Tidbits from Singapore

Two hours after landing in Singapore, my sisters and I headed towards Johore Bahru, Malaysia. We purposely planned to arrive in Singapore, have lunch or snacks at JB, Malaysia then go back to Singapore the same day. So right after settling our luggage at the hotel, we took the MRT to Kranji station. And from Kranji station, we found several buses going towards Jahore Bahru. The whole trip (from the ride to the immigration) took only about 2 hours and 4SGD per person. With a map, we trotted towards Sultan Ibrahim Building and Sultan Abu Bakar Mosque in our heels. We later learned that it’s better to take a taxi to go around Johore Bahru. It’s cheap and much faster. At around 6PM, we headed back to Singapore and straight to Chinatown station using the MRT. Chinatown was lovely… There were Chinese lanterns decorated in the streets. Chinese goods, cheap souvenirs and food were scattered along the road.

We started our second day at the Singaporean Flyer. It is the largest observation wheel in the world. The ride costs about 30SGD and gives you a breathtaking view of Singapore. I recommend you go around the city first before taking the ride to be able to appreciate the structures you’ll see. After the 30-minute ride, we made our way to the National Museum. From food to fashion, the museum provides a look of Singapore’s unique culture—a mix of Indian, Malay and Chinese. From the museum, we walked towards Istana Park. This is where the president of Singapore resides. Opening only a few times a year, we were just in time to have viewed the park.

At night, we went to the night safari. Be prepared to have a camera that has night mode. We could take pictures of the animals but camera flash is not allowed since this can hurt the animals. The highlight of the night safari is the 45-minute tram ride which will give you a glimpse of the animals. The tram ride already includes a guide. For a closer look of the animals, there are walking trails that you can get on.

After shopping around the malls at Orchard Road, we decided to stroll around Clarke Quay. We stayed there until sunset and until the lights around the place lit up.

Food

75% of our time in Singapore was spent eating. We devoured everything from Indian to Chinese.

Mango-Avocado Ice Kachang from Chinatown. Amidst the hot weather, we cooled down with Ice Kachang, dessert made of shaved ice, sago, fruits and condensed milk. You can find this everywhere but my personal favorite is the one in China town. Another dessert we tried is Robour Cha Cha and Fruit Combo Sago from Kopitiam. Robour Cha Cha is a hot dessert made of fruits, milk and sago. Fruit Combo Sago is similar to Ice Kachang.


Some must-try’s are the Satay and Laksa. Satay is like a barbeque served with peanut sauce. The meat can be mouton, chicken, beef and many more. The thing I love about Satay is the peanut sauce—definitely makes your ordinary barbeque tastier. At the National Museum, Laksa was mentioned as one of Singapore’s dish so we had to give it a try. It’s a spicy noodle soup; make sure you have a large soda while you eat this!

The Coffee Connoisseur (TCC). While roaming around Singapore, we noticed that there were several TCC here and there. So, on our last day, we decided to try it. It’s a Singaporean coffee shop and they have several branches around the city. The food is okay… it’s worth a try.