And this was probably the most difficult flight for Stefan.

It probably didn’t help that I was literally in his face taking this photo.

We had a layover in Vientiane on our way to Singapore and surprise to us, we went through security a second time because I guess this leg is the international part - no big deal.

But oh boy, was it a big deal for someone else. The Japanese family in front of us had their carry-on opened and a big sling shot with the fattest rubberband was the culprit.

We had actually seen this thing quite a few times at the markets and repeatedly thought oh this would be fun for Milo (Stefan’s little nephew). I guess we weren’t convinced because it never went further than that, but I guess good thing.

Mom and dad tried everything to rescue the thing.

It went through security at Luang Prabang

What if we take the rubberband off

And then the heartbreaker and Hail Mary:

But it’s his favorite toy

It was, indeed.

As they walked away from the big scary police man who is supposed to be the good guy, this little Japanese boy with his oversized crocs, the bowliest bowl cut with the straightest black edge bangs against his forehead, wearing a grown-up size backpack hanging down to the back of his ankles released the saddest sound of mourning and heartbreak that should never come out of a child’s mouth, that then broke into a million sobs and hiccups.

Or so I heard. And then laughed. I can’t help it, there’s something wrong with me - it’s like when Clare from Modern Family smiles like the Joker when there’s bad news or someone dies.

It’s just too cute and a liiiiittle bit comical - that the loss of this slingshot is so monumental to this little boy (of course, I get it) but from an adult perspective it’s like funny cute. Right?? Anybody? Or is there really something terribly wrong with me.

Anyways, this Japanese family had been around us constantly so I was already aware of their two adorable little boys, but I was rushing in hanger to get some instant noodles when this happened.

And when we sat down to eat and looked over, that boy’s eyes were so red, and his whole body was so saggy, and he was just so at a loss at this recent trauma, and so unable to process the grief that we wanted so much to help lol. He was just too young to be that sad. So I hunted around (small area) and went through every store in search of something that could come even close to the worlds biggest operational-by-5-year-olds slingshot and failed.

So we ended up giving him this Groot looking keychain hand-Made from yarn or something that we intended for one of the other kids in the family, but they’ll handle the loss better. Lol jk, of course we’ll find something else to bring back for her.

At one point we saw it fall on the floor - it’s debatable whether it fell or the little boy threw it hahaha, but he was inconsolable. By the time we were on the plane, his eyes were normal, but when his parents waved to us and tried to get him to wave, he just looked all dead and empty inside.

As he moves through life and reaches senior-hood, he will carry an inexplicable hatred for airport security. Or maybe just with authority figures in general. Is this how it happens?!

FIRST LOOK

As we’re descending, Stefan comments - the weather doesn’t look too great.

Who cares, we’re here to eat.

There is a definite shift in priority for this leg of the trip. First is food, and then Stefan’s friends. JK. Am I?

EDIT Lol Qol and Joel, if you are reading this, I can’t lie, I was more excited about the food, but you two are amazing, and I promise this changed very quickly - can’t wait to see you guys again, even though Joel likes shitting on Americans, but who doesn’t, so I’ll allow it.

The airport is a magical land all by itself, and we got a small glimpse on our way out.

▾ Play video

But we have plans! We want to meet up with Qol and Joel, so we grab a Grab 😏 and head to their home.

This is my second visit, but still wow. I feel like the entire country is the set of Crazy Rich Asians. There is no dust, every. single. car looks like it has just been washed, every high rise is aesthetically positioned, and even the industrial sea port is grand and massive and imposing.

Everything looks landscaped - so much green in, around, on (ALL the prepositions) buildings, bridges, medians, EVERYTHING. And if it’s not green, it’s shiny, metallic, and effing expensive.

▾ Not joking, this color, by far, was the most popular.

And Qol and Joel fit right in. Their home is so gorgeous!!

Lol JK that’s not their house, but it’s in their neighborhood. And their perfect home shelters the two perfect-est little companions.

▾ This one is Scooby. EEEEEEEEEEEEE 😍. Play video

▾ And Pebbles is a little afraid, but all the attention Scooby seeks and receives gets her a little jealous, and good for us, less shy. Play video

I miss Guinness.

Dinner

Anyways, everyone is hungry for dinner and Qol & Joel lend us these cute little transportation cards, so we can be independent little guests and get accustomed to getting around with the easy public transportation.

And then they take us ... drumroll...

▾ ... all the way back home 😜! Play video

It’s a nice little area of bars and restaurants, some run/owned by Dutch people, hence the name, but Qol says the bitterballen disappoints, so Holland Village still has some work to do.

Our hosts suggest a few options and Stefan and I are already salivating at just the possibilities. We end up at Crystal Jade known best for their xiao long bao (soup dumplings) and oooooh it’s been soooo looooong.

Also, this dinner commences a weekend long battle in true Asian fashion for who gets to pay the bill.

NOMNOMNOM. Not pictured is some salted egg goodness.

One of the things I know Singapore for from my first visit is their delicious and cheap food. But last time, I wasn’t with Stefan, so I drank water or cane juice with my meals, not beer. I’m hearing Stefan boo hoo up and down about the beer prices, so I think maybe it’s worth mentioning that alcohol is not cheap.

Which doesn’t surprise me because maybe it’s a way to discourage drunk and disorderly-ness? Singapore is also known for strict rules and insanely high fines that keep their civilians civilized. No gum, no drugs, no homeless parents or the children get fined, and Joel enlightened is on a new one: no mosquitos. If officials come and investigate for a case of mosquitos and you have sitting water on your property with mosquitos hanging around, you are in trou-ble.

All that to say, we didn’t drink at the restaurant, but what’s a catch up and meet up with old and new friends without some drinks to share some embarrassing stories, so we went to a more low-key spot with sports TV and those cheap metal tables and chairs and let our server talk us into like five 2-for-1 deals on Tiger beer. She did tell us when we sat down that we should just get the 5 beer deal, and we didn’t listen and now look, she told us so.

By the way, Qol is Dutch and university friends with Stefan. They have some grimy stories from their party days. Joel is Singaporean and Qol’s husband.

During the course of our beer dessert, I definitely offended Joel. We were talking about craving pizza during our time in the very not westernized worlds of Cambodia and Laos, and I made the mistake of calling Pizza Hut “real pizza” after getting excited about spotting one in Holland Village.

Joel’s response was swift and severe. Before I could even finish the statement -

THAT IS NOT REAL PIZZAAAAAA (mouth agape, eye bulging).

Like he dragged out that AAAAA in PIZZA as if he ran out of words in his incredulity, but needed to continue in reprimanding me and expressing the offense he’s taken, so the only choice left was to continue the last syllable of his exclamation of disbelief.

And then he called me American.

IN MY DEFENSE. By “real” pizza, I meant there is like actual tomato sauce and not some weird Ketchup substitute, and there is the presence of cheese, and when you eat it, it doesn’t taste like some version of Southeast Asian food trying to masquerade as pizza.

Anyways, our hysterics over pizza is in the past, and we had a really nice time, but Stefan and I have long ago lost track of what day it is, and apparently, Qol and Joel have something called jobs to get to in the morning, so we wrap it up and head back home.

LODGING @ QOL & JOEL’S

A million times thank you for welcoming us!! I have no photos to share because it’s their home and I don’t want to be weird, but it was such a step up to stay with good company and it felt like a real home after the grind of previous travels (I am immensely grateful for our opportunity and ability to travel for so long to so many new places, but it is not always glamorous).

And a final bedtime story:

We have all retired to our rooms now, and magnanimous girlfriend that I am, I allowed Stefan to take the first shower. I busied myself unpacking, and Stefan’s voice from the bathroom is all uncertainty about the hot water and he’s not sure it’s working, and I tell him he’s a silly goose, but we are a little traumatized from difficult showers at previous accommodations.

Stefan finishes his shower and we are in a torment about whether he should bother his friends to ask about it, but we don’t want to be complain-y because we’re thankful, but if there’s a real problem, they’d probably want to know...

As we hem and haw about what to do or say, I continue to unpack and we experiment with all the switches and remotes in the room so we know what we’re doing (and mostly to avoid that situation where you snuggle down in bed and realize you have to get up to use the off switch on the other side of the room).

I get into the shower for my turn and immediately feel hot water. I roll my eyes at Stefan so hard that for a second I half believe the silly Korean superstition my mom used to threaten me with about rolling eyes getting permanently stuck in the back of your head.

I immediately put on my know-it-all hat and impatiently tell him that I knew there had to be hot water and it probably just took the boiler some time, and we are the first ones to ever use the guest room, and we stressed ourselves out for nothing.

Stefan is getting defensive about how there’s no way that the hot water just happens to turn on right when I get in. And I’m in the middle of telling him it’s just a coincidence when right then we get a text from Qol:

By the way for warm water, you have to push the switch with the red light.

We turned to look at the said switch, with red light burning bright, which we both distinctly remember turning on as I was stepping into the shower because we wondered what it means, and then made no effort to figure it out, being overwhelmed by all the other switches.

Okay, okay, Stefan, you were right I was wrong (and now he is doing a dance). Good night.

//

#travel #holiday #vacation #southeastasia #singapore #friends #green #puppies #food #holland #pizza

Today, we’re hanging out with relatives!

You are thinking - You have family in Singapore?

Maybe? My cousin’s (Joon #3) wife’s (Amanda) parents. Wee Lee & Peter are amazing - so welcoming and so generous. We did have a misunderstanding and they thought my mom would be with us 😅.

▾ When I told Amanda we were going to be in Singapore, she was like:

I hope we added “more excitement” enough for Peter who golfs regularly, and walks the beautiful Gardens by the Bay like every morning, and ball room dances with his wife...

So, since Peter is retired and we made plans to grab lunch and hang out until Wee Li got off work, at which point we would all meet for dinner.

FOOD FOOD FOOD

But first! We have the whole morning before we meet Peter. You know what that means - FOOD opportunity.

First stop (yes, there is more than one) - Ya Kun Kaya Toast because we’re not leaving Singapore without some kaya. It’s like a jam consistency, you spread it on toast, and I think it’s made from coconut. No, we do not want the meal that includes egg because we have other stuff to fill up on, and egg is so common. Lol jk not really.

I fail again at photos, so un-Asian of me, but that just means I’m getting better at being in the moment? 🧘🏻‍♀️

Next stop - Holland Village Market for some hawker food. We shared duck noodles and tried some of the fresh squeezed juices.

We controlled ourselves, and stopped eating after that, like reasonable, sane people.

But then Peter picked us up and took us for more hawker food at Hong Lim Market and Food Centre, and we died.

He got us each a large bowl of chicken curry noodle soup with all the toppings. The last time I was in Singapore, I probably ate at this hawker stand at least three times. There is nothing like it 😭.

And then we said thank you, so full, what a great meal. And Peter says, wait one second, and leaves the table and comes back with a full portion of char kuay teow from the hawker stand of Michelin fame, which we cannot say no to.

And we’re sweating profusely at this point - not sure if it’s because we’re so full, or the humidity, or both, but Peter decides the solution is a cold dessert, so then we also have some shaved ice sweetness. Here they call it ais kacang.

And then we’re done eating. For lunch. I am so happy with my choice to wear a dress with zero waistline. Even elastic wouldn’t have cut it this time.

By the way, the hawker stands are not a secret. The names are just to foreign to me to be able to remember them off the top of my head, but if you want to know, I can figure it out 😊.

SIGHTS

Peter takes us around by car to see a little bit more of Singapore. We make a stop in Chinatown, and it’s so vibrant. The colors, the people, the mix of tourist spots together with the businesses and restaurants that are less so. There’s durian everywhere, and possibly even more signs warning you of high fines if you bring it inside certain buildings.

We stop inside a cultural center, and also peek inside an active Buddhist temple - there is a service (is that what you call it?) going on with a huge gathering of worshippers.

Next to this modern Buddhist temple is the oldest Hindu temple, Sri Mariamman temple. As we hop back in the car, Peter points out a church next to a synogogue, and out of curiosity, I look up the map, and there’s actually many places of worship of different religions, each less than 500 feet away from the next nearest one.

It’s already evident in the food, but seeing the cultural and racial diversity and harmony in other, more explicit ways is amazing and comforting to observe. At least that’s what our outsider perception is, and I strongly hope it’s reflective of the reality.

So at this point, Singapore has the third (or something) highest number of confirmed Corona 🦠 infections, but the good news is that they can trace every case back to a source from China, or so they say 🤷🏻‍♀️. Every public place we step into, our body temperatures are measured, and a little dot sticker pasted to show we are okay. A few places also took down our contact information in case they need to inform us of possible exposure. I don’t know how effective these measures are, but in general it didn’t feel like a country in panic or paranoia, and it actually made me feel better about being out.

By the way, every airport we go through also has infrared cameras pointed at passengers as they disembark. Is that the right word? Disembark? Why do we use “board” then, instead of “embark”? De-board? Unboard?

Gardens By the Bay

Listening to Amanda’s dad hum quietly to Land of 1000 Dances in the car - so endearing. Next stop are the gardens! We aren’t planning to see the light show at night (Stefan has no interest in lights, and I’ve seen it before), so we make this visit during the day.

There is still a lack of crowds (nice for us) so the gardens have an added zen to the beauty which we suspect is not usually there.

▾ Play video

It’s impossible to describe all the variety of colors, shapes, and strangeness of the plants here! Nature is amazing.

▾ None of these are edited - cross my heart.

I’m so inspired to have more green in my home. But realistic goals - I’ll start with one small succulent.

Marina Bay Golf Course

It’s only a skip away and it’s closing in two years! To make way for more high rises. We didn’t play, we only drank beer, which is the better way to enjoy the course (by just looking, no touching) without embarrassing Peter.

▾ Please ignore the audio. Play video

▾ And maybe it’s okay that it’s closing eventually. It’s only probably the best.

And during our conversation, Peter was sharing some photos from his last adventure with Wee Li and I stumbled upon this (attn: Wee Li, Amanda, and Amanda’s sister 😂).

DINNER & DRINKS

We pick up Wee Li at work and head to our Cantonese dinner at Asia Grand Restaurant.

▾ Wasabi Mango shrimp.

▾ Peking duck. Play video

▾ Soup with century egg. Calm down, these days they use plain old ammonia and not pee. I tried it for the first time and it didn’t taste tooooo different from a regular boiled egg.

▾ Fried noodles with shrimp and scallops.

And for dessert I forgot all photos, but we devoured Mango Pudding and Mango Cream with Sago and Pomelo, which Wee Li & Peter refused to take part in because they come here so often and we should just enjoy it ourselves. We are too spoiled.

We also completely failed in our battle for the check. I discreetly passed Stefan the credit card so he could employ the old “need to use the restroom” trick, while I, the excellent conversationalist, kept the unsuspecting parties occupied at the table. Little did I know, Stefan actually went to the restroom and the bill arrived at our table to Wee Li & Peter and I st-st-stuttered the completion of my sentence out of confusion.

That’s what you get for putting a white boy into an Asian world battle 😝. To be fair, he intended to get the check on his way back. It’s okay, he’s learning.

Wee Li & Peter suggest a nightcap at Raffles Hotel, Singapore’s oldest hotel, (where Qol & Joel had their wedding!) and omg what a beautiful place. It was built in the early 1800s and is so well maintained, I mean look where we are (in Singapore, many building must be re-painted every five years by law). It used to be a beachfront hotel before land reclamation enabled more properties to be built in front of it.

And the Sikh Doorman is just as famed as the hotel. He is the first to welcome every guest, from plebs to dignitaries.

▾ Read the thing for a fun story.

As we walked by this iconic figure, he greeted us and Wee Li cheerfully replies Hello! Buh-bye.

I burst out laughing at her sass and she explained that usually she and Peter like to take guests into the (very fancy) lobby bar to sit and chat, but the hotel has closed off some areas usually open to the public due to Corona, and therefore the Sikh Doorman can’t do anything for her.

We go upstairs to where the Long Bar has moved (it has its own history) where the Singapore Sling was born!

▾ Ingredients and story

▾ I couldn’t help myself while we waited. Play video

We again fail at picking up the tab. I took Peter’s card, and made the mistake of handing it back to him as I handed the server mine. He looks at the twenty-something year old holding my card already in the PIN machine, and gives her a stern now, young lady look as Wee Li declares across the table that we are guests and that she’d better not charge my card.

I am also still learning. Asian parents are sometimes so boss and so scary. But look how quickly they turn to cute and smiley.

Again, with all the generosity in the world, they took us back to Qol & Joel’s even though the subway is easy 🙏. And they made us leave with some jerky (also especially delicious in Singapore).

Back at home, we catch up with our friends before bed and ask what they did for dinner, and they replied that they had pizza.

Oh cool, where and what?

And the critic of REAL PIZZAAAAAAA replies, Curry pizza from Pizza Express.

CURRY pizza.

//

#travel #holiday #vacation #southeastasia #singapore #puppies #food #chinese #cantonese #hawker #pizza

And you know when I start off with “first stop”, there’s another stop coming. Off we go, and note how Singapore helps to remind its citizens to stay civilized with some literal lines to cross and not cross.

One of the ways we tried to blend in with the civilized Singaporeans was to adapt to the left-side traffic as pedestrians, but somehow, we kept finding ourselves doing that awkward frontal side stutter dance with strangers also on foot going in the opposite direction!

At one point as I was walking on my left-side, I turned around to check if Stefan was walking on his right-side and distracting and confusing oncoming pedestrian traffic, with his imposing height, into walking on their right-side aka collision course with me.

Later we asked Qol & Joel about it and turns out staying on the left side only really matters on the escalator (so people can pass on the right). Oh and also on the road, let’s not forget that.

▾ And look! A hidden garden.

We’re here at 328 Katong Laksa, yes, good guess, for the laksa! Literal squeals as we arrive because this is one of the things I won’t shut up about at home.

▾ Play video

I wore a white shirt, but no worries, I made sure everything landed in mah mouf. No wasting. And get your minds out of the gutter.

More metallic shiny cars - it’s so normal here.

Remember I mentioned how they take your temperature and put a sticker on you if you’re okay? I found one on the bus. I don’t know, it amused me.

We make our way over to Clark Quay (pronounced like “key”, you’re welcome, I just saved you from embarrassing yourself when you next find yourself in Singapore). The immediate surroundings are pretty pastels! And Clark Quay itself is also a lot of pastels.

There’s a huge mall with steps leading down into the water, and on the other side of the bridge is a slew of bars and restaurants. Usually it’s got a decent crowd and vibe, but you know, Corona.

And I fell for a tourist trap, but I really really really wanted ice cream.

▾ I’m being a good sport, but please give me my goddamn ice cream. Play video

Okay and now for some real gelato. Across the river, by the mall at Azabu Sabo I tried some Yuzu flavored gelato. Yuzu is such a thing right now and it’s good but I don’t really get why, but this gelato was YUMMY.

Happy Hour

We take a break inside a cafe where I catch up on these entries and Stefan resumes his series on his brand new kindle. Who got him the best Christmas gift ever. 🙋🏻‍♀️.

We’re re-uniting with Qol first at Southbridge rooftop bar and the view is 👌. Qol warns us that the \240entrance is supposed to be difficult to find, but we got lucky about where we chose to scurry across a large busy road and landed right in front of the nondescript glass door with the name of the building in modestly sized print.

A few gin and tonics and beers and it’s time to meet up with Joel.

CHILI CRABS @ JUMBO SEAFOOD

Yet another dish Singapore is famed for. So much excitement!! This place is usually packed and you need a reservation, but not tonight.

▾ And we all put our bibs on in anticipation... Play video

▾ ... of peanuts? To dip in sweet chili sauce? I had to tell myself to be patient. Yes, Jean, peanuts to snack on while we wait and chili sauce probably for something coming later.

▾ Something new to me that will definitely be added to the next Singapore food checklist is cereal prawns. Love.

And this bread was so soft and squishy and just the right amount of sweet, and so handy for soaking up all the delicious sauces sitting at the bottom of our plates thinking they’re gonna get out alive.

▾ Play video

▾ Coffee pork ribs. Also so lip-smacking good. As you can see we blacked out and came to just in time to om take a photo of half of the last piece. This picture is not selling it, but let’s just say we knew we were getting too much food and ordered it anyways.

▾ And finally. The red chili crab. I’m not even going to attempt words.

I will say that after all the plates were cleared and the bill was paid and we scraped our chairs to get up to leave, I spotted a massive mass of crab meat on the table where I was sitting.

I don’t know which of you reading this are experienced with eating crabs, but they are as labor intensive as they are delicious.

I most definitely picked it up off the table and did not hesitate to eat it.

Stefan: Do you WANT Corona?

There are also black pepper crabs which I have never had which will be at the top of the next checklist. It just keeps growing. Singapore is a small place, but if you’re a glutton like I am, you’ll understand why every visit has to last at least one day longer (3-5 meals more) than the last visit.

The night is young! Night cap at Timbre and this is a memory. Open air with such an energetic but chill vibe. I had some awesome gins. Rosemary with lavender gin - I dream about it.

▾ Brass Lion Butterfly Pea Gin - Singapore A harmonious blend of our Singapore Dry Gin with lavender and butterfly pea flower.

It only gets better with the live cover band. Wow. Supersonicsg.com. Big voice(s) and even bigger personality. It seems like they favor rock, but they will take any/all song requests. But whatever they were covering, they were so captivating and entertaining.

They gave a shoutout to all the patrons for coming out despite Corona, which made us feel like the real hero’s 🤪.

▾ Play video

0:00 Highway to Hell / 0:20 Chop Suey / 1:04 Secret Love Song

And I accidentally caught this gem while putting all the clips together 😂 - give it up for Stefan 👏 👏 👏.

▾ Play video

We had just enough drinks to crave some late night food. Only good decisions have been made today. At Al-Azhar, we get prata and milo, which I don’t know exactly what this is but it tastes like chocolate milk and comes with a glorious mound of cocoa on top. Love. Qol had recommended a proper sit down restaurant called Spring Leaf Prata, but we never made it. And you got it - it’s on the never ending food checklist.

Look at how fluffy it is. You pay for each prata, but the curry refills are free. I feel like it would be the other way around at home 🤔.

I guess you can’t go wrong at a 24/7 place with the tagline:

Best People, Best Place, Best Food / A place where life happens and taste begins!

I went to bed thinking about prata.

//

#travel #holiday #vacation #southeastasia #singapore #liveband #food #chinese #crab #prawn #stingray #hawker #laksa #indian #gin #rooftop #skewer #satay #bar #oysters #icecream #gelato

At Cafe O we get our final kaya toast, prata, and some kind of curry noodle that I can’t remember the name of.

I still haven’t had my bubble tea fix (because the one in Luang Prabang sucked) and fail again! We’re out of cash and they only accept a specific touch chip, which we definitely don’t have.

So Stefan deals with my pissy petulance as we pick up some requests for friends.

Dear Steph & Abhishek, the kaya will be in great shape, but the salted egg chips? We’re going to do our very very best to make sure it’s not panko by the time it gets to you.. Love, Jean & Stefan

CHANGI AIRPORT

We get back to the house to pick up our suitcases and we are right on track to take our time through the airport. No need to rush.

But even if there was, we were in good hands. Our spunky, quirky 44 year old Grab driver was very open about his hobby as an illegal street racer. His words.

He loves pop remixes of old songs and also cannot help dancing. And sometimes, the wheel goes with his movements, so good thing his seat belt keeps him contained.

▾ Play video

He gives us a taste here and there, speeds up for just a few hundred meters, hugs the curb, and weaves in and out of nearby cars.

Such a rebel in a country known for its rules!

He was super fun, but his accent made it hard to keep up conversation. If there wasn’t a language barrier, it would definitely have been an even funner occasion. Yes, “funner” is a word.

When he drops us off, he tells us to be sure to look him up and watch him race the next time we’re in town.

What a character.

And in a turn of events, I did get some decent bubble tea! Found Taimei inside the airport, and it’s the tastiest one I’ve had since leaving the states.

Stefan was hungry so he got another proper meal, but I’m still riding the expectations I came in with, so I’m poo-pooing all the food I see around us. I mean, look at it.

Lol jk, turned out to be not to bad (of course I had a bite, he offered).

The airport itself is known to be its own sightseeing attraction, but we miscalculate and realized we couldn’t visit the Jewel after passing through security. So we problem solve and ride the sky train through every terminal to at least pass through it and catch a glimpse.

▾ Play video

Oh and there was this other creepy, but SO mesmerizing thing, also.

▾ Play video

And then we don’t have as much time as we think to explore other parts of the airport so we meander to our gate to patiently wait to board.

GOODBYE, SINGAPORE

If you know a little bit about Singapore, maybe you noticed we didn’t go out of our way to see the usual popular spots. We mostly just passed by them, and ended up treating this visit very casually. It wasn’t the original intent, but keeping it simple (food and company), I think gave me a different feel from the last time I was here.

Last time I was here, I was always on the go, and I got to see almost everything that shows up in the travel guides. But this time with the casual winging, I saw more of the every day. Lots of buildings and architecture that don’t have a name in the travel blogs, but still very cool to see. Also with casual local food chains. I also noticed more murals that I don’t think I would have noticed if they were already there during my last visit.

Chats with Wee Li & Peter and Qol & Joel were also a fun way to learn about Singapore through their lives.

A little tid bit that someone shared at one point when we passed Orchard Street (shopping) is that you’ll always catch tourists suffering the heat and sun on the street, but Singapore has a lot of underground shopping, as well, and the locals will enjoy it out of the humidity with the luxury of AC 😉.

I leave you with more of the nameless sights that I enjoyed for the last few days!

//

#travel #holiday #vacation #southeastasia #singapore #bubbletea #food #highrise #skyscraper #indian \240#mural #architecture #airport