Singapore!

Singapore! Thursday March 22, 2012: Well I am obsessed with this city/country. We arrived at about 8:00 in the morning and had to be back on the ship at 8:30pm. One day is not enough for such an amazing place! Indeed it is a very authoritarian country.  If you are caught chewing gum and spitting it out on the street you can be fined up to $5000.  If you are caught eating durians (a weird fruit that smells) in public you can be caned, which is being hit on your butt repeatedly with a cane.  If you are caught in the possession of drugs, you get the death penalty.  I was a little freaked out when I was told this information but as soon as I step foot off the ship, I loved it! It was the cleanest place I have ever seen in my life and I'm not kidding.  I rode the subway system all day and if someone told me to lick the ground of the subway I wouldn't have been that grossed out.  It was extremely organized and modern. When we got off the subway near the Marina Bay, it was like stepping into the future.  Think of Chicago in about 200 years and it would kind of look like Singapore.  Anyways Bridget and I walked around for the day.  We went to the top of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel (Google it) and it was an incredible view of Singapore!  We then went to the Merlion statue near the bay and ate really good Mexican food at this restaurant in Clarke Quay (Mom and Dad…you would have LOVED Singapore, especially Clarke Quay…it reminded me of you guys the whole time!).  It had the COOLEST restaurants and bars underneath canopies that sheltered it from the blazing hot sun.  It was right near the river and every restaurant had outdoor seating and bars right on the water.  It was awesome and I am so bummed we couldn't have stayed in Singapore for the night.  Bridget and I then went back to the ship to shower and look nice because we got invited by our friend Naz on the ship to go out to dinner with his friend from Cornell that is interning in Singapore for the semester.  He told us to look nice because we were going to an exclusive club on the 65^th floor of a building in Singapore called "The Tower". Once we got there it was an incredible view, the drinks were amazing, the food was amazing, and the company (besides Bridget) could have been a little bit better.  I have come to realize that I would have much preferred spending my time at a local restaurant and bar with good music, good food, and good drinks for a fourth of the price and a less stuffy atmosphere.  Everyone in that club had a significant amount of money and they talked about it.  It made me feel uncomfortable and put off from the conversation.  I always have a good time with Bridget so we entertained ourselves and just quietly made fun of everyone else there for being so wrapped up in status and money.  I was happy to get back to the ship to hang out with our friends on the 7^th deck in a fun and laid back atmosphere while still wearing one of my favorite dresses.  I am sad to already be out of Singapore but I am definitely going back for a vacation some day!!

I cannot explain HOW EXCITED I am to be in Vietnam (in 2 days) I have always wanted to go and now I finally have the chance!

LOVE,

Alli