The Luka in Singapore Blog #5 Singapore, Thailand (Phuket/Phi Phi/Krabi)

WELCOME BACK

to the Luka in Singapore blog! I've just wrapped up the last few weeks of the semester, and I'm wondering how it all flew by so quickly. Join me for lots of unforgettable adventures in Singapore and Thailand below - I hope you enjoy!

Gardens by the Bay at night

Mum's visit

Mum came to Singapore! It was so lovely hanging out with her for the weekend. We packed in lots of fun and sightseeing, and I got to be a tourist to Singapore all over again - and see lots of things I hadn't yet seen. It was also very nice staying in an air-conditioned hotel room for a change.

Our first stop was Fort Canning, a historical landmark that once contained ancient kings' palaces, the residence of Sir Stamford Raffles, and a military fort. It is now a hill with gardens and relics from the past and is also the location where the British decided to surrender Singapore to the Japanese during World War II.

Mum exploring Fort Canning Park

I love Singapore's trees

Next, we went to the National Museum of Singapore. We learned more about Singapore's colonial history, independence from Malaysia, the Japanese occupation, and Lee Kuan Yew's ambitious and highly successful development plan. Fascinating stuff.

At the museum

For lunch, we went to Lau Pa Sat, a famous and historic Hawker Centre. It is one of the oldest Victorian structures in South-East Asia, and it has great food! Mum had Laksa and I had Hong Kong-style chicken fried rice.

A photo of Lau Pa Sat from above

Mum eating Laksa at Lau Pa Sat

Our next stop was inevitably Marina Bay at Merlion Park. I love this spot because it has the perfect view of the bay, the lotus-shaped ArtScience Museum, Marina Bay Sands hotel, and the Merlion.

Luka and Mum at Marina Bay

For a better view of the city, we went up to the Sky Garden at CapitaSpring and looked over the city from the 51st floor.

Singapore's diverse architecture

Mum has a great eye for photography

After a big day in the city, we went to NUS to tour around campus. We got snacks at UTown, each did some quick university studying at Central Library, and ended up at good old Kent Ridge Hall.

Me at my home in Singapore

By this point, our tummies were grumbling, so we headed to Hai Di Lao for a big hotpot dinner. After a very long wait for a table (despite reserving smh), we were seated and had a delicious feast that included cumin chicken, assorted veggies, tofu, a dancing noodle, and more.

Our soup bases for hotpot

The dancing noodle. Quite the show - and very tasty!

The next day we visited Gardens by the Bay, Singapore's expansive nature park and sanctuary that was part of an effort by the Singapore government to transform from a "garden city" into a "garden in a city." We started in the flower dome, the world's largest glass greenhouse maintained at the perfect Mediterranean climate for plant life from around the world.

One of my favorite plants in the flower dome

More interesting nature in the flower dome

Next, we went to the cloud forest, the neighbor of the flower dome and home to one of the world's tallest indoor waterfalls (after the rain vortex at Changi airport). It was beautiful and we walked up to the top. They had an Avatar exhibition going on there to hype up the upcoming movie, but it was pretty tacky.

The waterfall in the cloud forest

Interactive lights at the cloud forest

Lastly, the most famous part of Gardens by the Bay is Supertree Grove. We walked among the trees and took in the beautiful part-natural, part-constructed vertical gardens. It had just rained that morning so the usually busy walkway was fairly empty which was nice.

On the skyway at Supertree Grove

Our stunning view of Gardens by the Bay from Ce La Vi

Another awesome Marina Bay landmark is the orb-shaped Apple Store surrounded by water. We took an escalator up from the underground mall and emerged into the store. Very cool!

The Marina Bay Apple Store

Browsing in the Apple Store

Our next stop was the Raffles Hotel. My grandmother lived here for three months as a five-year-old girl in a British transit camp for released war prisoners in World War II after the Japanese surrendered control of Vietnam - where she grew up. This stop was really special for us. The Raffles is also the birthplace of the Singapore Sling, so I felt obliged to have one, and so did almost everyone else at the bar (despite the $37 price tag!). When we arrived at the Raffles, we were greeted by their famous Sikh doormen. We made our way to the bar where there was a sizable queue to get a seat and have a Singapore Sling. Once we got inside the bar, I heard a crunching noise beneath my feet. To my surprise, there were peanut shells all over the floor. Every table had a bag of peanuts, and you just slide the empty shells off the table to imitate colonial times when someone would clean up after you. Another reference to colonial rule at the Raffles is the small leaf-shaped ceiling fans that oscillate slowly to mimic the way they were originally operated: people in the ceiling swinging their toes back and forth which were tied to the fans. It sounds like the treatment was rather nasty, but the atmosphere we experienced was admittedly really nice.

Having a Singapore Sling at the Raffles

Greeted by the Sikh doorman

This massive day continued at Haji Lane and Arab Street in Kampong Glam, the Malay enclave of Singapore. Haji Lane is a hipster, artsy street with traditional shophouses filled by boutique stores and street art. I really enjoyed the colorful, vibrant, and youthful scene there.

Street art at a bar in Haji Lane with a cool skyscraper in the background

Traditional shophouses in Kampong Glam

Not far from Kampong Glam is Little India. The British actually demarcated where each ethnic group should live as part of their "divide and rule" colonial strategy, which is why Chinatown, Little India, and Kampong Glam are so clearly separated. Little India is also beautiful, vibrant, and always a fun place to visit.

Colorful buildings in Little India

Street stalls in Little India

Our last stop for the day was Chinatown at my favorite hawker centre stall: Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice. I will really miss Chicken Rice after leaving Singapore, but as the name suggests, it's not that complicated, so I'm determined to learn how to cook it properly at home.

Back at Tian Tian Chicken Rice for dinner

The last day of this enormous weekend with Mum was much more relaxed. We hiked along the Southern Ridges and Henderson Waves, and we bumped into a group of bird spotters photographing migrating birds escaping the winter in China and Russia in the North. We got lunch on campus before Mum headed off on her flight to Sydney. Such a fun and action-packed few days.

Walking along Henderson Waves

Just being real

My cute NETS transportation card

Startup/Venture Capital Event

My friend Darcy from Kent Ridge Hall invited me to the Singapore launch of Earlywork, a startup community organization partnered with a venture capital firm named SquarePeg. Jan and I went along to chat with founders, venture capitalists, and other interesting people, and to get some free drinks and snacks. It was a cool evening and gave insight into some alternative career paths. I love taking advantage of random opportunities like this that can sometimes be very fruitful.

Jan and Luka at a startup event

The Casino at Marina Bay Sands

For a fun night out, Jan, Winston, and I decided to go to Marina Bay Sands Casino and try our luck gambling. This was such a fun experience, despite my financial losses. The first thing to know about the casino is the entry fee. For foreigners, there isn't one. But for Singapore citizens and PRs, the entry fee is a whopping $150 SGD. The government is happy to profit off foreigners but doesn't want its own people gambling. Perks of being a foreigner I guess!

MBS Casino

For the first 15 minutes we were in there, we just wandered around in awe having fun without even playing a single game. The casino was huge and colorful, and it was fascinating to observe the people and the games they were playing. One thing we absolutely loved was the free drinks station inside. We helped ourselves to warm Milo, water, soda, and more. Another thing that stuck out was that people were smoking inside which was a bit gross. I wasn’t really expecting that from Singapore, but I guess this is the place to do it.

We watched a few different games to decide what to play, and one that piqued my interest was Pai Gow - a poker variation where you have two hands and have to beat the dealer with both. The $50 buy-in was too much for us, but I would love to play with friends sometime. Some people were betting thousands on each hand which was just unfathomable to us. We decided to start off with blackjack. I brought $70 SGD (~52 USD) that I was prepared to lose, and I lost most of it almost immediately in two hands of $25 buy-in. Jan won his hands and Winston broke even. Next, we went to the Sic Bo machines which is basically rolling dice and betting on the outcome. Pure chance and you’re rigged to lose, but I did it anyway! The power of a casino. Lastly, we went to the roulette tables to try our luck. I was unsuccessful yet again and ran out of my last cash, but Jan put some money on his lucky number and won a 25-to-1 return. We were rich! We went to the slot machines and Jan won yet again.

Jan wins big again

But his good fortune didn’t stop there: he then found a winning slot machine ticket on the floor worth $38. We asked the nearest cleaning staff what to do with it, and they told us they couldn't take it so we can just cash it in. Jan gave me the $38 out of pity which was much appreciated. It felt like only an hour or so, but we had been there for more than three hours. Very effective design on their part. It turned out to be an expensive evening but it was great fun. Make sure to read the end of my last night in Singapore for an unbelievable part two of the casino story!

Luka, Winston, and Jan at the Casino

Phuket, Phi Phi Islands, and Krabi, Thailand

We got a week off from classes before finals to study, so we decided to go to Thailand! Our itinerary was two nights in Phuket, three nights on Phi Phi island, and two nights in Krabi. The group was me, Jan, Johannes, Bernardo, B, and Sam - another Aussie.

On our first day in Phuket we hopped in a Tuk Tuk and rode to Freedom beach. After a short hike down the mountain, we emerged at the beautiful, warm, and clear blue water. We went swimming, lazed around on the beach, and spent half an hour unsuccessfully trying to knock a coconut out of a tree.

On the path to Freedom Beach

Enjoying some coconuts

Next, we went to an elephant sanctuary. We fed them bananas, played around in the mud, then bathed the elephant. They are big, beautiful creatures, and it was lots of fun. One concern of ours was the ethics and treatment, and when we asked about it, we got a somewhat unconvincing answer about them being rescued from elephant hospitals that weren’t providing for them. Upon some research afterward, I have to admit this was probably not the most ethical “sanctuary” out there. Although they don’t let you ride them or (visibly) use chains, it can be stressful and unhealthy for elephants to be overfed, overbathed, and closely surrounded by groups of humans. Good to know for the future and others going forward. We also saw the nearby latex trees (also known as condom trees) and how they harvest the latex for various products.

Luka, Bernardo, and our elephant friend

Playing in the mud with the big girl

Latex tree

For our last night in Phuket, we went to the famed Bangla Road for a big night out. We started off with a massive dinner that included crocodile, lobster, and even scorpion! We had drinks, went to bars, and met up with other exchange students in the area. I bought some fake Birkenstocks and an Adidas sash bag for dirt cheap from street vendors which have proved to be amazing purchases which totally complete the backpacker look.

Trying some crunchy scorpion

Bangla road

The next day, we hopped on the ferry to Phi Phi Island (pronounced pee pee island :)). The island is a little slice of paradise with gorgeous limestone cliffs all around and clear blue water. There are no cars on the island, so the locals carry around stuff through the walkways on these old metal carts. There were lots of bars, cheap clothing stores, tattoo parlors, and sunburnt white tourists.

Big pee pee on Phi Phi Island

The walkways and carts of Phi Phi

Because we had finals the following week, we decided to find a nice place to study. We grabbed our laptops and hiked up to a viewpoint. The island's shape is two large land masses with a thin isthmus connecting them where all the action is (I love the word isthmus). We found some hammocks along the way for a quick relaxation stop. At the top, I worked on my economics essay for about an hour before deciding it was lunchtime and heading back for another Pad Thai. 

Serene relaxation spot. "Don't Worry Be Happy" was playing on the radio as we lay here

A view of Phi Phi Island from the viewpoint

Bernardo fell ill with the flu, so we took him to the island’s hospital which had this sign out front that I thought was a hilarious slap in the face to show a sick person as a welcome message.

No disease is a good fortune.

On the topic of health, B seemed to be a mosquito magnet and was constantly bitten while the rest of us were totally fine. One morning he woke up with a huge swollen eye and lip which took the next two days to go down. Unfortunate but pretty funny.

Bugs love B

There was one memorable moment on the beach when we were just chilling and chatting in the perfect, warm water when one of those crazy jumping fish hopped out of the water and whizzed right past our heads. It was like a mini dolphin flying up and down. I had never seen that in real life and it was so close it almost hit us!

Jan was doing a challenge to run a 5k every day in November, and Johannes is training for a marathon in December, so I joined them on a run through the walkways of Phi Phi. Jan and I ran a 5k again the next day on the beach. It felt great, and it was an even better feeling jumping into the beach water afterward to cool off. 

Sam walking along the beach

The next day we hopped on a motorboat for a snorkeling trip through the cliffs and nearby islands. It was stunning. It felt unreal, almost like we were in a movie. As that thought ran through my head, the captain asked us if we wanted to go to see the location where they filmed “The Beach“ with Leonardo DiCaprio. I guess it was like a movie! Turns out it was nothing special, it was basically just a beach. The snorkeling was really cool: we swam with baby sharks, various types of fish, and luminescent plankton once the sun had set.

Captain Luka

That night we watched the fire show on the beach and I tried doing the flaming jump rope with Bernardo. He hopped in first and was going fine, but when I joined, I caught my leg on the rope immediately. It then landed on Bernardo’s neck and we frantically shook it off. Luckily, Bernardo got away unscathed and I had only tinged a few hairs off my leg. Going forward, I think I need to practice on a normal jump rope first, but it was quite the story!

Luka almost killing Bernardo with the flaming jumprope

After Phi Phi, we took another ferry to Krabi. We checked out some temples, got dinner, then Jan and I went to the opening night of a Muay Thai tournament. It was an interesting experience but a bit too violent for me and honestly kind of disturbing when they had kids fighting each other.

Kids at the Muay Thai fight

The next day we climbed 1260 steps to the top of Tiger Cave Temple Mountain which had a big golden Buddha and a great view.

Big Buddha

Luka on Tiger Cave Temple Mountain

Silly monkeys blocking our pathway down

A temple at the base of the mountain

That evening, we did a Thai cooking class because we were all desperate to know the secret to the amazing Pad Thai we had been eating everyday. We made Pad Thai, Green Curry, Papaya Salad, and Mango Sticky Rice. It was such fun and so delicious. Even Gordon Ramsay attended this same class when he came to Thailand! Ask me to cook you something next time you see me :)

Cooking class!

Mango sticky rice (but this is much nicer than the one we made)

After our meals, we went out to a few bars and ran into even more NUS exchangers. We’re everywhere! We had some delectable banana Nutella roti from street carts for dessert.

At the bar in Krabi

On our last day in Thailand, we had a few hours to spare before our flight, so Sam, Jan, Bernardo, and I rented out kayaks and paddled through the cliffs and beaches of Krabi. This was the highlight of the trip for me. It was absolutely beautiful. The scattered cliffs and rock formations and the way the sun glistened off the water as we glided by schools of fish and mini crabs were just pure serenity. The only problem was the wicked sunburn I got afterward.

Walking through paradise

Kayaking through the cliffs of Krabi

Wicked sunburn

Even the flight home was beautiful. We saw a rainbow and the sunset over Singapore, and I loved seeing all the boats waiting outside the city for their next shipment.

Patient boats waiting in Singapore Strait

It was an amazing trip, and we somehow got some studying done too before finals started the following week.

Final exams

We got back from Thailand a few days before my first exam, so I spent that time studying punctuated by episodes of Breaking Bad and World Cup games. It was actually quite nice having some chill alone time after the last few months of action-packed adventuring and socializing. My exams went well and I’m feeling confident about my classes. I learned some cool things in sociology and geography this semester, but my absolute favorite class was Urban Economics. I learned so much, and I’ve now formed opinions and thoughts about cities and urban design in completely new ways. The book for the class was called Triumph of the City by Edward Glaeser which I loved and highly recommend. 

Study break

Andrew's visit

My cousin Andrew was visiting Singapore, so we hung out for an evening. We got dinner at a vegan restaurant, visited the fountain of wealth, and went to Gardens by the Bay. I love hanging out with Andrew, he’s so smart and inspiring. It was so great being this close to Australia so I could meet up with family if they were out and about Southeast Asia.

Andrew and Luka at Gardens by the Bay

Watching the World Cup

The World Cup has begun! We discussed it a lot in my geography of soccer class, especially some of the controversies this year like Qatar's tragic treatment of migrant workers, but I still love the World Cup so much. Because I’m hanging out with Germans so much, I got together a bunch of friends from my hall to watch the Germany vs Japan game at a bar. The atmosphere was awesome, especially because of the competing group of Japanese fans behind us. We chatted, played pool at halftime, and watched what turned out to be a thrilling upset victory for Japan in the last few minutes. It was a great evening, and I love how the World Cup can bring people together. I’ve been streaming all the games I can and I’m super excited about a couple of great wins for the Socceroos.

Watching the World Cup with friends (pre-German disappointment)

Sentosa Island

Sentosa is an island made from mostly reclaimed land and imported sand that contains Singapore’s beaches and Universal Studios. It’s supposed to be one of the main things to do in Singapore, but I hadn’t been the entire semester, so I decided to head down there with Winston the week before I left. Most exchange students criticize the beaches for being dirty and ugly but I actually thought it was alright. I have to hand it to Singapore: they made a beach resort out of nothing and connected it to the MRT rail system so their city-state residents can enjoy a beach day for less than $2. It was a nice evening and sunset, then we grabbed dinner and walked around in VivoCity mall.

The beach at Sentosa

This wasn't even the southernmost point of Sentosa, let alone Asia smh

Yummy dinner from the food court at VivoCity

Johannes' last fitness training

All semester long, my friend Johannes has been leading a HIIT course every Thursday for exchange students. He's an instructor back home in Germany, so he decided to run these sessions for free at the NUS field as a way to stay fit and connect with people. He's built like a Greek god and his six-pack alone is motivation enough to come back every week, but the best part is the community aspect. It was so fun exercising with the group and we'd usually get waffles or dinner together afterward. We had our last session the night before my final exam which was a great way to clear my mind. If you need a workout idea, look up the Bring Sally Up push-up or squat challenge. Remember the name: Johannes Brix. This guy is a future leader.

The fitness training group

Last night in Singapore

My last night in Singapore was truly an epic one. After finishing my last exam in the morning and saying goodbye to classmates over lunch, I packed up all of my stuff and gave my suitcase to Andrew to send home for me. I met up with a few friends to play ping pong and say more goodbyes. I had one last Kent Ridge hall dinner (won’t miss their food that much). I said goodbye to Pei Ling, our hall administrator who is the sweetest woman you’ll ever meet. Then a big group of us headed to supper stretch for drinks and snacks. We had Singaporean Tiger beer, Korean Soju, and German Mümmelmann. It was such a lovely and bittersweet evening enjoying the company of so many friends for the last time. All of the British girls in my hall—Liv, Hannah, Annie, and Rachel—are staying at NUS for the full year, so as I hugged them goodbye I had to hope that our friendship isn’t too easily replaced by the next batch of exchange students! In all seriousness, I made some really great friends this semester from all over the world.

Kent Ridge Exchangers with the lovely Pei Ling

Me and my friends at supper stretch

After our goodbyes at supper stretch, a few of the lads headed out to Marquee nightclub, another must-do in Singapore that I hadn’t yet gotten around to. The club is in Marina Bay Sands, and it is enormous. They have an entire Ferris wheel and a slide inside (we did both of course). It was a $50 entry for guys which is another reason I hadn’t gone yet, but with some sneaky tactics we turned three entry stamps into five and saved a bit of cash. It was great fun and a nice way to celebrate the end of exams.

The Ferris Wheel in Marquee Nightclub

Lads at Marquee

After we left the club, we were all pretty dehydrated but we remembered that the casino downstairs is open 24/7 and has free bottles of water. So we headed down there, collected our waters, and wasted $3 on one round of roulette. Here's where it gets crazy: as we headed out, Jan and I got stopped by security and had our IDs taken. We had no idea why and knew we hadn't done anything wrong, so we just waited until they would let us go. But instead of letting us go, they took us to the interview room whose door was disguised in the casino wall. We sat down and the security guy began writing up a report on his computer. At this point I was getting concerned, and we kept asking what we had done. Another more senior security guy came in and told us that during our November 9th trip to the casino, we had illegally taken and cashed in a $38 ticket that didn't belong to us which was an offense punishable by up to two years in prison. That ticket we found on the floor!

Taken from inside the interview room

We immediately began defending our case that we asked staff what to do who told us we could cash it, and that they could confirm that on the security footage. They listened but continued being very vague and unhelpful as they typed and messaged away. They said the staff we asked was temporary cleaning staff so we shouldn't have asked them. To me it seems like poor staff training on their part. They then told us that they wouldn't involve the police which was a relief, but they were considering banning us from the casino. This wouldn't be a terrible outcome because I was leaving Singapore in 12 hours, but it still wasn't ideal. They had us stand up and look into the camera for "mugshots." It was getting ridiculous by this point, and Jan and I kept exchanging looks that expressed how hilarious and Singaporean this whole thing was. He said our fate was up to the casino manager, but his decision would be influenced by whether we returned the money. So we gave back the money and after a few more long minutes of waiting, we were told that we weren't banned. However, they said they had our headshots and info, so they'd watch us closely next time and that in the future we should "be careful." We left and grabbed home laughing off the ludicrousness of the situation with the others.

The waters that almost put us in prison

Economic Update

With interest rate hikes from the Fed and global recession fears, we are seeing economic slowdowns across the world. A report from UOB, a Singaporean multinational bank, projected a significant slowdown in domestic growth for 2023 as US and European economies enter recession but ruled out a recession for Singapore. In China, covid restrictions are finally being lightened as the economic toll grows and protestors took the streets. Indonesia has recently banned sex outside of marriage which may have potentially big implications for tourism. Lastly, the veteran opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has been sworn in as the new Prime Minister of Malaysia after pursuing the job for 25 years during which he went to jail twice.

Looking Ahead

I’m posting this blog halfway through my end-of-semester backpacking trip through Vietnam and Cambodia. It has been awesome so far, and I’m already looking forward to sharing everything with you in the next blog. After the trip, I’m reuniting with the fam in Sydney for Christmas and New Year. I am so excited. Then it’s back to Michigan in January for my last semester. Time flies!

Bye bye Kent Ridge Hall

Conclusion

Thanks for joining for the fifth blog! I have been having so much fun but I think I’m just about ready to say goodbye to Singapore. I miss all of you family and friends, and it will be nice to be back in the comfort of my own bed. But not before one last big adventure! See you in the next one :)

See you later alligator
(shoutout to my neighbor Nicholas - the Kent Ridge Hall photographer)