singapore | day 1

I originally thought that I could do my travel post in 2 entries – Singapore and Indonesia.  I barely got through day 1 and it’s already a full post.  I’ll just have to spread this over the next 2 weeks.

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Singapore airlines and the Singapore airport is now my absolute favorite.  Even the food on Singapore airlines was good!  We got a menu with all the options for each meal.  Usually it was a choice between their “International Selection” or their “Japanese Selection”.  We really enjoyed their Japanese selection.

After a 19 hr journey, we arrived in Singapore at 1:15am.  I don’t remember now, but it had to be past 2am when we got to our hotel.  We decided to splurge on our hotel this trip.  The last international trip (not counting Whistler) was back in 2003.  We booked a room at the St. Regis by Orchard Road and our stay was just wonderful!  I wish our house had automated light controls, 24hr butler and house keeper.  And everyday, they would leave us a little treat.  This first night was pears.

I’ve never seen this before, but we were given a pillow menu.  15 different types of pillows to choose from!  Of course, we don’t know enough about all those pillows to take advantage of it, so we just used whatever they already had on our bed.

And of course, the bathroom.  The first glass door on the right is to the toilet, and the second glass door is to the shower.  Two sinks, so we could brush our teeth at the same time!

It was probably 3 am when I took that picture above.

So the next morning, we went to Chinatown.  We visited several Hawker Centers (food centers).  They were always super crowded and you can tell where the good food is by looking for the long lines.

This woman did not like that I took her picture.  Right after I snapped it, she went on and on about how scared she is to have her photo taken because she doesn’t know where it’ll end up.  She doesn’t want to find her photo in the newspaper without wearing any makeup.  I told her I’m not submitting it to any newspaper.    Just the internet.    Oh yeah, and she’s making sugar cane juice.

Our first meal in Singapore.  Nasi Lemak.

In Singapore, they have very graphic images on all their cigarette packaging.  …scary.  …and gross.

The fruit on the left above is my favorite fruit now!  It’s a mangosteen.  I didn’t try it in Singapore though.  I had it when we got to Indonesia, so I’ll share what they look like on the inside then.  The fruit on the right is Longan.  We have them here in the US, but I just liked the way they bunched them.

I don’t know what that fruit on the left is called in English.  Anyone?  The one of the right is Rambutan.

Anyone know what that fruit on the left is?  It looks like a cross between a Lychee and a Rambutan?  It’s spikey, unlike Lychee.

Then we went back to the hotel to wash up before dinner.  These macaroons were a pleasant surprise when we got back.

We then went for Seafood at Long Beach at Dempsey.  Above is one of Singapore’s signature dish, Black Pepper Crab.

Pictured above is another of my personal favorites – bamboo clams.  SO GOOD!!  There’s noodles & meat piled on top.

I had a coconut to drink and the dessert was cool looking.  I think it was ice cream with black rice pudding (or something like that) served on top of dry ice.  The green is just for looks.

Yes, we went across the globe to get a mc donalds ice cream cone.    Taste exactly the same.

Stay tuned for day 2-7!