Day 169 - That wasn't in the script!

Absolutely unforgettable

Day 169 - 09th December

After a shower, I thought I'd get to work and do a few hour on my sitcom before heading out for the day.

Ha!

That went out the window when I looked down and realised it was 3pm! I'd started at 9am.

I worked for a further three hours and was only up to episode five of six. There's always more to be done, that's why I love it. I did get to speak to my sister for a bit again before heading out to Chinatown for a cheap dinner.

The Marina Bay Sands Hotel by night.

Afterward, I looked at the time. It was eight thirty. I had two choices - go back to work and ignore Singapore or go see the city by night. You'll be pleased to read I set off for Marina Bay Sands Hotel and purchased a ticket for the Sky Walk Observation Deck.

I felt OK going up but when I stepped out, I realised my mistake. It had parts that had small panes of glass that came up to my waist but then just cables that went across to stop you falling out and more glass, higher up. I almost dropped my phone when I pressed it, into what I thought was glass, and my hand went straight through. Why, oh why?

I had to brace myself again the back wall but once I took a few minutes and composed myself, I suddenly saw why. The views were just - well, just look at the pictures. I'll be back to writing later on...

Amazing huh? Yeah, I know. Beauty in it's entirety.

No explanation required.

Crazy trees.

After coming back down, I headed to the surrounding parks and walks along the waterfront. What a way to spend the evening, just wandering in and out of nooks and crannies. Every turn produced something new, whether it be a winter fair, tree sculptures, stadiums, skyscrapers or just the harbour. I'm so glad I took the walk.

Awesome shot, if I do say so.

Stop it! Just stop it.

As I rounded the front of the Marina Bay, I walked along the decking and just stood in awe of the Singapore City skyline. What a magnificent view it was. I even came up with a new book idea so what a bonus!

I spent so much time wandering, it was near 1am when I got back to my hostel.

Another fantastic day in this incredible place.

Day 168 - Time to Explore, Singapore!

I really like this place.

Day 168 - 08th December

So what a comfy night's sleep in my new digs. The bed might not look like much but believe me, it's mighty comfy (sorry, I was watching To Kill A Mockingbird).

So I had a quick freshen up and headed straight out to explore.

Sultan's Mosque

I walked North, towards Little India and found myself open mouthed and staring at everything, left, right and centre. Singapore really is a fantastic city and I was only just starting.

One of the hundreds of shopping malls, it seems.

I found City Hall, Raffles Hotel and Sultan Mosque on my travels as well as an abundance of shopping malls (too many shopping malls)!

I liked this street. Artsy.

Not that I have much when it's long, but my hair was becoming an annoyance. I could feel it wobbling in the wind and I refuse to succumb to a Bobby Charlton. So one of my tasks for the day was to find a barbers. Sure, I passed plenty of hair salons, hairdressers, even a Toni and Guy, but I'm not paying SPG$50 for a clipper job - I'm not a 'Cheap Charlie' as my Koh Samui contingent named Matt, but it's literally a five minute trim. It ain't worth £25.

After doing a loop near Shaw Towers, I found myself wanting to get to Marina Bay Sands Hotel (the famous, three towered hotel in the east of the city). I thought I'd take a shortcut through Suntec City Shopping Mall - how big could it really be?

Turns out, five complexes in one, a convention centre and a Fountain of Wealth big! I spent a good fifty minutes in there, just wandering around, trying to find an east exit.

Marina Bay Sands Hotel. Impressive, huh?

I jumped on Promenade MRT and headed to BayFront station. When I came out, I found the Marina Bay Sands Building. It was incredible. Wandering around inside, I felt like a small fish in an ocean. It was just enormous. I did get to see some of the athletes from the Asian Paralympic Games here in Singapore which was worth the visit.

I'd found a barbers, not too far from my hostel, so I set off after it. Two hours later, my hair still wobbling, sweating in the humidity and wandering around some deserted backstreets, I decided to get some Wi-Fi and find a reliable source for a haircut.

That reliable source was CUTS, a Korean style barbers situated in Raffles Place. Another hour later, wandering around with my HERE Maps and getting lost in two further malls, I found it. It was, bizarrely, located inside the underground shopping precinct that formed part of the MRT station. It got weirder when I had to put $10 in a machine for a ticket number - it was like being at the deli counter in Tescos!

But hairs off to them (sorry, bad pun), they did a cracking job and even vacuumed my head afterwards. Not a normal service but worth the experience.

I made a few hours stop to talk to my mum and sister. We had some laughs, especially when they tried to guest my favourite song, going from my clue of his name relates to William to Elvis Presley and Nat King Cole - the mind boggles sometimes. My dad made an appearance as well and it made me miss Christmas at home.

What a dinner winner!

I headed back to Chinatown, the night creeping in and had some dinner at one of the small stalls. This time I had a fantastic duck and pork combo with rice and soy sauce. You can't argue with this sort of grub at $6 (£3) a pop. The portions are great!

I wound down with a little writing (yes, wound down) and cracked on with the formatting of my sitcom. Before I knew it, four hours had passed and it was midnight.

What a day!

Day 164 - Sky Tower, dinner on the town and an all nighter (writing, calm down!)

Shit!

Day 164 - 04th

So another late wake up after another late Skype session was throwing my body out something chronic. Nevertheless, it was great to catch up and I was going to get through it easily. Just an early night was required, that was all...

I continued work on my sitcom. I'm getting closer to the end now and then I'll have six good episodes to edit and sent to the BBC. But I have until April so I have plenty of time to mound it into something that I think has a lot of potential. Even my tutor on my open university course told me it had real potential.

Anyhow, I was writing that watching Malcolm in the Middle on Netflix. Do you remember that show? It turns out it more hilarious than I remember, mainly down to Hal the dad, brilliantly played by Bryan Cranston. If you get a chance, watch it. It helps you relive your teens (if you were born circa 1988).

I'm also reading The Woman in Black by Susan Hill. It's very atmospheric but has me gripped. I can't really what happens in the film so it's idea for reading the book.

As the sun started to go around 6:45, I rushed into the shower, readied my self and set off for the Kuala Kumpur Tower. Being scared of heights already wasn't helped by a dodgy looking lift appearing, the doors jamming half way between opening and the walls peeling. It look like something out of The Tower of Terror. 

The main viewing point in Kuala Lumpur - The Petronas Towers

Love the sky in this.

Why am I thinking E.T.?

As we ascending up the 400 odd metres, I started to feel queasy and when we reached the open observatory deck, my legs went to jelly. I was on my own for the first time on a huge structure like this. I had to pull myself together or risk ruining the experience, I slid along the wall like I was in stealth mode. I've been on taller structures but I've always been with someone. It's sounds a bit melodramatic but I honestly thought I was stuck to that wall for a while. Once I found my legs, I took in the views and relaxed a bit more.

Not bad!

This was awesome. That marshmallow on top was great.

Afterwards, I gorged myself to a chicken and Swiss cheese sandwich followed by a pecan brownie and ice cream at Outback Steakhouse. All the weight I shed in Cambodia has suddenly come back ten fold now I'm not exercising. Need to get my gut back to swimming or some other form of exercise, and soon!

By the time I got back it was 11pm and all I could think of was finishing that sitcom. So I sat down and wrote, and wrote and wrote. I didn't realise it was the earlier hours until I zoned back into reality and checked the computer desktop.

But it didn't stop me!!!