After all three of us reunited near the airport in Bali, we took a flight together to Singapore! We spent a weekend in this teeny tiny city/country. This was the last part of our journey shared with Andre until the time came to say “see ya on the other side”. Honestly, the center of Singapore feels a bit like any major financial hub—you could mistake some parts of it for Chicago (just add humidity, more well-manicured and interesting parks and buildings, and hyper-efficient public transit).
A Little Context
The most interesting aspect of Singapore might just be how this little country has positioned itself to be economically mighty. Rather than the typical story of a country fighting for its independence, Singapore was forcibly removed from its brief joining of Malaysia. Heightened political and racial tensions with Singapore having attracted a majority Chinese population and differing economic priorities caused the breakup. Despite having no natural resources, Singapore’s first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew strategically leveraged the country’s prime shipping route location to increase global trade and connectivity. Singapore is now a finance and tech powerhouse known for its strict laws (no chewing gum, no jaywalking), clean streets, and one of a modern skyline. While we’re happy for the country’s economic success, we were a little sad for our wallets due to prices being pretty similar to back home.
Seeing The Sights
Singapore has no shortage of captivating gardens and parks with 50% of the city covered in greenery. A walk around The Southern Ridges allowed us to admire sweeping city views. We were bummed to find the elevated path amongst the trees to be closed, BUT we still had the chance to enjoy the walk along the Henderson Waves, which is the city’s highest pedestrian bridge, and hiking up to Mount Faber. An evening visit to the futuristic Gardens by the Bay was full of marveling at one-of-a-kind architecture. Our visit was complete with a peek at the glowing flowers, buildings connected by gardens, a mall with seemingly endless luxury stores (& a canal with boat rides inside), and the chance to watch the twice daily water show from the orb-shaped Apple Store on the water.
We had some trouble locating the walking tour we hoped to join, so naturally we built our own thanks to ChatGPT and Jack’s narration. This very official tour of the civic district included stops at the Victoria Theatre, National Gallery (previous Supreme Court building made into a museum), and 7/11 for a shockingly hard to come by black iced coffee. Steps and sweat were accumulated big time throughout the weekend also meandering around Chinatown and near the riverfront. We took it upon ourselves to visit the local swimming pool to escape the heat—as it turns out this pool is very much only for exercise not leisure.
We had the “joy” of getting to experience the lesser seen sights of Singapore: the police station and post office thanks to Kim attempting to get some work licensure in order while abroad—the process was exactly as smooth and fun as you might think! For a highly efficient city, I guess bureaucracy always has a way of winning.
Eats & Drinks
Singapore’s food culture is directly tied to its diverse population. We visited our share of hawker centers to indulge in the cheap and multicultural cuisines. In Chinatown, a kind woman took us under her wing to help us order lunch at a local hot spot. She even saved us a seat—talk about a gem of a person! In Little India, we enjoyed a taste of what’s to come with our upcoming travels to India complete with some delicious chicken biryani and flaky, buttery paratha. In general we definitely learned there’s a direct correlation with how dimly lit an establishment is and how delicious the food is. If the lighting is low and the lines are long, you’re in the right spot. Red bananas and coffee & cheese bread became the go-to treats.
Silly Little Stats
- # of beds slept in: 73
- # of countries visited: 10
- # of transportation modes: 13 (plane, train, bus, colectivo, tuk-tuk, ferry, motorbike, long tail boat, tricycle, car, bicycle, canoe, jeepny)
- Bus (non-local): 28
- Plane: 15
- Ferry: 11
- Train: 3
- # of days since leaving Colorado: 225
- # of loved ones that have met up: 3 (we love ya Andre, Lauren, & Matt!)