I woke up at 5:30 in the morning. Tenshing and I agreed to be ready at 7:00 so I could have slept more, but I decided to get up because I wasn’t getting any rest. I slept top bunk on a very shaky bunk bed. The screws must have been loose or something because even Tenshing felt the bottom bunk move when I shifted upstairs. He moves a lot in his sleep, so I woke up with every toss and turn with dreams of serving double-deckers, fast growing snowballs and an episode of tarzan where my sister was a monkey.
I took my time getting ready. When I was done, I tried to catch a breeze outside the hall balcony, but it was already too hot. At 6:45, I checked on Tenshing. He had thought I was setting an alarm for the both of us, so that’s why he was still in bed. Good thing I checked on him.
Front desk doesn’t open until 7:30. We were supposed to eat breakfast across the street at 7 and come back to the hostel to check out. I looked through the small book case while I waited for Tenshing to get ready. I picked out Tom Clancy’s “The Hunt for Red October”. I had plenty of time to finish the book. We were only staying at the hostel for two nights, but we’ll be back on the last night before we fly back to Japan.
Just as Tenshing finished packing his day bag, Jenny came out of the room by the washroom sinks. We were behind schedule, but now we didn’t have to come back to the hostel after breakfast. We gave back our keys and she directed us to place our luggage by the side of the hallway. This afternoon, we will check in again, but into a two person room.
We had breakfast at the 24 hour food court across the street that Daniel recommended. Not many of the stalls were open.
I decided to get a steamed bun. They had smooth tops and wrinkly tops, which meant sweet buns and meat buns.
I wanted something sweet and chose a smooth topped bun that ended up being red bean paste bun. It cost 50 cents. I tried a can of coconut juice with pulp for $1.40.
After a quick breakfast, I wasn’t really hungry for more, but I knew I would be so we went to the nearby 7-11 to get some snacks. I got a package of Oreos for $1.25. Next to the 7-11 was a small shop that also sold buns. It reminded me of the shop I had breakfast at every morning with my parents in Taipei. They had some buns the size of a plate! This is where I want to get breakfast from tomorrow! I want to eat you, massive steamed bun!
Tenshing had to go back to the hostel but he couldn’t get in. Nobody was at the front desk and we didn’t have our keys anymore. I got a photo though.
The mrt system was not far from the hostel and easy to navigate. We got there are 8:05 and bought a one way card to Boon Lay station for $3 from the ticket machine. The underground had closed doors that completely seal off the tracks and a timer to show the next train.
When we transferred to take the bus, we passed through a mall. I saw maintenance workers cleaning the ceiling with a dust mitt. I never wondered how you keep ceilings in public spaces clean before. Now I know how they do it in Singapore.
We got to the bus station at 9:05. There were two options, 194 to Jurong Bird Park or 251. The 194 was closer to we waited in line for that, but in hindsight, the 251 might have been faster because we were first to line up for 194 and the bus took some time to come.
We got off the same stop as everyone. It was a short walk down the street and then a left turn to the park. We waited at the same bus stop to catch the 194 back to Boon Lay station.
We were hungry while we waited for the bus and decided to eat at Boon Lay station. We passed by a few food shops this morning on our way to the Bird Park. Upon returning, we realized that the complex was actually a huge mall. We found one of the busy food court and explored the different food options.
I pointed at a photo of dried noodles.
Tenshing got wet noodles with shrimp still in it’s shell and a big chunk of chilli paste.
On our way back to the mrt station, we saw the basement floor covered with dining options. It looked like another food court but I think it was just restaurants with a more open styled seating arrangement.
We took the mrt back to Lavender station to check into our new room at the hostel. It’s a bunk bed (joy.) with a set of lockers and a shower stall. There was probably a standing room of 6 people if we pretended to be on a crammed subway.
A university friend from Mac offered to take us on a walking tour in the afternoon. Our timing to meet Max would have been perfect.. but we walked slow through the mall, got tied up at the hostel, then took the wrong subway.. and ended up 45 minutes after our arranged 2:00 meeting time at Orchard Station. (so sorry!)
The walking finally ended at Lau Pa Sat market. We had dinner, hopped on the mrt, said goodbye to Max at Newton station and then continued to the Night Safari. At Ang Mo Kio station, we got off the mrt and managed to catch the 8:12 bus because it luckily departed late! It cost $1.80.
We spent around two hours at the night safari. There was plenty to see, but the mrt didn’t run late enough. We had to take the 10:21 bus so we wouldn’t miss the last train back to the hostel.
The bus only takes change, and we had no more. I asked people in line and the third person I asked had a whole wallet full of change! She was very nice. The night was still hot but inside the bus, the air con was dripping on the bus seats and it was very cold.
When we got to the station, the ticket booths still had personnel, but I was given a “please stop, palm to the face” gesture when I approached. They were already closed for the day. I exchanged a $5 bill with the lady so it covered our bus fare, but we didn’t have enough change to take the mrt.
We walked outside to find a store to break our money. I tried to buy a vitasoy at 7-11 but they couldn’t break my $50 bill. Fortunately, Tenshing had a $10 bill they could break.
We got back to the hostel at 11:45. Jenny lent me $10 to go to the 7-11 down the street. I brought my bottle of soy milk there too and the nice convenience store clerk opened it for me. The store where I want to buy the big bun was still open. I was surprised that it opened so early and stayed open until so late. I couldn’t help but notice that the shelf of big buns still looked pretty full. I hope my breakfast tomorrow is freshly made and not today’s leftovers..
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