Hello all together!
Last Wednesday a friend from Germany visited me here in Singapore: Nina. I got to know her a few year earlier in my athletics club and last week she stopped by on her way to Australia. Therefore I had a whole week to show her around my favorite places in Singapore. A great chance for me as well since I could see the best spots and eat the best food again.
After her arrival on Wednesday we went to find her hostel which was located close to Chinatown directly at the Blk 149 Bus stop: The Tree In Lodge. From what I experienced there I can only recommend it and would definitely go there as well for a cheap stay in Singapore! Probably the best hostel in Singapore. Nina checked-in and placed her belongings in her room before we took the bus to Utown where I had to pick up some stuff before we continued to Bukit Timah Market for dinner. There we met the others who are still here in Singapore as well as Julia and Guan Yu who guided us again through all the different food stores to try the best local stuff available. 
The Thursday we spent in Town. It started in Chinatown where we visited the different churches again and explored the street market. We had food at the Maxwell food centre next to the National gallery which we entered afterwards to get to know more about Singapore's history. In the evening I brought Nina to the Gardens by the Bay to show her the light show which is now themed in Christmas style featuring the most famous Christmas songs. Definitely an awesome evening.

On Friday we did our first hike along the Southern Ridges which means from my Campus at Kent Ridge Park all the way down to Farber Park at Harbourfront. It took us quite long, but was very cool since we crossed the Henderson Bridge and walked through the nicely assembled Hort Park. In the evening we ended up at the Bay again and visited a festival on the float which took place in order to celebrate the final days of the jubilee of Singapore SG50. 
Fabian as well as another girl from Nina's hostel joined us to explore Coney Island. Nobody of us has been there before but it was renovated recently so we wanted to know what it looked like. The result: It is a very very nice island. Paths are neatly set up and every tree looks as if it had been there for ever. The only negative point about it is the dirty water. Therefore the island is great to relax and hang out but not to swim. In the evening we had dinner at the Chump Chump food court at Serangoon Gardens. A very local place!

On Sunday I took Nina and the other girl to Pulau Ubin. We enjoyed the short boat ride to the Island and rented some cheap mountain bikes to get along. It made me remember why I think this Island is my favorite place in Singapore. Cycling is so much fun there and everything is so calm while you can see quite a lot animals and the different viewpoints let you explore different water reserves from a bird's perspective.

Monday we visited two places I haven't been to myself before: Haw Par Villa and the Botanic Gardens. Haw Par Villa gives a very unique artistic view on the Chinese culture and its values. You can for example visit the ten courts of hell there which are depicted in words and sculptures. The Botanic Gardens are beautiful and we saw different fruit local plants as well as coffee and tea plants. It was nice to feel and smell the different fruits. In between of the two locations we explored the harbor area and watched ships being loaded with containers.

On Tuesday we got free entry to the National Gallery and therefore we went there to look at some art. Definitely an impressive building and quite some nice pictures as well as sculptures to see. Afterwards we went to Bugis and little India to have some food and to walk along the small street stalls. We also went inside the Mustafa Centre which is a big chaotic shopping centre in the same district. In the evening we went up on the Marina Bay Sands to enjoy the view from there.
Today we took an bus up to the MacRitchie reserve. We hiked 12 kilometers around the lake and saw different animals like lizards and monkeys. We also took the Tree Top Walk to look over the trees. It gives you an impression of the incredible size of the nature reservoir. Besides the fact that we got a little wet at the very end it was a very nice trip. Later I brought Nina back to her hostel so she could finisheverything she still needs to do in order to leave Singapore tomorrow. It was a very nice time the last week and I am happy that I could show her all those places and I am also happy that I saw all those places myself afterwards. Now I am looking forward to travelling though!!