Singapore

Singapore marks its 50th birthday this year.  So does Tony.  What better excuse for a  trip than to combine the two celebrations?

A group of islands at the southern tip of the Malay peninsula that became an independent country in 1965, Singapore has grown into one of the biggest urban centers in Asia.  It has a deep history with Indonesia and Malaysia, and was part of the British empire.  There have been significant immigrations from China and India, and it even has four national languages including English.  Talk about a melting pot!

A 3 hour flight from Manila, we spent 4 days and 3 nights there wandering the city.   It has a beautiful skyline and is clean, well organized, with great public transit, has lots of parks and green space, and the drivers followed the rules and didn't try to run me down in the cross walks.  A bit dull compared to Manila, perhaps, but it worked for me!

We stayed in the Orchard Road area, a shoppers mecca, but centrally located and easy to get around.  The hotel was in a new high-rise building with a great rooftop pool and outdoor area including a panoramic view of the entire city.

We used the subway a lot and found it really easy to navigate.  We also played tourist using the hop on / hop off bus that makes its way around town.  We saw a lot more of the city that way.  I loved the colors and character of Chinatown and Little India, and the new Marina Bay Sands development is quite an architectural wonder.  The Botanic Gardens and Orchid Garden were also quite amazing.

Singapore is well known for its food, and we weren't disappointed.  The street food vendors, locally known as hawkers, are especially well known and we sampled lots of food from them.  Crab is a local specialty, and Tony got his fill with two crab dinners.

It was a great celebration!

For more Singapore photos, CLICK HERE.