Part 7: Singapore

Supertree Skyway in Singapore Gardens by the Bay

What better way to shake off a 10 hour flight than by jumping on public transportation in a strange country? Upon arrival in Singapore we decided to take the subway to our hotel in the Outram Park neighborhood, with some gracious help from an airport employee heading home from her shift.

This is such a strange and surreal place; a spotless city that feels like a giant's sculpture garden. It's also incredibly strict, with many regulations on lifestyles, public assembly, sharing information, and ordinary activities. Everyone has apparently heard that it's illegal to chew gum here - it's also illegal to use someone else's wifi, carry durian onto the subway or not flush the toilet. I don't want to know how that rule is enforced, haha.

Barely knowing what day it was, we were pleasantly surprised to realize that we had arrived on lunar New Year's Eve, totally unplanned. Our place was blocks away from Tiong Bharu, a busy market where the entire second floor is filled with "hawker" stalls for street food. Many have been operating there for generations, some Michelin rated. It was a great way to start our next day for breakfast, watching the market slowly come to life while grazing from shop to shop. We discovered that we love chwee kueh (sticky rice cakes fried in oil and served with a warm relish of pickled radish and topped with chili paste) and "Grannys Pancakes" (chewy rice flour crèpes stuffed with fillings of coconut and red bean paste). And the lightning strong kopi (coffee), of course.

Once fueled up, a walk to Chinatown was the obvious choice to start exploring on New Year's Day. It was great to get there before the whole place was too overrun, which meant we could check out the Temple of the Buddha Tooth Relic. As it happened, it was the only day of the year that the relic is on display (pictures not allowed), in a room full of monks and novices chanting, singing, and playing traditional instruments. The rooftop courtyard had an enormous prayer wheel, that hopefully will bring us good luck all year. The other floors were filled with and an impressive display of Buddhas from around the world, and a gallery of wax models of temple monks, serenely posed in constant prayer.

Stopping at the Chinatown Complex hawker market for lunch meant delicious steamed Xiao Long Bao (soup dumplings). Before long, the sounds of crashing symbols and drums erupted nearby, and we joined the crowd watching Dragon dancers bringing blessings to a tea shop. Down the street we passed Sri Mariamman, the largest Hindu temple in Singapore, but by then it was too crowded to go inside.

Looking for a break from hot and busy streets, we decided to take the train to Gardens by the Bay. This huge park complex is basically the Disney version of a botanical garden, but impressive nonetheless. The breezes were worth it! We made our way through the artificial cloud forest with its orchid gardens, and along the elevated skyway threading its way through the grove giant Supertrees - concrete and metal structures that are actually huge trellises. From the top of the observatory, we had a great view of the harbor, absolutely choked with container vessels and looking like the world's biggest game of "Battleship."

Moving on from there to the waterfront marina took us past the giant hotel bar and observation deck made to look like a ship floating through the sky, the Convention Center shopping mall with a boating river flowing through it, a giant and hypnotic whirlpool fountain, and the science center shaped like an enormous blooming lotus. The massive MerLion fountain spouted off in the distance across the bay. So much to take in!

By then our feet were destroyed, so we were off to make a trifecta of the city's 3rd major hawker center for dinner, on Amoy Street. Supreme Ramen!! Making our way back home, we clocked over 11 miles of walking - a pretty good first day.

The next day was a repeat of our new favorite breakfast at Tiong Bharu, then on to the Botanical Gardens. A bit of a theme here, yet totally different from the day before. It's the only tropical botanic garden on the UNESCO World Heritage Site. The band shell was like a giant water plant growing in the middle of a lotus pond. In the rain forest section, the cicadas and insects were so loud and strange that at first we thought it was some kind of construction equipment. We saw a pile of river otters lounging next to their pond, and a huge monitor lizard hanging around.

After that, we took the train to the Arabic neighborhood, Kampong Glam. The Sultan Mosque there was closed to tours for a couple hours, so we went to get an unremarkable lunch instead. With our feet still wrecked from the day before, we weren't feeling the need to check any more boxes. We decided to drag ourselves "home" to get ready for a stupid-early trip to the airport the following day. Even though it was a short trip, with much left undone, we walked for over 20 miles. All in all a great way to break up our flight and get on the right time zone!

Next Stop, Thailand...