For one, it was contemporary art.

 

The Floating Mountain

To start, every piece of art exhibition at Imaginarium was meant to be contemporary art which meant you needed quite a bit of an eye for art to truly enjoy yourself in there. Pieces included the Floating Mountains as above, and were made entirely of paper marche and some sort of fluffy being. At most exhibits you would be told not to mishandle them as they can be quite fragile, and this was quite the case. 

Tuning into art.

Spot the imposter!

I found the creepiest piece of all and made him take a picture with it.

Like the pieces above however, they were created out of the artists' dreams and the point of understanding art had gone way beyond me that all I could do was stop and stare, then move away. My other half had quite a good time there however, so I'm not sure if I could officially classify him as a weird man now. 

I especially loved these woolies! 

I for one however, really liked these woolies by the corner of one of the exhibits known as Lizard Tail and so I insisted for a picture here. The back story of this however was that visitors were welcome to make woolies of their own, pouring in all their emotions into it and then adding on to the exhibit so it continues to grow and hopefully by the end of it all, you would feel much better after creating a woolie. 

Print out selfies are the best!

To end the visit, we got into a print out selfie machine for SGD 2 that gave us 2 prints and I couldn't have been happier! It felt like the only souvenir we brought home from this trip, but the memories made were also endless and truly enjoyable to no ends. Tickets to Imaginarium costs SGD 6 each with no special tourist discounts, but it's free entry if you're a Singaporean! The exhibition ends on the 27th of August 2017 so if you're still game for it, then be sure to head down to the Singapore Art Museum!

This is Future World: Where Art meets Science

Truth be told, it was only because my other half really wanted to visit this exhibition that was happening at the ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay Sands. Having originated from Japan, my other half was quite upset when we didn't catch it during the trip to Osaka and so when he first caught wave of the exhibition in Singapore, he knew where he had to be. Tickets were SGD 17 a pop, but if you're a tourist with a Marina Bay Sands Lifestyle card, you'd be entitled to a buy 1 free 1 promo!

But first, we queued.

Clearly we were not the only ones who knew of the exhibition in Singapore, because we stood in a queue for almost half an hour and then another 15 minutes just to get into the exhibition. There were people from all around the world - Koreans, Spanish, Singaporeans... you just name it and they were probably there. 

Flowers from Swans.

Dark Waves.

Dark Waves with my man.

As the name suggests, it was quite an art exhibition with tinges of science here and there. The art mostly came from Japan and they all had a meaning to them but I was too fixated in the gorgeous effects to really understand things deeply. Perhaps you could say SGD 8.50 was wasted on a person who didn't know how to appreciate art, but I did enjoy my time in there! 

I have zero art sense.

But I saw my jet on the big screens!

And I also printed one out.

A play with shadows. 

Our subsequent stations were a great play with shadows for pictures, and quite possibly to create ridiculously artistic pictures for visitors. My favourite had to be a space called Space (I am not kidding!) that featured over 170,000 LED lights hanging from strips and it was just gorgeous. The light show could be controlled solely via a website and you could change the sequencing by picking out the right illusions to send into what they called a Crystal Universe.

Thank you for taking me into your Space.

Perhaps I've come out with a blog post most undeserving of Future World, Where Art Meets Science, but I had such a fantastic time myself that I was glad my other half brought me along to the journey. I didn't quite understand most of what was done, but the memories were well enough for me to think back of the great moments we spent at the ArtScience Museum. Entries are based on time slots to control the crowd in the exhibition and you may find more information by clicking here.

And so a hostel we stayed! 

This time around, I found ABC Premium Hostel - located a stone's throw away from Singapore's Farrer Part MRT station along the North East Line. That's the purple one, mind you. True to its nature of a hostel, we got the Queen Size Bunk Bed because there were 2 of us and I specifically asked for the lower bunk because my other half has a habit of waking up in the middle of the night for a toilet run. 

Personal lockers.

Personal plug points and reading lights. 

What came in the bunk was exactly what we needed - a queen sized bed with 4 fluffy pillows, a single blanket big enough for two (Unless you're sharing it with someone who steals your blanket all the time!), 2 personal lockers, 2 plug points, and 2 reading lights - each scattered to the left and right sides of the bunk. It did feel quite safe even when we kept our items in the lockers as we went to shower, and I especially like how they provided a hole by the side of the locker so you can plug your charger to your phone and still keep it safe in the locker!

Shoe lockers.

Key tag. 

Shoes were strictly to be kept in shoe lockers away from the dorm, but we had to sneak our shoes into the dorm because our lockers had spoiled. We also get a rather large luggage locker below the bunk, and everything unlocks itself with a tap of the key tag that conveniently comes in the form of a bracelet so you can just take it anywhere you go. A fee of SGD 10 is collected as deposit when you first check in, but completely refundable when you check out!

Sink and toilet space.

Shower space.

Female and male showers are located rather far away from each other, and for the reason of protecting everyone's privacies. I thought it was a very considerate move especially for single lady travellers, and that was quite a plus point for me. The toilets were ridiculously cramped however, and showers needed some cleaning because hairs seemed to forever clog nooks and crannies of the toilet. It felt disgusting, and I often took very quick showers when I was at ABC Premium Hostel. I even had to hold toilet sessions until we got to malls and such, because I couldn't stand how cramped it felt in the cubicle. Too much information? 

You'll be provided with soap and shampoo, but it's advisable to bring your own facial cleansers and other necessities such as toothbrushes and toothpaste. Towels are available for rent at a minimal fee, so I'm glad we brought out own. People tend to leave their toiletries by the sink, but the hotel staff did mention that items left for more than 24 hours would be thrown away so I think that's a good form of control. A rather powerful hair dryer is available for use by the sink, and I say powerful because I used it on both nights that we were there and my hair was dry in no time as compared to regular hair dryers you see in most hotels. 

Luggage storage space.

And that very chill view. 

I loved how thoughtful they were in providing space to store our luggage for people who had to check out but it wasn't quite time to leave yet, and it was really quite safe because you need to walk all the way to the back of the hostel in order to retrieve it. A chill balcony is also provided for those who would like to while away their time, but we spent no time here at all. 

I guess as an overall, ABC Premium Hostel is exactly what you'd expect from a hostel anyway. It's simple, no-frills, and you're bound to meet weird people in the same dorm as you. We had distruptions both nights from inconsiderate people who kept walking in and out, or were chatting loudly even when the hostel had an 11 PM silent rule. Another issue I had was because I travelled with my other half, our dorm was a mixed dorm and there were obviously other men there who unfortunately snored very loudly. No earplugs are provided by the hotel, so good luck if you're a light sleeper. 

Our stay costed RM 233.47 via Agoda and a discount code I got off my DiGi app (I'm not sponsored by either!) which I thought was fair for what we got. Location wise it was really quite convenient because you could take a 5-minute walk to Farrer Park MRT and get connected to everywhere else. I did wish it were at a location with a better MRT line however, as the North East Line required changing at most larger stations. I give major credits to their staff however - Deng in particular (Yes, that is his name!) because he was ridiculously friendly and attentive! For a while I felt guilty bothering him over and over again, from asking for earplugs to him offering to switch our bunks, it all felt great. 

I'm not sure if I would return to ABC Premium Hostel as of now, but I dare say it's a great find if you need to put up for a night or two in Singapore and get a place that doesn't cost you an arm and a leg. Do be aware that this is after a hostel so toilet sharing is expected, and you'd have to be well clothed most time so no sleeping naked, please. For ladies, I've checked that they do provide female-only dorms so maybe you could consider that for your next stay too!

Welcome to Mingle! 

I love the minimalism.

Mingle Hostel - if I ever had to put it in a single word would be "Hipster". The entire place oozed of Instagrammable vibes, but you could tell it was also a haven for backpackers and tourists who has made it a point in their lives to visit Petaling Street. 

Living in the attic.

Bare necessities?

For the light sleepers.

We got the attic room for two, and surprisingly it came with 2 single beds. I suppose that's my fault because I didn't really check it through, but my other half and I obviously pushed the beds together to form a co-sleeping space. Toilets are by co-sharing basis and it really wasn't as clean as I wanted it to be. They also don't provide any necessities such as shampoos and shower gels so you'll have to come prepared. 

 

What I found hilarious however was that they provide everyone with a pair of earplugs in fear of noises, and clearly they already know it's a problem because the hotel was located by a rather noisy road with buses and lorries freely roaming around. We didn't use the ear plugs in fear of missing our alarms in the morning, but we clearly did not rest well that night.

Luggage storage under the stairs.

And a cool enough hallway.

 

Rooftop to chill.

They did think things through for tourists though because you could see they provide a luggage storage area for larger bags. Mingle Hostel consists of 2 floors, and you can see that it's separated accordingly to the type of rooms available.They also have a really nice rooftop for those you enjoy a day under the sky, and Mingle has a designated bartender for that rooftop bar feel. 

I guess as an overall, I did enjoy my stay at Mingle Hostel though we couldn't really sleep that night. I wish I took pictures of the toilets though, but that's just about the only thing I didn't catch. Large bags are definitely not recommended because you'll have to climb up the stairs to reach the hostel itself, and they provide you with Macs if you need computer and WiFi access.