The modern city- Singapore

Singapore is only 137km North of the equator (damn, still not there…). It's both a city and a country and it spreads over an island (with more than 60 tiny islands which belongs to Singapore, but there is really nothing on them.)
I traveled to Singapore from Malaysia by bus. What is quite convenient, because the flights to Malaysia – especially to Kuala Lumpur- are way much cheaper than anywhere to South East Asia.   

You can take a bus, or a train, to Singapore from many different cities, but probably the easiest are to go from Kuala Lumpur (around 6 hours drive), Melaka (4 hours drive) or Johor Bahru, which is on the border with Singapore. I went from Melaka, and the bus journey took around 7 hours. It really depends what time of the day it is, since it is just crazy on the borders during the rush hours. So don't plan too much ahead and don't be surprised if the bus takes twice longer than what was advertised.

There are many bus companies which take you to and from Singapore; the cheapest ones are 707, Delima, Golden Coach (also known as Star Coach for some reason...) and Melaka Singapore Expr. Note, that the journey from Melaka to Singapore costs anywhere from 26 Ringitts (I found the journey for 18 Ringitts on the web, but then on the Melaka Sentral Bus Station everyone claimed that was an old information. ) However on the way back you can pay up to 46 Singapore Dollars. I took the Golden Star from Singapore City Plaza (20 Singapore Dollars.. Delima was 21 Dollars.) The price also depends on the timings, and which place you are boarding from.

The Modern City

So once you are in Singapore you are struck by two things- you thought that Malaysia is developed?  Wrong. Singapore is a high tech, well-serviced, great-organized city. And of course, the prices are almost the same as what you would pay for the metro or food in Paris.
I loved that fact that all the public toilets were for free while perfectly clean and modern. There were wifi hot spots on every corner- shopping malls, metro stations (it was advertised, though I was not able to connect to this network), even 5 star hotels had their wifis free of charge. The lobby was usually open to public, so I just sat there and used their Internet. They even don't ask you for your number or anything else, just need to click a simple I agree button (general warning for those of you who wish to use hotspots for downloading porn, or learning how to construct a bomb :p )
Anyway, the service is just incredible there. All the government workers are very helpful. E.g. try the metro during the rush hour- there are ten times more employees helping you buying the tickets from the machines, or even checking if the tourists know which line to take.
Oh and by the way, try to tend the exact change. The metro ticket machine accepts only five dollars as a highest note, and the buses do not give you change at all.

There aren't many things to see in Singapore, as everyone will tell you. All the people living and working there leave the city for the holidays, mostly to Melaka or Kuala Lumpur since it is the shortest trip.
So really if you want to enjoy beaches and some attractions in Singapore, then visit Santosa Island. Where I haven't been for the lack of the time and funds.

MBS and The Promenade 

Otherwise, it is also worth seeing the Marina Bay- what is basically a lake around which are all the huge fancy buildings of Singapore. You can just walk around the Bay, starting at MBS (Marina Bay Sands Mall). The Mall is really posh, with a freaking river flowing through! I also enjoyed the DC Comics Bar.

The self-sustainable eco trees

In the mall, go up the escalator towards the Gardens. You will end up on a bridge which goes through the Marina Bay Hotel (that's the famous one with a ship-like roof), actually looks pretty odd when you see the hotel from inside. Then you keep walking to the gardens. The good thing is, surprisingly again for Singapore, that most of these things are for free. And I mean, the majority of the things you actually want to see are free of charge! Even the Garden behind the MBS. So have a look around, there is a lot to discover. They have these self-sustainable ecological trees there which you have to pay for to get in. Singaporeans pride themselves for the cleanliness and ecology of these monuments, however the high tech Mall with all its fancy lighted shops and air-conditioning is not exactly an environmentally friendly zone.
Back to the Garden though. By the time I managed to reach the 'rain-forest' enclosed garden, I was too tired to go into, so did not even care not seeing some tiny garden inside a glass building, which you have to pay around 26 Singapore Dollars to get into. Thank you but no thank you.

The river at the Mall

Once you finish the garden, go back to the Mall, and on the other side you find the Promenade. The Promenade is pretty cool, with its view of the whole Bay with its fancy skyscrapers, the lotus-like building of the Science Museum, Louis Vuitton pyramid-like building floating on the lake.
You can take a walk around the whole of the lake, eventually coming back to the Mall. The walk shouldn't take you more than an hour if you keep stopping for pictures.

The Greenery of Singapore

I also went to see the Botanical Gardens (take the blue line, and get off at the stop of the same name. The Garden will be exactly in front of you, on the right side.) The Gardens are free of charge (The only part of the garden you pay for is the Orchid Garden for only 5 Dollars.. And even though I missed it, I believe it's a pretty amazing experience.)
The Garden is really huge, with all its different smaller gardens – like healing flowers, Foliage Garden,  Rainforest, Ginger Garden,  Evolution Garden… All of them are fantastic for exploration, nicely marked and you can read a lot of useful information about the plants. However you would need at least three days to explore the whole place properly. It's a beautiful spot for a picnic and relax. Locals go there to walk their dogs, or for a run.

 The People of Singapore

What interested me on Singapore were the people. I saw there so many foreigners who live there- but not only the Chinese and other Asians, but many of them were Europeans and Americans, all of which are working in the city. What I noticed though was how unhappy everyone was. Asians are sort of used to on this hard working lifestyle, so they were the ones who helped me in directions, or smiled at me. However, all the 'white ones' just looked awfully tired. If you want to make that American dream come true in Singapore, you do have to work long hours. And that means to pull even 14 hours a day. And that is something what we Europeans are not used to do. And why would we? I would work such long hours only for my own company, or if I'm really crazy about the job. But that is for a different article…

Second thing which was interesting were all those hot, I mean HOT HOT half naked muscular white guys running around the bay, or the gardens… I guess that since there is not much to do in the city anyway the working foreigners just work out so much to let the steam out. Also, these people rarely have families, or are just starting them, so their relaxation is only their workout. Whatever the reasons are, it definitely was an eye candy *wink*