Escape the Haze: Tioman Island

Thanks to our lovely Indonesian neighbours Singapore was covered with haze last week and every day it got worse. While the PSI Index kept climbing from "unhealthy" to "very unhealthy" and even "hazardous" the only place where the air was still ok-ish was our office. The company even provided us with some N95 masks which turned into the most sought-after good in Singapore within hours. Of course I had to try them as well. So I turned into a mixture between a pretty Darth Vader and a dentist.

Even though I tried to stay at home or the office most of the time because of the haze, a friend of mine gave me a reason to ignore the haze and make my way to Marina Bay Sands. Somehow she got a golden member card for the hotel that night and after a couple of phone calls a group of interns gathered at the hotel to crash the infinity pool. Although the haze was still pretty bad we had an awesome time there :)

 

On the weekend I finally wanted to escape the haze so I went with a friend of mine to Tioman island in Malaysia. From Singapore/Johor Bahru it takes about 3h by bus to Mersing (from Singapore ~30 Dollars; from JB ~12 ringgit) from where the ferry to Tioman departs (70ringgit return; 3 hours). Unfortunately even there was haze, although it wasn't as bad as in Singapore. We still had a great time there. We got off the ferry in Tekek and then took a taxi to Juara Beach where we had booked a room at the Beach Shack Hut Hostel. It was a really basic but nice hostel with a very friendly Australian owner. The beach view hut cost us 55 ringgit per night/room and it was right at the beach.
Apart from relaxing in the hammock and swimming in the crystal clear water we also went for a hike to a nearby waterfall. After getting lost a couple of times we finally got to the waterfall after more than an hour. But it was totally worth it. We went swimming in the river and let the waterfall give us a natural massage. Time passed way to quickly and after 2 nights we already had to leave our little paradise island. But I'll definitaly come back there!

 

Free things to do in Singapore: My personal Top 3

Singapore is very expensive when it comes to accommodation, shopping and fine dining/drinking (alcohol). As a student I'm not really able to afford these things, which made me look for cheaper ways to spend my free time. And even though I didn't expect it, there are lot's of fun things one can do with little money or even for free. To help the bank accounts of future exchange students or interns I created my personal Top 3 list of free suff to do in Singapore.

3. Beaches

As a tropical island Singapore offers some pretty nice beaches. Maybe they are not as nice as the ones in Thailand and the water isn't as crystal clear as in Indonesia, but instead of taking the plane, these beaches are only a couple of MRT stations away.

Sentosa is probably the place with the most famous beaches. To get there one has to take the MRT to Harbour Front (circle & purple line). The MRT station is right below the Vivo City Shopping Mall from where you take the tram to Sentosa island (4 SGD return). On Sentose one can choose between 3 different beaches, but I've only been to 2 of them: Palawan and Siloso. Personally I prefer Palawan, because it's not as busy as Siloso, where there are lot's of bars and music.

East Coast Park is another option to spend a relaxing day at the beach. Get off the MRT at Paya Lebar Station (circle line) and either take a bus to Marina Parade or go for a 30 minute walk along beautiful Joo Chiat Road, which has some nicely renovated Chinese buildings, to reach the beach. There one can either play volleyball, rent bycicles or inline skates or just do nothing and enjoy the sun.

East Coast Park

2. Partying

Clubs and alcohol are very expensive in Singapore, but there are some exemptions. Every Wednesday is Ladies Night, which guarantees all girls a great night out for free (sorry guys ;P ). The Exchange bar close to Raffles Place MRT offers free Martinis between 6-9pm. Afterwards it's time to move on. Good options are either 1-Altitude, a roof-top bar on Singapore's highest building, (free entry after 9 pm and a free drink for the first 50 women who show up), or the Ku De Ta at Marina Bay Sands. This night club is right next to the famous infinity pool and all ladies don't only get in for free but also enjoy a free drink.

View from Ku De Ta

1-Altitude

Boys, do not dispair... there also is a chance for you to have a great night out without harming your bank account. Every last Thursday of each month is the helipad on top of the Swissotel (City Hall MRT) turned into a dance floor. Thanks to a guy named Jon White and his guestlist you'll get in for free. Just look for a facebook group called "Jon White's Guest List" and you'll get the latest info on free parties in Singapore. Ask and he'll put you on his guest list.

1. Parks

Singapore is known for breathtaking architecture, great food and even better shopping. What many people (even Singaporeans) don't know is, that this tiny city-state has some wonderful wildlife to offer. During the past 2.5 months Singapore's nature reserves kept astonishing me and I totally recommend every Singapore visitor to step out of the shopping malls, leave those high heels at home, prepare your backpack and explore Singapore's natural beauty.

For a short walk (30 min -1 hour) go to Bukit Timah and climb up Singapore's highest mountain. Ok, don't expect the Himalaya... the state's highest point is less than 200m above sea-level, but do expect some monkeys and beautiful rainforest.

Bukit Timah

Bukit Timah

If you have more time you can walk all the way from Bukit Timah to MacRitchie Nature Reserve. This will take around 4 hours and is very recommended. MacRitchie is definitely my favorite place in Singapore and it's only a 5 minute walk from Marymount MRT. Walking around the whole reserve, over the tree top walk (free entry, open Tuesday-Sunday until 5pm), along the lake and through the forest takes about 4 hours, if you don't get stuck watching the monkeys, lizards and turtles that might pass your way.

Mac Ritchie Nature Reserve

Another nice walking trail takes you from Labrador MRT to Harbour Front MRT (or the other way round). This takes about 1-2 hours and on the way you have some amazing views of the harbour, Sentosa and Batam island. The Henderson Waves are definitely the highlight of this trail. More information can be found on the website of the Singapore National Parks Board.

A Night at the Museum & a Day at the Pool

Last weekend was awesome. Friday was Vesak day and thanks to this Buddhist holiday I had a long weekend. And to see the celebrations I didn't even have to go far since a was woken by a small parade in front of my apartment on Friday morning.

Vesak Day Celebrations

The day continued as good as it had begun, because in the afternoon I met a friend at Lau Pa Sat for some nice dumplings before we headed to the Asian Civilizations Museum. Those who know me might be a bit surprised, because usually I'm not a big fan of museums, but this one I can really recommend. It had several exhibitions about Southeast Asia, China, South Asia and Western Asia which were very interesting. We sat in an Arabic tent, explored Hindu temples and took pictures as Indian dancers, which was heaps of fun. If you want to check it out yourself and are on a budget, go on Friday evening between 7-9pm and you'll get a 50% discount (4 instead of 8 SGD).

 Afterwards we went inside the famous Fullerton hotel and continued to Esplanade. On the way we had an amazing view of the skyline and stopped for a little photo session. The evening ended with a free a capella concert. The band was like a Singaporean version of the German "Wise Guys" and the crowd (including me) absolutely loved them.

The Fullerton Hotel

 On Saturday I went to Antje's place to spend the afternoon relaxing at the pool. We had a great time as always. The evening was reserved for some extensive shopping at one of Singaporeans many malls. Shopping seems to be the favourite free time activitiy of Singaporeans because no matter when I enter a mall it's always super crowded. The only activity that actually surpasses shopping is I-phoning, I-poding and I-pading in the MRT. I seriously doubt that there is another place in the world where one can find as many I-Phones in one place as in the Singapore MRT during rush hour!

Enjoying Life^^

A "fine" Country

Singapore is one of the safest places in the world, but it definitely is also one of the places with the most rules and hightest fines for almost everything. Eating and drinking -especially Durian- in MRTs is illegal and riding a bike in the wrong places can cost you 1000SGD.

But when it comes to safety and crime  my neighbourhood seems pretty good. If 5 shop thieves are already unusual enough to be displayed in front of the shopping mall, I guess I don't have to worry about more dangerous crimes.

And even in the jungle the Singapore government takes care of its citizens.Though I think it's more likely that you see the low branch first rather than the warning on the ground :-)

These posters are displayed at every MRT station and there are many different ones. I like this one because it actually makes someone feel like they've done something for their health when standing in line^^

Checking out the President's Place

Since last Wednesday was a public holiday and a lot of my colleagues used it for some extended holidays, last week was pretty relaxed. On Tuesday evening the remaining marketing team gathered for a nice little BBQ. The food was all I've been craving for since leaving Germany: green salad, pasta salad, pizza, grilled shrimps & squid, sate, chicken and the list goes on... all nicely decorated at the BBQ pit next to a large swimming pool (unfortunately I didn't bring my bikini). After eating way too much the party continued with some Black Jack. But since I have never played it before and still needed my money to go home, I only watched the games.

On Labour Day it was one of the rare opportunities to visit Istana Park and the President's Palace. It is only 5 times a year open to the public, so I didn't want to miss it. The park was quite nice and the view from the palace was pretty good too. For 2 Dollars we purchased a ticket to see the inside of the palace... and I must say that I wouldn't mind staying at that place ;-)  Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take pictures inside. As Mr. President didn't seem to be home, we ended our visit and continued to East Coast Park. The afternoon was spent relaxing and hanging out at the beach.

Two short workdays later it was finally weekend again. Yesterday I explored the two parks that are only minutes away from my home, but somehow I hadn't gone there until then. Ang Mo Kio Park is right next to the MRT station and it took only 10 minutes to walk around the entire park. Somewhat disappointed I walked to Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park, which was the total opposite. It's at a nice little river and seems like one big playground for children. There were different lakes, an inline skating school, a normal as well as a water playground, people fishing & children feeding the fish, sports equipment etc... and all of this is only a 10-minute walk from my place!

Nature and the City

The last week has been quite eventful. After a lazy Saturday I spent Sunday at the Botanic Gardens. As it had rained in the morning and it was still cloudy in the afternoon there weren't many people, which was great. Wandering through the gardens was really relaxing and refreshing. My favourite part was the "evolution garden" were I could see what nature might have looked like millions of years ago.

Since I've  had a wonderful time at the Botanic Gardens this weekend was again about nature. With another German intern I went to MacRitchie Nature Reserve. As it was already late when I went there with Sairozi, this time we started at noon. During our 4 hour hike we saw lots of monkeys and lizards and enjoyed the beautiful environment. Another highlight was the tree top walk and a tower in the middle of the jungle from where the view was just breathtaking.

And it seems like I still can't get enough of parks and nature reserves. This Wednesday is a public holiday and it's one of only 5 days a year when the Istana Park is open to the public and of course I don't want to miss this chance :-) It's amazing how green Singapore is. Even though the city is super modern with heaps of skyscrapers it only takes a 5 minute walk to reach the nearest park.

Sightseeing Extreme

On Saturday evening Sairozi arrived back in Singapore and since he was only going to stay here for 4 days, we had to squeeze as many activities into those four days as possible. It started on Sunday morning when we went to Sentosa. Going there is really simple. We only had to take the MRT to Harbour Front Station and from there take the tram (3.5 SGD) to the island. Sentosa is located just  south of Singapore and it felt like Disneyland. The Universal Studios Singapore and many other sights can be visited there, but we decided to spend the day at the beach. First we went to Palawan beach, which was really beautiful and not too crowded. There is a small island at Palawan which is the southernmost point of mainland Asia, so we definitely had to check it out.

Palawan Beach

At the beach

On the way to the southernmost point of mainland Asia

After relaxing at Palawan beach we moved to Siloso beach which was only a 10 minute walk away. It seemed like a party beach with music and more people. Personally I preferred Palawan though. We also went swimming, but I'm not so sure about the water quality. The island is right next to Singapore's huge harbour and even though Singapore is super clean, I can't tell the same about the ships from it's neighbouring country Indonesia. But maybe I'm just spoiled after spending too much time in Thailand's crystal clear Andaman Sea.

Siloso Beach

On the way back from Sentosa we had a little photo session at the Merlion, Singapore's tourist symbol. It's half lion and half mermaid and there are statues of the Merlion all over Singapore. I've read that the one in Sentosa is the biggest one and you can even go on top of it.

The Merlion at Sentosa

Spending time at the beach left us really hungry, so I suggested to have dinner at a hawker center at Esplanade. The food was affordable and we had an amazing view over Marina Bay. Sleepy but happy we returned home, cause the next day I had to go back to work.

Scenic dinner at Esplanade

On Monday I was able to leave a little earlier than usually so Sairozi and I had enough time to go to the MacRitchie Nature Reserve. Luckliy it's located right next to my workplace at Marymount MRT so we could walk there. The lake there looked just amazing and we saw lot's of monkeys while we walked through the jungle. It didn't feel like we were still in Singapore. After a 45 minute walk we reached the canopy walk, but since it's closed on mondays and after 5pm we didn't get to do it.... maybe next time!

MacRitchie Nature Reserve

On Tuesday our sightseeing tour brouht us to Lau Pa Sat, a famous hawker center close to Raffles Place MRT. Unfortunately I forgot which MRT station we had to get off and it took us more than 30 minutes to find the place. But the food was definitely worth it. I had the most delicious Indonesia Gado-Gado ever!

Tired and hungry at Lau Pa Sat

Afterwards we walked to Gardens by the Bay, which is right behind Marina Bay Sand (Bayfront MRT station). This was one of my personal highlights! These crazy Singaporeans built heaps of mega-trees there and when we walked past them we felt like in the movie "Avatar". It was super romantic and just incredible! I wished I had one of those fancy cameras to take better pictures of it, but even with our low-cost cam one can imagine how great it looked.