singapore is a very interesting place because it’s 1) extremely diverse, 2) very small, and 3) very new! singapore has heavy influences ranging from british, chinese, dutch, japanese, arab, malaysian, and more, making it one of the most diverse places i’ve ever seen, including food, people, language, and architecture. one second you’re walking amongst pristine 30-story glass buildings filled with bankers and financial analysts, and the next, you’re surrounded by street food, fruit stalls, and the chatter of asian aunties.

payment:

singapore is very credit-card friendly, and you can even pay with the bus and transit with your apple wallet. the only place where having cash may be important is the hawker centers, so make sure you have a bit of cash on you for the food stalls!

google maps rating culture:

google maps rating culture is pretty consistent with the US, meaning anything 4.3 or above is usually pretty good. common complaints (similar to other asian countries) can be about wait time, price, or the merchant’s attitude.

places to stay:

downtown singapore is pretty compact, so any hotel you find will likely be very close to shops and restaurants, or a quick bus away. we stayed in Bugis at the Andaz Hotel which was definitely a bit of a splurge but was perfect for our two day stay. the breakfast buffet was absolutely delightful - there weren’t as many options as a resort buffet for example, but everything was made very well and of high quality. my favorites were the congee, the pandan chiffon cake, the fresh pineapple, and the passionfruit yogurt. other benefits of this hotel were that it was along the green metro line, so it connected directly to the airport, it was next to a ton of bus lines, and there were many cafes and restaurants within a 5 minute walk.

transportation:

the bus and subway system is great and super reliable in singapore. they run roughly from 5:30am to midnight, so we were never without an affordable ride back home. both buses and trains came around every 5 minutes, some being more frequent and some busses going up to every 15 minutes (feels like a luxury compared to SF already!!)

for buses, make sure you tap your card both when you get on and when you get off, since it’s charged by distance.

my one gripe with transportation was with Garden by the Bay.

  1. the MRT stations are hard to find when youre inside the garden. the signs pointing to the stations are confusing and aren’t continuous
  2. the MRT stations are about a 10-15 min walk from the gardens which is surprisingly far given that it’s one of the biggest tourist destinations
  3. there is a taxi stand at the garden exit but the prices start at $50 simply because theyre picking up from inside the gardens

learnings:

FOOD/SHOPPING/THINGS TO DO:

‼️ Google Maps List - this is so you can import to google maps and easily look up the spots as you walk around! it also serves as a TLDR if you don’t want to read 😄