Day 1

I had the opportunity to go to Singapore to attend a work conference on Monday, so of course I made the most of it by coming in for the weekend beforehand to explore the city. I started my explorations in Chinatown.

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Let’s be honest, I was really just walking around to build up hunger, because I was excited to discover all the famous Hawker Stalls. I started with Maxwell Hawker Center where I sought out Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice as recommended by one of my heroes: Anthony Bourdain.

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I continued my explorations of Chinatown, marvelling at the interesting mix of new meets old.

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Then I made my way to some of the most iconic views – Marina Bay Sands and Gardens by the Bay.

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The Gardens by the Bay absolutely did not disappoint. I explored these beautiful gardens until it was time for the 7:45 Garden Rhapsody Light show at the Cloud Forest. I found a place to sit underneath these beautiful tall structures and let myself be immersed in the Disney-esque style light & music coordination. Then as you can imagine, I was a bit thirsty. So I headed over to Marina Bay Sands hotel and hit 57 on the elevator to go to Sky on 57 Lounge. From up here, I got to watch the 8:45pm Garden Rhapsody Light show from a very different angle.

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Now I was ready for some dinner and I was very excited to try Champion Ramen at Bugis which came highly recommended. I calculated that I could make it there before they closed. Well, what I did not know is that they stop serving 30 minutes before their close time. Makes sense, but…man, what a disappointed.

I was starving and disappointed, but some quick Googling led me to Ramen Keisuke Tonkotsu King Four Seasons where I had some amazeballs ramen, so was not mad at it.

Day 2

What’s the most traditional way to start a day in Singapore? Well with Kaya Toast from Ya Kun Kaya Toast. So that’s exactly what I did. I went to the OG location in Far East Square. Because when you have the option, it’s always best to start with the original.

Then I walked over to Amoy Street Food Centre where I picked up an Avocado Shake and a Peanut Pancake.

Thus properly fueled, I struck out for my destination: Sentosa Island. Meandering and exploring the streets on the way.

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I’m not the type of person that normally visits aquariums, but my friend insisted that I should make an exception for the one here, so I did. And I was incredibly glad I did. Definitely an amazing aquarium with incredible species I’d never seen before. The crab really whetted my appetite for the famous Singapore Chili Crab I planned to have for dinner…

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From there, I made my way down to the south side of the island to Palawan Beach, where I picked up some Coconut Ice Cream and walked across to the little island where there was a sign claiming that it was the “Southernmost Point of Continental Asia” which I was skeptical of because not only according to the map were there more southern areas of Singapore – but the sign wasn’t even on the most southern point of this little island….soooooo yeah. Then at the advice of my friend I made a beeline to Bora Bora bar to sit and chill and relax with a beer for a bit after a long day walking around.

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On my way off Sentosa Island, I stopped at VivoCity and treated myself to a Chili Crab Croissant before taking the MRT up to Little India. Once there, I stopped at zhujiao centre (Tekka Market). I wasn’t hungry since I just had a snack, so I just got myself a Winter Melon Tea drink and walked around Little India.

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Walking around Little India was an uncomfortable experience. This place is full of men who have left their families behind to live crammed together and save every penny to send home. These men are lonely and I could feel the longing as I walked by. Down one street I saw a line of men in front of a door and saw a woman come to the door and let one in and understood that this was definitely a prostitution situation. So I quickly moved on to the Arabic Quarter where I grabbed a famous pulled tea from another recommendation from my hero Bourdain.

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After all my walking and exploring I was finally hungry for dinner so I headed to Geylang and the famous No Signboard restaurant where I got a famous Chili Crab.

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The perfect way to end this perfect day in Singapore? Well the famous Singapore Sling in Long Bar at the Raffles Hotel where it was invented, of course! It was expensive and touristy, but I simply couldn’t resist.

Day 3

After all, I was here for work. So the majority of my day was spent at the Google App Engage conference. But afterwards, I made my way to Lau Pa Sat or Telok Ayer Market where I got the Fried Carrot Cake Combo as my dinner before heading to the airport back to Bangkok.

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