Singapore – North American Darrell

I have loved Thai food since visiting Thailand back in 2022, but forgot how much until returning in 2025!

I have since visited many Asian countries and fell in love with their food. Vietnam Pho/Bahn mi/noodles, Cambodian Amok/Hhmer curry/noodles all held the title until I was reintroduced to Thai again.

The Thai pad and variations of soup won my heart and my belly over once again. Here are some choices from a food court in Bangkok. You could eat three times a day for 365 days and not try them all in this food court. It was almost impossible to choose:

Here were some of my favorites from around Samui:

Mango salad (top left)

Tom yum Coconut spicy soup (middle left)

Chicken Pad Thai (top right)

Tom yum chicken spicy (bottom left)

Iced cold Chang (bottom right – it was so hot, ice was needed to keep it cold)

Don’t say I didn’t warn you: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

“The sale of chewing gum in Singapore has been illegal since 1992. Some motivations for the ban included stopping the placement of used chewing gum in inappropriate and costly places, such as the sensors of subway doors, inside lock cylinders, and elevator buttons. Since 2004, an exception has existed for therapeutic, dental, and nicotine chewing gum, which can be bought from a doctor or registered pharmacist. It is not illegal to chew gum in Singapore, but it is against the law to import it and sell it, apart from the aforementioned exceptions. According to a BBC News article, it is legal for a traveler to bring in a small amount of chewing gum for personal use, and there is a fine for spitting the gum out in an inappropriate place”

This was my sixth time at the Changi airport in Singapore but the first time I had left the lobby.

I found a hostel in the center of the city and bought a two-day metro pass to explore the city by subway. The hostel sucked but it was the only thing I found affordable is the very expensive city unless you want to pay $100+ in the hood. There are tons of options on booking.com

Here was my route to the hostel and absolute shitty cubby I slept in for two nights. The walls were made of paneling so anytime someone touched them the room rattled. I lost my shit on some people which kept it quiet for the most part. 😁

The first thing most people think of in Singapore is the Marina Bay Sands and the Garden by the Bay metal trees. It was amazing to see the building and landscape in person. Unfortunately, that is as close as I am going to get for 600+ a night.

That is about $560 a night more than I paid at the hostel! LOL

Singapore really did not do much for me. It is an amazingly clean city with nice infrastructure, but I did not find much else appealing. That does not mean that you would not like it, as that is my personal opinion, and you do not need to leave the airport again. Pretty sad when one of the coolest parst I can find in a city is the airport.

Keep in mind, this is not just an airport, it is one of the nicest airports in the world, including:

Entertainment Corner, World’s tallest airport slide, Butterfly Garden, Movie theater, Swimming pool with views, Changi Airport Skytrain, Rain Vortex, and Indoor Garden area.