From Seoul, I took the 11:00 PM overnight plane (saved $100 USD) to Singapore. The plane stopped in Taiwan for a bit and then arrived in Singapore at 5:50 AM. Singapore is the first section of my journey that I’m doing alone, so I grabbed a local SIM card, some Singapore dollars, and maps.  I loaded an EZ link MRT card for the subway, and I headed off to my Hostel – Fisher Bnb (~$20 USD) http://www.fisherbnb.com/#0.  Check-in wasn’t until 2:00 PM, but I made my way there anyway to drop off my bag. My first impression of Singapore: HOT, HOT, HOT and HUMID, especially with my backpack. It was 90+ degrees Fahrenheit (speaking of, why don’t we use the metric system, c’mon US).  My clothes were dripping with sweat by the time I arrived. I only had a short walk from the subway to the hostel, but that was plenty of time to get drenched. Maybe I should shave my head? The hostel was nice and super clean. The beds had full bedding and my own light and universal plug-in. The owners gave me a quick overview of the area and some maps. I freshened up, and then head out for the morning to kill time until check-in.

My hostel was near a popular area called Little India (#1 thing in Lonely Planet’s Singapore highlights). My new change of clothes became immediately drenched, so I found places to duck into to “shop” while I got some air conditioning. Singapore is made up of Chinese (~75%), Malays (~14%), Indians (~8%) plus many others. I walked through tons of little shops and larger market-mall buildings. The area was full of people and smells (mainly sweat and bad odor because the heat).

I had my first meal at a hawker centre, “the ubiquitous and raucous food markets where everyone mucks together to indulge the local mania for cheap eating and drinking.” These are located throughout Singapore, and they are quite popular. I could easily get a delicious filling meal for $3.50.  My first day, I had biryani rice, prata, curry, and a lychee drink. When I got back to the hostel, I napped from 3 PM – 6 PM, and then went back to bed at 8 PM. I was exhausted after not having a full night of rest.

Day Two in Singapore, I decided to visit their very popular zoo and night safari (#2 thing in Lonely Planet’s Singapore highlights). Another person from my hostel was visiting the river safari and night safari, so we headed out that way together. His name was Jan (sounds like “Yan”), and he was from Germany and just out of high school. Before university, he spent eight months traveling through Australia, so we had a lot to talk about. The zoo was  great, but I always feel sorry for some of the larger or more active animals. I’m sure they have a great life, but sometimes they look so sad. They put on a great elephant show, and it looked like the elephants were having a lot of fun–those cute little things. I met Jan for the night safari, and it was nice to chat with someone after a day alone. The night safari tram was really crowded, so we did the walking paths for the first part. After we got back, the line had decreased, so we hopped on with the guided tour.  When we got back to the hostel, we grabbed dinner across the street at another hawker center, and I had char kway teow (flat rice noodles wok-fried in dark soy sauce and chili sauce).