Singapore

In early July, Luca and I finally decided what we were going to do for our Summer holiday. Luca had three weeks off, and we talked about going everywhere from the USA, to Sicily, to Greece, to Australia, and in the end we were able to find a good deal on a flight to Singapore so we booked it. So we decided to travel around Malaysia and Thailand. This was both our first time in Asia and it was definitely a fun, crazy, very cultural three weeks. 

We left on August 1st from Bologna and flew through Istanbul, and arrived in Singapore on August 2nd. We navigated the metro system and arrived at our hostel - The Green Kiwi on Lavender Street. Being so exhausted from our travels, we only ventured out that evening to grab a bite to eat. Conveniently, we were right next to the famous Lavender Food Court. Our first dive into Asian cuisine. And it was quite the experience.  The food court is a large veranda with stand after stand of small vendors offering local dishes. For example, one stand was titled: Pig's Organ Soup with soups like stomach soup, kidney soup, and intestine soup. 

 

It was frustrating not knowing what any dish was really like. There were of course more "normal" options like beef or chicken noodles. However so many things were unidentifiable by their looks and there are so many new odors, smells, sights, and tastes that we had to just take a blind leap and choose something to eat. 

Singapore is very starkly divided between the rich and poor. You can stay in the modernized, westernized side of the city and feel like you're in any American city such as Chicago with Subway and Starbucks on every corner, or you can go into the more cultural, poorer area of the city and it feels like now you're really in Asia. Areas like Little India, China Town, and Arab Street transport you into a whole new world.

Little India was full of women wearing saris, the smell of burning incense, and pop indian music blasting through the streets. 

  On Arab Street of course you had a mosque, woman wearing veils, and men with long beards.

And in China Town you see street signs in both English and Chinese, and those infamous red lanterns lining the streets. 

We were only in Singapore for 2 nights, because we really wanted to head on up into Thailand. So after wandering through all the different tastes of Asia in Singapore, we went into the modern side to see the spectacular view of the city from the 57th floor of the Marina Bay Sand.