Singapore, Singapore

After Ao Nang, we hopped on a flight to Singapore.  We would have had a layover at the Singapore airport on our way to Bali, so we decided to stay for a few days and check out the city.

Singapore is expensive compared to everywhere else we’ve been, so we decided to stay in a hostel.  Even bunk beds here ended up being $34 for the two of us, which is more expensive than private rooms we’ve been getting in other places.  However, we found a very cool hostel and really enjoyed our stay.

The first day we headed to Gardens by the Bay, which is a park near downtown Singapore.

We used the MRT system to get everywhere.  It goes anywhere you’d want in the city and we got a tourist pass for about $7 a day.

Amber riding MRT and being careful to save a seat for the elderly, pregnant, parents and disabled.

Cool space age structure on the way into Gardens by the Bay.

Amber looking at Marina Sands, which has an epic infinity pool at the top that we were not able to use because it’s way too expensive.  Some day…

Walking across a bridge to the Supertree Grove.  Everything looked very futuristic.

Full shot of Marina Bay Sands.

The Supertree grove.  These are man-made tree structures that have over 160,000 different plants growing on them.

One of the trees up close.

One more shot with Marina Bay Sands behind them.

Everywhere we went there were people cleaning the city, including this guy washing the ground.  Shoutout to the girl looking at me taking a picture.

Ended the day with an ice cream at this spot called “Overrun” at Haji St.

That night, we met up with some old coworkers / friends of mine that work in the Singapore office.  Was great catching up!

The next day we woke up and hopped on MRT again to go to the Botanic Gardens.  This is a 156 year old garden and is one of three gardens, and the only tropical garden, to be honored as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Navigating our way through the gardens.

Like all of Singapore, the gardens were perfectly clean and manicured.

There were cool plants and flowers all over.

There was a garden full of Orchids.

Even a VIP Orchid section, where they have special breeds for celebrities.

Amber posing next to some Orchids.  As you can see it was raining so we had to wear some rain covers.

Pathway through the gardens.

On MRT headed back to the hostel.

Stopped at Hawker Chan’s on the way back.  This restaurant has a Michelin Star, but plates are only $3.  This makes it the cheapest Michelin Star restaurant in the world.  The chicken and noodles were excellent 👍

On our final day we were able to connect with family in Singapore.  My Aunt Sue’s husband’s brother, Bryan, and his wife, Bidushi, met up with us for dinner.  We had a really great time chatting with them about Singapore, sharing travel stories and eating some delicious food.  Thanks Bryan and Bidushi for taking the time to meet up with (and feed!) us and thanks Aunt Sue for connecting us!

After that we headed over to catch the Supertree grove light show.

The trees light up at night.

And change colors to music.

All in all we had a really great time in Singapore.  We saw a very unique city and were able to meet up with friends and family.  Thanks to everyone for the hospitality!

Off to Bali 👍

-Jason