My last free evening in Singapore, I wanted to try a signature dish called "chicken rice", so me and 2 new friends from Thailand decided to try out Hawker Center. A Hawker Center is basically a giant food court with hundreds of authentic vendors, and the food is super cheap. The tables are also kind of dirty, and locals are constantly coming up to you trying to peddle their food, too. So you take the good with the bad...
Chicken rice was good. It's exactly what it sounds like: a bed of rice with strips of chicken on it and of course some special sauce. The strange part for me was that the entire body of the chicken was cut into strips, so I had tons of small bones I had to pick out or spit out while I was eating.
After dinner my Thai companions wanted to take me to Chinatown for some yummy dessert. They've been in Singapore many times and said they knew just the place! Here's a pic of me in Chinatown. It is decorated for the Chinese New Year (which begins Feb 14th).
Dessert Time! It's called Milk Snow Ice and is a cross between ice cream and a snow cone. I got mango flavor--super yummy!!
On my fifth day in S'pore, I woke up and was ready to move on to my next adventure. I was getting tired of the hot, humid temperatures that made my hair frizzy and the air thick & sticky.
I overheard some Asians in my training class talking about where they went to dinner the previous night, and they said "We went to a restaurant where you could litter peanut shells!! It was so COOL!" That made me smile. Welcome to any Texas Roadhouse, Outback, or Logan's!! Comments like this help me remember that America has some pretty cool things, too!
My hotel in Singapore had a great buffet spread, and I got to try many new fruits such as: dragonfruit, guava, papaya, and yellow watermelon.
On the final day I also found out to Singaporeans take the concept of "feng shui" very seriously. For instance, the Singapore Flyer used to rotate in the other direction when it first opened, and then it was discovered that it was bad luck, so they switched it and now it rotates in the same direction as the sun!! In addition, the new building that I kept taking pictures of which has 3 columns is designed that way due to feng shui experts!! They say III or the number three is going to bring good fortune and many people to the new attraction!!
My final stop was, of course, the Singapore Airport. It's rated one of the best in the world to have a layover! There are many attractions and things to keep you busy, including 300+ shops, a free movie theater, indoor nature trail with koi pond, napping areas, spa services, and even a butterfly garden!!
I felt like I was at Krohn Conservatory!!
Singapore really prides themselves on being a "green" city, and here's some human-sized recycling containers!!
The arrival area of the airport.
Even the departure area is pretty and colorful! Few people are here because they are either getting a massage or checking their email on one of the 200+ free internet terminals!
Finally, people all around the world call Sinagpore "a fine city" because they are known for their strict rules and fines that go along with them. I kept a close eye out, but I saw few such signs. Besides, I say there is nothing wrong with a little order in this world and having signs to warn people of the consequences. Here are some real-life examples:
--Smoking in restricted areas $500
--Spitting in public $300
--Not flushing a public toilet $150
--Littering $500
--Using chewing gum $800 (they don't sell it in the city, and possession isn't a crime--just chewing it!)
It's not always a fine--some times the penalty is DEATH for your crime! This is on the S'pore Immigration card!!
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