Travel

Singapore:

Well I made it back from Singapore but not without my fair share of adventure. For starters we tried to exchange some of my US dollars for Singaporean money at Travis' bank. 3 out of my 5 $100 bills were disqualified because I had either folded them in half or they were not dated 2003 or 2006. (Yes they can & will actually refuse to change your money if you fold it and they only accept UDS that the years 2003 or 2006...even though they will give you a crumpely Rupiah that looks as if it's a million years old. They also give you no reason for this random monetary discrimination. So we decided to try a money changer who told us my folded $100 bills were only worth $60 now. After fruitlessly arguing that one hundred dollars is worth one hundred dollars everywhere in the world regardless of its year or folding I gave up. Finally we found a more fair exchange rate..changed my USD to Rupiah then from Rupiah to Singaporean. Seemed like a lot of work but I have money now so I'm happy.

Travis loaded me in the cab and told them to take me to the airport and I was on my way. About half way to the airport I realized I needed a credit card to check into my hotel....so we had to turn around and head back into heavy city traffic to go to the apartment. Just as we were on our way back to the airport we got pulled over by the Police. Trust me in Indonesia you DO NOT want to be pulled over by the Police..they are NOT your friends. They yelled and argued with my cab driver and demanded money before letting us go on our way. We were speeding like crazy and arrived at Singapore air with 45 minuets before my plane was to take off. I walked up to the counter where the 7 people working told me that they were closed! I argued with them and refused to leave. After paying a fee they finally let me check in. I ran like hell through the airport to get through customs only to wait in line for 15 min while my plane boarded!? I couldn't believe they weren't going to let me check in. Well I had made my plane and I was happy again :)

Once landing in Singapore I checked into my beautiful hotel (Thanks Travis!). I wanted to take the MRT downtown so I could explore the city. But I had just enough time to catch ladies night in the hotel lounge first. After 2 large glasses of delicious red wine I was off to the city. My first stop was the Singapore Flyer the worlds largest Ferris wheel. You can see all of Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia from it. The view was spectacular...it was beautiful to see all the city lights of the night across the water. After that I walked around, grabbed a bite to eat and made my way back to my hotel. I only stayed 1 day and night but I'd love to go back. I found Singapore very clean, friendly and packed with lots of action. The MRT made it beyond easy to go anywhere in the city for only a coupe of bucks.

TRAVEL PLANS:

Well Travis tells me that we are off to Bandung tomorrow. He has to do a few things there with his visa so we can go to Bali next week and Kuala Lumpur the following week. I'm soooo excited!!! Travis booked us a hotel in Seminyak which is suppose to have the best restaurants and quiet beaches. I think we are both looking forward to laying on the beach and soaking up some much needed sun! Also I think we may do some bungee jumping while there..eek.