Singapore Wow what a city! The culture, the food, the fashion! This is like Asias version of NYC. First things first; the people here are amazing. Kind, courteous , mat dropped full on cash I don't know how many times and people would rush over just to give it back to him. People were super helpful with where to go and overall very pleasant . One thing though, do not come here thinking you're going to live the backpacker life of spending less than $30 a day. It is pricey. We allocated $50 per day thinking we'd be alright and we really struggled to stay within that ( we actually didn't due to our hostel ) Hostel: 7 Wonders Hostel in Little India. -- Little India was awesome. Super cultural, great hawker food centers (mat loved the pineapple fried rice) and super close to the MRT train Our hostel was actually great! Great staff, super good breakfast included in the mornings and it was REALLY clean. Only thing was that there was no quiet time and it was pretty loud in the night , also the storage locker for the double bed only had room for one of our packs so we had to keep one in the bunk. Other than that though, it was really secure ! The room itself had a coded lock on it so it was pretty legit. You can get this hostel for around $50 for a double bunk and $27 for a single. (Remember , we are not in the cheap side of Asia so this is actually a great deal!) Sites: There is a very long list of things to do while in Singapore. Some are free or relatively cheap and most are super high priced and not what we were keen on in the first leg of the trip. But here's a few highlights of what we did do: Day 1: Gardens By the Bay/Marina Bay Sands . . . To actually go into the big greenhouses you do have to pay ($28) but you can stroll around the beautiful outside parts for free, which was really beautiful. We took a stroll through the marina bay sands hotel and mall and it was nice (mostly for the air con as the heat was intense the first day!) Cost: Free Day 2: Bugis Street Shopping/Dog petting Cafe . . . We decided to go to Bugis to check out some shops and while we didn't purchase anything, it was a nice stroll. They do have some awesome fruit and produce markets down there (with everything being $1 a piece) I saw a sign that advertised for a puppy petting cafe and since I'm deprived of my fur babies I decided to try it. We get there and it's super odd. It cost 12.50 just to be in there and with a cup of tea. The pups were super cute but the whole concept was just so odd. A little Frenchie took a liking to mat though. I think he liked it just a little. Day 3: St. John's Island . . . So everyone here will tell you to go to Sentosa island; it has the universal studios Singapore, beaches , bars , shopping , the works. Trick is it's almost $100 a person just to go there before food or transport. Now, if Singapore were our only stop, I would've been so down. But because it's not, I did some more digging. That's when I came across St.Johns Island. It's a small little island a 30 min ferry from Singapore and it houses some great beaches, camping and the tropical marine sciences center. Being a science nerd, we decided on this route. Ferry was $18 a person and was quite a beautiful ride. We laid on the beach with our books and took a dip in the ocean. Afterwards we strolled up to the marine center to see all the cool sea life that is just around the island. You can actually do diving tours with them, but with the off season being now, they weren't offering it. Something to look into though! Day 4: Clarke Quay/Singapore Flyer . . . Clarke Quay is the notorious restaurant and bar district of Singapore and it definitely lives up to that! Countless bars line the Singapore river and they are beautiful and consequently overpriced. We passed on the eats and drinks and just enjoyed the boardwalk. It was really cool just to see! Singapore Flyer - about the only tourist thing we shelled out the cash for. For $33 each you can head up in one of the flyer capsules for some epic views and photo op sessions. The best view of the bay you're going to get aside from staying at marina bay sands. It was breathtaking. For some more cash you can do a dinner party thing with champagne , a meal and some friends. All in all , we were glad we did this one. There were so many other things we could've done ; Sentosa, botanic gardens, the zoo and safari, bird park, Chinatown and so much more but this was the beginning of our adventure. Ask your hostel/hotel staff and they usually will plan out your whole trip. But do some research yourself - you might find a local treasure! Food: Singapore is a melting pot of so many cultures -- Chinese, Malaysian, Thai, Indian, British and more. For mat, he loved all of the food he had. We tried Indian, local street food and more. Aside from one slip of not checking menu prices (we had a very pricey bill at this one Indian place!) , our meals totaled about $5 per person per meal. It is possible to budget with food here, you just have to look! Eat where the locals eat is the key. As I am primarily a vegetarian and meat does not agree with me, this proved to be extremely hard. At the street stalls they look at you like you've lost your mind when you say no meat. Some even yelled at me. In the beginning , I had some luck as we went to an Indian vegetarian place that was pretty good and I knew it was all safe. The more adventurous we tried to be , the more difficult. My tips? Just be firm. If the vendor yells at you for not wanting meat, be firm about it or just walk to a new stand. I loved the Indian places because they always had a wide array of veg items. One thing we loved was Nasi Lemak. It's traditionally a breakfast dish but it is coconut saffron rice with sambal, egg, cucumber, peanuts and usually comes with fried anchovies and chicken cutlet but they will gladly not put it on for you! It had so much flavor!! Plus we got this at the most hole in the wall vendor for $3! All in all, there was so much more to the cuisine that we could've tried and I would give it another shot. Ps: The iced coffee was amazing. Only 1.40 and its served in this little bag but it's sooooo good! We were addicted. Pros: People - nicest people and very courteous and helpful. Coffee - cheap and delicious Transportation - the most efficient train system I've ever seen. SO easy to use and goes literally everywhere. Each ways trip cost ~$2. Don't cab or taxi anywhere. Trust me! Culture - there is no shortage of culture in Singapore. Hostel - a win for us! Nazreen made us feel so welcome here. All of the staff were super awesome! Cons Street smell - in some parts, the streets smell of actually feces. I almost threw up at some points so hold your breath or bring some Vicks for your nose Female treatment - the first day walking down the street , men (and some women) were giving me lots of dirty looks and sometimes even frightening ones. I was wearing a pink tank top and shorts and I barely had any cleavage. But every other woman was completely covered to their neck on their chest. Modest dress is encouraged here unless you are prepared to feel very uncomfortable, almost violated by the states 😳 Lack of vegetarianism - enough said. That's about it! Overall, Singapore was a beautiful and majestic place to visit. I highly recommend this place, just be prepared to shell out more than just a few bucks. See you in Thailand ✈️👋
