There I am, walking through Singapore City, lost, at 7:00 AM, with bare feet and wearing last night's dress - I looked like the dirtiest of dirty stop-outs.​
Sometimes, when overseas, I find myself in some random situations and starting this trip off in Singapore, proved no exception.
Stories in Part 1 and Part 2 centre around the great people I encountered at the Prince of Wales Backpacker Pub in Boat Quay, Singapore City, and the and misadventures that subsequently occurred after the bar closed each night at 1 AM.
I'm a bit of a flashpacker, Eeep; there I said it, however, I also love me a good party hostel. These two often don't combine harmoniously, and for this reason, I did not stay at the Prince of Wales backpackers. Instead, I googled the location of the backpacker bar, and I opted to stay next door at the flashy Port by Quarters Hostel, choosing to utilise the drink specials at the Prince of Wales backpacker bar each night.
NIGHT 1:
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The Prince of Wales closed, and we all jumped in taxis to a bar called Al Capone's, located just off Orchard Road. I liked this venue. Quiet at the time, still, there is a positive vibe, and we easily grabbed a table outside. Bonus: you could order bottles of liquor for the table.
My phone died here, so I don't have many photos of this night. I enjoyed the atmosphere the group created. Al Capone's shut at 3 AM, and they ensured I made it back to the hostel safely in a taxi. After arriving back at the hostel, this is where my trouble started. |
​Not to wake anyone, instead of climbing the ladder again, I decided to use a door wedge to keep the door open as I had witnessed the staff successfully do. The door closed heavily behind me. I am stuck in the hallway... Great!
I knocked on the door a few times, however, either no one heard me, or no one bothered to come to my aid.
As this is Singapore, it is custom to take your shoes off outside of the building. The hostel provided shoe boxes in the hallway, so at least I had my shoes and ​thankfully I hadn't changed into my pyjamas yet.
At this point I thought, I've come this far, if I am locked out of the room, I might as well go and have the cigarette', so I took my sandals downstairs and used one to wedge in the front door. Lucky me! The front door closed heavily behind me. I am trapped outside, great!
4:30 AM and with the reception closed, I had no choice but to sit and wait. Let the adventure begin!
There is a restaurant next door that (luckily) leaves their chairs outside in a place hidden from street view. I lined up three chairs with the intention of just laying down to wait and hope someone would arrive with a key soon... I fell asleep outside.
I awoke approximately 6:45 AM busting for a bathroom and still no way inside the building. Left with only one sandal, I had to opt for wearing no shoes and then took off in a frantic search for a bathroom.
Every business I'd quickly be able to dash inside of (with bare feet) had a 'closed' sign. Now a critical 'what would a guy do?' situation; Fort Canning Park became my destination. (It only occurs to me as I write this post, that I should have checked the nearby train station. Facepalm.)
NIGHT 2:
THERE WAS NO NIGHT 2
​Happy I evaded a hefty fine, although, feeling sorry for myself and nursing a hangover. I hid from the world inside my cube, behind my closed curtain, only emerging to find food.
Early evening, a girl in our room had locked herself out. She began knocking on the door. As mentioned, I was in my hidey-hole so didn't rush to her aid. Instead, I will admit, I laid in my cube and had a little chuckle - however, even people walking around the room didn't help to let her in, which puzzled me. Luckily for her, someone entered the room after 2 minutes.
Thanks for your comment Mikayla, appreciated 😊
My memory of my walk around the city is a little sketchy, although, I had enough to pin points to piece it all together. 7 Eleven, Fort Canning Park, Raffles City and the Merlion 😂
If it's any comfort, I've also been locked out of many a hostels around the world over the last 6 years haha, although not fun at the time, great for story times in the future :D Also during my stint in Sinpapore I'm pretty sure I've had a drunken night in Al Capone's myself just to ask was the McDonald's close to the Prince of Wales not still open? (the one that's on the corner by the quay? (you may also like the post I'll be publishing next tues backpack and booze :D )
This is the first one I've locked myself out of that I haven't been able to get back into 😂😂 McDonalds would have been the best option, however, I ended up turning left where the 7-11 is (the next parallel street). I didn't realise there was a McDonalds until I walked past once I was almost back at the hostel 😂😂
Email me a link to your post 🙂 tilytravels@gmail.com
I definitely recommend them 🙂 Just don't lock yourself outside 😂
Ha, ha what an (Mis)adventure ! When you’re planning a trip, optimism reigns. Hotels look clean, maybe even charming. Sights look interesting, even exciting. The weather ? Should be fine — or even better ! Then you actually go. And that’s when things can go maddeningly, even hilariously, wrong. Sometimes travel doesn’t go as planned. Other days are simply a disaster of a trip. Singapore is a nice city to visit and I hope you have enjoy the rest of your stay ;-)
Haha, misadventure is around most corners when I travel. Sometimes, that's what makes it so much fun (or at least funny to look back on).
Singapore was great, thanks, 🙂 beautiful city!
I'm full of random travel stories 😂
Singapore is a beautiful city. Definitely worth a visit 🙂
Something nice: the hostel looks good! I'd stay there too.
An entertaining read, though I'm sorry to hear about your misadventures! I've exiled myself from dorms before thanks to biting insects, and spent the entire night outside. Not fun at all.
No need to be sorry, this misadventure was entirely my own fault 😂 I definitely should have known better with this situation.
Eeep, I too have faced off with biting bugs. Can't confirm they were bed bugs as they looked more like little ants, but yeah, not a fun experience at all 😖 I feel your pain.