Singapore

My in-laws moved to Singapore 3 years ago for my father-in-law, Rick's job. Singapore is a very small island in Southeast Asia. It is located between Indonesia and Malaysia (Malaysia is below Thailand). I had no idea where it was prior to them moving there. Everyone Will and I talked to was just as lost with the geography! I also had no idea what them moving to Asia would do for me. I am not sure I would have been so interested in traveling to Asia if they had not been there. Asia has become a "hot spot" for traveling in the last couple of years so maybe I would have, but I always thought I would go to Europe before I ever went to Asia.

Sunrise from Sentosa

Rick and Cora's (my father and mother in-law) adventure became a big adventure for Will and I as well! Singapore is an amazing city/island/state. Singapore is the name of the city as well as the state. It is an island that measures 31 miles x 16 miles.  Will's parents lived on Sentosa, an island below the island of Singapore. Sentosa is nick-named "Asia's Playground". It is an island resort that has a casino, Universal Studios, aquarium and waterpark all owned by the company Resorts World Sentosa, which is the company Rick worked for. What an experience, right?!

Views from the porch

Sentosa is just like a playground. We spent a lot of time on Sentosa but the city of Singapore has a lot to offer as well. Singapore is known for its interest and mastery of food. Being a multi-lingual, multi-religious, and multi-racial society, there are many different cuisines and an overlap of cuisines (from marriages between cultures) creating a completely new type of food. There is a fusion of cultures unlike anywhere else.


What opened my eyes to all of this was watching Anthony Bourdain's episode of his 24 hour layover in Singapore. He  describes Singapore as a melting pot of cultures and ethnicities that all come together over a national obsession with food. An obsession that he (and I!) shares in.

Will and I were fortunate enough to visit Singapore twice. The first time was shortly after Rick and Cora had gotten there so much of the exploring we did was new for them as well. Hope you enjoy looking at our first trip!

Tanjong Beach & Club

 The Singapore zoo and Jurong BirdPark. We went for the day time and stayed for a nighttime safari

The Singapore flyer

                      Views from the Flyer

Floating soccer field

Walking around exploring downtown Singapore

The Merlion (above) is the mascot of Singapore           

(Above) Marina Bay Sands, a 3 tiered hotel with a casino underneath and an infinity pool and restaurant on top

Views from the top of Marina Bay Sands

Singapore is well known for their hawker stands. The stands are in hawker centres which are essentially open air markets with individual stalls that are separately owned and operated. You can go to a hawker centre and order different foods from different stalls. Hawkers are known as the place to go for great, local food at cheap prices. They've got anything and everything you could ever want. Here are some scenes from the markets.

Laksa

Pad thai

Pad thai, naan and Tiger beer- the beer of Singapore

Mutton Soup and Naan

Indoor Market

Pad thai

Prawn Noodle
and
Chang Beer
from Thailand

Pork Rib Soup

Hawkers

Chicken Rice, the National Dish of Singapore- SO delicious

Fruits galore

Will, his mom and I (Rick was unfortunately at work, someone's gotta earn money, right!?) would go out individually and just order whatever looked good from the stalls. We would bring what we bought back to our table and pass around all the different dishes. It was so much fun. We quickly learned what we liked and didn't like.

Black Pepper Crab

SO many interesting fruits

Gorgeous views from the sunset cruise

Singapore will always hold a special place in my heart. I'll share our second trip on another post!