Disclaimer- Singapore sling is an iconic drink that Singapore is known for. Ironically, John and I didn’t even have this drink while in Singapore. We talked about it , and planned to, but we just never did. As we sat on the plane flying out John said, “wait, we never had the Singapore Sling.”…oops! So now we plan to look up the recipe and make one when we get home 😉

We departed KL for Singapore around lunchtime on a Sunday. The flight was short (about 1 hour). When we arrived at the airport we purchased a 3 day pass for unlimited metro train and bus access. Great deal, and I highly recommend it! It saved us so much money! John also purchased a SIM card from the airport so that he could use Googlemaps / Trip Advisor to help us get around the city.

Check out hubby’s brilliant way of carrying both his bags front and back lol

The super clean and efficient metro train took us right near our hotel- the Hilton Garden Inn . We had to switch trains once, but were at our hotel in about an hour. Our hotel was in the area of Singapore known as “Little India”.

Little India is known as being the closest thing to India, without being in actual India. On the metro we noted almost all Chinese Singaporeans, so we were shocked when we got off in Little India. Hundreds and hundreds of true Indians everywhere. For as much as we have traveled, we had never seen a complexion quite like this. We both were in complete awe. There were so many very, very dark complexion people in Little India. We later learned that many are actually from Bangladesh, and move to Singapore to work, sending money back to their families.

I realized something during our stay in Singapore. I truly believe most prejudice and racism in the world is from ignorance- and simply exposure, or lack there of. I remember just 5 years ago, waiting outside of a DC metro station, and feeling fearful of women near me in Muslim hijab covering all but their eyes. I actually considered waiting to get on a different metro bus. Why was I fearful? I had no bad experience personally with them or anyone dressed like them. In fact I had previously had a few Muslim friends, and good experiences. Was I fearful because of the media? Because of Islam terrorism constantly being brought up in the news? I don’t know. But what I realize now, is that I barely notice when someone is wearing a Muslim hijab near me. After spending a lot of time in countries which are primarily Muslim ( i.e. Morocco, Myanmar, Laos, and now Malaysia and Singapore), I can be the only one in a crowded space not wearing the traditional Muslim attire, and I feel fine.

Now here we are in Little India, and John and I definitely stand out. We are the only white Americans amongst large crowds of much darker skinned Bangladeshi and Indians, many wearing their traditional/ cultural attire. Did we feel odd or out of place? Maybe for a minute or two, but since we are now used to traveling and being” out of our comfort zone” we adjust to these feelings rather quickly. Because really, that is all they are is “feelings”, that we place upon ourselves. We make ourselves feel comfortable and not comfortable many times in life. It is all about perception and overcoming ignorance. If anything, we were more fascinated by the new culture and experience. One of the reasons why I think travel is so important- it forces you out of your comfort zone. It makes you understand others and realize that as different as we are, we are also very alike.

The Hilton Garden Inn was nice, and we had a great view.  The hotel is located next to a Hindu temple.

View from our room

We quickly set out to explore. Singapore is a city and a country. The Singapore Chinese make up a huge amount of the population, followed by the Malay and Indian. Apparently when the British were in control of Singapore, they didn’t help assimilate the cultures, so that is why there is such segregation. The charts below show the demographics breakdown in Singapore.

We took the metro over to the China town area.

Where we walked around and found a famous Hawker stall area for dinner. There are hundreds of stalls and choices of food in one area.

These aren’t like food courts you see in the US. No, no, these are good quality food at amazing prices. I had a delicious dinner of laska- the popular Singapore dish. For my first Laska, I had a coconut curry top broth with chicken.  Conner was eager to try the famous chicken and rice dish from a place famed by the likes of Anthony Bordain and Chef Ramsay. We also got a 3rd dish to share and try 😉 This was all about $25 USD- more than other Southeast Asia countries, but still less than in the US.

After dinner we walked around some more, and then headed back to walk around Little India. We couldn’t believe how crowded the Little India streets were. Hundreds of mostly men, were sitting around everywhere. They were talking, playing cards, hanging out. We weren’t sure if this was a nightly event. We later found out it seems to be a Sunday night thing. I think many of those there to work from either India or Bangladesh, leave their wives and children back home, and send them money (hence why less women and children seen in the area). Some research I found was pretty sad. I read that some Bangladeshi have big dreams of making good money in Singapore, but it doesn’t always work out to their advantage. One man I read about sold his family farm and home in Bangladesh to have enough money to get to Singapore to work. When he arrived, his promised job no longer needed him, so he ended up working construction. Years later he was returning back to Bangladesh in debt- with less money and no family farm or home. I also read some interesting interviews/ articles about how the Bangladeshi and Indian feel unwelcome in parts of Singapore. They state that many Chinese Singaporeans get up and move if they sit by them on the metro. They often avoid the fancier shopping and business districts, afraid of being shunned by the Chinese. Very interesting, and sad.

Interesting article Bangladesh in Singapore

As we walked through Little India, we noticed many shops selling Gold and jewelry, as well as many fruit markets and smells of incense all around.  A few times we heard the sound “ Tsk, tsk” as we walked by. We weren’t sure what it meant, but my dear friend google explained to me later. It is basically an expression in Singapore showing “displease”. So perhaps they were expressing “displease” for us being in their area? I am not sure.

The next morning we got up early knowing we had a full day ahead. I will commend John and I on the fact that we make the most of our days. We are not relaxing, lackadaisical travelers. We are very “go-go”. We like to see the most and do the most we can in a day. We have tried relaxing on trips, but after an hour by a pool or a beach, we often are ready for the next activity. I am glad we are both this way, as it makes us extremely compatible companions. Most days on trips we walk anywhere from 5-10 miles- whether hiking, or just walking through cities. This is good, because then we can enjoy the food without feeling too guilty 🙂

Our busy day in Singapore began with a train ride to the popular attractions area. We bought a combo ticket for the world renowned Cloud Forest and Flower Dome. The cloud forest was really quite amazing- a massive indoor greenhouse-like ecosystem. We spent a good amount of time walking through it and enjoying the sights.

We enjoyed the flower dome as well- many beautiful trees, flowers and plants that we have never seen.

We found another popular Hawkers food stall area ( thanks to John’s awesome research) for lunch. We ate at a famous place called “ A noodle story”, which serves unique Singapore pho. It was so very yummy! A fried potato wrapped shrimp and very delicious and unique noodles, made this unlike any pho we had ever had!

We then walked off our pho by exploring around Quay clarke area,  the world known Marina Bay Sands, Fort Canning park, and a huge Singapore mall. Like the Malaysians, the Singaporeans definitely love  they malls!

For dinner, John did more research and found us a fabulous authentic Northern Indian restaurant called Aromas, right near our hotel in Little India. The food was really good! The samosas were the best!

The next day we decided we would go to the Singapore zoo. It is rated in the top 10 of zoos worldwide! We were interested to see some animals that we aren’t able to see other places.

We stopped to get some water from a  little store. I really wanted chewing gum! I realized I hadn’t been able to find it anywhere in Singapore. Later on doing some research, we learned that selling gum in Singapore is illegal. Turns out this beautiful, pristine country has some really odd and disconcerting laws to include- singing in public, walking around your house naked if curtains aren’t closed, not flushing a public toilet, and homosexuality. Really “modern” “futuristic” Singapore? You don’t realize how lucky you are to live in freedom, until you see that others do not have the same luxury. Read more in link below.

Ridiculous Singapore laws

To get to the zoo we used our unlimited 3 day transportation cards and took the city bus system. The zoo was pretty far- about an hour or so out of the main city area. The zoo was really awesome though!

After hours wandering around the awesome zoo, Conner got really hungry and was craving a burger. He googled the top rated burger place in Singapore, and we set out on a  long bus journey back towards the main city. Once arriving at the burger place we were really disappointed to find it was closed. Conner was pretty hangry and would not settle for anything other than a burger. We trekked quite a bit to try to find another highly rated one. We arrived at the huge famous shopping area in Singapore called Orchard road. There were many high end stores and of course, a huge mall! We soon realized the burger place we were in search for was in the huge mall. We couldn’t figure out where it was and walked around for quite awhile. We tried looking at maps, but still couldn’t find it. John had his mind set on this darn burger, so we weren’t going to give up until we found it. The website said it closed at 3pm- it was 2:55pm and we still hands found the place. Finally right at 2:59 we found it. Thank goodness the crazy hunt was over and we could enjoy our burger.

We headed back to our hotel to change clothes for nightly outing- the famous rooftop bar and infinity pool at Marina Bay Sands. We decided to first have a drink at the top of one of the Supertree Grove restaurants. When we arrived we were told we had to purchase ticket to enter the area of the Groves because it was a “winter wonderland” event. After some sweet  talking Conner convinced them to let us in to go to the restaurant only. We had to pay $20 each once inside to go to the bar/ restaurant, but that included a drink each. The views were great but it was really, really windy!

After sunset, we made our way over to Marina Bay Sands rooftop bar. Now this place was impressive! Pictures don’t lie- it is just as marvelous in person! We enjoyed the views and people watching!

It was a fabulous way to enjoy our last night in Singapore!! And the next stop would be a truly big change as we headed for Indonesia!

Sayonara Singapore! Perhaps we will meet again one day 🙂

<3,

Kinz