Singapore Sling

The first destination on our next world adventure was a place very familiar to us both, the city/country of Singapore! The last time we were here, it was 2017, we had just finished 2 months in South East Asia together before heading our separate ways for 10 weeks - Luke to cycle down the East Coast of the US, and Jelley to visit Europe for the first time. It felt like a lifetime ago!! Fortunately, we had seen Jelley’s brother Geoff & sister-in-law Sara a few times since then on their visits to New Zealand, but we were really looking forward to spending quality time together for the next week in their adopted home country.

We had a list of new places to visit during our week in Singapore - after a quick count, we realised this was our 7th time here! First up was the Singapore Botanic Gardens, home to the largest collection of orchids in the world at the National Orchid Garden. We had low expectations after mixed reviews from family members who had been in the past. Low expectations can set the scene for amazing experiences, and this was no different, as we were blown away by the orchid collection and maybe have even became ‘flower people’ after this experience! They were super impressive flowers, and some local students educated us further about the structure and qualities of orchids (including the famous 'VIP Orchids'). It was great to see another part of the city too, with the gardens surrounded by cool cafes and shops.

It was very hot in Singapore; a complete contrast from being in New Zealand for the entire winter. We made the most of the pool at Geoff & Sara’s apartment complex to cool off, and spent the entire week expressing our gratitude for the invention of air conditioning as we sipped on iced coffees.

We were excited when Sara invited us to her workplace for lunch, and marveled at the views from the LinkedIn office at One Raffles Place in the heart of the CBD. It was a small insight to the competitive world of Tech offices, and we thought it looked like so much fun that we didn’t know how anyone managed to focus on working in-between the barista coffees, kombucha on tap, unlimited snacks, yoga classes and ping pong tables!

The afternoon was spent down at Gardens by the Bay, one of our favourite spots to hang out when in Singapore. On the way there we made a quick pit stop at the new Apple Store which was a glass sphere right on the water and was definitely a new addition to the already astonishing Marina Bay since our last visit. While at Gardens by the Bay, we tracked down the new sculpture installation ‘Love the Last March’ which featured 45 sculptures of the worlds most endangered species. It wasn't long before a torrential downpour and thunderstorm rolled in. Although we were keen to stick around for the famous Gardens By The Bay night light show, the jetlag had hit Jelley particularly badly on this trip (she didn’t stay awake past 8pm all week) so we headed home.

The next day we went full tourist mode, and signed up for a Bike Tour around Singapore. We had done a couple of city bike tours on our more recent travels, and find it a fun and efficient way to cover a lot of ground in the city, get to undiscovered new pockets, learn a bit of history from a local, and not get as bothered by the heat as on a walking tour.

The first people we talked to on the tour were also from Christchurch, New Zealand! Such a small world. It was their 50 year ‘friendaversary’ and they were stopping in Singapore on their way to Japan! The group was mostly made up with Kiwis, Aussies and Brits, and we had a really enjoyable ride around the city with an informative local guide. Most of the focus was on the formation of Singapore as a country, their independence, their tax-free port policies to encourage mass immigration from diverse cultures, followed by a land shortage due to the rapid population growth and we learned a lot about the reclaimed land which much of the more modern areas of the city lives on today. There were a couple of moments we thought the guide was slightly sugar-coating the perks of life in Singapore, and while we did agree with a lot of it, nowhere in the world is perfect (NZ included!!) and there can be hidden not-so-perfect side to every utopia. We would highly recommend the bike tour to future visitors to get your bearings around the city, and we covered a lot of ground from the Arab Quarter to Chinatown along the Singapore River to Kampong Glam and the Museum district. We (legally) biked through an indoor mall with a dedicated cycle lane, before finishing in the modern Marina Bay and returning home via the Formula 1 track. The Singapore Grand Prix had finished just one day before we landed in Singapore (which was probably why the flights were a little cheaper), and we made a mental note to check the events calendar ahead of future visits.

Geoff had the day off work on Friday, and we decided to head out to Sentosa Island for the day. Best known for Universal Studios and its theme parks, Sentosa Island is an island located off the south coast of Singapore's main island and attracts close to 20 million visitors per year. We decided to go a little off the beaten track and explore the historical (and probably the only free activity) Fort Siloso. Geoff has lived in Singapore for around 13 years and never been here! We had low expectations (a bit of a theme this week), but were blown away by the decommissioned military outpost. We were really impressed with the history displays in the air-conditioned batteries and bunkers, and learned a lot about the Japanese invasion of Singapore and SE Asia during WW2. This was a part of history none of us were particularly familiar with (or didn’t pay attention to during school) so we were very moved by the exhibitions on display.

Exhausted from the sun, we sought out shade and iced coffees, before heading to the ‘Southernmost Point of Continental Asia’. This was a bit of a confusing one since Singapore is an island, and Sentosa is an island, then we walked across another rope bridge over the sea to get to an island which hosted this point. It was pretty, regardless if this fact is true or not.

On Saturday, we went for an adventure to possibly the farthest away point in the country. We couldn’t believe we were still in Singapore as we drove for nearly an hour over to the Sungei Buloh Wetlands. We were so close to Malaysia (just over a small stretch of water) that we could hear the call to prayer from the mosques in Johor. The Sungei Buloh Wetlands were another unexpected experience in Singapore - it was really nice to be amongst nature and walk around the boardwalks observing wildlife, including many birds, 3 crocodiles, 2 snakes, but much to Geoff’s disappointment, no monitor lizards.

Church is a big part of Geoff & Sara’s life here in Singapore and we had the chance to go along again while we were visiting. It was great to connect with different members of their community and learn some new songs! A particular highlight after church was getting to have dinner with a lovely American who are close friends of Geoff & Sara. We shared a lot of common values and travel aspirations and thoroughly enjoyed sharing travel stories and a few bottles of wine.

Our week in Singapore was filled with laughter, games, deep chats and incredible food shared with Geoff & Sara. Singapore is a foodies heaven, and we loved everything we tried! We were too busy eating the food to get any decent pictures (apart from at Awfully Chocolate which is exactly as delicious as the name suggests), but we gouged on all sorts of new Asian foods including prata, chilli crab, and dim sum in Chinatown after church on Sunday.

We were trying to eat as much good food as possible before leaving for Nepal, as we knew the range and quality wouldn’t be quite as great over there. Our final night’s dinner, we walked along a canal to a cool local foodcourt, with every option under the sun. It was such a refreshing feeling being able to walk around at 10pm in the dark through quiet streets, and not be concerned in the slightest for our safety, as crime rates are extremely low here.

Our week flew by much faster than Jelley had a chance to adjust to the timezone and jetlag, and it was time to get packed up and leave Singapore (for now). We had one more new destination to check out - the Jewel at Changi Airport! Being Luke’s favourite airport in the whole world (he could talk about his love for the airport for hours), we had been intrigued and keen to visit the Jewel since seeing it under construction in 2017. It was everything we’d imagined and more! A huge shopping mall complex in the airport, complete with a basement food court with cheap but excellent quality food. The main attraction of the Jewel is the world’s largest indoor waterfall, surrounded by lush greenery. It really is something to witness in person. Other international airports have a lot to learn from Changi on how to enhance the stopover and travel experience. Apparently they even host weddings here - it could be a contender for us, get our family & friends to all meet us at the airport for a wedding! haha.

We weren’t sure when we’d be back in Singapore again - it could be a couple of weeks or couple of months depending on how we found Nepal! We were really excited for this new country and the adventures it would bring, and boarded our flight in anticipation for what would greet us in Kathmandu.

Until then,

- A Kiwi and A Cali

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