couldn't afford the Cartier, Bosses and Rolexes. As a result, we spotted a H&M and bought a couple of shirts we could just as well have bought at home.

"Shopping" in Marina Bay Sands.
(I didn't actually go in, they would have probably thrown my dirty traveling ass out the door.)

On our last day in Singapore, our last day traveling, we thought it would be fun to go see the famous boat hotel and see what all the fuzz is about. There's a rooftop bar and we wanted to have ourselves a Singapore Sling, no matter what! So we took the clean metro and found our way to the ticket office. I must say, I was a little surprised the elevator ride up was priced at S$ 20, but our mind was made up. We emptied our empty wallets and bought two tickets. For a second there, I thought this was the worst money ever spent, but oh no. It got worse. The view is nice, of course, but thanks to the bars and security wires it doesn't look very romantic.

Great.

We also thought we could see the famous pool. Unfortunately, it's closed off, except for two guided tours a day. I don't know who wants to go on a guided tour to se a pool, we were getting frustrated with the place. Now, how about that drink? The unimpressive bar served us our overpriced cocktails, we drank them and we left. We couldn't help but laugh at the insanity of it all. We just had ourselves the most expensive drinks of our lives, and it wasn't even a good one!

Enjoying that Singapore Sling.

After spending 30 euros a piece to have one drink we were done with Singapore. We were also done with our Singapore dollars. When we arrived at the airport, we were literally penniless and ready to go home. And so five months of traveling came to an end at the airport in Singapore. New York, India, Malaysia and Singapore, ahead of us only a ten hour flight to Helsinki. Penniless or not, the many experiences of my trip will bring me joy for years to come. If you haven't packed your bags yet, do it now, after all, you never know what yellow boxed you may find!