It’s a big world out there. It would be a shame not to experience it.

– J. D. Andrews

Singapore has been on Henry’s must-visit list for quite some time.  Brian was pretty excited about it, too, but if I’m completely honest, I was kind of dreading it.  It’s not that I thought it would be a bad place to visit, but I guess I just didn’t really know what to expect.  I cannot count how many times I heard Henry gush about their airport, and I guess I just expected the rest of the city to be way over the top too.  But, whether I liked it or not, it was the best layover option we had on our route to Australia, so we planned a short stay of 5 days to check it out.

We had flown through the night to land in Singapore early on Monday morning.  Our flight landed smoothly at around 7 am, and we made our way off the plane.  We were all really tired, but since we knew that Henry was eager to explore the airport, and since our room wouldn’t be ready for a while, we decided to grab some breakfast and kill some time. 

The airport was nice, as expected, and the Jewel, the mall attached to it was very pretty.  Most of the stores weren’t open yet, but the mall had everything you could imagine.  We ended up eating a Shake Shack burger for breakfast, and then we went to the center of the Jewel to check out the waterfall I’d heard so much about.  It was very nice, beautiful even, but at my level of exhaustion, I wasn’t all that impressed.  I was ready to find somewhere to stretch out and relax for a bit. 

We figured out how to get on the metro at the airport, and after a quick train change, we arrived at the Chinatown stop. Coming up and out of the subway station, I was amazed at the scene around us. I’ve never been in a Chinatown area, but the one in Singapore is well known and rather large. The colorful street was lined with Chinese restaurants and markets, and while it wasn’t exactly bustling at this hour, I could imagine how busy it might be in the evenings. The buildings were well tended with fantastic murals painted on several. There was quite a lot to take in as we walked through.

We searched for our hotel for a few minutes, The 1888, but we couldn’t find it. At some point, we asked the shop owner of an open air market stall for directions, and he pointed us to the right spot. After a few more twists and turns, we found an entrance to the hotel. It was actually on the 3^rd and 4^th floors of a large building sitting above the shopping areas, and to access it, we had to enter into a building foyer that our hotel shared with a restaurant below.

Our room wasn’t ready yet, so after dropping our bags with the hotel, we decided to go for a short walk and buy the cleaning crew a little more time. I had found an ice cream shop on the map that looked to be about 10 minutes away , and we unanimously agreed to head that direction. It was quite warm outside, and we weren’t adjusted yet to these kinds of temperatures. Without our bags, the walk was much easier and more enjoyable, and we meandered through town with ease.

Singapore was a beautiful city, and there was so much to see as we walked through.  The streets and buildings were immaculately maintained.  And the people smiled behind their masks as they watched us explore their town.  Everything felt structured with everything in its proper place.  It was fun to walk down the streets and look at all the interesting buildings, each one a unique design.  Our stroll was very pleasant, but unfortunately, it was not productive.  We found the ice cream shop, but to our disappointment, there was a sign in the window stating that due to Covid, they were only open for orders placed online the day prior. 

A little dejectedly, we walked around a little longer, and then we prayed as we made our way back to our room that housekeeping would be done by the time we returned.  Thankfully, God humored us, and we happily moved into our rather small new home as soon as we arrived.  The room was small, but efficient.  The two beds, a twin and a queen, were mattresses laying side by side on an elevated platform floor.    A very small section of floor housed a chair and a small table with a coffee maker and kettle.  And right beside the desk behind a very clear floor to ceiling pane of glass was our toilet and shower.  We laughed as we imagined how we’d manage the next five nights with absolutely no privacy.  Thankfully it didn’t take us long to find the switch for the atomized glass.  With the flip of a switch, the glass changed from crystal clear to opaque.  We were all a little more fascinated by it than we are proud to admit, and we were relieved as well.  We were also relieved to find the electronic shade that pitched the room into near complete darkness.  Although it would be a little tight, we’d make it just fine in this new home away from home.

We ate dinner that night at a hot pot restaurant by the subway entrance. This one was quite interesting. We placed our orders for ingredients through their website, and within minutes, a new plate of meat and vegetables was delivered. We each had our on pot of sauce to cook whatever we desired, and we had a hotplate as well for searing any ingredients we wished. The experience was wonderful, and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. At the end of the meal, we had a bit of a shock to find out that this rather expensive meal would have to be paid for with cash. There were a few money transfer services that we could use, be we weren’t signed up for any of them already, and they all required days to properly set up. Henry and I waited at the restaurant like collateral while Brian went off to find an ATM. Thankfully, one wasn’t difficult to find, and he came back to pay our bill and collect us.

We were exhausted, and we all crashed hard that night. The next morning, we woke and leisurely got dressed and ready to go. We stepped outside to the brightest day we’d seen in quite a while. We wandered through several streets looking at restaurant menus and trying to find something that sounded good. We found more than a few unappetizing menu items that we chose not to try just yet, but thankfully, it didn’t take us long to find a restaurant with more palatable selections. Henry chose the steamed dumplings. He’d never had anything like that before, but true to his adventurous spirit, he jumped right in and tried them.

The meals were really expensive in the restaurant, as it obviously catered to the foreign traveler.  Thankfully at lunch there were half price meals to be had, but after seeing the meal prices, we began to get concerned about maintaining our budget while here.   We started researching to find cheaper options, and we found some information on the local hawker centers.  These are food court style centers where typically residents would eat far less expensive, and most times better, local fair.  We decided we’d try that for dinner, but for now, we were off to see the best Singapore had to offer.

We walked across town to the Marina Sands area.  Henry had told me about the boat shaped hotel and the supposedly magnificent Super Tree Grove nearby.  We walked through the botanical gardens surrounding the hotel, and we took in the artistic displays that accented the lush greenery.  It was remarkable how varied the landscaping was.  Gorgeous flowers, vibrant green foliage, picturesque water features, and these beautiful sculptures dotted the landscape while the backdrop of the downtown area reminded us that we were still in an extremely urban area. 

After exploring the gardens, we made our way into the hotel and up to the lookout.  From the observatory on the 56^th floor, we were able to look out at all of Singapore, and it was spectacular.  On one side, we could see over the bay to the skyscrapers downtown. The sun was setting, and the golden hour lighting was absolutely breathtaking.  On the other side, we could look over the botanical gardens and out to the Singapore Straight and the nearest islands of Indonesia.  We took our time taking pictures and people watching until the sun was finally set because we wanted to admire the city under the lights as well.  The city was quite beautiful during the day, but the night view was even more grand.  The Helix, a unique bridge that was on our bucket list, was lit up beautifully below us.  The Super Tree Grove area was colorful from our perch, and the Singapore Flyer, the ferris wheel across the bay, twinkled below us as well.  We could have stayed there much longer admiring the view, but we were hungry and ready to begin our walk back home.

We couldn’t find the hawker center we’d hoped to dine at, but we found another on our way back to the hotel.  It was so different from the restaurant experience we’d had earlier in the day.  The building housed 40-60 booths, and in each one, a worker or two took orders and served meals from their 10 x 10 stall.  We found a place that looked appealing to each one of us, and after ordering and paying for our food, we headed over to a different drink-only booth to buy some drinks.  Then we sat down and waited for our food.  The booth owners brought us our food, and it was delicious.  For about $12, we all had more food than we could finish, and it was fresh and freshly prepared. 

The next day we tried a different hawker center.  The environment was very similar, and the food was equally delicious and inexpensive.  We were quite taken with these, and based on the food quality, we weren’t that surprised to learn that there were Michelin star chefs in some of these centers.  Street food used to be allowed in Singapore, but due to hygiene and sanitation concerns, the government began creating these hawker centers to be able to ensure public health was protected.  All the old street food vendors moved into these centers.  They’ve spent years perfecting their craft, and now, many have very dedicated followings.  They were fantastic places to eat, and we had the added perk of being great places for people watching.

That afternoon we decided to check out the grocery store just down the block from our hotel.  I love going to the store and seeing what the people in the region really eat.  It is usually quite interesting.  There was everything from crunchy shrimp sticks to spicy lobster crackers to barbecue flavored krill balls to crab flavored pea snacks.   never before seen ramen flavored Lays, seawood flavored Pringles, or chicken flavored Bugles.  And that was just in the snack aisle!  Oh, and we did find some Pabst Blue Ribbon to help wash down any yummy treats we wanted.  We passed on all of it.

On our way to our room that afternoon, we passed a vendor selling durians.  I’d heard of them, and there are signs all over the city warning you not to bring them inside.  I had heard they were a bit smelly, but when we passed the cart, I got my first whiff of one.  They really weren’t that bad, but they were strong smelling, and it smelled like rotting garbage.  In a poorly ventilated area, it wouldn’t take long for these things to stink you out.  But people were still buying them.  I read that they are delicious, but quite frankly, I have no desire to taste something that smells like that.

We walked about a kilometer and a half down the street to the Funan Center to kill some time and to hopefully find some air conditioning. The mall was quite large, and very unique. There was an indoor biking path that meandered throughout it, a rock climbing center that operated on one of the basement levels and sprawled up through the open atrium, and extensive food courts. Henry had really been wanting to go rock climbing, so he immediately set to work on convincing us to try it. After checking it out, we made a plan to come back the next day and let him wear himself out.

He had such a good time climbing. Brian climbed with him, and I watched, took pictures, and worked on my blog at a nearby lounge area. It was good to see them having fun together, and Henry climbed until his hands just couldn’t hold him anymore. We found the Little Ceasars Pizza in the mall, and he hit a second wind. He didn’t last nearly so long the second time though.

That night we happened upon a steak restaurant as we were wandering through town, and we went inside.  Steak is definitely one of my favorite foods, but because of the cost, our budget wouldn’t allow us to eat it very often.  I was really craving one, and I jumped on the opportunity while we had it.  It was delicious, mouth-watering, and cooked to perfection.  For a brief moment, the steakhouse felt like one back home, and all of a sudden, the distance to all of those we missed so much didn’t feel so far.  It was a wonderful treat, and I was very grateful for this bit of unexpected normalcy.

The next day we took the train to Little India, another neighborhood in Singapore.  We really wanted to visit India on our trip, but Covid was just making things difficult.  With India not allowing tourists to enter, it didn’t look like that was going to happen, so we tried to get a taste of it while we were here.  It was amazing how different this section of town felt from the rest of Singapore.  Downtown Singapore was so orderly and controlled; everything was so beautifully neat and tidy.  Chinatown was more colorful and energetic, but at the same time, it still felt structured.  Little India was like a little bit of wonderful chaos and confusion in the middle of it all. 

We walked through the Mustafa Center, a four story 24-hour mall.  This wasn’t your typical mall with stores linked together by a walkway; here the stores were all located within the same large room.  One store’s wares flowed over to the next, and we were never quite sure which ‘store’ we were in.  This mall sold everything from groceries to pharmaceuticals to tools and appliances.  The aisles were very narrow and a bit difficult to navigate, the place was packed with people milling about all over, but there were great bargains to be had everywhere we looked.  Goods were very inexpensive compared to home, and after spending a few hours stocking up on some of our favorite candies and a few electronics accessories, we headed out to see the rest of this area.

We found a ‘regular’ mall nearby and walked through it briefly in search of at-home covid tests we’d need for our next destination.  This mall was beautiful and spacious, and walking through it, if we could look past the roasted ducks hanging from the restaurant windows, we felt more like we were at home. We were eager to see more than malls, though, so we didn’t stay long.

We wandered through the streets and saw some beautiful temples, and just when we were starting to wear out a bit, Henry found a playground. Brian and I sat on the bench and let him play while we rested our legs for a moment. It’s always been funny to me how Henry can be worn out, dead tired one minute, and swinging like a monkey on something the next. Climbing has always excited him, and I can only count a few times in his life that he’s passed on an opportunity to do it. He joyfully explored the little playground by himself, jumping, swinging, and climbing to his heart’s content.

The streets were bustling here, and there were people all over. We found an open-air hawker center to enjoy for dinner, but even it felt different from the ones in Chinatown. We had a fantastic Indian dinner, and afterwards we explored the rest of the building. Not too far from the food stalls were the markets. The fish markets smelled horrendously (I hate fish), but they had an amazing selection for the shoppers. Upstairs we found all of the clothing shops. We even found several tailors making custom wedding and formal dresses there, and as I admired their craftsmanship, I couldn’t imagine how they’d ever get the pervasive smell of fish out of those beautiful gowns.

We made it back to our room that night with no issue, and we began packing up for a very long day to come.  We’d be flying on another very long flight from Singapore to Australia in about 30 hours, but we’d decided to make the most of the Singapore airport and hang out there all the next day before the flight.  We rested well, and when we checked out the next morning, we took the train back to the airport, put our bags in storage, and set off to explore this airport Henry had been so infatuated by for so long.

Ok, so I had to admit that the Changi Airport was really nice. The airport is connected with the Jewel, a mall having a full 10 floors of retail and entertainment options. It is nature themed, and its prize attraction is the world’s tallest indoor waterfall. We bought our tickets to explore the Canopy Park, a relaxing botanical garden and children’s play area on the top floor, and we made our first round around it in the light of day. Everything was beautiful and exceptionally well-manicured. Henry climbed out on the bouncing nets (nets suspended for the kids to climb and bounce on and look down at the 10 floors below) while I refused to look down due to the vertigo I always have with heights. We took lots of pictures, ate lots of food, and when we got tired, we took a break and went to the cinema downstairs to watch the movie Uncharted. It was nice to go to the theater, and it was even better that the show was in English too! In lieu of popcorn, we could buy salted egg yolk potato ridges or salted egg fish skins to enjoy during the movie, but we decided to pass on that. Later in the evening, we explored the Canopy Park again and marveled at the well-lit displays and the laser show on the waterfall. Henry would have loved to have enjoyed many more of the airport’s attractions like the free movies and the swimming pool, but we simply ran out of time. We grabbed our bags from storage, headed over to our terminal, and said goodbye to Singapore.

We’d always heard that Singapore was a safe place to visit, and although we kept our guard up the entire time, we never once felt unsafe.  We saw a t-shirt one day that joked how Singapore was a ‘fine’ city.  And it certainly is.  There are fines for lots of typical things you might not think anything of.  For example, chewing gum is illegal in Singapore, and you can get a $10,000 fine if your caught.  Forget to flush the toilet after your done with your business?  That’s a $150 fine.  Vomiting in a public place can cost you $200.  Jaywalking is a $1,000 fine, but it can also land you in jail.  If you get angry and voluntarily cause hurt to someone, you can go to prison for up to 2 years and have to pay a $5,000 fine.  Spitting in public is a $1,000 fine, and feeding those cute little pigeons can cost you $500.  Nudity, if you are caught even in your own home, comes with a $1,000 fine, and should you be tempted, connecting to someone else’s wifi, be aware that it could be a $10,000 mistake.  While all of this seems a little over the top to us as Americans, the culture they have created provides a very clean, very orderly life for those in Singapore. Crime does exist here, but it is very rare, and it is very harshly dealt with. As a tourist, it was a little unnerving to worry constantly if you are doing something wrong, but it was quite comforting to know you could feel genuinely safe too.

We loved it here.  Once we’d found the hawker’s centers, we were able to find inexpensive and delicious foods.  The people were exceptionally nice, and the orderliness of the society made it feel safe and welcoming.  I can see why so many Americans enjoy visiting Singapore, and I definitely hope to make a return visit one day.  Everything we saw of this country was beautiful in its own way, and I’d highly recommend you to take an opportunity to come see it for yourself. The world is so big, and there is so much to see. It would be a shame to miss it.