prairie girl musings

Tag: Southeast Asia

Singapore Travel Diary

With a stopover in Singapore on my way to Vietnam to meet my sister, I decided to extend my stay in the city. I had never been and had heard a lot about the city-state that continually reinvents itself. Two nights seemed like a good amount of time to become acquainted with Singapore. It’s one of the most expensive places to travel in the world, so keep that in mind when planning your visit. Litter is non-existent (I honestly saw someone sweeping up a single leaf at the Botanic Gardens) and chewing gum is banned. Singaporeans seem more reserved than other places I’ve visited in Asia, but friendly and polite.

I stayed at New Majestic Hotel, a boutique hotel in Chinatown. It’s a small hotel with each room designed by a different local artist.

If you’re ever in Singapore, I highly recommend staying in Chinatown. It has a distinctly local feel to it, the architecture is beautiful, and many of the shops, restaurants, and cafés are world class. Some people say Chinatown is touristy, but I found it much less touristy than other parts of the city. My hotel was only a two-minute walk from the Outram Park MRT station, which was incredibly convenient.

My favourite spots in the area are:

For Singaporean hawker food, you can’t go wrong at any of the corner stalls in Chinatown. Order a Tiger and some Hainanese chicken rice, and watch the world go by. Here are some suggestions for those who might prefer a more vegetarian-friendly option:

Breakfast: The Daily Roundup, excellent coffee, great atmosphere, and a menu consisting of sweet and savoury crepes (unlike the ones you’ll have in Europe).

Lunch: Try the dumplings and broccoli with oyster sauce at the inconspicuous Jing Huá Xiāo Chi.

Coffee: The Populus Coffee and Food Co., Common Man Coffee Roasters and Toby’s Estate are all fantastic options for strong coffee and yummy food.

If you’re after a Western breakfast, Luxe (a popular Sydney restaurant that opened in Singapore) has plenty of eggs, avocados, mushrooms, tomatoes, etc. Not to mention excellent coffee.

For a beautiful view of the Singapore skyline, head to Potato Head Folk. I’m not sure if this place is associated with Potato Head in Bali, but it’s three stories and has the most amazing atmosphere. The drinks are quite pricey (but where aren’t they in Singapore?) so order a stiff one and know that you’re paying for a great view.

For more amazing hawker stalls, venture to Newton Food Centre (Newton Station is only one stop away from Outram).

See:

Singapore Botanic Gardens: Singapore has been described as “city in a garden,” and I can really see why after visiting the botanic gardens. I could have easily spent an entire day here. Fortunately, I ventured to the gardens first thing in the morning before the rain! It rains a lot in Singapore, which is nice when it’s 35 degrees and hella humid! I loved how everyone was running, practicing tai chi and yoga despite the heat.

Orchard ION Mall: As soon as it started pouring rain, I had no choice but to venture to one of the million malls in Singapore. The Orchard ION has a lot of high-end designer shops (Louis Vuitton, Céline, and Chanel) but also a few more affordable boutique shops by local designers. My favourite store was In Good Company for two reasons: I loved that the high quality fabrics used and the wearable styles but also at the back of the shop was the most gorgeous café, Plain Vanilla. After wandering the gardens and the rows upon rows of stores, it was enjoyable to sit down with an espresso and a freshly baked earl grey cupcake.

Another interesting thing about Singapore (and the malls in particular) is the abundance of Christmas décor. My friend, Emma mentioned Singapore’s obsession with Christmas, but I didn’t realize the scale of said obsession until I visited. The decorations are so extravagant and over-the-top (in the best possible way). And I say this as a North American where the commercialization of Christmas knows no bounds.

Sentosa Island: Singapore a bit of a user-friendly utopia; it doesn’t always feel real because everything is so perfect. Never is this truer than at Sentosa Island. Home to Universal Studios Singapore, Sentosa is a tourist hub. I wasn’t really sure what to expect when I caught the MRT to the Harbourfront, but loved that I could walk 15 minutes across the bridge right to the island. The cable car is another option. Sentosa Island feels a bit like Hollywood, but more intense. There are museums, casinos, and rides, and fountains, many, many fountains.

If you have a layover in Singapore, don’t despair! Changi International Airport is rated #1 in the world and it’s easy to see why with a free movie theatre (yes, free!) butterfly gardens, and a rooftop pool. There’s also hawker food stalls that sell street food comparable to that sold in Newton! Amazing, right?

Sometimes I’d forget I was in a mega-city whilst roaming the streets of Chinatown. This neighbourhood is home to my favourite architecture, I loved the detailed pastel facades of each storefront!

In addition to my usual city guide, I thought I’d try something new and vlog my time in Singapore. I’ll be sharing my vlog via social media in the coming weeks, so stay tuned for that.

December 6, 2015
Bangkok City Guide

This is a guest post by my sister, Natalie. She’s the photographer of our family and the most well-travelled person I know. She’s currently exploring Southeast Asia, so I asked her to write a bit about what she’s been up to.

Southeast Asia travel is so popular right now and many travellers start their adventures in Bangkok, Thailand. This is a quick rundown of a few things you can see in Bangkok before heading to either the northern part of the country or the infamous party island in the south. By no means is this a typical guide (or an exhaustive list of attractions, you can read about those on any other travel website). Our ideal way to see a city is to walk around the main areas to get a feel for the culture and way of life. We don’t typically visit the popular tourist attractions (after awhile they seem repetitive from city to city).

We first landed at BKK and were instantly impressed by the easy access to the city using the BTS train system.

The Weekend Market

Luckily we landed on Friday and the next morning we ventured to the weekend market bright and early before the crowds. As you’ll read in any guide, this city is a shoppers’ mecca, full of cool clothing, home decor, coffee shops, delicious thai snacks like coconut ice cream and frozen bananas. There are a couple larger restaurants within the market – avoid these. We ended up in one and the food was average and overpriced. It’s best to stick to the smaller spots where the locals are eating. Another tip is to impulse shop – if you like something, buy it because if you wait, you probably won’t find that stall again. I like to think I am a good navigator, but could not wrap my head around the market. Just finding the exit was a challenge, but I’m going to blame that on my jet lag.

The Grand Palace and old city

We didn’t visit this area until our second time in the city, but I would definitely recommend it. This is where you can soak up the culture and history of the city. We went picture crazy taking shots of the temples within the palace. Make sure to pack light packs that cover your ankles (no leggings) or you’ll end up dying of heat in jeans (like I did). While you are in the area, check out the Flower Market and if you are curious to see the notorious Khao San Road full of backpackers.

Siam

This was our favourite place to stay in the city, mostly because it had that big city feel. It’s where I would want to stay if I ever decided to live in Bangkok. It’s also walking distance to massive and beautiful parks that were very clean and a great escape from the heavily populated city. There was lots of shopping available here, but we particularly enjoyed Siam Center because we hadn’t seen any of the stores before and they all looked hip and good quality. There’s also lots of great street food options where many locals eat. Bangkok Arts and Culture Center is also worth a visit – it’s free and consists of seven floors of local arts and crafts. It’s an amazing place to pick up unique souvenirs.

Let Natalie know what you think of her travel guide! If you like them, hopefully I will coax her into doing more!

November 26, 2015
Southeast Asia: Bali, Indonesia

Ever since Elizabeth Gilbert released her bestselling novel, Eat, Pray, Love with a movie deal to boot, everyone’s been abuzz with the intention of quitting their day job and jet setting around the world. I’m no stranger to this philosophy, in fact, I experienced my quarter-life crisis a bit earlier than most. At the age of nineteen, I resolved to study abroad for six months, merely to escape the sensation of of being sentenced to a life in a deadbeat American town; a town that, to me, personified the expression “bible belt.” I decided on New Zealand because I already knew a handful of people who had been to Australia (Like I said, I was having an early onset of a quarter-life crisis, and determined to go someplace where I knew absolutely no one.) Plus, Australia would be a good place to escape during our two-week Easter break, with a size and mentality comparable to Canada. And that was only the beginning, upon returning to what I considered a mediocre university town, I simply couldn’t seem to get back in the swing of things.

Flash-forward to 2012: As I prepared to begin my last semester at the University of Auckland, I knew this was possibly my last opportunity for frivolous travel prior to beginning my professional life post-convocation. (Who was I kidding?) My high school education and family vacations had already taken me throughout North America and Europe several times. Fortunately, my cousin Lucia had a similar mindset, having just begun her first semester abroad in Auckland. We decided that on top of our local travels within New Zealand, (a country of four million) we would additionally benefit from a mini-vacation to Southeast Asia. I spoke of our Malaysian adventure in my last post, but before I go all Eat, Pray, Love on you, I’d like to rationalize why we decided to visit Bali.

Bali is a breathtakingly beautiful island, with several excellent tourist options available. We wanted to dip our feet in the culture surrounding Bali. We also wanted to indulge in a vibrant nightlife and relaxing retreat that recharged our batteries mid-semester. My Canadian friends, an adventurous couple, Kirsten and Steve, had both been to Bali separately, and revelled about their experiences. Steve urged us to visit Ubud, Bali’s cultural capital. Needless to say, we were not disappointed with its abundance of art galleries, culinary delights, wildlife and exotic temples. Every community in Bali has a local temple, and every family builds a more compact temple in their home. I was incredibly intrigued by this form of devotion. We also visited a monkey temple (or so we thought); our tour guide, Sudarma corrected us immediately and told us it was a regular temple, but the monkeys protected its sanctity and acted as guards of the grounds.

September 15, 2012