Singapore
Less than 24 hours in singapore
What is there to do during a layover in Singapore? EAT. Singapore has some of THE best street foods around. I had to maximize my time here since I landed in Singapore around 4PM and had to fly out the next day at 9AM. The two things you must watch before coming here is Netflix’s Street Foods: Singapore episode and of course, Crazy Rich Asians. You will get a perfect glimpse into the city and how thriving this place is, and a tour into the rich culture of street food and the hawker stalls of Singapore.
Pack light if you’re here for just a short amount of time. Since this was a quick layover for us, I packed everything I needed onto a carry-on so that I didn’t have to worry about grabbing my checked bag, going through customs, and checking it back in for just 1 night.
The Singapore airport is a destination itself. People come to the airport early to hangout! I’ve even read of people buying the cheapest flight to just hangout at the airport and not actually go on the flight. It’s the World’s Best airport, and it lived up to the expectations. Its extremely organized, every gate has it’s own security lines, so you’re not waiting forever in line. There’s a movie theater, spa, hotel, butterfly room, SO many designer stores, you name it and they’ve got it. Ben and I came to the airport early to check it out on our way home.
We stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn Serangoon, linked here. It was in a good location, close proximity to downtown and a quick Grab ride anywhere. One day, we hope to stay at the famous Marina Bay Hotel, but we were on a budget on this honeymoon trip. It was still amazing to see this famous luxury hotel from afar with the world’s largest infinity pool at 57 levels high.
First stop, we headed to Gardens By the Bay, a quick Grab (Asia’s version of Uber) ride from our hotel. The futuristic botanic garden with towering lit up trees featured in Crazy Rich Asians. It looks like something straight out of a Sci-Fi fantasy movie. Ben and I wanted to come here to see the lights and garden in time for sunset. Calling this place a garden is a major understatement because it is massive! It can take you hours to walk through, it’s like a Central Park on steroids. The park has so many attractions but here a few of the top spots:
Supertrees and OCBC Skyway - this is where most people are lured to and the center of the daily light show. The tree-like vertical gardens measure between 25-50 meters tall. Fun fact: there are 18 Supertrees in total, made up of more than 162,900 plants and more than 200 species and varieties of bromeliads, orchids, ferns, and tropical flowering climbers. We paid 8 SGD to go up to the observatory and it was incredible! You have to buy a ticket for a reserved time to go up, and once you’re up there they let you walk around for 20 mins or so before they kick you off. From up here, you get panoramic views of the gardens and the Marina Bay Hotel with a sweet sunset if you time it right!
Light shows go on twice a day, check the website to see when it starts at sundown. People start claiming seats along the lawn all around the super trees about an hour before sunset.
Floral Fantasy
Flower Dome
Street Food
It’s no secret that Singapore is a foodie’s paradise. There are an abundance of Hawker Centres and areas to get some of the best eateries.
A hawker centre or cooked food centre is an open-air complex that sell a variety of inexpensive food. They are typically found in city centres, near public housing estates or transport hubs.
Here are a few suggestions for Hawker Centres:
Amoy Street Food Centre
Chomp Chomp
Maxwell Food Center
We happened to be here on a Tuesday evening, so not many hawker centres were open unfortunately. Our Grab driver was raving about Chomp Chomp and told us we needed to go there early because it gets crazy packed quick. However, when we got there it was closed! We were pretty bummed because this place had so many good reviews. We quickly googled a few more and came across Amoy Street Food Centre. THANKFULLY it was open! Due to it being a weeknight though, many of the vendors were closed but will still got a little taste of Singapores hawker stalls. Make sure you get their chicken and rice, Bak Chor Mee (Singaporean egg noodles with minced pork), and Char Kway Teow.
All in all, we had a wonderful time in Singapore. It’s not a place I would recommend to someone if they are going to Asia for their first time just because it feels like another city in America, but if you want to go somewhere with amazing food then I’d definitely tell you to go here.