Starting in Singapore

It was getting close to the shortest day of the year in New Zealand, and Wellington weather was truly atrocious in my last week: cold, raging southerly, and rain, at times changing to hail. It was time to leave.

Since my last weeks in New Zealand were spent renovating, packing, and cleaning from morning till night, I figured I earned a few days of doing nothing in Singapore, one of my favourite cities. I didn't take any photos of the Marina Bay Sands this time, so the big trees from the Gardens by the Bay will have to do.

Gardens by the Bay

I stayed with a friend at her gorgeous new apartment building with multiple swimming pools, spas, and other leisure spots, so we spent a lot of time there:

We found some Polish cider to enjoy by the side of the pool

We did venture out a few times, though. One day we went to the Indian Cultural Centre in Little India, which was quite an informative little museum about the history of Indian migration to Singapore. I have to say I discovered my ignorance about the history of the Second World War - I never thought of it in the context of Asia, other than Japan and Pearl Harbor, but Singapore was occupied by Japan between 1942 and 1945 and was definitely part of the battleground. 

Entrance to the exhibition

Clay containers for gathering rubber from gum trees

Manuscript on traditional medicine (mid-19th century)

Yes, you were allowed to try on several traditional hats

They had two elegant backdrops to choose from

From Little India we went to Chinatown, where we had the biggest beers ever. I thought they were going to be 330 ml when I ordered them!

And now for the food, glorious food. I love the Singapore food courts, the more local, the better, but we started with Din Tai Fung and its delicious xiao long bao (soup dumplings).

My mouth is watering just thinking about them

I couldn't wait to dig in

Very excited

However, the food courts is where it's at, and most of the dishes below were SG$4-SG$6.

Green papaya salad and fish in spicy sauce

Amazing Sichuan dumplings and noodle soup 

A Korean set meal

Thai again

And a couple of photos from the subway, where you tend to spend a lot of time while in Singapore.

A Sol LeWitt wall

This wall goes well with my t-shirt

It was great to ease into the big trip by spending a few days in Singapore, but it also meant that the culture shock in the Philippines was that much bigger. But that's for the next post.