Singapore is a small city-state located in Southeast Asia. It comprises one main island and several smaller islands at the southern most tip of the Malay Peninsula. Today, Singapore serves as a major hub for global aviation, finance, and maritime shipping.
Following a short trip to China to visit my friend Shaofeng, he and I flew south to visit some friends in Singapore for a couple days. Of course, immediately upon landing, we had to check out the famous waterfall inside the Changi airport. Known as the Jewel Rain Vortex, it is the tallest indoor waterfall in the world at 40 meters (or 131 feet) tall. It is also surrounded by lots of lush greenery and is actually located within a giant mall, called Jewel, connected to the airport. (p.s. don't mind my crazy hair - at this point I hadn't had a haircut in over six months!)
While we waited for our friend Hubert to come pick us up from the airport, Shaofeng and I did some exploring around the rest of the Jewel mall. We took pictures of the waterfall from as many angles as possible, stumbled upon a wet floor sign shaped like a banana peel (which I find quite hilarious), and eventually navigated our way beneath it on one of the lower levels. I even discovered a Pokemon Center store within the mall, where I was unexpectedly challenged to a battle in Pokemon Go by a worker dressed as a Team Rocket grunt. Let's just say I was a force to be reckoned with :)
Once Hubert finally arrived, he showed us around the mall a bit more and then we hopped on a train to drop off our bags at the condo we were staying in for the night. After that, we headed into the city to grab some dinner with another friend, Alvin, who is also from Singapore. We ate at an outdoor food stall (Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork at Crawford Lane), where I ordered their signature dish called bak chor mee, or minced pork noodles in English. It consists of a few different cuts of meat and pork over some noodles and is topped in a tangy sauce.
With our bellies full and the night still young, Hubert and Alvin took us down to the famous Orchard Road, a busy street lined with high-end shopping malls that stretch for almost 2 miles on both sides. One notable spot we stopped along the strip was the Orchard Gateway, which housed "the tube", a glass viewing bridge that crosses over Orchard Road, connecting malls on either side and offering a fun colorful experience while crossing at night.
Later in the night, we met up with Javier, the third and final Singaporean local from our study abroad cohort in France. The five of us took the metro down to the Marina Bay area, where we had some stunning views of the picturesque Marina Bay Sands (MBS) hotel. Of course, I had to help myself to some photos with the iconic Singaporean skyline at nighttime. We continued hanging out around the MBS area a bit longer before parting ways around midnight.
The next morning was a late one, with Hubert, Shaofeng, and I grabbing breakfast at White Sands shopping mall near where we were staying in the Pasir Ris neighborhood. We had breakfast at Ya Kun Kaya Toast, where I tried the popular kaya toast with soft-boiled eggs and a coffee. Though just a simple sandwich, consisting of a coconut jam (kaya) on toasted bread, the kaya toast was actually very enjoyable (so much so that Shaofeng and I got it again the morning after!).
Following breakfast, we took the train south to the Peranakan houses on Koon Seng Road in the Joo Chiat neighborhood. These colorful houses are rooted in the early cultural fusion of Chinese immigrants with the local Malay people and European colonial influences during the 19th century. Conservations efforts have been made in recent years to restore and maintain these historical homes, which can now be worth several millions of dollars due to high demand.
Shortly after, we stopped at a small mall to order a coconut shake from Mr. Coconut, a refreshing blend of fresh coconut juice and ice cream. Not even an hour later, we were already at another food spot - 328 Katong Laksa - this time trying Laksa, a spicy noodle soup originating from the Peranakan culture in Singapore.
Later that afternoon, the three of us met up with Alvin in Singapore's financial district, which is centered around a small area called Raffles Place. From there, we walked alongside the Singapore River down to Marina Bay to see the iconic Merlion. Funnily enough, we passed by a map of the area that was incredibly dirty except for two spots: "You are here" and the location of the Merlion in Merlion Park. It seems everyone had the same idea lol.
We stopped for some more views of the Marina Bay Sands, this time during the day, before making our way to the crowded viewing platform of the Merlion statue. The four of us goofed around for a bit, taking silly pictures with the water spout and sharing a laugh as I helped some young Chinese students practice English for their field trip projects. Since I was one of few foreign looking people there (i.e. not asian), I had a lot of students coming up to me asking me to write something in English for them. I felt like I was a celebrity, signing autographs for a bunch of fans.
For the rest of the afternoon, we just walked around the downtown area some more, passing by notable buildings such as the Esplanade performing arts center on the bay (which looks like two durian fruits from above) and the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple in Chinatown.
We eventually landed at the Maxwell hawker center in Chinatown, where we ate chicken with rice for dinner and shared fresh coconut water straight from a coconut. I also tried some local dishes: char kway teow, which is a stir-fried rice noodle dish, and cai tao kueh (colloquially referred to as "carrot cake"), which is a savory dish made from white radish and rice flour. After dinner, we explored the streets of Chinatown, enjoyed some unique desserts, and then parted ways for the night. It was a long ride back to the condo, but the friendly faces of #StandUpStacey and #BagDownBenny kept us in good company.
Shaofeng and I had a relaxing start to our final full day in Singapore, wandering around a nearby park in Pasir Ris. The park had a bit of everything, with coastal views, regionally unique birds (the oriental pied hornbill), and even an old man feeding a group of chickens. We spent a couple hours there before hopping on a double decker bus to meet Hubert in the city for lunch.
This time, we ended up in the Little India neighborhood in Singapore, at the Tekka hawker center. We ordered murtabak, a doughy flatbread filled with meat and some other vegetables that we dipped in a curry sauce, as well as roti canai, a soft flatbread that to me tasted similar to naan. I actually ended up getting interviewed while we were eating by a middle school student who was curious to know about my experience as a foreigner visiting Singapore.
After lunch, we passed by the Sri Veeramakaliamman temple in Little India, which had intricate roof design. We stopped into a nearby convenience store for some "cooling water", which is advertised as relief for someone with too much "body heatiness". Actually a pretty interesting topic in East Asian medicine, that some foods or activities cause the body to heat up or cool down too much, which can make you feel sick. And treating one temperature extreme can be achieved by consuming something that causes the opposite effect to the body (i.e. consuming a cooling drink to rid the body of excess heat).
Nearby was the Muslim neighborhood in Singapore, Kampong Glam, where we saw the Sultan Mosque and walked down Haji lane, a narrow but bustling side street with lots of vendors lined along both sides. At some point Javier met up with us in Haji lane, and unexpectedly, he and I were interviewed by a local eyeglass company. It was here I also learned the word "touting", which was clearly explained and heavily discouraged by the expressive characters appearing on the nearby posted signage.
In the evening, we made our way down to the Gardens by the Bay, one of Singapore's iconic tourist sights. We spent some time walking through the gardens, passing through Supertree Grove with its giant tree-like structures, and getting cool views of the Marina Bay Sands hotel and the Singapore Flyer observation wheel.
Hubert's mom got us tickets to the Flower Dome and Cloud Forest conservatories within the Gardens, which offered displays of different plants from around the world. None of the local guys had actually been themselves, despite living in Singapore their whole lives, so we all got to share the experience together for the first time.
We started in the Flower Dome, which was split into different sections based on where the flora originated from. It was cool to see all the different flowers in one place, along with some unique sculptures scattered about. But I think my favorite experience in this part was sharing a laugh with everyone when we all noticed a young boy sticking his head up his mother's skirt by the front entrance.
As the sun went down, we made our way to the other conservatory, the Cloud Forest. The scenery was dominated by a 100-foot waterfall located in the center of the dome. Different displays were stacked on multiple floors, offering more sculptures to view and a lot of rainforest type of plants. Unfortunately, I didn't spend as much time in the Cloud Forest as the previous area since I didn't want to miss the final light show at the Supertree Observatory.
Hubert, his mom, Shaofeng, and I managed to get the last entrance up to the observation deck, a suspended pathway in the Supertree Grove that connected the Supertrees together and offered spectacular views out over the garden and even parts of the city. As we were taking pictures of the Marina Bay Sands and the garden all lit up, the light show suddenly started. It lasted about 15 minutes in total, with the light displays changing colors in sync with popular songs that were played out over the loud speaker. I took a ton of pictures and videos during the show -- super fun experience.
Before the night came to a close, Shaofeng and I joined Javier and Alvin for one final dinner together. At this point it was already pretty late, sometime after 10pm, but we managed to find a hawker center stall still open at East Coast Lagoon Food Village. They ordered an array of foods for us to try: satay, which were meat skewers; kang kong, a leafy green vegetable; "la la", as they call it, which were essentially clams; an oyster omelette; and even a piece of stingray! I also tried a sugarcane juice drink which was quite tasty.
While leaving the hawker center, they noticed an ice cream stand near the entrance. But, in fact, this was no ordinary ice cream stand. Here, they sold ice cream by the brick, wrapped in a slice of soft bread. Apparently this is quite popular to see from time to time, where older men or women (typically called "uncles" or "aunties") will sell these ice cream sandwiches for cheap from a food cart. I believe I had the raspberry flavored ice cream sandwich, and I've got to say, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Truly a wonderful way to end the night.
One thing I definitely learned on this trip is that Singaporeans love to eat. In fact, before my visit, I had asked Hubert what there was to do in Singapore. His first response: eat! Indeed, I now see that with such a variety of cuisines and restaurants available, the culinary possibility here are truly endless.
The next morning, we arrived at the airport early so that I could buy a Singapore exclusive Pikachu plush from the Pokemon Center store there. I got one final look at the Rain Vortex in the Jewel, this time too early to see the waterfall begin flowing, and eventually headed toward my gate. I said goodbye to everyone, and soon after, boarded my plane back to Europe. From my window seat aboard the Airbus A380, I got one final look at the dozens of cargo ships that sat waiting below, and embraced my last few moments in this part of the world - for sure a trip to remember.