"Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind." -Seneca

Post by: Beth

So we're here and survived our first day and night in Singapore! It's a really cool city to explore, so we've had a good time over the past 24 hours.

First impressions so far:

1. It's as clean as everyone said it would be.. There's not a piece of trash or paper on the ground anywhere.
2. Many Asians wear tiny pieces of clothing, and little of it. It's quite a change from the conservatism of India's streets.
3. The amount of shopping is unbelievable. There are malls, shops, and stores EVERYWHERE. "BSpend" is in trouble...
4. There's pretty much every kind of food available, at a huge range of prices.
5. It feels incredibly safe. It's well-lit, organized, and has lots of people walking around and taking public transportation.
6. It's surprisingly quiet for such a bustling city. Your eyes take in lots of energy, but to your ears, it seems fairly quiet and calm after the chaos that is Bombay.
7. It is REALLY expensive compared to Bombay. Gone are the days of the 400 rupee meal...

So far, I think we'll have a great time here. Lots of shopping, fun nightlife, pretty scenery, and it's clean and organized. Not too many negatives going on here... :)

Here are some pictures we've snapped so far. More to come, of course. :)

Almost time to take off... We're excited! :)

Bye bye Bombay....

Flying through sunset....

First glimpses of Singapore:

I know it's blurry but taking pictures from a plane isn't always easy. All those dots you see in the water are boats, docked close to the main island.

The public transport buses in Singapore are really clean, air-conditioned, and efficient.

Inside a mall called "Plaza Singapura" :

Raja picked a restaurant advertising "St. Louis-style Ribs!" for dinner tonight. Since we arrived, we've already noticed an eating pattern: Raja's eaten nothing for dinner besides what I lovingly refer to as "meat feasts." I've latched on to the salads. Those are 2 things we missed quite a bit in Bombay. :) For lunch, we did eat a traditional Singaporean lunch of Sambal fried rice with seaweed soup.

Outside of the shopping mall:

And, finally, here are some more scenes from the streets as we walked around after dinner. Singapore seems great so far, and we're excited to continue exploring and making our way around. :)