Singapore

If you've never traveled to SE Asia before and someone warns you about the heat and humidity here, DO NOT take them lightly. In what should be the middle-to-end of Singapore's "winter," daily temperatures were in the mid-to-upper 80's with about 80% humidity. As soon as I stepped out of my hostel I began sweating and continued until a few minutes after stepping inside AC again. Forget about bathroom stops when touring the city because you just sweat it all out, even if drinking constantly. A little rain and cloud cover actually feels good.

Now that we've got that established...Singapore is the city where Westerners who are timid about going to foreign cities, but still want to explore, should start/go. English is one of the main languages - several are spoken, but signs and everything are in English. There's a main financial district where skyscrapers dominate the skyline. The subway system, "MRT," is impeccably clean, easy to follow, cheap, and links a large area. Little India and Chinatown are bustling areas with small vendors and shops all over. Beautiful gardens, parks with ample space, stadiums, and race tracks are mixed in among the city with viewpoints all around to photograph different angles of the city's skyline. Traffic isn't too stressful, but people still cross smaller, narrow streets wherever they please. It's also a city to eat and drink your way through for the most part. There are hawker stands where most of the locals (and smart travelers!) find their cheap and delicious meals, but also Michelin star restaurants.

Chinatown

Saying this, I explored most of the city on foot in one (1) day with a guy from my dorm room that called LA home, but now lives in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. We checked off the Botanical Gardens, Gardens by the Bay, Little India, Chinatown, Helix Bridge, hawker stands, local beers, one of the nearly hundred malls Singapore has, and got some of the best views from the ground all in one (1) day of walking about 25-kilometers, as well as taking the MRT. Quite the efficient day if I do say so.

Hawker Stand

Marina Bay Sands Hotel from the Garden by the Bay

Marina Bay Sands Hotel

ArtScience Museum

View of Marina Bay Sands, ArtScience Museum, and Financial District from Helix Bridge

Waking up the next day with sore knees/legs, I decided to take it easy and plan more of my SE Asia travels. Note to self that diving for essentially a month straight does nothing to keep up leg muscles for land travels. That day I also met up with Maha, from the eco-dive resort near Raja Ampat, Indonesia, and two (2) of her friends as she happened to be in Singapore at the same time. After discussing my liveaboard and talking diving over food and drinks for about three (3) hours my body was trying to tell me to call it a night, but I managed to plan a little more.

My last day in Singapore I decided get involved with nature again and headed for the MacRitchie Reservoir which has trails all over and a sweet 250-meter suspension bridge between the two (2) highest points in the area. Unlucky for me that I didn’t check opening hours/days as the suspension bridge is closed every Monday, except public holidays. Since it took about an hour to get out to the reservoir I decided to say screw the humidity and walked around the reservoir for a good two (2) hours or so just enjoying being in a very lush, green area away from the hustle and bustle of a big city. After sufficiently staining my clothes with sweat I hopped back on the MRT back into the city, changed my shirt to avoid the disgusting looks, and headed up to one of the best viewpoints in Singapore – the top of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel.

MacRitchie Reservoir and TreeTop Walk

Financial District

Maybe you’ve heard about or seen this place yourself already, but it basically looks like a ship has parked itself on top of three (3) huge neighboring high-rises fifty-seven (57) stories in the air. There is no other skyscraper like it in the world that I know about. Thanks to some Singapore local knowledge, I was told to just buy a voucher for the Ce La Vi bar on the 57th floor which allowed me a delicious, large Stella draught while taking in the views – all for the same price others pay to stand on the “observation deck” of floor 56. From the bar level I was able to look out to the Singapore Straight which was filled with cargo ships and other huge vessels, overlook the Marina Bay which is lined by an F1 street-racing course, and see for several miles along the coastline to the Northeast. 

View from Ce La Vi looking towards the Singapore Straight

After slow-playing the sunshine and Stella I moved onto the other area I was allowed into which gave much better views of Marina Bay and the financial district together. This viewpoint also lets you glimpse the hotel’s infinity pool – which is only available to hotel guests – that sits on the 57th floor of the hotel and looks out towards the financial district. I’m not sure it’s worth the ~$500/night you have to pay to stay at the hotel, but for some people it’s in the budget! I took my $23.00 views and cold beer and happily headed back down to sea level where I walked around the area a little more, coming across the famous Merlion statue, before heading back to the hostel to pack up for my morning bus to Kuala Lumpur.

Hotel Infinity Pool with Views to the Financial District

Merlion Statue with Marina Bay Sands Hotel and ArtScience Museum in Background