Singapore: An honest account
Monday, May 11, 2015
This time last year I was in the city where as if it just came out of a magazine. A year have passed and that long this post has been sitting in my drafts. Countless times I tried to write about Singapore, but I always come up with none. So here I am again, trying my luck to put it all into words.
Believe it or not, I was giddy and excited to explore this city. But from the moment we arrived, things weren't working for us. Singapore wasn't very welcoming. We had hotel mishaps which made us pay for higher rate, we also got a taste of rudeness from the locals quite a lot during our stay there, we were surprised by what we saw on the train, and there were instances that I was so frustrated that made me shut. On another note, SG is quite expensive, I have known that $1 is equivalent to Php 30+ but it never occurred to me that food and almost everything is "that" expensive. Albeit, that was entirely my fault because as they always say ignorance is a crime.
To tell you honestly, it's not all bad. Despite the mishaps, Ali and I had fun exploring the city on our own. Everything is beautiful, like I said earlier, it's as if it came out of the magazine, everything is picture perfect. We've met other travelers too and had our just for laughs moments.
There was this one instance that Ali and I were completely moved... On our way to purchase train tickets to KL, we got lost and this old Singaporean man with a staff whom we asked was too kind to help us on which bus and train to ride on, he even accompanied us up to the ticket booth. It was one of the nicest things a stranger has done for me. :)
I remember, when we got home and I was browsing through our photographs, I was thinking about the things we could have done better like waking up a bit early so that we could visit more places or more time to explore the city. We were not able to explore SG as widely as he hoped - I haven't been in the heart of Little India nor stayed longer at Botanical Gardens - but the places we did get to see didn't fail to fascinate us, nonetheless.
This adventure was life-changing and it taught me so many things that made me wiser and stronger. Plans may fail, you get lost a couple of times, get discouraged - but you'll learn and realize that everything happens for a reason
Come to think of it... Maybe, just maybe, it's a reason or a sign for me to come back, to give Singapore another chance. And I surely will.
Disclaimer:
All opinions are entirely based on my experience.
All photographs were taken and are owned by me and my husband.
16 comments
I love your blog banner photo. I want to go there too!! <3
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jamie! :) You must, it's a lovely place :)
Deletewow,great photos!! love every bits of them. singapore indeed a beautiful country, please welcome to visit again. i've been staying here for 7 years+ and not yet finish exploring too..
ReplyDeletexo joselovincolors
www.joselovincolors.com
Thank you thank you! I will, Inshaallah. I haven't been to Sentosa. I have to check that out :)
DeleteLoved reading this! Very honest travel post with stunning photos!
ReplyDeleteXO Naomi in Wonderland
Thank you so so much, Naomi :)
DeleteAww, you're making me miss Singapore.
ReplyDeleteI've also experienced random acts of kindness while I was still living there. During the first month of living there, I remember how an old kind man taught me how to read the bus routes to get to another museum. Then on my birthday, when I was refused to fly because the payment hasn't been posted, a Filipino worker in the airport assisted me and even bought a small cake for me to celebrate. There are more, but those two made an impact on me.
Please go back to Singapore. Hopefully, you'll enjoy it the next time you visit.
xo Kisty
Oh, the people we meet on the road. That's lovely! Thanks for sharing, Kisty! I still believe in the goodness of strangers and would definitely give SG another chance. Inshaallah.
DeleteI visit Singapore at least once a year and I love it there! First world kasi. But yeah, it is soooooooooo expensive nga.
ReplyDeleteYour photos are so nice. <3
Yes yes, everything's nice there but yeah expensive. Oh.... Thank you, Helga! :)
DeleteI miss SG! WE got lost there too when we were looking for the ticket place to go to KL. Haha! So many funny memories there. We also met kind people there and we took photos of them with us. Wish we get to see all of SG but we were only there for a day. Maybe next time.
ReplyDeleteHi, Ali! Thanks for dropping by. Did you buy your tickets in Woodsland too? I saw your blogpost a bout SG. hihi. Glad you had fun though your stay is bitin. I think we two have unfinished business in SG, we should come back hahaha :)
DeleteI've been planning to visit Singapore for so long, but never really go for it. The food isn't really expensive without the conversion of currency, it's actually rather cheap for locals/Singaporeans. Bummer! Hope you make a second visit and a good one at that.
ReplyDeleteSharon
I guess so... Whenever I travel i'm kinda "miss convert here and there" hahahaha
DeleteWonderful photos! I haven't been out of the country like EVARRRRR and I'd really love to go to SG. Despite your not-so-great experience, I do hope that you'd give it another chance, because basing from my friends' experiences, it was actually a wonderful place to be. Hehe. :)
ReplyDeletewww.jhanzey.net
Thanks Jhanz! :) It was actually my first time hehe. I will i will, Inshaallah :)
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