We departed Chiang Mai mid-morning and arrived in Singapore early afternoon. We changed time zones…and… we also changed languages! Back to English! The boys did a great job on the 3-hour flight, although, Jack did switch between watching “Yo Gabba Gabba” and playing with some blocks about one thousand times during the short time we were in the air.
Singapore is located at the southern tip of the Malay peninsula. It is an island country surrounded by water and cut off completely from the greater peninsula. Singapore has long been a trading hub in the region which means it is a melting pot of people (which is one reason it has so many different official languages: English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil). It also has a very high GDP. Singapore was colonized in the early 1800s by Britain and only gained complete independence in 1965. This means there is a very heavy British influence (all major location names and roads are in English). Singapore is known for expensive luxury stores, restaurants and hotels. I don’t think we could have afforded a longer trip (especially after living in super cheap Bangkok)! Singapore is our first trip outside of Thailand and will be my last until the arrival of Anna Lynn… we have a lot of regional trips planned for the spring … which is sure to be super interesting with a five year-old, 3 year-old and newborn.
After landing and collecting our baggage, we grabbed a quick bite to eat at a Japanese restaurant around the corner from our hotel. And, then, because Jack had napped at dinner, we felt brave enough to go out and see the city at night. We decided to head to the Singapore Flyer so that we could see the entire skyline. The Singapore Flyer is advertised as the largest permanent ferris wheel in Asia (from 2010 until 2014 it was the largest in the world). It is said that it was designed to rival London’s Eye. The flyer overlooks Marina Bay. After the Flyer, we took a walk down to the Marina Bay shops via the Helix Bridge (a bridge designed to look like a DNA helix).
Sam was very excited when we got to the Marina Bay shops because: 1) Christmas decorations were EVERYWHERE, and 2) a store had his absolute FAVORITE food–Fage honey yogurt! Sam literally lived on Fage yogurt when we lived in Virginia and he was extremely happy to find it in Singapore.
Overall, Singapore seems great. It is extremely clean and has SIDEWALKS! Our time here is going to fly… we will have to see how much we are able to see in the few days we are here.
Getting there:
Flyer:
Helix Bridge:
End of the night:
Will Travel with Toddlers 
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