May 21: Twelve Hours in Singapore

I landed in Singapore at 11pm the night of the 20th and got to my hostel at midnight. The open doorway led to a tiny foyer featuring two large electronic kiosks and a silver elevator door.

I keyed in my information and scanned my passport at one of the kiosks, which in return spat out a room key for me, along with a paper receipt instructing me on how to find my room. I stepped into the elevator and rode to the third floor, where I found a landing with a wall of small lockers and a sign instructing me to remove my shoes. The locker with my room number had an electronic lock that chirped open when I pressed my key card in front of it. 

Having left my sneakers in the locker, I walked in socks to my room, which was a dorm room with "capsule" bunks embedded in the wall, like an upgraded Bromo Camp.

I set down my bag in the designated luggage area, put my valuables in a different locker nearby, and then crawled into bed for 4.5 short hours of sleep. When you only have 12 hours in Singapore, you can't waste them all by sleeping! 

My alarm went off at 5am. I groggily gathered my things for the day and then walked 15 minutes through the dark, quiet streets to the only cafe open at that hour: the international chain Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. I delighted in the ability to order an iced drink without asking how the ice was made, as Singapore has potable tap water. 

Cold brew and blueberry muffin in hand, I called a Grab to take me to my top destination for the day: the Gardens by the Bay. My plan was to watch the 7am sunrise there, but I wanted to get there early enough to see it in true darkness, too, as the Supertrees are decorated with colored lights. I got there around 6am, according to my plan, and loved walking around the quiet gardens in the dark. I was a little nervous about getting assaulted/kidnapped, as the gardens were very dark and practically empty— but I had my pepper spray in hand and reminded myself that Singapore is one of the safest countries in the world (with only New Zealand and a handful of European countries ahead of it in the rankings). And it was #worthit to see the lights.

There wasn't much of a sunrise due to heavy cloud cover, but I was still glad for the chance to see the gardens in the dark and in the early morning light.

Dragonfly Lake <3

Marina Bay Sands

Singapore Flyer, one of the largest observation wheels in the world

Supertree Grove! With the Cloud Forest structure on the left

made a friend

sunrise over the bay!

floating baby, anyone?

reminds me of what my leg tattoo was supposed to look like

I walked through the gardens slowly to stretch out the time til 7:40am, because no food-selling businesses in Singapore open before 8am. And the only place with food that opens as early as 8am is a food court in the basement of a swanky office building, a 15 minute walk from the gardens. So that's where I headed next. 

There, I found some sweet bao buns and a weird pancake thing with ground peanuts inside. 

I believe this is black sesame

food court peanut pancake

Around 9am, I walked back to my hostel to shower (I felt absolutely disgusting from having traveled and sweated and not showered the previous day) and check out. They let me leave my bag while I explored the city a bit more before my 3:20pm flight...

4 australian oranges freshly squeezed by this vending machine for just SGD$2! (USD$1.50)

the Chinatown markets (near where I was staying) were still opening up at 10am

at this point it was already 90 degrees out

My next stop was the Peranakan Museum, which showcases the diverse but related cultures of Southeast Asia. The port cities of this region have been linked for millennia by maritime trade; there was even a simplified form of the Malay language used specifically for trade, called Bazaar Malay. 

The museum had a big exhibit on embroidered Japanese silks that were used to wrap gifts. I made my own using their software program and got it projected on the wall :D 

mine is the big maroon one

There were also exhibits on clothing, jewelry, home furnishings and decorative arts, and food. It was a lovely way to spend an hour in air conditioning :) 

My final stop in Singapore was a hole-in-the-wall vegetarian Chinatown restaurant that gave me quite possibly the best meal of my trip so far. It was a cash-only establishment where strangers shared tables to maximize space. You could choose from a small (but overflowing) buffet of food, or order off a menu. I asked a server to recommend a dish for me and added on the satay, since that's usually made of meat. It was all incredibly delicious.

After lunch I walked the short distance back to my hostel to pick up my bag and call a Grab to the airport. The Singapore airport is gorgeous, as you might expect.

ft. live goldfish in a crystal-clear artificial pond

"Passengers are *advised* to *avoid* making any *comments* that *would threaten* the safety of the flight"

It was a 2.5h flight to Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon). I got to my homestay around 6pm, grabbed a quick dinner nearby, FaceTimed a bit with Brina, and then hit the hay early to catch up on sleep!