The only thing we knew about Singapore before we landed was that it was the most expensive city/state in southeast Asia and that Anthony Bourdain had filmed an episode of no reservations here.  We had three days planned before we were going to move on to Malaysia and it turned out to be the perfect amount of time to see the sights and be introduced to the mixed religious community we’d encounter throughout the rest of our time in Asia.

We stayed close to Arab street.  (No, seriously that’s the name of the street, you can look it up).  We were there during Ramadan, the Muslim holy month where they’re not allowed to eat while the sun is up.  That wouldn’t be a big deal except that it happens during their summer so the days are long, beginning very early and ending late.  We saw our first Mosque and heard the call to prayer for the first time while here.  Despite not being very religious ourselves, it was a moving experience.

So what do you need to know about Singapore?  It’s a well oiled machine.  The public transportation is fast, efficient, and makes me jealous as an American who needs a car to get everywhere.  It’s immaculately clean and the food is amazing.  This means it comes with a price.  We stayed in a 6 bed mixed dorm and paid $30 apiece.  We were prepared though, which is why we only stayed 3 days.

It’s also got some of the most gorgeous man-made sites to see.  The hotel in the picture below costs about $300 a night so we couldn’t even sniff the front door, let alone get up to the top where there is a swimming pool, which would have been great because it was stiflingly hot while we were here.

Our favorite part of Singapore was at night:

The best part of this is it’s free.  You can pay to go up onto the walkways you can see in the pictures, but we got there too late to do that.

Short, but sweet…that was our trip to Singapore.  It was lovely, and worth your time if you’re passing through this part of southeast Asia. Afterwards, we would take a bus across the border to Malaysia and end up in Kuala Lumpur, where we’d get to see the infamous Petronas Towers – once the tallest buildings in the world.