Singapore, Indonesia, and Transformers… The Ride!
Just to make you feel at ease I promise you that there isn’t a bare butt cheek in sight in this update. There might be a nipple or two just to warn you.
After the natural wonders of New Zealand I arrived in the buzzing metropolis of Singapore not really knowing what to expect.
In truth I only came here to visit my wonderful friend Rachael who moved here about a year ago.
Rachael was my Specialist Recovery Nurse at UCH in London when I was ill and she was a huge source of support in getting me through my operation.
After nearly passing out in the doctors office when I was diagnosed I was sent to Rachael to get me prepared for surgery. Because of my blood clots and enlarged veins there was a risk that severe bleeding could occur during surgery. Along with this and possibility of a life long colostomy bag I was absolutely petrified of not only going into the operation but also what life would be like when I woke up from it.
Rachael was amazing right from the start. Her personality is so calm and kind that it’s hard to be afraid of anything in her presence. She would constantly reassure me that I had the best colorectal surgeons in the country working on me and also that a top vascular team would also be there as a precaution. If it were not for her I would have had a melt down much sooner before my fight really began.
Rachael left her job at UCH in London to start a nursing career here in Singapore so I promised that I would stop by when I reached Asia.
It was so great to see her again. She even had a photo collage made up for me of my journey since being diagnosed. She is so kind and I can’t wait to put it up on the wall when I get home next month.
In a way I wasn’t really looking forward to Singapore. Not about seeing Rachael of course but more because of it being a hot and busy city.
Despite 13 years living in London this trip has made me realise that I’m actually a country bumpkin at heart so the thought of spending time in a busy city didn’t really appeal.
As ever I arrived having done no research whatsoever and apart from having a Singapore Sling at Raffles hotel I had no idea what else there was to do here.
With that in mind, Rachael suggested a few things to do with one of them being a visit to Sentosa Island which is a small island literally right next to the city.
It was only when I learnt that Sentosa had a Universal Studios theme park that I almost wet myself with excitement! The inner movie geek was unleashed yet again!
I absolutely loved this place. It has loads of rides and film sets but there was one thing which totally blew our minds and it is now something I’ve added to my list; Transformers The Ride!!!!
I know what your thinking…”is this guy a total loser?” Ha! Maybe a little but I’m not even kidding when I say that this was awesome in every way. I’m not a big transformer movie fan but this ride was incredible and I would definitely suggest going on it if you ever happen to be in Singapore. I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s not a roller coaster so fear not. Just lots of amazing interactive videos whilst sat in a car where you truly believe you are speeding through the streets, falling from the sky and being chased and grabbed by massive robots! It’s so good we went on it twice!
We also went to the incredible ‘Gardens by the Bay’ which had huge Biosphere greenhouses containing plants from all over the world, massive waterfalls and scary but amazing educational videos about the effects of climate change. Trees were hugged afterwards!
We went to the Sea life centre which had without doubt the biggest tank I’ve ever seen for the fish.
Rachael also introduced me to the most amazing chocolate ice cream I’ve ever tasted. The place is called ‘Awfully Chocolatey’ in the Harbour front mall which just so happens to be on the way to Universal Studios! The dream day!:) You can add that to your list too! I was a tourist on a massive scale here and I absolutely loved it.
Prior to me coming to Singapore, Rachael asked me what I wanted to do and I said i just wanted to do chilled out stuff. I’ve not been 100% these past few months so I just wanted to take it easy.
With this in mind Rachael went and booked a few days at a spa retreat on Batam island in Indonesia. We took the ferry over from Singapore which only took about an hour.
This place was unbelievable and when Rachael told me how much it cost I couldn’t believe it. She treated me to this so fearing that it was crazy expensive for her I demanded to know how much she had spent. If you’re planning on that super expensive resort then think again. You can live like Royalty out here for less than a fraction of the price in the western world.
The best thing was that there were no other westerners there so there was a always a ‘towel’ free sun bed available!:) British and German people will know exactly what I’m talking about when I say that!:)
Asians seem to hate the sun which meant we had the resort to ourselves during the day. Bonus! Although we also outdid ourselves by swimming during heavy monsoon rains much to the amusement of everyone around.
We had massages which for me turned out to be more of a punishment than a treat. At one point I thought my big brother had taken over when the masseuse started punching me in the legs. This was rather reminiscent of the ‘dead legs’ my big bro used to give me when I was a kid.
Singapore Slings at the famous Raffles hotel were had when my gorgeous cousin Alexa came into town on a business trip. We only had the one but ate most of the peanuts just to get our money’s worth. They had a really cool band on so definitely worth a visit.
Singapore has been in mourning after the death of Singapore’s founding father Lee Kuan Yew so some sights and shows have been closed as a sign of respect. The light show at Main Harbour however opened back up on my last night which was such a lovely way to end my Singapore adventure.
A huge thank you to Rachael for being her wonderful self and making this part of my trip so special. She has been there for me through sickness and now in health and I love her to bits.
I’ve arrived now in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia afterthe coldest train journey in the world!
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