However, as I was looking for a flight to Asia, back in February, remembering an article I once read. Supposedly, Singapore Airlines is the best airline in the world! So why not check out their website to see if there are any good offers. And lucky me, they actually had a special offer, for just $350, I could get a direct flight in an Airbus A380 from Zurich to Singapore.
As background info to that; usually a return flight, Switzerland to Asia ranges between $500-$900, heavily depending on when you book and the cheapest options are usually connection flights with one stop in between. And as one way flights are usually more expensive, these can range around $350-500 (but still with a lay-over!). Therefore, getting a direct flight at $350 was an absolute steal.
So after months of waiting, preparing, paying bills and reducing my budget continuously, it was finally the 22nd of August, and off I went.
It was indeed a very pleasant flight, with all you can drink "cocktails" (they are terrible, just take wine or beer) and snacks included. A nice infotainment system, that unfortunately did have some issues (strange in such a new plane) and most importantly, enough leg-room!
10+ hours later I arrived in Singapore and was greeted by steaming hot temperatures (at 6 AM), friendly airport staff and problems finding an ATM that worked for my PostFinance card...
I drove into town, to little India, to check into my hostel, get a shower and relax for a bit before heading out to explore my area.
Little India is exactly how you'd expect it, crazy busy, people yelling everywhere, funny smells and a lot of little stores, selling all kinds of stuff. I walked around a bit and after a while found the first Hawker-Centre (Or Food Centre).
These places are amazing, with between 50 - 500 little food stalls, depending on the building size. You just walk around, looking at all the menus, ordering as you go, trying usually three or four things and spending maybe $10-15. It can of course be cheaper, but again, that depends on which centre you are in and if the food stall is famous or not.
This is actually the only thing I really loved about Singapore. Their food culture. You can find amazing restaurants or food stalls all over the place. From all kinds of cuisines. However, it quickly can get expensive. Still cheap for Singapore but much more expensive than for example in Bangkok, where you find the same kind of outstanding food.
Now otherwise Singapore has been exactly what I expected. Its a very expensive city, where you pay $12 for a pack of cigarettes, $6-$7 and $18+ for a weak cocktail. Plus even its such a large city, nightlife seems to only exist on Wednesday (ladies night), Friday and Saturday, which is a joke, compared to any other major city in Asia.
But of course, its not all about nightlife, so lets have a quick look at what else you can do in Singapore;
Shopping - not recommended, most stuff is more expensive than in Europe.
Sightseeing - They have nice parks, museums and other sights, but most of them have high entry fees around $20-$50.
Hiking - I did not do it myself but it seems like they have some nice nature areas in the outskirts of the city to do some hiking and get nice photos.
Gambling - Not my thing but that's obviously what most visitors do here, its the same as Hong Kong / Macao
Otherwise I did not find much to do in this modern, hype city, and I was quite honestly very bored after a few days. I would only recommend a stay of max. three days, if you want to visit.
Good things to say:
-Singapore has a great metro system, which is kind of affordable but offline at night.
-Taxis/Uber in Singapore are affordable! Maybe this could be applied to Switzerland!
-Singapore has great, wide streets, allowing for traffic to flow. Unlike Switzerland.
-Their Skyscrapers are amazing and allow for nice views of the city.
-People here are generally friendly and open and most speak English.
All in all, I was happy to leave Singapore after about ten days (way too long!) and to head to Indonesia!
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