Saying Goodbye to Singapore

Today is my last day in Singapore. I ventured out into one last Indian Sunday to pick up some last minute things. Then it was time to say goodbye to the house and venture on the MRT to the airport one last time. As I wait for my flight at Changi Airport, it gave me some time to reflect on my time in Singapore. 

It feels like yesterday that I arrived and ventured into a new city. I still remember seeing Marina Bay and the flyer for the first time, driving over the bridge from the airport. Now it feels like I know Singapore like the back of my hand. There have been so many amazing experiences, and I`ve met so many amazing people here over the last 4 months! NUS has also been the most welcoming as a school. 

Singapore has surprised me a lot from the preconceived impressions I had. Although it has the glitz and glam of the most expensive city in the world, it also has a lot of deep rooted culture that has been fun exploring. 

Thank you for an amazing 4 months Singapore! See you again one day soon. 

Singapore Weekend #16

Approaching the last weekend in Singapore was busy with final assignments due in almost every class and trying to tie up the loose ends of living abroad.

On Thursday evening I met Niko at Marina Bay, where we grabbed some dumplings and other assortments for dinner at one of the restaurants in the shoppes at Marina Bay. Afterwards, we headed up to the concourse to watch the Marina Bay light show for one final time. Even after seeing the light show so many times during my stay, I continue to find it amazingly beautiful.

Friday, I met Niko in one of my old stomping grounds; East Coast Park. We rented bicycles and started off down the same route that I rode on my very first weekend in Singapore. We rode through the park, into the gardens and then along the reservoir to Marine Barrage. We stopped to take some last pictures of the Singapore skyline, while enjoying a beer to celebrate our final weekend. On the way back we stopped every 10 meters or so to take final pictures of the Singapore skyline in all its beauty.

After a quick jaunt home to change after a sweaty day of bike riding, I met Niko and another classmate Mei at a bar called 1Altitude. The bar claimed to have one of the best views of Singapore, so we planned to go for around the time of sunset. This was the best way imaginable to top off the time in Singapore. We enjoyed a glass of wine, while watching the sun set over Singapore. Once the night sky had turned black, there were amazing 360 degree views of the city lit up in all its glory. After 1 Altitude Niko and I wondered around Clarke Quay, grabbing a bit to eat, before we called it an evening.

On Saturday, my last full day, I started the day on Orchard Road right where I had began on my first day in Singapore. It prompted a bit of nostalgia of how feelings about a place can change in a matter of 4 short months.

There was 1 last thing I wanted to see before I could call my time in Singapore complete.  My first ever introduction to Singapore several years back was through Formula1 racing. I remember being in awe of Marina Bay and the entire Singapore skyline as the cars raced around the streets. The Singapore Grand Prix takes place in September, so it was with great dismay that I would be leaving the city well before the race. That didn`t stop me on my last day heading to the F1 pit building to take a walk along the start finish stretch of the F1 circuit. The stretch of the track runs underneath the Singapore Flyer (ferris wheel) and offers great views of the river and Marina Bay Sands. I think I was a bit like a kid in a candy store admiring the track as I walked along (despite the sweat dripping down my face).

Saturday was capped off, meeting some friends of a friend to catch the Rugby 7s that were in town. The one thing I had really missed when living in Singapore was live sports, so I relished in the opportunity to see a sporting event! The National Stadium where the competition was being held was an amazing location, surrounded by all sorts of sport complexes. We could even see Marina Bay and the flyer from our seats in the stadium. The rugby itself was a lot of fun too seeing teams from around the world, including Canada! After that, it was home to do some final packing.

Singapore Weekend #15

Well here we are almost nearing the end of my time in Singapore, with the last full weekend before I go. That definetley didn`t mean the fun had to stop though! 

On Saturday, I walked around the city taking in some of the historical monuments including Raffles Hotel and Raffles Landing spot. 

As the rain started to come down, I met Niko at the National Gallery of Singapore. Earlier in week we had the CEO of the National Gallery as a visitor in our class, which made for an interesting perspective when attending. The Gallery is in a beautiful old building that has been renovated, so you still see the antique features, but has the modern amenities. 

At the museum we saw a combination of modern and classic art exhibits, all with a focus on Asia. I`m not often a huge art museum lover, but the classic Asian style has somewhat intrigued me.

After our art viewing, we stumbled upon the children`s section of the museum in which they were hosting a craft session. Niko and I went in to check it out and got invited to sit down a paint some cardboard flowers. I can`t turn down a good craft, so there we sat with a bunch of children paint brushes in hand. 

After the museum we went for a stroll around the Marina, before heading to dinner at O`Comptoir near Boat Quay. O`Comptoir is a crepe and cider house, which was right up my ally!

I had read that on weekend evenings there were free performances at the Esplanade by the Bay. Not really knowing what to expect we went to check it out. The performances rotate every evening, so the night we went it was a high school orchestra. Now I`m sure you`re already make comparisons in your head about the high school band you probably had in high school, but these 50-60 kids were extremely good! For me, it was hard to differentiate them from an orchestra you would pay $300 to sit and listen to. As well, the theme of the night was soundtracks (again right up my ally!). I had the most amazing time listening to famous theme songs including some Disney and Universal favorites, with the backdrop of Marina Bay and the Singapore city skyline. This night was proof that just when you think you`ve seen it all in Singapore, you really haven`t.

Sunday I met up with my Singapore explorer, Niko, again. He had not been to little Arab so I took him there to show him the street art and cute little shops in the area.

After that we headed to Dempsey Hill (another area he hadn`t been to) for some brunch at Jones Grocer (review to come)

Dempsey Hill was right near the Botanic Gardens, so we walked over to have another look at the gardens. By the time we reached the gardens (maybe a 15 minute walked), we were drenched in sweat as it was one of the hottest days in Singapore both since I had been here and in recorded history according to Singaporeans.

There was an exhibit (air-conditioned thank goodness) on at the gardens that taught at the UNESCO heritage sights. We learned about the different types of Heritage sites, how one becomes a Heritage site and the Heritage sites in the South East Asia area. We were interested to learn that the Botanic Gardens is a UNESCO Heritage Site and the only one in Singapore! 

After a hot day out and about, I made it home to experience one final Indian Sunday in little India.

Singapore Weekend #13

The more time I spend here, the more it kind of feels like I`ve seen everything! Despite this feeling, I do continue to find new and exciting things to do on the weekend.

Thursday evening, one of my classmates and I went to Gardens by the Bay to watch the light show, which he hadn`t seen. It still continues to amaze me every time!

On the way home, I also got to see some more exhibits of the iLight festival on the east side of the bay which I had yet to see.

Saturday I ventured up to the southeast of Singapore. After a short MRT and bus ride I reached Punggol Point Park. The park is the gateway to a waterfront path and Coney Island, which was my destination of choice for this day. I rented a bike and started on the journey down the waterfront path until I reached the bridge to cross over to Coney Island.

A little bit of history on the island... Before the fifties, the island was known as Haw Par Island. It was then owned by the prominent Aw brothers, who were famous for the creation of Tiger Balm. The island was later sold to a local Indian businessman, Ghulam Mahmood. He wanted to convert the island into a holiday resort island, like Coney Island in USA. The proposal did not go over well and the island has changed ownership several times since then. The island re-opened to the public for leisure use in November 2015.

The island is filled with mostly nature and some wildlife. My first stop after riding across to the island was a beach area to enjoy my picnic lunch. It was then off the paved path (which is only in one small section of the island) and onto the rocky dirt path. As I rode along, I saw a set of people stopped at another beach area. As I slowly rode past, I saw them staring up and as I looked I saw monkey`s! I immediately pulled over and stood back to watch the almost 30 monkeys. Some were in the trees, some crawling along the ground and then there were the 2 or 3 brave ones who were approaching the pulled over bikes to look for food. One monkey managed to steal a water bottle from a resting bike and I watched him open and drink it in the tree.

After spending a significant amount of time observing the monkeys, I continued to ride around the island. The different types of forests and plants within the island was very cool to see. In total it takes about 30 minutes (without stopping) to ride around the island. After I had finished exploring, I rode along the waterfront path a bit further before heading home.

Saturday night I headed to Orchard Road. I grabbed some dinner, before making my way out to the street that had been closed off. It was Fashion Steps Out event, in which they had shut down the street for a fashion show. Not only was it a fashion show, but also consisted of dance performances and some great music.

After the fashion show, I was off to try a dessert which I had read about on a number of food blogs. Havala Waffle Bar, serves up a unique type of waffle called a puffle, in soft serve ice cream with 2 toppings. There are also a number of customizations including the sauce on your puffle, the ice cream flavor and of course the toppings.  I had maple syrup on the puffle, salted caramel ice cream and blueberries and strawberries to top it all off. This dessert was to die for, as the softness of the waffle worked extremely well with the ice cream.

As if last nights food experience wasn`t enough, Sunday morning I headed out to a local cafe for brunch (see other post of Jewel Cafe). The rest of the day was spent in the courtyard doing some school work, before getting into the kitchen to cook dinner.

Another busy, eventful weekend in Singapore!

Chinese Gardens

Life of a full-time student is pretty great, in that during the week there is time to go out and explore. On Wednesday I made my way to the Chinese Garden in the North of Singapore. The garden feels like a slice of China has been taken out and implanted in Singapore. There are beautiful traditional Chinese buildings, statues of prominent Chinese figures, and gardens boasting different themes. My favorite was the Bonsai garden which had over 100 bonsai plants.

The day I went, there were maybe 10 others in the enormous garden. It really is like a little gem of a place to relax and enjoy in Singapore.

Singapore Weekend #12

The weeks/weekends keep flying by in Singapore, but I manage to stay busy finding new things to explore in the city! Singapore is kind of like an banana... you can peel on strip back and see some of the fruit, but the more you peel the more of the fruit you see. I use this analogy, because it is very easy see a part (the very touristy part) of Singapore in a week or two, but the more you do and see the more amazing the city becomes.

Friday I started by exploring a neighbourhood of Singapore called Joo Chiat. The area is known for its pre-war architecture of colorful shophouses with intricate motives and tiles. The area was once home to Perkanens which refer to the people who descended from marriages between Chinese or Indian men and local Malay or Indonesian women. I got to see some beautiful shop houses, some which are homes others which have turned into stores.

 One of the coolest was the Katong Antique house, which houses antiques and heirlooms from the Perkanen era.

After exploring Joo Chiat during the day, I headed to meet my classmate Niko at Riverside Quay in the evening. I finally got a taste of some much missed Mexican food, as we enjoyed some drinks on the water.

After pursuing Riverside Quay and enjoying some drinks, we headed over to the iLight festival happening at Marina Bay. iLight is a festival that combines art and light, featuring numerous art sculptures around the marina that come to life with lights at night.

Saturday, Niko and I headed North-East of Singapore to an island called Pulau Ubin. It is one of the last rural areas in Singapore, with an abundance of forest and wildlife. We took a 'bum boat' over to the island, which took about 10 minutes. On the island we rented bikes and rode around the island seeing monkeys, wild pigs and lizards along the way.

We headed to the Chek Jawa marshland area, where we explored on foot. The coastal boardwalk took us out into the water, which was in low tide.

We got to see some marshland birds and Malaysia in the distance. The sun was beaming down hot, so the 4 hour visit was more than enough before getting tired from the heat and the biking.

St.Patrick`s day was celebrated around the world on Thursday, but Singapore for some reason decides to have a weekend long celebration on Saturday and Sunday. Sunday, I met up with some classmates to check out the festivities along River Quay. The St.Patrick`s vibe was in the air, with people dressed in green and the beer flowing. There were 3 stages setup; 2 with bands and 1 with Irish dancers. We enjoyed some beers while watching the Irish dancing and celebrating a belated St.Patrick`s day. With that another weekend in Singapore was concluded.

Steph`s Singapore Eats: Butter my Buns

Today I had some time before class, so I headed to a recommended cafe on the NUS campus called Butter my Buns. It is situated in one of the NUS bookstores, but overlooks a beautiful field in the U-Town area of campus. The ambiance is quite nice for the rather small cafe, with a combination of metal and wood decor.

The speciality here is supposed to be the all day breakfast, but I wasn`t really in the mood for that, so I settled on waffles. To spice things up a little bit I added strawberries and ice cream, because hey who doesn`t love that perfect combination on a waffle.

The waffles were delicious, drizzled with just a little bit of syrup and powdered sugar. The homemade vanilla ice cream and strawberries was the best complement to go along with the perfectly cooked waffles. My only minor complaint was that there was only 3 strawberries, so go with the generous sized portion of ice cream and waffles.

This probably isn`t an everyday food stop, as it is a bit of an indulgence, but as a treat I`ll definetley be back!