Weekend AdveNTUres.

I think I will definitely get used to having five day weekends. A group of 8 of us finally decided about where we would like to spend our Chinese New Year long weekend (which will be a 6 day break for me). We will be taking a bus to Malacca, Malaysia and hopefully going to Kuala Lumpur after a few days as well. We're extremely excited for our first trip outside of Singapore.

Still within Singapore, we have been keeping ourselves very busy. On Friday night, we went out to Clarke Quay for a dubstep show. However, since the line was too long, we ended up at Attica. Since we have free passes for the entire semester, I bet we'll be there quite a bit. After a few hours, we finally made it to the the Skream & Benga show. I love that all of the clubs in Singapore are so air-conditioned that I actually am freezing when I enter. This makes dancing way easier, and it is always wonderful to escape the hot and humid air. 

The next day (Saturday), we had another party decision to make--whether to go to Sentosa for a beach party or to go to the famous Avalon club in Marina Bay. Since Avalon was free, four of us girls (Alex, Julianna, Megan, and I) decided to go to that. Since we got there extremely early, we relaxed by the absolutely beautiful Marina Bay for an hour. When we made it inside, it was pretty empty. After having the dance floor to ourselves for a little while, Avalon was all of a sudden filled with hundreds of exchange students. As we were ready to head back, it started to pour. We returned to our halls around 3 or 4am.

Our friend from France, Arthur, invited us to Chinatown for brunch the following morning. We found a perfect sized table at a Chinese restaurant for the seven of us. Vincent (from Montreal) took the lead in ordering us a few dishes to share. Everything was absolutely delicious. When we got the bill, we were surprised to see that Chinese restaurants charge customers for napkins! We always joke about how the canteens never have napkins or garbage cans, and now we understand why. Food at restaurants is definitely more pricey than the canteens, but it's nice to have a change. 

After eating, we lost a few in the busy streets of Chinatown. In Singapore, however, you can always find your way back. All of us were craving ice cream, so we stopped by a hawker center for dessert. Instead of taking the traditional route, Alex, Luke, and Vincent ordered some ice dessert. Alex asked the guy at the stand to make his favorite dessert, and we ended up with a block of ice covered in condensed milk, red beans, molasses, and sprouts. This was definitely not our favorite thing--except for Luke. He helped us finish it off.

We wondered back to the MRT Station. With nothing to do and no place to be, we killed some more time by heading the the famous Raffles Hotel. Thanks to tour guide Luke, we got lost and stumbled upon an ice cream sandwich store. An ice cream sandwich here is literally a block of ice cream with white bread around it. It was surprisingly so delicious that Julianna had two! 

After another few blocks, we found the hotel. As a Singapore must-see, we tried Singapore Slings at the Long Bar. Although each drink was $26, it's something that everyone must try. The Raffles Hotel was extremely beautiful, and it's definitely a place for people who have money to spend. We probably won't be heading back any time soon, but it was worth it for the experience.

Next on our self-guided tour, we went to C.H.I.J.M.E.S. This is a place that used to be a huge church, and now it is filled with bars and restaurants (ironic, right?). We were getting hungry for some dinner, but we wanted a break from Asian food. Just like any typical westerner, we got some pizza. Service here is extremely different than in the states. Waiters/Waitresses do not communicate with you at all, unless you tell them you want to order or get the bill. No one checks on you to make sure that you're doing alright. It's not bad--just different. The pizza was SO good, and it was a great end to our fun day. 

The next morning, we made plans to visit Pulau Ubin since a lot of us do not have class on Monday. After a 2-hour journey involving 2 buses, a train, and a ferry, we made it to the beautiful remote island off the north east corner of Singapore. A few new friends from Scotland joined us on this mountain biking adventure. We attempted to explore the jungle for a little while, before escaping the huge bugs and large branches in our way. We visited the Chek Jawa wetlands for the great view. Although there was no waterfall, it was a beautiful place. Starving, we biked for another 20 minutes to eat some fresh seafood in a small waterfront restaurant. Not only was the food delicious, the experience was relaxing and peaceful.

Next we visited a Buddhist temple and went to the island's resort. They had two small lakes, one for kayaking, swimming, and snorkeling and one for sharks and other larger sea animals. We went kayaking and swimming with the fish, then we headed back home. 

On the way back we stopped at a famous restaurant for Chili Crab. Although splitting the bill was a lot of work, the crab was definitely worth it. We put on our bibs and ended up with sauce and crab all over ourselves. Food here is beyond delicious! 

Now I'm sitting around dreading my next class, Finance. I'm starting to realize that Study Abroad does involve some school work, even though I only have motivation for traveling right now. Once school starts getting a little more difficult, I'm sure the "honeymoon phase" will wear off a little bit. I'm getting pretty settled, but I'm having trouble sleeping due to the heat. Hopefully, I won't stop having this much fun! I also think I have enough pictures to make a Facebook Album, so look out for that!!

Thanks for reading if you made it though the novel I just wrote! Talk to you soon!

--Ishmeesh