Singapore
You never get a second chance to make a first impression. Singapore makes sure that the city and the country will always be remembered through their innovation and modern beauty. One of these is the airport; it is one of the most beautiful airports I have ever been in. They’ve even managed to reinvent a nature classic: the waterfall.
The design is absolutely timeless, unique and leaves one hell of an impression.
They even have a passenger train coming and going right by the waterfall. The airport’s unique design is worthy of its world fame. Its also very straightforward, quick and convenient to make your way to the city center from here. They provide a direct train line from the airport all the way down town as any modern city should.
There are also multiple floors providing different angles to its crown jewel. This also allows the airport to take advantage of the extra real estate. There are so many choices for food, souvenirs, shops, restaurants, bars and many more all around the airport. My only gripe here, and it is the over arching theme of the city, is that the prices are very expensive relative to South East Asian prices.
Another impressive feat Singapore achieves is the way they seamlessly and efficiently use the limited space in the city. There is no wasted space, and everything has a purpose. Everything from the roads, the buildings, walkways, green spaces and much much more all has a very logical chaos about it. Pictured above are just some of the alleyways. I’ve wandered through many alleyways in many different cities around the world and I have never seen alleyways as cramped in the most efficient way as the alleyways here.
When visiting the city, it is also hard to miss the amazing sky line. Each building has its own character; each possessing a level of architectural beauty that is hard to look away from.
Singapore is however, not perfect. The main downside that I found here is that the prices are very very expensive. Coming from backpacking through South East Asia,the prices were terrifying; the transition from my 15$ stays in beautiful villas to a cramped 40$ stinky capsule matchbox bed with a bathroom that doesn’t even work was the quite the shock. I can’t imagine what the prices of actually decent rooms would be. The food in restaurants, the coffees from cafes, and everything else also follows suit. As an extremely cheap and budgeted backpacker, this aspect of Singapore was my worst nightmare.
The only saving grace when it comes to prices are the legendary Hawker stands. There are plenty around the city and their prices can’t be beat for what you get from them. The meals are all good quality, the flavors unforgettable and the prices forgiving. All different types of cuisines can be found if you’re looking hard enough. If you’re in the city, and you’re not a gazillionaire, make sure you stop by to fill your empty stomachs here.
Singapore is also very unique in its way of assimilating its different cultures seamlessly. When walking around the city, you’ll notice temples, churches, statues and places of worship littered all around. Most of it is free to visit.
Making my way through the city, I saw some really great parks and green spaces. My personal favourites is walking around the Merlion. With the iconic Marina Bay in the background and beautiful open spaces to walk around, its hard to beat. I would recommend visiting during the night time as the city lights really start to sparkler. They also perform a lightshow across the pond sometimes during the night.
Travellers Pursuits 