24 hours in Singapore

If you haven't been to Singapore yet, you should definitely find a way to get there!

The quieter side of Singapore, in a local alleyway.

I have to say, I love all things "bueno, bonito y barato" (good, pretty and cheap), especially while traveling.  Well, Singapore was "bueno y bonito" but not so "barato".  It really took a lot of effort to find cheap things to do, food to eat and places to stay. 

Taxis are also really EXPENSIVE!  Like NYC taxi expensive!

Despite how expensive it was, I really loved the clean blue sky, friendly people, and interesting mix of Indian, Chinese, Malay and Indonesian cultures.  I think it's a really live-able city, and I could imagine myself living there.
Abundant green space!
Here's a run down of what we were able to accomplish in a weekend trip to Singapore:


Maxwell road food center to eat supposedly the world's BEST and CLEANEST street food.

Hong Lim market in their Chinatown to sample some Indian roti prata and Chinese teochew porridge.

Bueno, bonito y barato!!

The Baba house has a FREE tour.. yes, FREE, to discover Peranakan history.  We found the Baba house by accident.  In the neighborhood, we walked along the main road to follow the labyrinth of colorful, old colonial buildings.

We stopped to admire a bright blue house and realized this most beautiful and best preserved house was actually the Baba House.

"Colorfully kitsch" Hindu temple Sri Mariamman.  This was a really cool place to explore, but pretty tiny in comparison to other temples I've visited in Asia.

"Kopi ice" sweet iced coffee is a very cheap and delicious way to quench your thirst in the hot Singapore heat.

Celebrating our anniversary in our beautiful suite
We were excited to wine and dine on the town and saw "Pollen" pop up on many expat websites and magazines.  "Pollen" is supposedly a Mediterranean-themed restaurant.  This place was definitely a dinner to remember, but not necessarily for a good reason.  We spent an outrageous amount of money to eat a prix fixe meal that consisted of portions no bigger than a bottle cap and their signature dish, "asparagus foam".

Yes, you read that right.  We were served actual foam; I'm assuming the foam that rose to the top of the pot when they boiled the asparagus.  It was such an awkward dinner experience; we thought we must have been part of a joke on a hidden camera show.  So sadly, because of this, I cannot recommend the restaurant "Pollen".

However bad the food was at Pollen, the view was priceless.
After dinner, we gave the credit card a rest and went to the free and funky "Gardens by the Bay" light show.  Pretty trippy.  Then we walked around the Marina bay waterfront at night and checked out the famous Merlion sculpture.

No romantic date is complete without a ride on a psychedelic scooter!
Too bad we couldn't drive this Ferrari on our date!

We stayed at the W hotel in Sentosa Island, and enjoyed a decadent brunch buffet.  We stayed in the "Away" room, which came with a plunge pool in our suite.  In one word, it was AMAZING!

After breakfast, we rented bicycles from the hotel and explored Sentosa Island.  

There's so much to do and see there!

In the afternoon, we checked out of the hotel, and spent happy hour at their bar, trying a traditional "Singapore Sling", and enjoying the facilities of the W for as long as we could.

We headed back to the airport in the evening to enjoy the beautiful (and free) butterfly garden at the airport, free wifi and massage chairs in the VIP lounge.  It's worth noting that this airport also has a movie theatre to kill time while you wait for your flight.

I recommend Singapore with two thumbs up!

Hope you have a HAPPY Monday wherever you are in our beautiful world!

Until next time....


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