Singapore, Part 2

I arrived in Singapore on Wednesday night. After spending S$48, equivalent to $35.56, for a 7 seven days SIM card at the airport, I felt ripped off due to the high price. I guess this money will go fund their high speed internet, which is already the world’s fastest. 

I took the MRT again to the city center. This time I learned that I can pay the fare by simply tapping with my Visa or Mastercard credit card, no need for the EZ-Link card. By the time I arrived at CapsulePod@Aljunied hostel I was tired.

The following day, I walked to the nearest cell phone repair shop to see if they can replace the motherboard on my Google Pixel 5a. The woman told me that there’s an issue with the CPU on the motherboard with this model of Google Pixel. If I did get the motherboard replaced it’ll break again soon after. I guess there was a reason why Google discounted this phone two years ago at an attractive price of $200, which I bought.

I didn’t do much at the hostel for two days. I didn’t like staying there because the room was small and there was no window. After two nights, I changed to a different hostel in Little India called Wink Hostel at Perak Road. This hostel is part of the Wink hostel chain. I stayed in the Chinatown one on my previous trip in Singapore and liked it.

My energy was low the entire time I was in Singapore. It’s a good thing that I’ve explored enough of it the first time. This time, I went to the National Library, which is in walking distance of my hostel. I also explored Fort Canning Park and toured the underground bunker. Yesterday, I went to the National Museum of Singapore and learned about the country’s history and its development over the past several decades. It’s quite impressive that a small city state was able to make huge progress since its founding in 1965.

This morning, I checked out of the last hostel that I stayed in Asia and went to the library again. Since my flight to San Francisco is at 9 PM, I have plenty of time. I still have some Singaporean currency left and plan to spend all of it on food and snacks before I leave the country.

I feel sad and excited at the same time. Every time I do something like this, such as my 2018 bicycling across America trip, I feel like I’ve spent a lifetime. It’s weird how a ten months backpacking trip feels like when I’m not working and actually doing something out of the ordinary. Even though the first few months were tough on me mentally, I’m glad I got through it. Meeting Chris again changed my mood and traveling with him and Christine was a delight. I’m also thankful to have traveled with Michelle, Eileen, Miriam, Jonathan, and Daisy. They made my trip less lonely.

I look forward to coming home. I still don’t know 100% what I want to do. My main reason for coming home is to vote in the November presidential election. It’s six months away. I also want to learn more web programming and hopefully return to a job in IT. This means settling down again. Or I might travel more or go on another bicycle tour as early as next year. I simply don’t know and it all depends on many factors, such as finance, time, mood, desire, etc.

Overall, this has been a great trip! I hope to return to Asia and visit the countries that I’ve missed this time, mainly Laos and Indonesia. I also want to vist northern Thailand, central Vietnam, and more islands in the Philippines. More importantly, I’ll miss the people, the sights, and the food in Asia. I’ve made so many fond memories and it’s been a blast to have traveled on this side of the world. Until we meet again. Blessings and love, from me to you!

First meal of my last city

National Library

I browsed this book at the library.
There are so many programming books at the library that I wish I was a citizen of Singapore

Last time sleeping in a hostel

Architecture reflections spotted.

Cool bench

Fort Canning Park

The lighthouse at the park

Garden at the park

Inside Fort Canning underground bunker

Mural by the Tekka Centre hawker stall

Tekka Centre hawker stalls

National Museum of Singapore, under renovation

Big ship inside the museum

Rickshaw

Bamboo baskets and cages

WWII tank

A teamLab installation

Light show inside the dome

Of course, one of my last meals has to be a beef rice bowl!