Singapore & Kuala Lumpur (Pictures)

Singapore & Kuala Lumpur

My time in Singapore and Malaysia was little more than a stopover on my way into Thailand. I had originally planned my flights to get me up to Singapore and I would work my way up the Malay peninsula. However when I realized there was a full moon party in Thailand just a few days after my scheduled arrival in Singapore, I made it a point to get through this area quickly. In retrospect, I don’t feel I missed much. Singapore itself is a rather boring place for tourists and Kuala Lumpur isn’t much more interesting. There’s more to Malaysia outside of the capital that I’d like to see, but I think most of it is similar enough to Thailand that I don’t hold any regrets.

I arrived in Singapore late at night, having two nights booked at a hostel. The next day I woke early and started exploring the city. I quickly realized there wasn’t much to do. I explored Chinatown and their main harbor, including the Sands complex (which is a major shopping mall/convention center/hotel/casino complex). Afterwards I went back to the hostel to see if there was anything else worth checking out the following day. There wasn’t. I’d spent my entire time walking around and the only other activities to do were go to Universal Studios Asia or the zoo. Neither of which I cared to see.

About the most excitement I had, came when a Buddhist man approached me on the street and gave me my fortune. I’m a heavy skeptic when it comes to things like these, but he had a few “magic” tricks in his act and I was entertained for a good 5 minutes. However I was taken aback when he asked for $100 as a “gift” to his temple. I’m all for giving money to street performers, especially ones that are talented and entertaining, both of which he was, but $100 is outrageous. I gave him a few dollars and he looked at me as if I’d just slapped him across the face. He had a hissy fit about how money should mean nothing to me and stormed off.

This was the first of many experiences with the street hustle of SE Asia.

At this point in my travels, my passport was close to filling up. It was time to stop by an embassy for an extension. It was a Saturday, so I had one of two options: stay in Singapore another two nights and go straight to Thailand or get to Kuala Lumpur and stay two nights there before leaving for Thailand. But, there really was only one option. The embassy in Singapore didn’t accept walk-ins and had no reservations open. Kuala Lumpur took walk-ins. I got to experience another country too.

My two nights in Kuala Lumpur were spent doing almost the exact same thing as Singpore. I wandered around exploring the city, especially Chinatown, and had seen enough to be satisfied after one full day.

Far and away the best thing about these cities is the cuisine. I feasted on delicious and cheap meals for four nights. In Singapore, it was the Chili Crab. The messiest and time-consuming meal I’ve ever had, it’s nothing more than boiled crab covered in sweet chili sauce. I spent an hour cracking open this crab with my hands and teeth – no they don’t give you anything to break it with – all while my fingers are dripping in orange slime.

In Kuala Lumpur, it was the street restaurants that swept me off my feet. One street in particular had a row of restaurants on either side that set up plastic tables and chairs outside at night.

The street became so overwhelmed with these restaurants that it was virtually impossible for cars to even get through. Their cuisine was a mix of Asian food from Chinese to Thai and everything in between.  

After a quick few days I was off to central Thailand, where I would meet up with Alex. For those of you who don’t remember, we became friends way back in Buenos Aires. I wound up spending the next month travelling through Thailand with him.

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