A journey of self discovery in Singapore

Day 1:

On Monday the 15th of January I took the bus from TBS in Kuala Lumpur to Singapore.

It was honestly pretty scary to go into the complete unknown by myself. I also had no idea how immigration and crossing the border would work... I mean it's not everyday that I take a bus to a different country (well actually prior to this I had never done that) so I wasn't at all sure what to expect!

The bus ended up leaving about 15 minutes late but this is pretty standard in Malaysia ( Malaysian time is seriously a thing). The trip itself was pretty pleasant despite having to change buses ( I had to work that out myself, no one actually told me). About an hour an half after being on my second bus , we arrived at the Johor Bahru border post.

Basically the bus just stops outside of the building and the bus driver just says "Passport!" , you don't take your luggage , you basically just get your passport stamped ( the woman didn't even look at me) and then we were back in the bus on our way to the Woodlands border post. We arrived there about half an hour later and again the bus driver said "Passport!" and opened the luggage compartment on the side of the bus. I took my suitcase and followed the crowds , I immediately joined the queue that said ALL PASSPORTS ( not knowing that I needed to fill out a form). I got to the front quickly and thankfully the petite lady gave me the form and proceeded to phone her superior to ask him if South Africans don't need a visa... ( We do not)

Once I had my passport back , I went through security and quickly made my way back to my bus ( convinced it had left me behind). Once I was back on the bus , I noticed it was still half empty. Five minutes later the bus driver started the engine and we were on our way ( Did he seriously just leave half of the people behind?).

The drive into Singapore was beautiful and I was amazed with how absolutely immaculate the city was. I was dropped off at The Golden Mile Complex , quickly got a SIM card and put the name of my hostel into Google Maps and I arrived at my Hostel (5 Footway Inn , Project Bugis) within five minutes.

I checked in ( it around 5pm at this point) , paid for my bed and then made my way to my room. Two flights of stairs later , I made it to room A3. I was greeted with such friendliness by a girl from Bulgaria ( Monica ) and a man from the Philippines , I introduced myself and we immediately hit it off. That evening , Monica and I went to The Gardens by the Bay. Wow , they were breathtaking!! Often you see a picture of something and then when you see the place in real life, it's a let down! This was not the case, pictures don't do this place justice, it really is something that you have to see and experience yourself to really understand the incredible awe that I felt standing there. Afterwards we found a shop and got some water and ice cream and sat outside , the air had cooled down so it was really pleasant. We then walked to the Marina Bay Shoppes , the shopping centre is exquisite! I have never seen such opulence like I did in this shopping centre. There is even a canal that runs right through... After having a look around we started the walk back to our hostel , talking and laughing the entire way ( so much that we actually got lost)... Eventually we got back to our hostel , we were pretty exhausted so went to bed pretty soon, but as we were getting ready to go to sleep a guy from Sweden arrived... Hostels are so fun, you get to meet such interesting people that you normally wouldn't.

Day 2:

On my second day in Singapore , Monica and I walked to the Bugis train station and I bought a tourist pass for $10 for the day, it allows you to travel as much as possible. It is a good idea to get if you're going to make use of it, but if not the standard tickets are very affordable too.

We traveled to Bayfront and went back to Gardens by the Bay to see it during the day... Just as incredible and much quieter than in the evening. We took some photo's and ended up getting another ice cream at the same shop to cool us down on a very hot day.

Afterwards , I made my way back to the train station and went to the Botanical Gardens. It was incredibly hot but also incredibly beautiful. I found a bench and sat there for about 30 minutes... It was so peaceful.

When the heat started to get unbearable , I made my way back to the train station and got my train back to Bugis. I arrived at a different entrance so I was completely lost and had no clue where I was. Google maps was struggling for signal, so I went up to a lady standing nearby and asked if she could help me... This kind hearted lady ended up walking with me to my hostel to make sure that I got there okay. How amazing!

Once I was back at my hostel, I caught up with Monica and the Swedish guy. We chatted about Bali , I told them about my experience because they were leaving for Bali the next day. That night Monica and I went back to Bayfront ( you could say that we were obsessed) and went for a ride on the canal in the Marina Bay Sands Shoppes, we also saw Gordon Ramsay's restaurant which was so cool and then had a $1.20 ice cream from a street vendor ... Seriously delicious!!

We made our way back to our hostel and were pretty exhausted by the time we got back and fell asleep almost immediately.

Day 3:

I woke up bright and early and said goodbye to my friend Monica, who was off to Bali.

After having breakfast at my hostel, I made my way to the train station and bought a standard ticket to Chinatown. The trains in Singapore are so user friendly so it was pretty easy getting on the train and arriving in Chinatown. Once I was in Chinatown , I made my way to the Golden Relic Tooth Temple. It was so beautiful and it was a complete spiritual experience for me. I spoke to a Monk while I was there and he blessed me which was such a soul rejuvenating experience.

Once I was finished at the temple , I made my way to the food street and had some delicious noodles for $5.50. I honestly had no clue what I wanted to do next, so I just got back on the train and ended up going to Harbourfront.

I arrived in a massive shopping centre , this is where you go to get the cable car to Sentosa Island , unfortunately my budget did not allow that but I did end up taking a wonderful walk along the harbour.

Soon I was back on the train and I decided to go to Little India , I had a nice walk around and got a delicious smoothie from a street vendor for $2. Little India is a photographers dream , it is so vibrant and colourful.

I made my way back to the train station and got the train back to Bugis. It had been a jam packed day and I was pretty tired so I was looking forward to some down time before going out again that night. I got back to the hostel, relaxed a bit and caught up with the guy from the Philippines and also met two new roommates, Ally from Australia ( but actually America) and Mayour from Bangkok. We all got along pretty well and decided to go for dinner at the food court at the Marina.

We all got the train together to Bayfront and had a delicious dinner at the foodcourt, $7 for a bowl of noodles with your choice of 6 sides. After dinner we went for a walk across the bridge and had the same ice cream wafers that I had had the previous night ( they're that good). After FINALLY getting a sucessful picture with the four of us , we made our way back to the train station. From the train station , we walked back to our hostel. Mayour showed Ally and I all the snacks she brought with for her friend ( including silk worms... yum). We shared some laughs before Mayour left to go and meet her friends for drinks. Ally and I chatted until we fell asleep, walking over 15km in a day does tend to exhaust you.

Day 4:

On my last day in Singapore I woke up early and packed my bag , had breakfast , checked out of the hostel but left my bag there so that I could collect it later.

Mayour and I took the train to Raffles Place and went to Merlion Park. We got a Starbucks and then went to take our typical tourist photos in front of the Merlion. We then got a taxi to Chinatown. I showed her the Golden Relic Tooth Temple and we tried "Fried Carrot Cake" ( no carrot or cake).

Once we were finished in Chinatown, we got the train back to Bugis. At the Bugis station there is the sweetest lady who sells the most delicious treats and they are so reasonable, her shop is the first one on the way to the downtown line, I bought some snacks from her for my trip back home.

Mayour and I made our way back to the hostel... Bugis really is such great area to stay in , close enough to all the attractions but also has such an artsy vibe with all the street art.

I collected my bag and said goodbye to Mayour and then made my way back to the Golden Mile Complex where I was getting my bus back to Kuala Lumpur. When I arrived , I was told that the bus was only leaving at 16.00 instead of 15.30 ( it only ended up leaving after 5pm).

The bus finally arrived and soon we were on our way back to Kuala Lumpur. Honestly I felt sad to leave because of all the experiences that I had had and all the friends I had made.

It wasn't long until we arrived at the border and had to go through immigration. No hassles with leaving Singapore or entering Malaysia. About two hours into the journey , we stopped for the toilet which turned into a 30 minutes stop. At this point it was after 8pm ( I should've been back in KL by now )...

Around 20.15 we were back on the road and still a good three hours away from TBS. The rest of the trip was fairly pleasant. I ended up arriving at TBS at 23.25 and quickly ran to catch my train home , I got there just in time and eventually got back home around midnight. Not to self: Don't get the bus in the afternoon ( like I said Malaysian time is a thing).

After being home for a few days, I can honestly say that my trip to Singapore was completely life changing, soul cleansing and heart healing. I feel like a brand new person and I can't really explain why. This is what is so great about travel : complete person growth, self discovery and becoming the best version of yourself! Traveling by yourself is the best education and most rewarding experience.

I feel so grateful for this trip. I met some incredible people, made some very special friends and definitely grew exponentially in confidence.

Defintely add Singapore onto your bucket list, it certainly wasn't on mine but after going , I know that I will be going back to experience what else Singapore has to offer.