Starting the Year in Singapore

I’m still catching up on my travels! It’s March and I’ve been on a few flights already this year. Right after Christmas, my boyfriend and I flew to Singapore. He needed to go there for work, but we departed a week early to squeeze in some vacation time. The hotel was expensed, and I would only needed to pay for my flight, so I said “Alright, let’s go!”

I took a convoluted way of getting there – about 36 hours from Newark to Las Vegas to San Francisco to Singapore. “They” say it’s about the journey more than the destination, right? The flight to Vegas in a middle seat actually made the 17-hour international flight seem easy and luxurious.

The airport stops were an act of tourism in themselves. I perused the Howard W. Cannon Aviation Museum at Harry Reid International. It’s a row of plaques and memorabilia that you might just walk by, but an interesting timeline to read through if you have a few or four hours to spare. Also, Shake Shack.

At San Francisco there’s a small terrace where you can enjoy a breath of fresh air outside – very necessary in the midst of 24 hours of flights! All-in-all the itinerary wasn’t great, but wasn’t too terrible, and then I was in Singapore with a day to spare before New Year’s Eve.

Bryan flew business class, and we aren’t going to talk about the differences between those two experiences! When I arrived, I was soon invited out to an office lunch, a celebration of his arrival and upcoming birthday. I wasn’t too jetlagged and agreed to tag along.

We visited a Chinese dim sum restaurant, and apparently it’s customary to order about one of everything on the menu. There were four of us, plus a colleague’s child in tow, and we probably ordered enough for ten people. It worked out for us Americans, though. We got to indulge in this trip’s first taste of Chinese fare. The highlights were dumplings and a whole freaking duck. And I’ll always have room for more bao buns, please and thank you!

My work takes a break between Christmas and New Year, so I got to partake in the hotel amenities and a nap while Bryan went back to the office. The next day, we visited Sentosa Island – basically Singapore’s version of Disney World. There’s a Universal Studios, a waterpark, beaches, and swimming areas. This was my third trip to Singapore and when I saw the bright blue water and the cable car, I felt like I’d finally arrived!

Ok, it’s swarming with people, but if you enjoy amusements and novelty, give it a try. Our favorite part of that day was more laid back. We took a dip in the water then strayed from the crowds by walking far down the beach path. Eventually we stumbled upon a beach volleyball game.

Then it was time for the main event: New Year’s Eve! I don’t know if there’s a better place to watch fireworks than Singapore (I didn’t venture down by the Opera House when I was in Sydney, so I don’t have much to compare.) The dazzling city overlooks Marina Bay and, on the 31st, sets off explosive displays all around the city. We grabbed a bottle of wine and attempted to set up camp in the thick of it all – why (wine) not? We didn’t have too set of a plan, but we landed pretty close to the bay in not-too-crowded of a spot.

Still jetlagged, we admittedly both took quick naps on the lawn before the fireworks started! There was a concert going on in the background, but that didn’t deter our slumber. Fortunately, we woke up in time for the fireworks to start around 11:30pm. There were hundreds of fireworks and coordinated drones dancing across the sky. The videos on an iPhone 12 don’t do it justice, but we were wowed. At midnight, we celebrated, and then in Singapore’s most-civilized fashion (seriously, I think there would be more chaos in an American small-town fireworks parking lot), we went back to the hotel and promptly to sleep.

We had a flight to catch the next morning and it was on to the next adventure…

Swinging through Singapore

I was glad to have two days leftover in Singapore at the end of the trip, even though originally I had been told that I wouldn't need much time in this city. I really felt that there was a lot to do, and every day of my visit there was filled with activities.

I did spend almost the entirety of those extra days being a serious tourist. I drank a Singapore Sling and went to the top of the boat hotel, since I found myself over there at sunset and couldn't resist. The views did not disappoint.

And from passing the duty free shop in the Bali airport, to the Gardens by the Bay in Singapore, the world around me had turned into Christmas.

Singaporean Strolls

If you're looking for somewhere very clean, very efficient, and where nothing ever goes wrong because all preventative measures have been taken to ensure that nothing can ever go wrong, Singapore may be the place for you. It's an other-worldly city, nicer than any I've ever visited. It sort of makes you afraid to touch anything or mess anything up for fear of receiving a $500 fine or a public caning, but I didn't see anyone being fined or caned so it wasn't very scary walking around sightseeing and enjoying the cuisine in designated eating spaces.

This is a melting pot for sure, and I ended up spending most of my time in Chinatown and Little India before exploring any Singaporean culture. It's hard to pass up $3 meals in the Chinese food stalls, but you can find similarly priced delicacies from local hawker stands. After just a day, you may find yourself pointing and gesturing for mysterious ingredients, knowing you'll end up with phenomenal results. 

There's so much to see and do that I'm not sure three days was enough for fully uncovering this gem of a city. Fortunately, the public transportation system and flawless and will take you nearly everywhere you need to go. Unfortunately, the hostels and the people working in them are so nice that you might not ever want to leave. I'm glad I have a mini stopover on my way back to try more.