Singapore

While in the Philippines, we decided to do a small side trip to Singapore. My mother has been there multiple times in the past for business. It's actually pretty common for people in the Philippines to take a business trip to Singapore. I've never been there though so I was really excited to go.

First impression upon landing, the airport is gorgeous. It has been voted one of the most beautiful airports in the world and I can see why. Lots of nature displays everywhere. There are then two large display gardens close to the entrance gate and also an outdoor sunflower garden on the second floor!

We stayed at the York Hotel, which is walking distance to Orchard road and two metro stops. This made it really convenient to commute around the city. We got a spacious and technically three bed room but we put together the two small beds. Not much of a view from the window unfortunately but we kept the curtains closed most of the time anyway.

We began by walking around the city just to see the buildings, go inside some shops, and also get to the visitor center to get some information on the sights we want to see. One thing I noticed is that for a city, it seems so very at one with nature. Large trees and plants everywhere. For a country closer to the equator than Manila, it sure didn't feel hotter. Unlike the congested Manila air with heat made worse by engine exhaust, the air in Singapore was nice and clean with a nice breeze too. It felt refreshing and less humid in my opinion.

This was only the first few hours. There is still the rest of the day to go!