singapore, so hot right now

Hello again friends, family, and strangers! I'm in a wonderful mood as I sit here at one of the marina's three restaurants, catching up on my blog that is once again accessible in english, realizing that I am no longer in Benoa Harbor. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed my time in Bali, but where we had to keep the boat was literally a dump. I feel like an awful person saying this, because i'm so grateful for all of these experiences and every little thing I am getting to see, good and bad, but 3 months tied up to a concrete slab with rabid dogs as frequent as trash piles definitely makes you ready for a change. I'll post later about my Bali stay as a whole (I have it written down on some pieces of paper crumpled in some drawer in my room) because I promise there's a lot more to that story. Anyway, we left Bali last week and it took just over 3 days to reach Singapore. In comparison to the Perth-Bali trip, it was very calm and included no personal injury on my part (we're making major progress over here). The highlight would be that we crossed the equator at about 8 pm the last night of the trip which was really cool because the boat shakes a little and you feel a quick drop. Just kidding. Absolutely nothing happens when you cross the equator and it's actually extremely anticlimactic, but of course I took a picture of the screen reading "lat: 00.0000". In reality, the water does flush straight down the toilet, which I was told, but never got to witness. Also, it smelled like asian food outside, which was weird because we were in the middle of the sea with no boats close by, but I swear it's true. Arriving in Singapore, we pulled into Keppel Bay Marina which looked like OZ gleaming in the horizon compared to Benoa Harbor. Turns out it has won awards for being a top marina in Asia and I can personally vouch that it definitely deserves it. It is actually it's own little island, only about 1/2 a mile in diameter (i've been practicing my math for the GRE's, can you tell?), connected to the mainland by an impressive suspension bridge that is beautifully lit up at night. The bridge is also only about a tenth of a mile long, and we are practically on the main island so it's super convenient. The first night we discovered a mall right across the bridge so didn't waste any time topping my phone back up with data credit, gotta stay connected! Finally had a day off yesterday and today so I got to do some anticipated exploring which has just made me like Singapore even more. With the exception of everything being so expensive, the mix of cultures combined with the clean and modern status of Singapore make it a great city/country (i'm still working out that whole situation...) Yesterday I went to the "Little India" district and started at Temple Sri Veeramakaliamman which if I remember correctly, is the oldest Hindu temple in Singapore and it is a must see for sure. I had to show the cab driver the temple's name written down because I didn't feel like there was any way I was going to do anything but butcher the pronunciation, however I can now proudly say "veeramakaliamman" like a PRO. Impressive detail and beautiful shrines make up the interior and exterior and I felt like I couldn't take enough pictures. After exploring the temple I walked around Little India for a while, bought some pashminas from a wonderful older lady who called me beautiful and clever and gave me a cold bottle of water (probably the nicest thing someone can give you when you are living on the equator) as well as some bracelets which I later realized are too small. Good one Arielle. Also bought some essential oils which smelled AMAZING in the glass jars but later discovered that when I put them on my skin, smell like nasty B.O. So basically I have horrible buyer's remorse on those and if anyone wants these things, they are YOURS. Back to the highlights, I also saw the large Grand Sultan Mosque (which I think is the Islamic equivalent to Sri Veeramakaliamman, but I wouldn't trust my memory) which was also impressive, had a nice lunch at a moroccan deli on "Arab Street" which is the road that leads to the mosque (you can't make that up)and ended the day with a well deserved Singapore Sling at the Long Bar at Raffles hotel which is cool for a few reasons. (Don't worry silly, I'll tell you what they are!) First of all, the Singapore sling was INVENTED (!!) at the Long Bar. Unfortunately, this makes them feel entitled to charge poor, excited tourists THIRTY DOLLARS to indulge in the sickly sweetness of their alcoholic pride and joy. On another note, the hotel is historic for being one of the oldest buildings/establishments in Singapore. (I feel like I'm basically making all of these facts up at this point but a travel guide was the source of my information which is now jumbled in my brain, so I really can't be blamed) Raffles was also said to be a favorite of many authors including Rudyard Kipling and Noel Coward, and as a result houses another bar aptly called, "The Writer's Bar". That, I am sure of and you can read more for yourself here http://www.raffles.com/singapore/history/history/ if you are so inclined. After my overpriced but satisfactory drink, I began my search for a taxi at the peak of rush hour in the middle of the city, because timing is my middle name. After about 20 minutes I realized that you cannot simply flag down a taxi in Singapore city. There are designated taxi lines all around the city, mostly outside of shopping centers and hotels, so after finding one and then waiting ANOTHER 30 minutes in the heat behind other sweaty people, I made my way back to good old M/Y Zenith. Today wasn't as exciting in comparison so I'm just going to end this update here. Pictures to follow!