We arrived in Singapore on Saturday without any more problems. Our flight even arrived 30 minutes early, and Singapore customs was basically non-existent. I was expecting to be searched for illegally imported chewing gum but we were waved through by the lone customs guy without a second glance.

We are really enjoying staying at my friend Jennifer’s condo, in the heart of Singapore. This place is amazingly gorgeous – I feel like I’m at a resort! There’s even a pool outside, a private balcony where we’ve been eating breakfast, and a private hot tub on the top balcony which we haven’t used – it is too hot for that! We leave for Thailand in only two days, and Jamie and I are both going to be sad to leave.

View from the balcony:

The pool:

We have been spending most of our time eating and checking things off our To Do list so we’re ready for the next bicycling segment of the trip. You know, exciting things like buying spare bike parts and laying the tent out to dry so it doesn’t get all moldy. Jamie’s also been spending tons of time on the website.

Food is definitely the highlight of Singapore. The city is known for its ‘hawkers’ which are food vendors that gather in an area to create a kind of outdoor food court. Everything is freshly made, exotic (to us), and delicious. Each meal costs only S$3-4 so we are in cheapskate heaven! Our favorite areas so far are Chinatown and Little India. There are also tons of fruit and vegetable stands all over the city. I am addicted to mangoes.

Drinking coconut milk out of a fresh green coconut. The little old lady I bought this from (for only S$1.20!) expertly hacked the top open with a gigantic meat cleaver, stuck a straw in, and handed it to me. Yum! That’s a street in Little India in the background

Here’s a dish I do not plan to try. Now I just have to hope I do not accidentally order this when the menu does not have English translations. Quick, memorize those Chinese characters!

Outdoor market and hawker area in Chinatown:

There are a few Hindu temples scattered around the city. They are so colorful and beautiful!

Another Hindu temple:

Colorful building downtown:

Today we’re on a mission to take pictures of the delicious food we spend all our time eating, so check back tomorrow!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 14th, 2007 at 1:29 pm and is filed under Singapore, Southeast Asia. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.