Singapore, the country where everything is forbidden. Before entering, we found out that there are a plethora of strict laws in place, that might even mean jail or the death sentence. Drugs were extremely forbidden, but fake cigarettes too (e-cigarette for example). Everyone seems to have a job here, and the streets are extremely clean (chewing gum is also forbidden).
On the first day we arrived in the afternoon to stash our bags in the hostel upon arrival. That same evening we went to the gardens by the bay shopping mall to go to the casino.
Also in Singapore we enjoyed the delicious cuisine that was offered to us, although the type of food was similar to what we could get in Kuala Lumpur. There were less outdoor food stands here however. The dinner location for the first night was organized by the committee, at a food court. A place where different food stands were placed around shared dining places, you could get a tray with food at whichever cuisine you wanted and still eat together.
We also saw a lot of nature here, we did a trip to the botinical garden and took beautiful pictures there. There was also the more adventourus plan by Lieke, Max and Gina to do a mini hike (part of the Macritchie treetop trail). Remember how you shouldn’t have food out when there’s monkeys around? Apparently they can be quite hidden, poor Stan lost his only lunch option that day. Afterwards we went to Palau Ibun to rent bikes and see mangrove trees. This Palau Island had ferries going there, and luckily we had enough cash for the outward journey! 🤦
We visited a Chinese opera, which was very interesting but also very difficult to appreciate a lot since I had not seen something similar in my life before. We had a company visit to a quantum startup event, which was hosted at the Microsoft experience center. Another fun activity I did was visiting the flower dome at gardens by the bay, which had sections divided as the different continents, and then vegetation of each specific continent there.
