Artificially Uniquely Singapore part I

This is my first backpack travel abroad. I'm soooo excited cause of some reason, such as:
1. First time i use my passport (while i got with sweat and struggle *lebay mode on*) and get it stamped by the immigration :D
2. First time i prepare all itinerary to travel abroad from scratch
3. First time i go backpacking travel with my sista
4. First time i feel the atmosphere outside my beautiful Indonesia ^_^
5. And sooo many first time experience

I went to Singapore on Sat noon, by plane (i got cheap fares due to Air Asia promotion). Took the MRT from Changi to Lavender station (my first experience using the MRT too). Ofcourse i bought the ticket first from the ticket counter. It was the Singapore Tourist Pass for 3 days. I'm pretty much adaptable with those card (by seeing locals use it first) :D
Just tap it on MRT entrance gate's scanner or if you take the bus, tap it on scanner near the front door. And when you stop, tap it again on scanner before you get out of the bus.


After arriving at Lavender station, we (I and my sista) looked for The Amigos Hostel. I already booked 2 bed at this hostel couple days before. We should turned left till found the Lavender street. But we turned right and get confused. Then hard rain was pouring down. So we were running to the closest shelter. Well, what an experience to start a trip. Lost, got wet of rain and hungry. Luckily, my sis brought 2 packs of nasi bungkus from home.

So now here we were, in Singapore, in the middle of garden shelter of an apartment, under the hard rain, wet and cold, ate the nasi bungkus heartily (it was the nicest meal i ever ate in Singapore, lovely home meal ^_^). After finished it, ah we ran out of drinking water T_T but we kept walking to find the hostel.

And after got lost (walk for a couple of blocks) we return to Lavender station and turned left. Finally we found the hostel, yaaayy. Small one, with hideous entrance gate besides the Lavender Hotel. The rooms are quite clean, and we share room with 6 other peoples cos it's an 8 female dorm room. I dont mind with it ofcourse, cos we got low price. Worth enough for us who used the room just for sleep and keep our backpack while we went around the city.

Soon after checked in, we went to Little India. As i guessed before, there must be a lot of Indian people there *ya eyalah :hammer:*. One thing i can't forget bout this place is the smells. Herbs, incense and so many things. What a new place to see and new experience ^_^


Then we continued to Clarke Quay to see some night view of the city. It is a nice place to hang around, to eat or even just to walking around. Kinda romantic place too (if you're here with ur couple :P). After finished with the night view we turned back to hostel and took a rest.


The day after, we woke up early and took MRT to the City Hall station. Then walked along the river to reach the Merlion statue. Many interesting things to see on the way there. Till finally we reached the Merlion park and took some photographs (as a proof that we've been in Singapore hehe).


Then we continued to Science Center (still by MRT). It is a cool place to learn about science things. There are mathematics' room, space science, sound exhibition, etc. And, yeah a roaring T-rex will welcomes visitors at entrance.


After took some photographs and played with some educative playthings there we continued to Sentosa Island. We took a bus at bus stop across the Science Center to Jurong East station. Then took MRT to Harbourfront station (this MRT is soooo helpful during our trip). Then we walked to the Vivo City to took the train to Sentosa.

We saw Merlion statue there, this is the third i've seen after those two in Merlion park near The Fullerton Hotel. There are two more actually, the fourth Merlion is located at the headquarters of the Singapore Tourism Board at 1 Orchard Spring Lane. The fifth Merlion is located at Mount Faber.

The choice of the Merlion as a symbol for Singapore has its roots in history. The Merlion commemorates the ancient name and the legend taken from the "Malay Annals" (literary and historical work from the 15th or 16th century) explaining how Singapore received its present name. In ancient times, Singapore was known as Temasek, which is Javanese for the sea. It was then as it is today, a centre of trade.

At the end of the 4th century A.D., Temasek was destroyed. As recorded in the legend in the "Malay Annals," Prince Nila Utama of the Sri Vijaya empire rediscovered the island later in the 11th century A.D. On seeing a strange beast (which he later learnt was a lion) upon his landing he named the island Singapura which is a Sanskrit word for Lion (Singa) City (Pura).

The Merlion, with its fish-like body riding the waves of the sea, is symbolic of the ancient city of Temasek. At the same time, its majestic head recalls the legend of the discovery of the Singapore by Prince Nila Utama, when Singapore received its present name.
www.newasia-singapore.com

At Sentosa Island we met Eni, our neighbour who works as a TKW (female labour) there. She brought her Philippine's friend (if i'm not mistaken) named Bing and another Javanese TKW also (i forget her name) who marries a local citizen. We went to the Siloso Beach and walked across the-damn-shaky-hanging-bridge to the quay.


The beach is umm...so artificial i think (the rumor is the sands are imported from Indonesia). They polished it up and make it as a tourism object. The government are very concern of the country's potential and they develop it to attract tourist. I wonder, if Indonesian government could do the same, how many tourist will be attracted to come? Our land and water are extremely beautiful and extraordinary exotic *lebay lagi deh :D* but i can't agree more with my own sentences ^_^


Here we were treated by Eni and Bing. They bought us meals for dinner. We ordered vegetarian food cos we're avoiding pork and lard. We also tried Bandung (a-rose-scented-and-tasted-drink) and Es Kacang Merah. Thanks to them both for treating us, so we could save money ^_^


At afternoon, we were parted cos I and sister want to see the Song of The Sea show. It was a pretty good show, a musical show combining with lasers and fireworks show. Though some of visitors worried because lightnings strike often at the sea (the show is held right at the beach), overall the show was amusing. After the show finished, we came back to hostel to take a rest and get prepared for the journey in the next day.

*tips:
- if u're traveler with high mobility, Singapore Tourist Pass is a worthed choice.
- tap water is drinkable (for you who want to save money, cos mineral water costs about SGD1.2 or above)
- i recommend to use umbrella than raincoat when it's raining (unless ur raincoat is chic, so it could be worn all the time, moreover it won't be easy to protect ur camera and take a pic if u wear raincoat)