Singapore: the Merlion city lit up by fireworks

Our bus ride from Melaka to Singapore's border took 5.5 hours (60 MYR/pax). We were lucky to find some seats on the bus in the early morning because we knew traffic around the borders during the holidays would probably be chaotic.

- The trip from Melaka to the Malaysian border (called Johor Bahru) took 3h with almost no traffic, and exiting Malaysia took 20 mins;

- The bridge crossing between the Malaysian border to the Singaporean border (called the Woodlands) took 30 min because of traffic;

- Going through immigration in Singapore took 50 mins but we had to run - it was written on the tickets, on the bus and it was emphasized by the driver multiple times that he would only wait 45mins. Luckily, the driver waited a little bit longer than that and we were able to get back on the bus.  We were very lucky to have picked the right line at immigration because the bus left with less than 50% of the initial group of people, even after waiting an additional 30mins. But we took in other people that surely were left behind by a previous bus.

So if you are stuck at the Woodlands because your bus left, try to get on another bus. Otherwise, there are trains to get to Singapore's city center. But we still felt bad for the people that were left behind after getting this far... 😖 

When we reached Bugis station in the middle of Singapore, we bought a 3 days tourist card for 30 SGD (but you can return the card before you leave and they will reimburse you 10 SGD/card).

The MRT, Singapore's metro, is extremely well developed, very wide and full of artwork. We were amazed that even if the metro (or shopping malls) were full, people were very orderly when moving around and walking in the corridors. 

We started our tour of Singapore with Clarke Quay, a nice area with shops and restaurants painted in different colors near the river, protected by enormous umbrellas. But as the umbrellas were being renovated, the area was partially closed during the day.

We then went to see Gardens by the Bay where you can see the famous artificial trees of Singapore and the Marina Bay Sands, the hotel with three towers on top of which there is a platform resembling a boat.

It feels magical and unreal when you have the opportunity to see them with your very own eyes.

Next to those iconic spots, there is a shopping mall which features a light display and also an extremely crowded food court. One of the only times you could feel the real number of people in this city.

The city itself is very pleasant to visit and there are so many things to see that we could not capture everything in photos and videos but it is a very diverse city, with older, modern and futuristic styles of architecture. We even found a building that we could have seen in Gotham city 🦇🦇. The city is also extremely green with trees and flowers everywhere, parks and vertical gardens on buildings.

The city is large, streets are wide and transportation is excellent which makes this crowded city seem not so crowded.

Singapore has cultivated its multiculturalism all along its history, thanks to Sir Raffles, who founded Singapore.

In addition to the skyscrapers, there are multiple neighborhoods dedicated to the people that lived there. 

The Arab Street District, for example, where we went to Kampong Glam featuring the Sultan's mosque. This Mosque was initially built in 1824 after the end of the war between the British and the Sultan Hussein Shah but then it was rebuilt in 1924 to be the magnificent palace of worship it is today.

Then we went to see Little India and one of its temples, which, unfortunately, was closed.

And last but not least, Chinatown with its narrow streets with a lot of tourist shops and restaurants, as well as an old market that was converted into shops selling clothes, souvenirs and decorations for the Chinese new year's celebration.

The highlight of Chinatown is the huge Buddha Tooth Relic Temple, which is one of the most beautiful temples we've seen. On each wall of the main room featuring a central golden Buddha, we could find 100 small seated Buddha statues, each with different hand positions or attributes.

The exterior is just as beautiful with the 5 storey Chinese style building, the lanterns and decorations featuring rabbits for new year.

Don't miss the side entrances that lead to the different floors!

- on the first floor, you can walk around a mezzanine where you will find wax statues of men that influenced Buddhism in Singapore, as well as a yellow prayer hall;

- the second floor was closed and the third one is a small museum;

- on the fourth floor, you can find the relic itself, a tooth in a golden shrine behind a bullet proof glass (in case you wanted to give the tooth to a fairy 🤣) - we weren't allowed to take photos;

- the last floor has a small pagoda where you can find a prayer wheel with a Mantra.

Finally we went for a walk on Orchard Road, Singapore’s Champs Élysées or the streets dedicated to the religion of consumerism with all the shopping malls, decorations and music, especially during Christmas time.

We were in Singapore for a very short visit so there is a lot we couldn't experience but we will be back! In the meantime, we'll finish this post with the New Year fireworks at the Marina!

It was incredible to see this magical event, especially the finale - thanks to the 360 surround speakers that were playing the 1812 Overture and the non-stop fireworks, I had the feeling things were blowing up all around me like in the finale of the movie V for Vendetta.

Once again happy new year everybody! 🎆