The flight from Brisbane to Singapore was about seven hours and, as Singapore is two hours behind, I arrived at something past five in the morning. I was on a 'stopover deal', which basically means cheap hotel, free airport transfers and vouchers for cheap/free tourist-y things. It sounded like it would be rather a pain to actually claim the free transfers, etc, but it turned out to be remarkably easy. There's a well-signposted desk who sort it all out for you and make sure you get on the right bus to your hotel. The only minor problem I had was a shampoo bottle leaking over one side of my backpack. I had to scrape shampoo goop off some books and wash out some clothes, but it was no big deal. My stuff now just smells slightly apple-y, which isn't unpleasant.
I've been on the road for a little over seven months and, apart from a few days over Christmas, have been staying in shared dorm rooms. It was rather nice to get a room of my own for the night and, even better, a bath. As I only had a day there, I tried to make the most of it and see as much of the city as possible. I had breakfast in Little India, admired the river front, explored China Town and pootled round the botanic gardens. The orchid enclosure was particularly nice - mum, you would've loved it.
In the evening, I was a 'proper' tourist and joined the Night Safari tour to the zoo. First, they put us all on a tram and gave us a tour around the park. There's no cages, which is good to see, but I'd be interested to know how they keep the animals in their areas. The various types of deer and tapir wandered right up to the tram, again which was great, but the lions, tigers and leopards were somehow kept at a distance. It was cool if rather strange. After our little tram tour, we were free to amble around the walking trails for a while before heading back to the hotel. I was so, so tired that night that I don't think I really appreciated the whole room-to-myself thing. I think that's a sign of a good day well spent.
And that was it for Singapore and my first ever day in Asia. My free transfer to the airport picked me up at 6:20am to take me onwards to the most exciting part of my trip so far...