Singapore Highlights

Hawker Food: A hawker center is a massive, permanently tented open-air building that sells well priced, local foods. Maxwell Food Center was next to the Chinatown subway stop and featured three double-sided rows of food stalls.

singapore hawker market

What kinds of food do the stalls sell? Virtually every type of local food you can imagine (Singapore, Malaysian, and Chinese in particular). Meals such as chicken rice, nasi goreng, or sliced fish soup are complimented with freshly ground sugarcane juice, smoothies, and coconuts. As I gazed at the stalls, men passed me by holding bowls of rice stacked to their chins.

singapore zhen zhen porridge

We chose to eat at Zhen Zhen Porridge, which apparently has won many awards for their congee. My friends and I braved the long winding line in order to get a bowl.

singapore zhen zhen fish porridge

Every bite I took was better than the previous one. The rice porridge was hearty from being cooked all day, and accented with a sesame oil soy sauce. The bowl ($2) may not look too big in the photo, but it was massive and fed multiple people.

Marina Bay Sands: While I was not one of the SASers who stayed in this extremely exorbitant hotel (and they all loved it), I was a bit surprised when I saw it in person. For such a huge investment of $8 billion, I don’t really consider it an attractive building. That being said, it certainly looks ‘modern’ and I’m sure the infinity pool at the top is amazing to swim in.

marina bay sands group photo

Electronic Megamalls: I suppose I’m used to Best Buy; Naples has no dedicated camera stores. While in Singapore, I got the suggestion from a local to buy camera equipment at Funan Malll. I wasn’t prepared for what I was about to enter – a five story shopping center behemoth filled with electronics stores abound and at least twenty different camera stores on each floor. Each camera store had an ‘Amazon sized’ selection – hundreds of lenses, bags, general equipment, and knowledge to help. It was a camera wonderland.

singapore electronics mall

Singapore Evertonians: Using my SingTel SIM card I purchased in the cruise terminal, I discovered there was an Everton soccer game the night we arrived. I looked up the local Singapore supporters’ group online, sent out some text messages, and before I knew it I was eating pizza with fellow Everton supporters. It was the first time I’ve watched a game with such a large group of fans and made for an awesome night (despite the undeserved loss against Chelsea).

singapore evertonians

My essays (21 pages) have been turned in and we’re sailing into Burma now! I feel very lucky to this country during its transition. The sky is very misty and difficult to separate from the horizon, adding an sense of mystery. I can’t wait to explore.