Singapore Sling

Singapore is an interesting place.  It looks and feels like a mix between Tokyo and Las Vegas.  Really modern  architecture and lots to see and do with a few casinos sprinkled in between.  It is actually illegal to bring chewing gum into the country or even buy it on the streets!  Again they have very strict drug laws that are punishable by death and they also restrict people smoking on the street among many other things.  For this reason, citizens are very proud of how clean the city is since there are no cigarette butts or gum on the ground.

Unfortunately Singapore was my first group's last stop so I really only had a day to explore.  I checked out the spitting Merlion statue, the Singapore Flyer ferris wheel and the Marina Bay Sands Hotel and Casino that looks like a large boat suspended in the air.  Marina Bay was pretty impressive and if you gamble you definitely should check it out at some point.  The top of the boat structure has a pool overlooking the Singapore Flyer and the rest of the city.

The street food and nightlife are also highlights of the city.  Even though the city is fairly conservative those people definitely appreciate the party.  Canals run through the modern buildings downtown and thousands of people walk the canal and pop in and out of local bars and clubs.

Seeing as it was my group's last night together before some of us continued on to Indonesia while others went home, our group leader organized a group dinner.  I thought it was a joke at first but we somehow ended up at Hooters whose claim to fame is the first of its kind in Asia.  Felt like home but not as many blondes!  Had a terrible burger that tasted just as bad as in the US.  That dinner marked the first Western food I ate of the trip...can't believe it was Hooters!

Asian Hooters!

Despite the burger, dinner and our last night out with the group was a blast.  We brown-bagged our booze on the canal and went to a small club where the dance floor was put to a serious test.  Sad to lose those of the group that were not continuing on to Indonesia.  Couldn't have asked for a better group to explore Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore.