Singaporean Dream - Thursday 24th April

Today was not only my last day in Singapore, but the last day of my travels in South East Asia! How quickly time had passed!

This morning, I went to see the National Museum of Singapore. It was fascinating to read about how Singapore has come to its place in the world today. There was an exhibition that charted Singapore through the 50s until the present day, and it explained the changes and development that the country saw. I also learnt about the different heritage backgrounds that make up today's Singaporeans.  

After the museum, I met Urvi for lunch. We walked around the Arab district, admiring the mosques and lovely aromas from cafés. We settled at an Egyptian place and enjoyed falafel and Arabic salad. Sophie met us also, it was good to spend some time with them both before I set off. 

Later in the afternoon, I walked around the central business district, looking up at the tall buildings in awe. Nearby was the Marina Bay, which was beautiful. I also walked around the Bugis shopping area, enjoying the refreshing rain. There were shops selling absolutely everything here! I was all shopped out though. 

I made my way to the airport and reminisced about the last few weeks before boarding my flight home. 

Out and about in Singapore - Wednesday 23rd April

I slept well and was ready to see as much as possible today. I only had two whole days in Singapore, so it was essential to fit in as much as I could manage. I started the day by walking around the Orchard shopping area. This is where the big names had pristine shops and boutiques. On the other side were smaller tourist souvenir shops and food outlets. I came across a food court and having heard so much about them, I went in to see what I could find for breakfast. I had a traditional Singaporean breakfast of milky sweet tea, small cheese toasties and runny eggs. It was an interesting experience!

Next, I went to visit the famous Botanical Gardens. They were huge! The atmosphere was ultra calming and it was so peaceful with only natural sounds. I was surrounded by many wonderful plants and trees and I could just feel the greenery doing me some good! I saw healing plants, a ginger garden, an orchid garden, a fragrance garden and more. I really enjoyed the gardens and learning about the different plants. 

Later in the afternoon, I went to see the Little India district. It reminded me so much of Wembley! There were Indian food shops, clothes shops, restaurants, beauty parlours and more. It's nice that Singapore has such a wide mix of heritages. There was also a Chinatown and an Arab district, which I would go and see tomorrow.

Later in the day, I went to visit my aunt's sister, who had lived in Singapore for many years. It was great to visit them, having not seen them for some years. After that, I met Sophie and Mehul and Urvi for dinner. We went to an organic vegetarian restaurant. How wonderful to be able to choose absolutely anything I wanted from the menu! Suffice to say, it took us rather a long time to decide on our order! We enjoyed a delicious meal and great conversation. After dinner, they took me to a bar by the river. This place had beautiful views of the impressive buildings and of the river. The more I see, the more I love Singapore!

Absorbing last day in Nha Trang - Monday 21st April and Tuesday 22 April

Shirley was leaving for Da Lat this morning, so it was goodbye to the last member of my G Adventures family. For the rest of the day,  I wanted to soak up as much of the relaxed atmosphere in Nha Trang as possible, as it was my last day in Vietnam.

I enjoyed a stroll around the little town and people watching in a cafe. A last bit of sea breeze and pampering and it was evening before I knew it! I had a night sleeper train to take me back to Ho Chi Minh City, ready to fly to Singapore.

The sleeper train was fine and I shared my cabin with a sweet little toddler and her mother. I managed to get some sleep so that was helpful as I would now be spending a lot of time waiting at the airport! The train got into Ho Chi Minh City at around 4am, but my flight to Singapore wasn't until 1.30pm so I had a long time to kill. Chatting to family and friends back home and reading a good book thankfully got me through the 9 hours of waiting rather easily .

I was all checked in and ready to explore the final country of my trip. Singapore impressed me right from the start. Sweets at the immigration counters with sweet wrapper pots also, what tidiness! The airport was pristine and it was lovely to be greeted by Sophie.

There were beautiful buildings all around, as well as greenery. Sophie settled me into her place and I rested for a couple of hours before we went out for dinner. We met up with my family friends, Mehul and Urvi at a famous dumpling chain. It was great to all catch up together. We all share the love of scuba diving so exchanged stories of our scuba dives and talked a lot of travel in general.