Singapore

We love Singapore! After yet another last-minute change to our itinerary, we travelled from the beaches of Thailand to urban Singapore. And we are definitely thankful to Steve and Alice Early for convincing us to visit...

Our original itinerary for Southeast Asia didn’t have us stopping in Singapore, due partly to time constraints but also because we had heard from other travelers that it’s just “another big city.” However, friends of Kevin’s family, Steve and Alice Early, live in Singapore and got in touch with Kevin when they found out that we were in the region. Well, how could we turn down a few days in a real home with real home-cooked food? After 2 months on the road, eating 3 meals a day in restaurants and lately having to question the safety of everything we consumed (down to the water and ice), it sounded like heaven to our ears.

We planned on staying 3 nights, but three nights easily turned into four (and we wish we could have spent several more if our schedule would have allowed). We were immediately enamored with Singapore and our hosts. Steve is the son of Kevin’s first-grade teacher from Prosser (and he occasionally babysat when Kevin was very little). Steve and Alice both grew up in Prosser, and they are both schoolteachers in Singapore. They have two bright and delightful children – Charles and Kathleen. And our stay wouldn’t have been the same without Raema – their live-in help who cooked us our meals, and looked after the house. Raema – your cooking was such a treat for us – thank-you!!

Singapore is a beautiful city; very lush, green, and impossibly clean! I’ve never seen a city as clean as Singapore. (Not coincidentally, Singapore has strict penalties for littering and graffiti. You might remember the caning of an American several years ago. And, yes, chewing gum is still illegal here.) In many ways, Singapore was in stark contrast to all the other Asia countries we had visited so far; while Malaysia, Laos, and Thailand felt a bit like we were stepping back in time, Singapore almost felt like a city from the future – it is very modern, clean, and, well-run. The downtown, central Singapore area was especially fun and charming. There is a river that runs through the downtown, with several waterfront neighborhoods lining the river. Restaurant after restaurant is set up al fresca to dine outside while meandering boats float by. We hopped on one of the boats to enjoy a sunset ride, and it was amazing to see the city from that viewpoint – we were stunned by the beauty of Singapore.

The country of Singapore is extremely small – the island is 26 miles wide, and 14 miles long, certainly not much bigger than some cities. Singaporeans seem naturally friendly and courteous. Everyone we encountered, from our taxi driver to a fellow river boat passenger, were clearly proud of their city and eager to share it with us. The majority of the population is Chinese, with large contingents of Malay and Indian people. English, however, is a national language in Singapore and seems to actually be the predominant language. Almost everyone speaks English here, and all signage is in English--so navigating the city is quite easy.

The number one attraction of Singapore is easily the culinary delights. We’ve never seen so many restaurants and cafes block after block. Singapore is a very international city and offers a wide range of food types with any of the Asian specialties, including an abundance of Chinese, Malay, and Indian options. The food here is delicious and –even more important after our bouts with food poisoning in other Asian countries – it’s safe and clean. Even the street vendors that offer endless options for cheap food are equally safe for tourists to consume.

After eating, shopping has to be the next favorite pastime for Singaporeans and tourists alike. It reminded me a bit of Malaysia when it came to the shopping malls – so many shopping malls that it was hard to decide which ones to frequent (there was no way we could fit them all in, and nor would I even bother trying to convince Kevin that we needed to). The prices aren’t a bargain here though. Cost of living is definitely closer to US standards than anywhere else we’ve visited in Asia, so, to Kevin’s relief, we mostly limited it to window shopping.

Other must do’s in Singapore include the Singapore Zoo. Steve said it’s more like an animal resort than a zoo – I have to agree. This was one of the best and most well run zoos, I’d ever seen.

Steve and Alice’s home is right up against a rainforest, the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. Kevin and I did a hike through this rainforest that Steve recommended. It ended up being far more challenging than we counted on – with the heat and humidity and the steep climbs (it included a climb to the highest point in all of Singapore), we were exhausted! Afterwards we learned from Steve that he never does both the trail trek and summit climb together – he picks one or the other. And here we thought the trek included both! It was worth it though, especially in seeing probably 50 monkeys at the visitor center just before we started our summit climb – here’s some pictures of the climb and the monkeys…aren’t they adorable??

We left Singapore and the Early’s home on Tuesday morning. We were extremely glad that we ended up including Singapore in our itinerary – it would have been a shame to miss this city. We’ll now be telling fellow Southeast Asia travelers that a visit to Singapore should definitely be included. (Then again, they won’t be staying with Steve, Alice, Charles and Kathleen, so sadly their visit will be lacking!) We had such a great stay and hope we’ll be back another time. Thanks again to Steve and Alice for taking us in, and especially to Kathleen for letting us use your room! We look forward to seeing you in Seattle soon.

Next stop: Good morning, Vietnam!
[NOTE: We had some technical difficulties with our earlier Thailand blog post. If you haven’t had a chance to see it yet, it’s posted below…]