Landing at the Changi International Airport we were both tired and excited to get our sabbatical started. We had connected through San Francisco on our way from Edmonton with about 24 hours in total travel time.
Coming in hot - Changi
Most journeys to Singapore will begin here, and we recommend taking an hour or two to check things out. The airport is often ranked as the world's best boasting plenty of things to do such as shopping, restaurants, movie theatre, art, gardens, and if your layover is over 5.5 hours you can arrange a free tour of Singapore straight from the airport. Unfortunately we had just missed the mid-April opening of 'Jewel', the world's largest indoor waterfall but it looks magnificent.
Otherwise, the only other way to enter the city state is by land coming south from Malaysia or by boat into the port.
Currency
Singapore dollars are used here. All prices below are quoted in both SGD and CAD as they are approximately the same. Another fun fact for those coming from Brunei is that the two governments have signed an agreement dating back a few decades that requires them to exchange each others currencies at par with no transaction fee. Something to note if you're hopping around the area.
Also, for those unaware, Singapore is very modern so you shouldn't have any issues at the ATM.
Transportation
Venturing out of the airport is a cheap and convenient MRT that will take you to most areas in the downtown core and city outskirts. The train is available from both terminal 2 and 3 and cost us only $3 per person to get downtown.
For the remainder of the trip we used the train and buses with ease. The refillable cards are easy to use with machines available in each station. We never found there to be any large line ups for top up. There is a minimum limit of $10 per fill up which should cover 2-3 days depending how much you're moving. Alternatively you can buy single use tickets that can also be refilled to a maximum of 6 times before they're required to be discarded.
Accomodation
For our trip we used points to select Atlantis Pods @ Chinatown. The area was great, only about a 2-3 minute walk from the Chinatown MRT station and along a charming street with plenty of food and souvenir options. The hostel served its purpose but didn't blow us away. The dollar equivalent was about $50 per night and that got us a double bed pod with kaya (more on this below) or peanut butter toast and coffee for breakfast. There wasn't anybody at checkout and they just left a phone number to call, but when you called it the cell phone would just ring from behind the counter.
One thing I find a bit gross about Asia's budget accommodation is there is no separation on the floor between the shower and the rest of the bathroom. It makes for a wet mess unless you're the first person in there early in the morning. This place was no exception to this. Overall, I would say we recommend the area, but shop around on the accommodations :)
Things to do
Singapore is great for walking around (if you can bear the heat) and enjoying the architecture. Many of the locals that we chatted with said quite bluntly that it's a boring place to live. Mostly, we just go out to eat and drink they would say with a laugh. Though we did do a lot of this, we also found the city to have a bit of excitement and charm in its own right from a traveller's perspective.
I would say we stuck primarily to the main tourist spots here, but with three days that provided plenty of enjoyment for us. I'm sure there is plenty more to do and certainly more to eat.
Here are some of the things we enjoyed:
Garden's by the Bay
The evening light show here is quite a performance for these unique Avatar trees. The shows run at 7:45 and 8:45 and are free of charge. There are paid areas inside or along a sky bridge that you can check out but we err on the side of free and found that to be enough.
Marina Bay Sands
Be nice to have stayed there, but one must honour their budget. This building is that often photographed postcard image of Singapore. Built on reclaimed land and not far from the Garden's above.
As an extension, Singapore has plenty of unique architecture that we really enjoyed. From the helix bridge to unique apartment and office buildings.
Clarke Quay
We spent some time walking through (no pun intended) this area during the evening. Its a lively spot for restaurants and bars that sit along the riverside.
Sentosa
The beach area of Singapore with plenty to do if you have cash to spend. We were toured around by Lorelaine's cousin and walked around. This island extension of Singapore has Universal Studios, an aquarium, Resorts World, and many other activities.
We didn't find the beaches here very appealing. As a marine commercial centre Singapore has a lot of container ships floating along the bay, and from Sentosa we could see oil facilities on an island not too far off the coast.
Haji Lane
A nice street to admire colourful buildings, a mosque, and street art. Though we found the food prices here to be at a bit of premium as the area would now be considered a bit of a tourist trap.
Little India
We caught our bus to KL from here and spent some time walking around. If you're looking to find some authentic Indian this would have to be the place to go.
Chinatown
A nice stretch of streets with temples, food, shops, and colourful buildings.
Pulau Ubin
We spent half a day biking around this island through the blistering heat. Would certainly recommend the morning or evening if you can swing it, though it takes over an hour to get there using public transportation. We took the downtown line to Tampines East station and then rode the 59 to the ferry terminal which is only a few bucks.
The island is very lush with trails that run along the road or onto narrow dirt paths. They have a couple of food and drink options and as soon as you get off the ferry there are bike rentals for about $5-8 per person for the day. I think if you walk a bit further past the initial shops you could get it even cheaper, but the price is quite fair as it is. The only thing to be aware of is that the bike quality is poor. Be sure to check that your gears and breaks are working as Lorelaine's was stuck in a high gear for the day and it made the hills very unenjoyable.
This covers our main highlights but there is still plenty to do from the National Museum, Gallery, Singapore Flyer, Merlion (big lion fish that was in rehab when we were there), zoo, botanic gardens, shopping on Orchard, and...
Last but not least: Food
I don't think it would be a stretch to say that most trips to Singapore involve a lot of restaurants on the itinerary. The place is legendary for being one of Asia's top food destinations, and this is certainly justified. They have what are known as "hawker stalls" for budget meals. We know them in Canada as food courts, and they are comprised mainly of fast food restaurants. Usually they aren't very exciting, but in Singapore they're local and they are serious business. There are also plenty of quality sit down restaurants but these of course demand more of your budget.
We were fortunate to have Lorelaine's cousin Leah, who is a long time local guiding us around.
Here is some of what we enjoyed:
Kaya toast with soft boiled egg
You can find this on every corner usually paired with a very dark and sweet coffee. Its a quick, cheap, and easy go to for breakfast and honestly tastes pretty good. Kaya jam is essentially coconut jam and it is delightful when mixed with the egg yoke and sometimes a little butter.
Chili Crab
Perhaps the signature Singaporean dish. We shared a crab between three of us for lunch with cereal shrimp and that was more than enough.
Cereal Shrimp
As defined. Makes for a nice crispy shrimp.
Popiah
More of a Chinese dish but who doesn't love a good spring roll equivalent. We were taken to an excellent spot near Garden's by the Bay for this.
Laksa
A spicy coconut noodle soup served with seafood.
Bak Kut Teh
Pork rib dish cooked in a broth.
Chicken & Rice
We found lots of different variations of chicken and rice. Including a famous hawker stall that boasts the title of cheapest of Michelin starred cuisine in the world. Every hawker stall had some variation of Hainanese chicken and rice, and its a simple go to for the less adventurous and picky.
Some other items we had included porridge, nasi lemak, and for drinks sugar cane, avocado shakes, and pictured below is this cool fresh squeezed orange juicer machine on the street corners along with a beet latte.
This summarizes a fraction of the food offerings. One can only eat so much in 3 days and with 7 months to go I can't be eating like a king every meal. As we had more time in Malaysia we got to experience more of these types of cuisines and see if there was much variation.
Thank you for stopping by! We hope this was informative and encourages you to check out this city state. Overall, its a place that is worth spending a few days and has very reasonable flights from North America.
History blog is here on the fascinating story of Singapore being British, Japanese, Malaysian, and then finally Singaporean.