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Before leaving for Singapore, I checked the weather forecast and it was raining every day. I haven't had good luck Traveling in the past year. Every time I encounter continuous rain, I either stay in the hotel in a daze or go out in the rain and soak my shoes.
In addition, this time I am Traveling with Brother Wu's parents, so the weather is even more worrying.
After a 6-hour flight, we arrived at this city-state island country close to the equator.
"Do you think it's amazing? Such a small place is actually an independent country."
"Both water and food need to be imported, but the economy and urban construction are doing so well. It’s amazing.”
During the next five days of interaction, I discovered that the “magic” of Singapore is much more than that.
Looking from the map, its area is about the same as that of the Fifth Ring Road in Beijing, and its population density ranks third in the world. But strangely, there is no feeling of crowding in it. Apart from the Merlion Park, the only crowded place is the Sands Hotel. Hong Kong is much noisier than Singapore.
Singapore’s lack of traffic jams is related to the government’s strict control over private cars. If you want to buy a car, you first need to take a "Car Ownership Certificate" worth more than 100,000 yuan, and then buy the car at a high price (a Chery QQ sold for 440,000 yuan in Singapore in 2006). Daily driving through road sections prone to traffic jams, electronic toll collection systems "Road maintenance fees" will also be deducted.
Singapore is located in the tropics, with strong greenery, but very few mosquitoes. In five days, I only got one bite at Night Zoo. After searching for information, I found that the government is also ruthless in mosquito control. It regularly inspects all vendors, construction sites, business premises, and private residences. If you fail to complete the cleaning work required by the government, you will be heavily fined.
I feel like only Singapore can implement these policies.
Many people say that Singapore’s livability is enviable, but it is obvious that this is not achieved out of thin air. A good living environment requires sacrifice, and what is sacrificed is human nature. You are not allowed to smoke at will, let alone drink at will. Drinking is not allowed in their public places from 10:30 pm to 7 am, and supermarkets are not allowed to sell it, not even ice cream containing rum.
One day I was tired from walking and rested on the beach. I witnessed a little boy finishing his drink and throwing away the garbage. According to our daily experience, no one pays attention to the classified trash cans on the street, and everyone just throws them away (it’s good to be able to consciously throw away the trash cans). But the little boy took apart the paper cup and lid, threw the paper cup into the paper hole, and threw the plastic cup lid into the plastic hole. His movements were coherent and natural.
Singapore’s system is too strong, and the implementation of the system is also too strong, which makes people have to obey. Want the perfect living environment? OK, take care of yourself. If you don't, someone will take care of you. People who are casual and free-spirited by nature are probably not suitable for long-term living.
Fortunately, we are just Tourists, we don’t have to face the pain of this city, we only need to enjoy its construction results. If I were asked to recommend a city that is suitable for family travel, with modern facilities, rich food, diverse culture, sea and entertainment, I would be the first to nominate Singapore.
On the day of departure, as soon as I got in the taxi to the airport, it started to rain. It suddenly dawned on me that this was the first drop of rain I encountered in Singapore. The weather forecast did not come true and Singapore treated me well.
Thinking about this, I can’t help but miss this magical city.
#Where to live?
If you are going to Singapore alone or with young friends and don’t want to spend too much money on accommodation, my friend @老鸡丁儿 shared with me a private hotel he owns, called Hotel 81 Premier Star, in Geylang (red light district), the price is 500 yuan per night.
Hotel 81 has many branches. This one is the best decorated, clean, quiet, new and large. One time, Laoji Deng'er forgot to close the safe door. When he came back, his access card was revoked because the clerk was afraid of someone stealing it.
Considering that my parents were traveling this time, I didn’t choose a hotel in Gaylang. Considering comfort and location, we chose two: the cost-effective star hotel Carlton Hotel Singapore and the designer hotel Lloyd's Inn.
Carlton Hotel Singapore
The price per night is about 1,400
The location is very good, in the central business district, just opposite Raffles, Singapore's tourist attraction hotel. It is very fast to take a taxi to anywhere.
The ordinary room is quite large, clean and simple, and the view outside the window is okay. The disadvantage is that it has no characteristics, the facilities are not very good, and there is no bathtub.
There is an outdoor swimming pool on the fifth floor. Although it is relatively small, the environment and water quality are okay.
Lloyd's Inn
The price is over 1,000 per night
Designer hotel, very small, rooms are often not available for booking, and was cited by "Monocle" Highly recommended, it is located in a high-end residential area near Orchard Road. It has a strong sense of life and you can feel the daily life of local residents.
IMHO, you can’t have too high expectations for a designer hotel. The rooms at Lloyd's Inn are small in size, but the design is ingenious and makes good use of space. For example, the bed is raised twenty centimeters to make a cabinet.
Behind the bed is a floor-to-ceiling window. When you open the curtains, you can see green plants and feel very good. The most amazing thing is the bathroom, which is semi-open-air. When the shower curtain is opened, you can see green plants, fences and the sky. It is really interesting... The other facilities are very ordinary, very ordinary, and have a cheap feel, much like the decoration of domestic Airbnb.
Best enjoyment: Take a nap on the soft bed next to the dipping pool
This hotel has a very good dipping pool (wading pool), but there is no restaurant, and it takes five minutes to walk for breakfast. If you go to the popular snack shop Killiney Kopitiam on the street within minutes, you will be given free breakfast coupons.
This breakfast shop is overcrowded
#What to eat?
I didn’t play much in Singapore, but I ate a lot. Here are my recommendations by category.
Recommendations for the entire store:
- Hainanese chicken rice and mutton soup at Jinjin Restaurant
- Black pepper beef fillet rice at YY Kafei Dian
- Muthu's Curry The curry fish head
- The sizzling beef fried rice at Pepper Lunch Express in the food court of Zhong Restaurant on the second floor of Sands Shopping Center
If you pass by, you can try it:
- Frost Bridge Laksa
- Din Tai Fung
- Dancing Crab
- Chicken Rice Express
Mellben Signature Dragon Seafood Crab King
Locals eat there. If you can't wait in line to eat Dungeness crab, you can come here!
My favorite is the oatmeal shrimp, the thick crab rice noodles are delicious, and the black pepper crab is the signature. If you like spicy food, it is not recommended to order chili crab because the spicy sauce is a bit sweet...
The Curry Culture
When I came to Singapore, I realized how delicious Indian food is, and I fell in love with it. The Indian food in this restaurant is very authentic, and almost all the customers next to it are Indians.
Indian curry is richer than Thai curry, with various tastes. Just the pre-dinner snack - something very crispy and similar to shrimp crackers - won me over. You can close your eyes at this restaurant, they are all delicious. If you want naan naan, remember to order the garlic flavor, this one is the best.
Songfa Bak Kut Teh
There was a long queue at the door at eight o'clock in the evening, but it was fast There you have it.
The Bak Kut Teh I had in Malaysia before was medicinal and a bit bitter, but this one has a white pepper flavor, which I personally think is more delicious. It is recommended to order the dragon bone soup, the meat is more fragrant than the pork rib soup.
Jinjin Dining Room
The chicken at this restaurant is famous, so I went here to eat it. Chicken rice is really delicious, remember to pair it with fried rice, it will be full of flavor. The mutton soup is also a must-have. It is different from the mutton soup in Jianyang, Sichuan. It is brown with medicinal ingredients and is especially delicious without any smell (mutton soup is only sold on weekends).
Other dishes are just so-so, the curry fish head is not tasty, and the pork chop is too spicy.
YY Kafei Dian
A well-known kaya bread maker shop, many locals. But the kaya bread is really a bit sweet... What impressed me most was the black pepper beef fillet rice, it was so delicious.
Muthu's Curry
An Indian restaurant near Little India, the curry fish head is better than the one at Jinjin Restaurant I ate too much, but overall, it was a little worse than The Curry Culture. If you pass by the Little India area, you can try it.
Pepper Lunch Express
I never thought that I could eat like this in a food court in a mall Delicious meal. If you go shopping in Sands and don’t know what to eat, remember to go to the food court at the end of the second floor below to find a vendor called Pepper Lunch Express and order the sizzling beef rice. It’s so delicious!
Top left
It is not brushed with sauce, but seasoned with salt and pepper. The outer layer of the rice is crispy and the beef is tender. It completely exceeded expectations. We ordered two portions.
Frost Bridge Laksa
laksa Laksa is the local rice noodle in Singapore. This restaurant is a bit far away and was recommended by a blogger from Guangdong.
How to put it, it's delicious, but I don't like anything with too much coconut milk flavor (including tom yum soup with a lot of coconut milk), so... I recommend it to coconut milk cuisine lovers.
Din Tai Fung
There are not many Chinese cuisine brands that are truly world-renowned, and Din Tai Fung is really great. The great thing is that no matter where you eat it in the world, it always tastes the same.
If you are traveling with your parents and they are not used to Western food, Din Tai Fung is a good choice, especially the chicken noodle soup.
Dancing Crab
In Orchard Central on Orchard Road, the place to eat crabs is just for cooking The style is more Western, similar to Crackin' Kitchen in Hawaii.
Black pepper crab and fried rice are both delicious. There is a large Uniqlo in this mall. You can buy popular models that are out of stock or out of stock in China. You can also get tax refunds. It is worth a visit. If you get hungry while walking in the mall, you can eat.
Chicken Rice Express
There is a row of restaurants on Killiney Road near Orchard Road. This business The best thing is that all office workers nearby come to eat. The chicken rice set is really good, the price is reasonable and the portions are sufficient.
The taste of this chicken rice is comparable to that of Jinjin Restaurant.
#What to play?
Singapore is small and the attractions are all close together, so it is very suitable for traveling with parents and children. I went to all the well-known scenic spots, so I have nothing to say, but I would like to remind everyone:If you want to visit various temples, don’t listen to irresponsible guides. Wear long clothes and long pants, you will be hot to death! !
In the high temperature of more than 30 degrees, I walked to the temple gate wearing dark thick jeans and almost suffered a heatstroke. However, every temple prepared free robes for tourists. Why did I bother?
The heat makes me hallucinate, and I look like a lunatic when taking photos
If I had to pick a must-visit attraction, I would chooseNight Zoo is definitely an unprecedented experience.
You can buy tickets in advance online or onsite. In addition to traveling by car, hiking is also recommended! I have never had such close contact with rare animals in my life. We didn’t come out until the museum closed at 12 midnight, and we were still not satisfied.
The Singapore Zoo spends a lot of energy on the protection of rare animals. Buying tickets to visit is a way of helping.
Changi Airport is also one of the attractions, so you can check in early. It's really big, with a cinema, various botanical gardens, and rooms for bathing and resting, which is great for passing the time. The luxury stores at the airport are duty-free, but the prices are not the cheapest. They are similar to those in Hong Kong, but the styles are relatively complete, and you can buy popular models.
TWG’s tea and scented candles are a good choice as souvenirs.
Some facilities at Changi Airport
The food court at Changi Airport has good food, but the price is cheaper.
When I went to Japan or the United States before, I didn’t have a strong feeling after returning. After all, they are places where different races live, and the sense of substitution is relatively weak. But this time when I came back from Singapore, the contrast was very obvious. Although everyone is Chinese, the living environment is very different, and I feel a little complicated.
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