The swanky scene of Singapore!
After spending a few days in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, we headed south to the country (and island) of Singapore. As you can see from the map above, Malaysia and Singapore are close neighbors, in fact they are only separated by a small body of water that is accessible via bridge or boat. The distance between KL and downtown Singapore is truly no longer than about 3 hours by car or about 45 minutes by plane. The weather is also extremely similar. Basically hot with a side of humidity- ha ha. Its great though, very tropical!
Close your eyes and in your mind think about what the NYC skyline looks like…got it? Now multiply it by 2 and there is Singapore- seriously. Its a huge, thriving, immaculately clean, never sleeping, always expanding (upwards, it IS an island) mecca of SE Asia. Its quickly becoming the world’s financial hub and I can see why. Any and everything you would ever need or want can be found here. From businesses to restaurants to shopping to adventures- you name it, they’ve got it. Be prepared to spend a (not small) fortune though, Singapore does not come cheap. I would correctly assume its mostly because of the fact that, like NYC, its an island and the ability to grow outwards does not exist. You just grow upwards towards the sky!!
Upon arrival, a client of David’s picked us up (Calvin) and took us to Korea Town for some delicious Korean BBQ. We were seated in a small closed off room and had great privacy, as well as a “doorbell” when we needed the staff- awesome. Calvin ordered for us (since once again, we are NOT picky eaters) and we were treated to some authentic dishes of pork belly lettuce wraps, potato & leek pancakes, and refreshing rice sake infused with cucumber. A truly memorable meal at 2D1N Soju Bang Korean Restaurant– thank you Kelvin!
The following day we dined for lunch at our hotel and even though the service was a bit slow that day, the food was amazing and all locally sourced. We stayed at an chic and modern boutique hotel by the name of Naumi Hotel. I would say right off the bat that this is a more of a personal use hotel, not as business friendly as some larger chains, etc. but that being said, we thoroughly enjoyed our stay here! The hotel is gorgeous and uber luxurious. There are only 40 rooms and we did get a corner room on a mid-level floor, but it was the handicapped room so although we loved our room, we can’t really speak for how it compared to the non-handicap rooms, but I am sure those were great too. The roof-top pool was unbelievable!! It was not manned by staff 24/7 but all you had to do was call downstairs for a drink/food order. As far as the staff, they were very friendly.
Directly off the southern coast of Singapore is a small island by the name of Sentosa. Sentosa is made up of nature walks, amusement parks, sea & land animal encounters, swimmable beaches, golf clubs, hotels & spas, shopping, & housing communities. It is a serene escape from just over the bridge’s hubbub of downtown Singapore. Sentosa is a great place to relax and regroup and I highly recommend a visit, even if just for a few hours.
Later that evening, we headed over to the East Coast of Singapore. This area of Singapore is mostly residential so unless you either live there or are there specifically for the food & boardwalk along the beach at the east coast park, there is really no reason to it would be an “attraction” so to speak. That being said, the East Coast Seafood Centre is amazing! We cabbed it over to the area and walked along the boardwalk for a while. There are runners, walkers, bikers, skaters, you name it- this is a playful area. There is also a small lagoon for cable skiing- never seen it before and it was fun to watch! After our walk, we headed to dinner at the famed Jumbo Seafood to indulge in what Singapore is widely known for- steamed crab!!
As a girl born and raised in Seattle, I can be somewhat of a seafood snob. This crab is some of the best I have EVER tasted. Truly mouthwatering. We had the Black Peppercorn Crab (they steam it in butter & black peppercorn- yes please!). We also had some fried rice & asparagus, finished off with some white wine…..delicious, decadent, perfect.
The following day we headed to the main shopping & entertainment area of Singapore called Orchard Road. Orchard road is home to numerous shopping malls containing a wide range of high & low end shops. There are restaurants a-plenty, movie theaters, etc. Its a fun place to check out what’s “hot” in Singapore fashion:-). David suffered through it with me like a champ!
Another hugely popular area of Singapore is called Clarke Quay. This is a maze of streets surrounding the river containing restaurants, bars, clubs, and street shop vendors. Since Singapore is such a melting pot of expats, expect to find any cuisine and cocktail that you are missing from your home country….they have it all from Hooters to Hookah:-)!
Now don’t laugh, but we clearly did not have our fill of crab so we went BACK to Jumbo Seafood, only this time at their Clarke Quay location- LOL! This evening we indulged in their most popular crab- the Chili Crab concoction. Think of a sweet & sour soup and add more spices and steamed crab. So yummy!! Plus they serve it with these doughy rolls that suck up all the juices from the “chili”. We absolutely loved it and it was very messy. I do have to say, we both agreed that we liked the Black Pepper Crab from the night before better- but we tend of err on the spicier & hotter side of cuisines:).
After we got our fill (again) of fresh crab, we walked it off and wandered around the streets of Clarke Quay. What a sight to see- so many different nationalities and such great people watching! We finished off the night with a nightcap with the Singapore Sling cocktail at the Singapore Sling Boutique– yum! Its a fruity drink so its hard to have more than 1 but its of course worth trying! OK, I lied, on our way back to the hotel, we stopped at the famous Raffles Hotel & Resort for their version of the Singapore Sling. It was still really fruity and sweet- but a fun experience nonetheless at their 50’s inspired piano bar, complete with peanut shells on the ground:)!
Our final full day in Singapore took us to Chinatown. David and I absolutely love love love dim sum. Its seriously the best way to wake up in the morning as dim sum is traditionally served throughout the morning and into the lunchtime hours. We found Yum Cha and boy, it did NOT dissapoint. Once again, we found ourselves being the only “white americans” in the joint and that is ALWAYS a good sign. We indulged in traditional dim sum and jasmine tea…ahh, perfection.
Afterwards, we walked throughout the streets of Chinatown, savoring the sights & bartering with the vendors.
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| Peking Duck |
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Before heading out for our final evening, we took in the sights once more from our rooftop infinity pool at the Naumi Hotel. Incredible views of the city- we felt on top of the world! |
Have you read or heard about The Marina Bay Sands Hotel & Casino in Singapore? Its breathtaking and the tallest building to date on Singapore’s skyline. At the very top there is a magnificent infinity pool area and bar with an observation deck. We were told the sunset from up top is amazing so we headed up to the 57th floor to catch the sunset and toast to our trip at the Ku De Ta Club Lounge. It did not disappoint- check out some of our views….
To cap it all off, we headed back to Chinatown for some exotic Peking Duck at Da Dong Restaurant! It was my first time trying this delicacy and I have to admit, I was a bit weary at first but once I had my first bite, I was hooked. I was on sensory overload and my taste buds had never been happier!! Truly an experience I will never forget!
What an unforgettable journey…..there is still so much to see & do in Singapore so I guess we have to make another & longer trip out! Oh, and don’t worry, in true Singapore fashion- there is a Butterfly Garden in their swanky & spa-like airport (of course there is)!
See you around Singapore & thanks for all the great memories:-)!
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