Flying from Hong Kong, we had a beautiful view of the North China Sea. The tropical scenery was amazing! Stepping off the plane in Singapore, I realized how hot it was there. Coming from Japan during March, it had been quite cold, so being in such warm weather really told me I was in the tropics. The airport was pretty new, and looking out the windows, I’ll never forget how “plush” everything was. The greenery of grass and bushes with pink tropical flowers surrounded everywhere I looked. We waited in line with others for a taxi.
The taxi took us to our hotel located near the Paya Labar E5 Train Station. It was right in front of the Muslim area in town. See, in Singapore, there are three distinct groups. Chinese, Indians, and Muslims. Our hotel was really nice and cheap (I had booked the nights over the internet). That afternoon, we used the train and went to the city center, which was just a 20 minute train ride. The trains reminded me of Disney Word’s Monorail system because it was above ground. The streets of downtown were immaculate, and it seemed like a really safe place to be. Signs were everywhere warning things that were prohibited. “No flammable liquid gas, FINE” “No smoking, FINE” No eating and drinking, FINE” All were fines of S$500. Those were signs just in the train station. We had a nice dinner outside while people-watching, and we noticed right away how cheap things were. Singapore I thought would be more expensive than things in the US, but it was actually very comparable, if not cheaper.