Singapore holds a very special place in my heart because of the incredible experiences I had. The sightseeing, while enjoyable, honestly didn't stand out much in particular, probably because it was rainy and I was sick as hell. Rather, as it always is with traveling, it's the people I met that made my days there so amazing. My memories of Singapore are still pretty vivid, and I already wrote a short diary during my trip, but I want to rewrite them down in detail just in case, to make sure they never fade.
This country actually wasn't even on my original itinerary. My plan was to head straight from Thailand to Europe, but this changed due to a guy from Couchsurfing that I'd never even met (hi Steve!) before. Steve had reached out to me during his visit to Seoul in the winter, and we chatted for quite a bit on WhatsApp before making plans to meet up. He was very likeable and fun to talk to (still is), and I had agreed to take him out to budaejjigae since it's the type of meal you can't order for one. But fate, apparently, was not in our favor, because on the very day I was supposed to meet him I got seriously sick. As in simultaneous vomiting and diarrhea, which would erupt again at the slightest trigger - even tea. It got to the point where I was completely drained of energy and had trouble even sitting up, so I had to cancel on the only day that we could both make time for each other. I felt bad for canceling, and made a spur-of-the-moment decision to stop by Singapore during my trip, since at that time my plans were not yet concrete and I was feeling spontaneous anyway.
It turned out to be one of the best decisions ever. I had no idea Steve was such an awesome host; he arranged for me to stay at his brother Bryan's place before I even asked, hence my first surfing experience. I sent him a Korean board gamey thing as a gift of gratitude for his hospitality - for a complete stranger! And that's not all; when I had learned that my credit card was lost in Thailand (yeah, it wasn't at the ATM machine after all), he had let me ship my newly issued card to his address and had it waiting for me by the time I arrived in Singapore. Real life saver right there.
I had also met with a Singaporean girl named Margy, in Seoul, when she was visiting. Margy was super sweet; she had brought me dried guava as a gift (for no reason!!!) and we spent a lazy afternoon strolling around cafes and having a light lunch & dessert. I reached out to Margy first, knowing that there was a good chance I could see her again, because by that time I'd already included Singapore in my itinerary.
And all of this was before I even set foot in that tiny little country!
This country actually wasn't even on my original itinerary. My plan was to head straight from Thailand to Europe, but this changed due to a guy from Couchsurfing that I'd never even met (hi Steve!) before. Steve had reached out to me during his visit to Seoul in the winter, and we chatted for quite a bit on WhatsApp before making plans to meet up. He was very likeable and fun to talk to (still is), and I had agreed to take him out to budaejjigae since it's the type of meal you can't order for one. But fate, apparently, was not in our favor, because on the very day I was supposed to meet him I got seriously sick. As in simultaneous vomiting and diarrhea, which would erupt again at the slightest trigger - even tea. It got to the point where I was completely drained of energy and had trouble even sitting up, so I had to cancel on the only day that we could both make time for each other. I felt bad for canceling, and made a spur-of-the-moment decision to stop by Singapore during my trip, since at that time my plans were not yet concrete and I was feeling spontaneous anyway.
It turned out to be one of the best decisions ever. I had no idea Steve was such an awesome host; he arranged for me to stay at his brother Bryan's place before I even asked, hence my first surfing experience. I sent him a Korean board gamey thing as a gift of gratitude for his hospitality - for a complete stranger! And that's not all; when I had learned that my credit card was lost in Thailand (yeah, it wasn't at the ATM machine after all), he had let me ship my newly issued card to his address and had it waiting for me by the time I arrived in Singapore. Real life saver right there.
I had also met with a Singaporean girl named Margy, in Seoul, when she was visiting. Margy was super sweet; she had brought me dried guava as a gift (for no reason!!!) and we spent a lazy afternoon strolling around cafes and having a light lunch & dessert. I reached out to Margy first, knowing that there was a good chance I could see her again, because by that time I'd already included Singapore in my itinerary.
And all of this was before I even set foot in that tiny little country!
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