Singapore, the world’s only island city-state!
In the map it may appear just as a small red dot, but is fact it is mighty! We had such a nice time cruising around this vibrant and super exciting city that we were for sure spoiled!
Conveniently founded at the southernmost tip of continental Asia and peninsular Malaysia, the Lion City (Singa is “lion”, Pura “city” in Malay language), used to be highly contested due to its strategic place for trade! After being colonized by the English and the Malaysian, nowadays it is a model society!
Once again our best experiences are related with amazing and kind people. Such were Charlie and his wife Cecilia who hosted us for the few days that we spent there. Their mindset amazed us with how open and hospitable they were, in their 60’s but with a much younger spirit and physique! Cecelia always made sure that we had enough delicious food and we felt like we were at home with them. As usual, this feeling is one of the best while travelling around and creating bonds with people!
The city may be ultramodern but it’s not only high skyscrappers and high end malls that you should expect while visiting. For sure we can say we haven’t been in another city so full of green and numerous gardens! And in fact this was due to a greening policy has covered the densely populated island with tropical flora, parks and gardens. Singapore is made to be explored by bicycle also as part of pollution reduction plan.
As we were lucky to borrow bikes from our hosts, we wanted nothing else but to cycle around for the full day till late at night! The East Coast Park is just right next to the beach, but it is not your usual park. It has seperate lanes for pedestrians, runners and cyclists, skaters and rollerbladers and it is easy to see why because of the amount of people that are out exercising! Other than than it feels great to cycle under the shade of huge trees while having a view of a tropical beach!
The enjoyable cycle path continues all the way to the city centre. After more or less 5 km you arrive at Marina East and here you go, cycling again with a spectacular view to the Famous Marina Bay!
Marina Bay has one of the most well known skylines of the world with its iconic Marina Sands, looking like a ship on top of a huge skyscrapper, as well as the first night circuit of Formula 1! The sight of the bay is spectacular day and night , from several spots,where you can lazily gaze at the sea and the views. At night we recommend the lazer show around 8pm!
As if the nature was not enough, the Marina Bay features a garden that looks like it was taken from a sci-fi movie or Jurassic Park, the Gardens by the Bay complex. The entrance for the most impressive sights like the flower dome and the cloud forest is of course pricey, however, there is plenty to see without paying anything !
Other than that, for sure, Singapore is a city of expensive taste in everything from clothes to luxury bars and restaurants. However if ,like us , you have a budget of maximum 15 usd /day , there are still plenty of choices! Scattered around the city you can find all the street food sellers in one convenient location, the hawker stall centre!
The variety is big with delicious dishes from all over Asia , seafood, beef, noodles, soups, colourful stir-fries and many more new Chinese inspired flavours are awaiting for you to savor! Normally, dishes here don’t cost more than 3-4 SGD and there are also exotic fresh fruit juices and tea/coffee for even less ! You’ll ♥ Singapore Food!
Defintely a must-see , mind blowing Singapore spoiled us for good before we where on our way to Indonesia back to the basics!
Special thanks to Charlie and his family for the wonderful moments we shared!:D