To the tip of the peninsula
We were up at 9am today, fairly early for us, as we had a bus to catch to Singapore. After gathering our things together, we checked out of this wonderful hostel, and made our way towards the shopping centre which hosts the bus to Singapore. On the way there, we thought it’d be rude not to have another roti for breakfast, with a bit of curry sauce. When we got to the shopping centre, we walked to the bus terminal and made sure we got the one bound for Singapore.
Before actually getting to the bus terminal, we had to go through immigration on Malaysia’s side. It was similar to going from Thailand to Malaysia via the train in Hat Yai. The procedure is nothing intense, they just stamp your passport. Afterwards, you go and find your bus in the terminal that will take you to Singapore. It’s a pretty short journey, taking only 20-30 minutes, once you actually get going.
Into Singapore
Once we had arrived at the immigration point in Singapore, we saw the first impact of COVID-19. There were temperature sensors scattered around the building, and some officials were taking temperatures of the arrivals. This was to be the first of the measures we saw in place for COVID-19 over the coming months. Everyone continued inside, and we queued for a while to get our visas and bags loosely checked. There were a few very large families in front of us, so this lengthened the time we waited.
After getting through security, we boarded another bus, one of many that leaves for Singapore regularly, and were dropped off close to the centre of Singapore. Thankfully, it was only a short walk to our hostel, although we were unable to check in this early in the day. We were able to leave our stuff at reception, and we decided to go out and get some food nearby. As we scoured the streets in search of cheap grub, we happened upon a cheap canteen on the streets, and had a curry. It was pretty nice, especially for that price. After we had eaten, we headed back to the hostel.
Settling in
Our hostel was called the Blue Jazz Hostel, it’s pretty central to many things around, and it had plenty of facilities. The dorm we stayed in had 12 beds, so it got pretty warm in there, not to mention the snoring! Once we were in and settled on our bunks, we chilled out for a couple of hours. The heat never changes, and it requires a short nap now and again. We saw there was a nearby shopping centre, so we decided to check it out.
Whilst there, we went to an Italian restaurant, and the food in there was absolutely gorgeous, so damn nice. What was even more of a pleasant surprise, was the discount store that was selling large bars of Cadbury milk chocolate for the equivalent of £1 each. Ludicrous! We both nabbed one, and I took a Toblerone for good measure too. Of course, the main issue is that chocolate has a very short life in Asia, that’s a good enough excuse for me. After this bargain hunt, we returned to the hostel with a smile on our faces, and superb food in our bellies.
