14th – 15th September

My first night and day in Singapore hasn’t been my favourite part of the trip. Firstly, as a novice backpacker I hadn’t calculated (or even thought about) the time I might actually get to my hostel in Singapore. Secondly I’d only booked one night and had to move hostels 3 times and thirdly I was tired and suddenly alone……

I’m making it sound awful and I bet you’re sarcastically thinking ‘oh poor her all these problems travelling the world’ 😂. Travelling alone is amazing, but it can also be emotional and tough at times, you really have to rely on your instincts to make confident decisions as there’s often no one else to bounce ideas off.

Am I going to have a bed tonight?!………

So the first night it took aaaaaages to get through passport control, then take out some Singapore dollars, then had to find the way to my hostel. I took an MRT (like they’re version of the London underground system, but smaller, bit more like the BART in San Fran) to the Little India area of Singapore where my hostel was located. By now it was gone 11pm, (as Singapore is another 2.5 hours ahead of Sri Lanka) and getting on the train I suddenly panicked that I wouldn’t be able to check in at the hostel. I looked at the info and the reception closed at 11pm……. bummer. Panicking I started looking around for other hostels with late check in. As I’d paid for the Hive Hostel already I decided to try it first, so trekking from the station in the ridiculous heat it was at midnight, I turned up dripping in sweat. Someone else was going in when I arrived so I let myself in with them and looked around for a long time to try find my room. I started to think I’d have to sleep on the sofa in the communal area, when I asked a girl for help and luckily she knew where the late check in safe box was. Finally I made it into my room, grabbed a shower and settled into my weird spacepod bed.

The lucky thing that did happen that night is that staying in my room were two girls travelling together, both originally from Vietnam, Anh & Hebe. Anh now lives in Germany and has great English, so we said hi and had a quick chat – they’re such sweeties and I was so happy to see friendly faces! We swapped fb contact.

‘I’m all alone, there’s nobody here beside me’ 🎻

The next day was……. terrible. I was tired, confused and I spent much of the day moving to a new hostel and sitting in their tiny communal space trying to research what to do next – I hadn’t even planned which country I was going to! I was an upset mess and couldn’t shake it off the whole day.

I wandered around Singapore, not really enjoying the sights like I should, and eventually ended up at the Marina Bay Sands. I wanted to see the famous light show but got totally lost and missed both the one there and at Gardens by the Bay close by. I hadn’t eaten all day and by now I was ready to hand in the towel and head to bed early. In the mall complex a local guy came up and started asking where I’m from, what I’m doing etc. He told me to try China Town for food, but if I wanted something close there was a food court downstairs. He also pointed out how to get to the Gardens by the Bay and said they look great at night. So I went and got food, that it then turned out I wasn’t keen on 🤦‍♀️. Then went to the gardens, this definitely changed my mood a bit and made me smile.

Singapore is a crazy mix of east meets west with a famous China Town and Little India, its huge shopping streets and malls and its innovative modern architecture. The Gardens by the Bay are a magical, colourful mix of different plants & greenery, as well as the bright super tree grove. I grabbed an ice lolly and sat on the grass to chill and take in the sights. I decided I ought to stay in Singapore for a couple more days, get settled and see a bit more before I move on.