Naija girl in Singapore

My three day stop over in Singapore was an interesting tale of two extremes. Here are my 20 fun facts about Singapore.

1. Serangoon area had a totally local vibe, zero affluence existence with simple things like open markets, street food, temples, mosques with middle to lower earning population.
2. I stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn n Serangoon for 2 nights and everything was accessible by foot. They had older buses, cars, bicycles and quite a few motorcycles.
3. The food was no frills but heavenly!!!  Street food rules! Chapati, curry, fish, chick peas. Yes I ate with my hands and the foodie in me was delighted.
4. On the other hand downtown Singapore is comparable to or even more affluent than some North American metro cities.
5. Banking, shipping and infrastructure seem to be major money makers.
6. Skyscrapers galore, very interesting architecture and more.
7. Public transit was clean and very new. They have taxis and limo taxis(Mercedes-Benz). They had Uber until 2018 it is now replaced by Grab.
8. Every North American and European financial heavy hitter is represented here. Lloyd’s, B of A, JP Morgan, Deutsche, Citi etc.
9. All typical trappings of luxury financial districts are present on Orchard Rd which is great for shopping. Well I only window shopped as Cartier and Harry Winston are slightly above my budget.
10. I stayed at the Conrad and it was easy getting around. Shout out to the amazing concierge desk as they went above and beyond taking care of me.
11. As a coffee head, I am not mad at the Starbucks on every other block.
12. Marina Bay Sands is a must see. Daytime views were great but the night time was breathtaking. See videos in gallery below. The night crawl was fun! My Fit-bit said I did about 18k steps each day.
13. Changi airport! This is by far the best airport I’ve ever been. I did Singapore in 2017 and again in 2018 and I’ve still not experienced even half of what Changi has to offer. It is a 3 day holiday in itself. With an entertainment deck offering PS3, a movie theater, water park, gazillion lounges, shopping for all budgets, food courts, restaurants and a nature park, you forget you are in an airport.
14. There are reasonably priced shuttles from the airport to all hotels it was about 9-14 USD.
15. Gardens by the Bay is a must see but please pay for the motorized tour that place is huge.
16. Motorsport events are hosted often. In 2018, I arrived the weekend of the Singapore Grand Prix (Formula1) but could not snag tickets. I was so sad. It’s held in September yearly so if you are a fan plan ahead.
17. The Botanic gardens, museums, little India and Super heroes cafe are also great places to visit.
18. I took the bus and short train to cross over the border to Johor Bahru, Malaysia. I did not have time to fly to Kuala Lumpur. That is on my agenda for later.
19. Tiong Bahru Market, a massive wet market and food center is also a great spot to shop and eat.
20. Land wise Singapore is a small country but has so much to offer. I will gladly go back to visit or make it a long layover stop.