Last Day! We said goodbye to Singapore. We were glad we visited but probably won’t go out of our way for a repeat visit. We spent far more time navigating shopping malls than we prefer. The airport wall a mall with a cool fountain. Our hotel was in a mall. The Subway entrance was in mall. The Marina Sands hotel is basically a big mall at the bottom. Although given it was Black Friday the day we visited, that was probably on theme, but still.
What was a pleasant surprise were the extensive food halls consistently found in them. Lots of Chinese/Korean/Japanese/Thai options along with some western choices too. We didn’t try the Mexican/Turkish mashup place but it looked interesting.
We did try a signature Singapore dish: poached Chicken and Rice. It was tasty though on the bland side. We did not manage to have Chili Crab which was disappointing.
We also tried a dish none of the Adventures had heard of before. We discovered this kaya toast by following the lines of people waiting to get a serving. In particular, the chain Ya Kun Kaya Toast regularly had 20-30 people waiting in line. We saw three stores around the city, all packed. For toast.
But of course it’s not a sideshow of toast like in the US. This toast is the main event. It has warm crunchy bread, a slab of cold butter and a slather of sweet coconut custard. It doesn’t look like much but the warm/cold and savory/sweet combination was delicious. And the $2 price point for a stack was sweet too.
All 8 Adventurers left Singapore this Saturday morning. All 8 of us experienced a few hours of Sunday on the plane just before crossing the international date line. In fact, Jessica and her kids have an extra flight to get home which means that they will arrive back to Portland Sunday at around 1am. So they get two Saturdays and two Sundays on this journey.
The kids did get to see the Lego store at the Singapore Airport which had a lovely mosaic of the Rain Vortex (10,000 plus legos) that we visited on Day 1.
The Johnston family took a new airline on the way home. Eva Air is a major Taiwanese carrier. We changed planes in Taipei but because we didn’t leave the terminal building, family rules mean we can’t claim a new country. No crazy jingles or lost bags, just simple efficient service.
We were all very glad for each other’s company on this quick trip and hope we can travel with Jessica, Rose and Budz again real soon!
We have made it home to San Clemente. We will post again for our next overseas Adventures, perhaps for the April eclipse in Mexico, or a June trip to Europe, or another Thanksgiving trip to Asia next year. Stay tuned. We’ll keep you posted!
5 Adventures Together 