Singapore. Day one and two.

The Republic of Singapore is a sovereign city-state and island below Malaysia. It is one of the most densely populated countries on planet Earth. It is only 55km from one side to the other. It is unlike any other Southeast Asian country I have ever seen. And because of that, it is such a nice break from Southeast Asia. It is cleaner than clean. Someone told me that chewing gum is outlawed. The streets, the parks are flawless. Its public transport is brilliant! the MRT (Tube, Subway, whatever) is cheap and super convenient. Riding around all day for both of us on single ride tickets never cost any more than 10 Singapore dollars, which is about £5. The landscape of the country is amazing. The architecture is really cool and the public parks are so trippy.

It was late after we were finished having fun at the airport. We hit up a 7 eleven and had a terrible supper then went back to our room to plan the following days activities. There is so much to see and do in Singapore. I made a list. Any excuse to write a list. Cat had mentioned once or twice that there is a Universal Studios, and that is where our real fun began. 

Universal studios - comments by cats

Universal Studios, Hollywood, 2008 - on honeymoon

Universal Studios, Singapore, 2014 - spot the difference

Think we'll buy one of these cars when we get back :)

This is New York - here we watched Lights, Camera, Action. Presented by Steven Spielberg (on video of course). This showed how an empty sound stage becomes the setting for a major hurricane about to hit NYC. There was a lot of fire, shocks & water sprays.

The Transformers 4D/rollercoaster was ace.

It's like Sugar Rush from Wreck it Ralph - this is before you even get inside

Russell's dream come true

Russell's dream come true part 2

Look how happy he is!

We went on a kids ride to dry off after the rapids through Jurassic Park

They really spared no expense

The Ancient Egypt section for the ride - Revenge of the Mummy - why do they make rides out of crap films?

Far far away

Not very flattering but Russell wasn't ready for the ride to go fast all of a sudden.

 

This guy took a full suitcase on the Madagascar boat ride - I think he expected to end up in Madagascar

Outside the diner there was usually some divs miming along to crap songs. Cringe!

Lunch of burgers, chips & milkshakes. What could be better at Universal Studios?

My fave type of restaurant - proper American diner

Russell's fave type of restaurant seat - a booth!

Meeting the Minions was obviously the highlight

Whether or not to drink an over priced Singapore Sling at Long Bar in Raffles Hotel is a dividing debate amongst back packers & all travellers alike. The Singapore Sling was invented by Ngiam Tong Boon, a Hainanese bartender working at the Long Bar sometime before 1915. After hearing some pretty bad things about the cocktails, we remained undecided on the matter until we were pushed in the right direction on our last night in Vietnam. Cat's Ma and Pa sent a lovely message and some extra money so that we could enjoy a Sling. 

 

Unlimited monkey nuts (ground nuts?), we followed the tradition of throwing the shells on the floor

For my 2nd sling I got a Tropical Sling which included passion fruit puree & champagne

$127.10 for 4 drinks? Definitely worth it. That's £60.16

Contrary to some online comments the cocktails were all made fresh, from scratch & are delicious! Long bar is steeped in nostalgia. Sitting at the bar sipping a Sling and eating as many Groundnuts as humanly possible to compensate for the pricey drinks. We couldn't have been happier.