Today was our first day off on our trip in Singapore since January 3rd when we first arrived to Malaysia. All of us were excited to ditch our business casual wear for more comfy beach wear. Throughout the trip, we have already visited four different companies, and it has been so cool to hear all of the founder's backstories on creating their individual company. So far, I have found that that many of the companies' backstories are tied back to familial and cultural roots.
Our day started off at the complimentary breakfast buffet at the hotel. It serves a mix of Asian cuisine and your typical American cuisine. I personally am not that adventurous especially early in the morning, so I stuck to my basic toast and bacon. Which you may not believe after you hear about the rest of my day. Then we boarding our bus to Sentosa Island. To reach the island, we had to take cable cars (gondolas). All 7 of us girls on the trip all squeezed into the pink Pokémon cable car. One thing I have definitely noticed on this trip, is that both Singapore and Malaysia really cater towards their children, even with small things like a Pokémon themed cable cars. While at many of the exhibitions, we have visited, held many kid oriented activities, which all my fellow classmates, myself included, thoroughly enjoyed. The cable car showcased the beautiful scenery of the natural surroundings of the Keppel Harbor, Greenery, as well as the typical city atmosphere of skyscrapers, amusement parks. Singapore is often called the Garden State, and I have noticed that it holds this healthy balance between massive skyscrapers, innovative malls, public transportation, and gorgeous flowers, abundance of trees, and natural habitats.
When arriving at the beach, we all swam in the saltwater harbor, which felt absolutely glorious especially with the humidity and heat in the air. It was the perfect treat we needed to cool off. After swimming for a couple hours, our tour guide Jerome, ordered us a typical American delicacy, Pizza Hut, we all devoured multitudes of pizza, chicken wings, and cinnamon sticks. After lunch, we went for another swim to cool off, before drying off for our next adventures of the day.
Our next adventure was the Luge Ride, we took a ski lift up to the top of a hill called Mount Faber, apparently the second tallest in Singapore at only 100m tall. We each got to drive our own race car down this hill racing our fellow classmates. It was so cool to see the variety of different ages all taking place in the same activity from young kids to the elderly, everyone was enjoying this activity.
After the Luge Ride, we went to the Zipline, we got to zipline across the Island to a smaller man made island across the water. Professor Shah was able to use her business bargaining skills to negotiate us a cheaper group rate given the majority of our group was all going to be ziplining. One thing I have noticed in Singapore and Malaysia is that they are much more open to negotiations, and especially, in places like Chinatown. Haggling is a must, and Professor Shah has been kind enough to show us the ropes.
After Ziplining, my friend Daniela and I decided to continue our adventures by bungee jumping. I cannot explain the rush of adrenaline you receive from bungee jumping. It was both terrifying and amazing at the exact same time. Further, all the workers were so kind and funny that they fully alleviated my nervousness. They gave us some restaurant recommendations, and actively wanted to hear more about where we were from, and why we were visiting Singapore. They just seemed a lot more attentive and considerate than your typical American worker.
After Bungee Jumping, in typical Singapore monsoon climate fashion, it started to pour, so all of us exhausted decided to take the cable car back to our bus, and head back to the hotel. Where we all took cold showers, and applied aloe vera due to the strong burns we received from the sun today. I think we all are ready to head back into the air conditioned company visits.
Tonight, we had a free dinner, so we all decided to head to the mall, and try a Hot Pot restaurant, where you essentially cook the meat, veggies and noodles yourself. It was really cool as this was an experience I had never had, and it gave us more time to bond with our fellow classmates. Where we all discussed that we are not ready to leave on the 12th. Afterwards, we all headed to the Blue Jazz Cafe where there was live music, so we could all chat and hang out before we got a good night rest for our two business visits tomorrow. I can't wait !
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