Although we came through Pudong airport to get to Shanghai, this time around we weren't horribly jetlagged, and it was during the daytime, so we actually noticed that the terminal was quite beautiful.
Blurry us on the plane to Singapore.We arrived in Singapore around 11:30 pm. The days prior to leaving, we had all of our hotel rooms booked and ready...all except for that first night. For some reason, that night almost nothing was available, and all of the hotels were double the normal price (later on we found out that the F1 races were in Singapore, and it was more than a huge deal there). The only hotel room I found was a cheap, out of the way one. Online it had reasonable reviews, but some people also mentioned that it was a bit shady. Jokingly, Nicole and I called it "the flophouse."
We were tired and uncomfortable when we finally checked out of customs. The only thing that made the night easier was that everyone, literally everyone, in Singapore speaks English. "Choo Jiat Road," we said to the cab driver, and just like that, he understood us.
As we neared the hotel, I started to notice the scenery changing a little; the buildings more worn, the lights dimmer. And then I saw our hotel, Hotel 88 I think it was called. It turned out to be a chain of hotels all on the same road. Also on the road we a number of...how shall we say...women of ill repute. Hmm. So I check in, we get to the elevator, and standing there, right next to me, is a woman leaning against the wall in a "seductive" manner. Yep, another painted lady. How convenient. Oh, and hourly rates? Available. This wasn't a "flophouse," it was a flophouse.
This was the room. Note how there is no real bedding. Also no drawers. Not a good sign. On that little table were some old snacks like a cup o' noodle and coffee packets. Not only that there was a nice trail of ants on there too.
Upon entering the room we were hit with a wave of musty, stale air. No windows here, and Singapore does happen to be right on the equator. The AC choked and sputtered a bit before finally spewing a thin gust of cool air.
This was the bathroom/shower. If you look closely, you can see how the shower head is right in the middle of the room. No separate shower! Also the toilet seat had stains on it. Next to the sink was an all-purpose hair/body soap. I was worried that I might catch something just by being in there.
The night was miserable, between the humidity, the uncleanliness of it all, the ants, and the sounds of people coming and going (no pun intended), we barely slept at all. We woke up early and were glad to get out of there. Luckily, our next hotel was on one of the nicest streets in Singapore, Orchard Rd. It's known as the main shopping and tourist area. We even found a Borders to hang out in before check-in. Oh, and speaking of bookstores in Singapore; simply put, they are amazing. Better than any US bookstore I have ever been in. Better than The Strand (sorry Strand), better than Union Square B&N, better even than the no longer existing Chelsea B&N (my former favorite bookstore). I'll go on more about this later, when we get to Kinokuniya.
Our new hotel. Spacious, clean, comfortable. Pretty much perfect. We should have stayed here for the whole vacation, but at least we had it for two days.
Our first dinner in Singapore was in a department food court. So many options. They had food from all over asia and a fair amount of Western selections too. I went with Hainanese chicken rice, a national dish in Singapore, and chicken congee. Both were very tasty. The chicken rice had a nice aroma, and the cold chicken was cooked perfectly. The spicy dipping sauce was the ideal accompaniment.
Coming up, much more food, shopping galore, the night safari, walking, and another hotel.
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