Singapore for Beginners

So, life in Singapore. I've been here for a little over a week and a half and it's been fun, boring, exciting, exhausting, entertaining, and everything in between. Here's a look at what I've been up to:

Exploring the streets of Little India where these beautiful colonial shop houses line EVERY street.

Checking out the local Hindu temples and mingling with yes, more Indians. This one in particular was really nice and the priest gave me a bunch of flowers when I left. :)

Walking along the Singapore River at night while chowing down on chicken satay sticks and gazing at the beautiful city scene.

Frequenting Singapore's great variety of zoos including the Night Safari--the world's first night zoo--where I saw this awesome fire dance performance.

You know, monkeying around. :) This cute little guy with a tiny nose was adorable. Thanks for the photo comment, Ruh!

Yesterday I moved to a new hostel where the rooms are better and cheaper and met some really nice people to hang out it. Lots of Aussies. I had lunch with some Brits before they flew out that day and then hung out with a guy from Melbourne and a girl from Sydney last night. Today I went out to lunch with the guy from Melbourne and met his sweet Singaporean friend whom I plan to hang out with next week. I also hit up Siloso beach but gave up after an hour of tanning because the wind was filling my ears with sand--ick! Tomorrow morning I'm moving to a house! Yes, a real house!! The alumni director at my college hooked me up with a place to stay here so I can save a bit of money--such a relief in such an expensive city! A good night's sleep and some nice people to hang out with are finally on the horizon! Then, on Wednesday next week, I'll head out of here and go to Malaysia where rooms are a bit cheaper (though food is about the same) and spend some time hiking in tea fields and gazing at fire flies in the evening. Should be fun.

I guess that catches you all up. I have just a few more things to do in Singapore before Wednesday but I'll be updating this thing a few more times before then. Ciao!