Freshly back in the country from my trip to Singapore, and completely over-flowing from my cultural experiences and interesting adventures in a place where East meets West in an eclectic fusion like no other. Singapore truly has something for every taste, and I mean every taste, from the highest end to the economically challenged, it has it all, and also manages to hit every note in between as well.
Our hotel, The Vagabond Hotel, is an Indian owned, French designed boutique hotel that really defies all explanation. There was art, and art and even more art scattered throughout the building, as well as hundreds of photographs from the owners personal collection of photographs that she has taken on her many worldly travels. In short, it was an extravaganza for the senses; lush, opulent, beautifully orchestrated and to top it all off, the beds were insanely comfy too. I must admit that I loved the variety of art house and noir cinema that was on offer for free in the rooms, and I curled up with a different flick at the end of every evening.
We three sisters jammed packed our days with exciting adventures, covering as many aspects of Singapore that one can in only a week. We used the MRT (the local train system) to get around 90% of the time, which was clean, fast and extremely user friendly and I would highly recommend it to anyone that visits Singapore. In just six days, we did an incredible amount of sightseeing and adventuring.
We mostly shopped the district known as Little India, traipsing up and down the isles of the massive 24 hour shopping complex called The Mustafa Centre hunting out bargains, but we did also pay a visit to a fantastically ornate Hindu temple as well. We strolled the colourful Arab District, admiring the spectacular street art and specialty stores, and visiting a local Mosque.
We hopped on a bumboat and biked around the last untouched island off the mainland called Palau Ubin, where we tried not to die from heat exhaustion or from being attacked by the many wild monkeys and boars that inhabit the island. We scoured the market places and temples of Chinatown where my sisters partook in a spot of 'fish' feet nibbling that I happily declined to have anything to do with - no fish sucking on my toes thanks! We ate at the local Hawker Centres that house incredibly tasty street food vendors; a visit to one of these ensures you three delicious courses for under $10.
We went to the high end shopping malls at The Marina Bay Sands where you can be transported around in gondolas and buy Versace or Gucci if that's your speed. We strolled the Gardens by the Bay - both day and night, to see the spectacular light shows. We went to the Cloud bio-dome for a garden experience second to none and we crossed the incredible helix bridge to see the famous white Merlion that proudly sprays water from his huge mouth across the harbour.
We sipped Singapore Slings at the Long Bar in Raffles, we dined high end at Violet Oons where the Malaysian curry was so hot that the smell of it made my eyes water and had me seriously worried about the safety of my bowel. And we even went to see Haw Par Villa, an abandoned residence that was once owned by the Tiger Balm family and is just way too weird to explain, seriously you have to google that place. I have never, nor will I ever, see anything like that again!
And now I am back home, feeling the cold terribly and actually pretty exhausted, but absolutely brimming with stories and images that have mystified my senses over the past week. Who knew that Singapore had so much to offer? But now that I have been for myself I can see that it is a truly wonderful and vibrant place, that is so utterly unique and unlike anywhere that I have traveled before. My sisters and I have really made some life long memories together in Singapore; sharing in some of the finest, the strangest, the most beautiful and the tastiest experiences that we will ever have in our lives.
Our hotel, The Vagabond Hotel, is an Indian owned, French designed boutique hotel that really defies all explanation. There was art, and art and even more art scattered throughout the building, as well as hundreds of photographs from the owners personal collection of photographs that she has taken on her many worldly travels. In short, it was an extravaganza for the senses; lush, opulent, beautifully orchestrated and to top it all off, the beds were insanely comfy too. I must admit that I loved the variety of art house and noir cinema that was on offer for free in the rooms, and I curled up with a different flick at the end of every evening.
We three sisters jammed packed our days with exciting adventures, covering as many aspects of Singapore that one can in only a week. We used the MRT (the local train system) to get around 90% of the time, which was clean, fast and extremely user friendly and I would highly recommend it to anyone that visits Singapore. In just six days, we did an incredible amount of sightseeing and adventuring.
We mostly shopped the district known as Little India, traipsing up and down the isles of the massive 24 hour shopping complex called The Mustafa Centre hunting out bargains, but we did also pay a visit to a fantastically ornate Hindu temple as well. We strolled the colourful Arab District, admiring the spectacular street art and specialty stores, and visiting a local Mosque.
We hopped on a bumboat and biked around the last untouched island off the mainland called Palau Ubin, where we tried not to die from heat exhaustion or from being attacked by the many wild monkeys and boars that inhabit the island. We scoured the market places and temples of Chinatown where my sisters partook in a spot of 'fish' feet nibbling that I happily declined to have anything to do with - no fish sucking on my toes thanks! We ate at the local Hawker Centres that house incredibly tasty street food vendors; a visit to one of these ensures you three delicious courses for under $10.
We went to the high end shopping malls at The Marina Bay Sands where you can be transported around in gondolas and buy Versace or Gucci if that's your speed. We strolled the Gardens by the Bay - both day and night, to see the spectacular light shows. We went to the Cloud bio-dome for a garden experience second to none and we crossed the incredible helix bridge to see the famous white Merlion that proudly sprays water from his huge mouth across the harbour.
We sipped Singapore Slings at the Long Bar in Raffles, we dined high end at Violet Oons where the Malaysian curry was so hot that the smell of it made my eyes water and had me seriously worried about the safety of my bowel. And we even went to see Haw Par Villa, an abandoned residence that was once owned by the Tiger Balm family and is just way too weird to explain, seriously you have to google that place. I have never, nor will I ever, see anything like that again!
And now I am back home, feeling the cold terribly and actually pretty exhausted, but absolutely brimming with stories and images that have mystified my senses over the past week. Who knew that Singapore had so much to offer? But now that I have been for myself I can see that it is a truly wonderful and vibrant place, that is so utterly unique and unlike anywhere that I have traveled before. My sisters and I have really made some life long memories together in Singapore; sharing in some of the finest, the strangest, the most beautiful and the tastiest experiences that we will ever have in our lives.
SISTERS
Release Date: 2015
Rating: MA 15+
Running Time: 123 mins
Hardly a revelation in terms of writing or plot, but Sisters does have some merit when it comes to easy to watch, no-brainer comedy. The terrifically talented twosome of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler team up again and manage to produce an extremely unlikely tale about two forty-something sisters that trash their parents house in the name of a rocking party.
Called in to their parents house to clean out their overflowing 80's retro bedrooms (which was utterly perplexing to me that they were still like that so many years on) before it's sale, Kate and Maura find themselves reminiscing about their teenage adventures, and in turn deciding to have one last party in their childhood home.
This movie plays out exactly like every other 'let's have a party and not tell our parents' films that has ever been made, only this time the people at the party are substantially older but still acting like dicks, which produced a mixture of hilarious and often pathetic moments all at once. I was really torn about this movie, there were things I really enjoyed about it and things that I absolutely detested, but I cannot deny that it did make me laugh, so for that reason, it is worth a viewing. Just don't expect too much and watching it drunk, as I did, will probably help it along.
FINAL SAY: You can't start with 'Mony Mony'. That's like starting with anal.
3 Chili Peppers
Release Date: 2015
Rating: MA 15+
Running Time: 123 mins
Hardly a revelation in terms of writing or plot, but Sisters does have some merit when it comes to easy to watch, no-brainer comedy. The terrifically talented twosome of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler team up again and manage to produce an extremely unlikely tale about two forty-something sisters that trash their parents house in the name of a rocking party.
Called in to their parents house to clean out their overflowing 80's retro bedrooms (which was utterly perplexing to me that they were still like that so many years on) before it's sale, Kate and Maura find themselves reminiscing about their teenage adventures, and in turn deciding to have one last party in their childhood home.
This movie plays out exactly like every other 'let's have a party and not tell our parents' films that has ever been made, only this time the people at the party are substantially older but still acting like dicks, which produced a mixture of hilarious and often pathetic moments all at once. I was really torn about this movie, there were things I really enjoyed about it and things that I absolutely detested, but I cannot deny that it did make me laugh, so for that reason, it is worth a viewing. Just don't expect too much and watching it drunk, as I did, will probably help it along.
FINAL SAY: You can't start with 'Mony Mony'. That's like starting with anal.
3 Chili Peppers
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