Goodbye Melbourne, Hello Singapore!



Melbourne Center



Spending the day at Docklands and Crown in Melbourne

Our final days in Australia were full of friends, family, food, and sightseeing. It seemed like every night we were invited to a friend or family member's house for a delicious dinner.
I was truly amazed with everyone's generosity and their insistance on making sure there was plenty of gluten-free food and dessert around. During the days, we spent time seeing the highlights of Melbourne, including the docklands, the absolutely massive Crown Center, a picnic in a park where we hoped to see kangaroos, and Dandenong Mountain. Melbourne is a beautiful city with a lot to offer culturally, and despite only seeing a kangaroo from afar, we had an amazing time! The week really flew by and we found ourselves wishing we had planned to stay in Melbourne for a few more days. On Wednesday morning, Uncle Dariush dropped us off at the airport on his way to work, and we had our first semi-major problem with our trip.

Dinner at Aunty Lina's (one of several generous hosts who made gluten-free meals for me)

The MRT- a very efficient metro to get around Singapore

We had planned on flying into Singapore and then taking the bus overland to Malaysia, but when we reached the checkin counter, the person insisted that we had to show some kind fo proof that we had a ticket out of the country or else we wouldn't be able to fly.

A hawker stall in Chinatown

Since we had planned on buying a bus ticket when we got to Singapore, and because it was heading into Easter weekend, we found ourselves in a bit of a bind. In the end, we were forced to purchase a throw-away ticket out of Singapore in order to fly.

Just one of the delicious dishes to choose from in Singapore

It was a very frustrating experience, especially because when we made it to Singapore, no one asked us for proof of our departure plans...

Shopping is EVERYWHERE in Singapore! Too expensive for us...

Anyways, we arrived in Singapore, and took a shuttle to our hostel, The Mitraa. Accomodation is ridiculously expensive in Singapore, so the hostel was definitely not the nicest place we had stayed in, but it was good enough for what we needed, and the extremely friendly and helpful staff made it a much better experience than it would have otherwise been.

A popular Malay dish called Nasi Lemak (one of Senush's favorites)

We walked to a hawker center close by for our first taste of Singapore's famous food. I was overwhelmed by the selection and the cheap prices, but we ended up settling on some chicken rice, which was delicious. The next day, we set out on the MRT (Mass Rapid Transport) to explore the city.

Singapore: a view from the top (we snuck up to the 70th floor of the Swissotel for this shot)

I found that Singapore isn't a place for me. It seems like the primary reasons to go to Singapore are to shop and to flaunt your wealth. There were massive high-end shopping malls on every street corner, and I still have no idea how so many malls right next to eachother can stay in business. We spent the day trying food and walking around the city. We went to the iconic Raffles Hotel, which is known as the birthplace of the Singapore Sling cocktail. Everything about Singapore just screams decadence. If you decide to visit and do anything but eat, make sure your pockets are brimming with cash... Our next stop is a homestay in Malaka, Malaysia.