Thoughts after three days in Singapore
Jenny and I are now in Ubud, Bali after finishing the first leg of our honeymoon in Singapore. With the memories fresh, here are a few thoughts after three days in Singapore.
Singapore is an immediately approachable city for Western travelers. English is prevalent. Cabs are plentiful. The city is amazingly clean. And we never felt unsafe, even for a moment. Anyone scared to visit due to the caning incident a few years back, should reconsider this irrational notion. Singapore’s only downside is the price. Our initial Thai-based budget was significantly adjusted once we arrived.
A few more thoughts…
Food from all corners
As displayed in the pictures above, Singapore is heaven for lovers of Indian and Asian cuisines. Highlights include a simple breakfast of egg and cheese naan in Little India and the varied fare at the numerous “hawker” food markets. At the market around the corner from our hotel, I enjoyed several “breakfasts of champions,” beef ramen noodles with kim chi one day and pork ribs over rice with seafood dumplings the next. However, my favorite meal was easily the chili crab and Chinese bread we found in Chinatown. Chili crab is exceedingly messy but absolutely worth it.
A city of neighborhoods
Barely scratching Singapore’s surface, we spent the majority of our time in three ethnic neighborhoods: Little India, Little Arabia and Chinatown. The first two locals offer tremendous opportunity for cultural exploration but the real jewel, in my opinion, is Chinatown. Singapore’s version is vastly superior to those of New York, San Francisco and Washington, DC. We enjoyed wandering through the maze of restaurants and shopping huts so much that we found ourselves drawn there once again for our final evening.
Air conditioning is the best advertising
Singapore is closest major city to the equator. Likewise, it’s incredibly hot and humid. I can’t count how often we made abrupt, 90-degree turns into one of Singapore’s plentiful shopping malls after feeling the blast of cool air rushing out of the doors. A/C is a major draw in Singapore, rivaled only by free Wifi.
We’re scheduled for one more day in Singapore before we fly home later this month. I’m looking forward to it.
