Pretty and green

Our long-awaited trip to Singapore finally happened, and although it was only 4 days, we (or rather I, the designated planner) packed out our itinerary. As I write this on the return flight, my feet are currently broken from about 9 miles of walking everyday, am jet lagging and surprised I made it through the holiday with about 5 hours sleep every night, and am trying not to itch the monster mosquito bite on my arm which spans the whole width of it. I can’t wait to sleep in my own bed and fix my jet lag, but I'm nostalgic for that hot, sticky humidity and living-out-of-a-suitcase life already.

Singapore is so beautiful; trees everywhere, and iconic architecture. The story of its rise to an economic powerhouse is fascinating and I have been wanting to go since forever. Known for its strict rules, it’s the land of no chewing gum and where durian is illegal on the MRT (lol), but strict laws and harsh punishments only mean that people are less likely to commit the crime right? UK could learn a thing or two.

Catching the sunset outside of the ArtScience Museum

There’s basically always a permanent heatwave here and you will definitely regret it if you don't have a portable fan or UV umbrella. Navigating around is easy since English is an official language, and there are plenty of different ethnicities residing harmoniously in Singapore, along with the different cultural areas like Chinatown, Little India and the Arab quarter.

DAY 1

We arrived at 6am after a disgustingly long 13 hour flight, picked up a Starhub SIM card from Changi Airport - $12SGD (about £7) for 100GB (I know, wut) and then booked a Grab to our hotel. Grab is their version of Uber - it’s cheaper than other taxis and also safer than Uber too as all the drivers need to be tested and qualified. Let's not forget that Singapore is one of the safest places to live in the world.

We stayed at Mercure Singapore Bugis for the first few days. Location is decent and close to malls like Bugis+ and markets like Bugis Street. And after check-in, we went to the MRT station and picked up the 3-day Singapore Tourist Pass (unlimited rides on the MRT and bus) and headed to Chinatown. First stop: Hawker Chan, the world’s cheapest Michelin Star meal. Verdict: overrated, inefficient customer service, very long wait even though we were one of the first in line at opening. But shouldn't complain too much as the soy sauce chicken and rice is only around £2.10. After, we went for a swift and sweaty stroll through Kampong Glam where the Sultan Mosque, Arab Street and Haji Lane are before retreating for an afternoon nap. Haji Lane is on everyone's 'must visit' list in Singapore, but it was just SO HOT in the day that we only breezed past it.

We had tickets for the Future World exhibition at the ArtScience Museum in the evening. Normally, we don’t do museums, but made an exception here as everything looked f u n. There are pretty digital art displays as well as a section where you can do crayon drawings that come to life on big cinematic screens. One of most instagrammable sections here is definitely the room with 170,000 LED lights.

Future World

For dinner, we had the famous Song Fa Bat Kut Teh, famed for its pork ribs soup - very popular with tourists, but I also found the food quite average. We went for some drinks afterwards in Clarke Quay - one of the most popular areas for night life which is by the river and has lots of bars - and had Pina Coladas at the Highlander which also had good live music.

View of the city from outside Marina Bay

DAY 2

An early start is key in Singapore because there are less tourists at the attractions and ideally you want to do any outdoor activities in the morning, then retreat indoors for the afternoon when it gets crazy hot and then resume outdoors again when the sun starts to set. But warning: it really doesn't even get much cooler at night.

We had breakfast in the hotel and then our itinerary started with Gardens by the Bay which I had been looking forward to THE MOST. I was genuinely bursting with excitement prior to this for about 4 months knowing I could finally see this all in person, and it did not disappoint. We bought tickets for the Cloud Forest and took a shuttle there from the entrance. Cloud Forest is a huge dome, much like a greenhouse, home to lots of plants, trees, botanics and also the world’s tallest indoor waterfall. Everything was very picturesque, as were the views outside of the surrounding area and Marina Bay Sands. We finished off with a stroll around the Supertree Grove - perhaps it was because it was a weekday and still early-ish, but it was virtually empty. The Supertrees are huge structures and completely mesmerising.

Cloud Forest

For lunch, we went back to Chinatown and visited the Maxwell Food Centre, one of the most popular hawker centres in Singapore. There are a few quite famous stalls here - Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice had the longest queue snaking out of the place, so we had Ah Tai which is only a few stalls down. Tian Tian is made famous by Anthony Bourdain and Gordon Ramsay, but reviews say Ah Tai tastes just as good, if not better. (And after eating both, I think I prefer Ah Tai) I could actually eat Hainanese Chicken everyday, and this was probably the best I’ve had. All for $3, which is around £1.70. Like the abundance and cost of Hainanese Chicken alone just makes me want to move to Singapore.

We retreated for another afternoon nap and then headed to Orchard Road, the street for shopping, albeit we didn't actually do any shopping. I had booked a haircut at LeeKaJa Beauty Salon in the Mandarin Gallery which is a 'hip' Korean salon complete with its own bar so you can sip on free juices whilst you get your hair cut.

We went for a quick bite at Ya Kun Kaya Toast - Singaporeans' (and my new favourite) breakfast dish which is some light toast spread with Kaya jam, that tastes sickly sweet on its own, but once dipped in runny, soft-boiled eggs, tastes . We also explored outside around the Marina Bay Sands Shoppes for nighttime photography. They have a huge Louis Vuitton store that looks like a giant sparkling diamond.

Chill crab lookin' juicy

We’d booked Jumbo Seafood at Riverwalk for the famous Singapore Chilli Crab - again, another place very popular with tourists. We shared a 1kg chilli crab and had the mini deep fried buns with it. The sauce with the crab is a blend of tomato, egg, garlic and chilli. Very good, but also I was NOT prepared for how spicy it would be because like every single review online will tell you the chilli crab here is not spicy. Well... they lyin'.

We went back to Clarke Quay for dessert - green tea and lychee Hokkaido ice cream. And then we walked to the Merlion Park for nighttime views of the cityscape - namely Marina Bay Sands and the lit-up Helix Bridge looking very tiny next to it.

DAY 3

Another hot, sweltering day and the regret of not waking up earlier. We visited a residential area around Joo Chiat Road where there are the prettiest, pastel-coloured Peranakan Houses, and then had breakfast nearby at Fei Fei Wonton Noodles. Then we decided to opt for the Chinese and Japanese Gardens over the Botanical Gardens. The Chinese Gardens have lots of greenery, lakes, pagodas and Japanese style buildings and the entire grounds were practically empty, so quite ideal for taking good photos.

Jewel and pastel-coloured Peranakan houses

After another afternoon nap, we had a quick bento dinner in the Bugis+ mall near our hotel and went back to Gardens by the Bay for the light show in the evening. It was a Saturday and PACKED. Get there early! We bought tickets to the Skywalk which are only $8pp, but because it was so packed, we had to be allocated a time to join the queue to go up to the Skywalk. Our queuing slot was 7.20pm and we managed to get up there just in time for the light show which starts at 7.45 and lasts for 15 minutes. I don’t think it matters if you’re on the ground or up on the walk for the show as the Supertree Grove pretty much looks good from any angle and any distance. Keep in mind that sometimes if they’re too busy, they’ll close the Skywalk so get there earlier for tickets!

At the Gardens by the Bay light show

The Supertree Grove at night was a dream - it felt like real-life Avatar. Gardens by the Bay was definitely my favourite place from the whole trip.

Right after, we thought we’d try our luck to get up to Marina Bay Sands for a high rise city view. The Sands are very exclusive - security is everywhere and you cannot get into the infinity pool if you’re not a hotel guest and you need to purchase tickets to get up to the observation deck or bar. At first we were denied entry to the bar, but then somehow managed to sneak our way in. All we wanted were skyline photos, and Gardens by the Bay looked cute and tiny from up there.

#viewfromabove

DAY 4

Sadly, our last full day. We woke up and had a quick Ya Kun Kaya Toast down the road before heading to the Merlion Park for daytime views. Then we checked in to a new hotel - decided to treat ourselves for the last night and moved to Sofitel Singapore City Centre which is located conveniently right next to Chinatown. The hotel is amazing, and everything you'd expect of a luxury hotel, including a robot butler in the lounge whizzing around.

Arab Street and the Sri Miriamman Temple

There were still a few things on our list to do, so we quickly stopped by the intricate Sri Miriamman Temple and the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple, and then we got a Grab to Sentosa Island. We wanted to make one last stop to check out Siloso Beach, a manmade beach with a pretty cool suspension bridge. We took a mini trek around the island before ending with some lychee cocktails at FOC Sentosa which is a Mediterranean restaurant and beach club.

We got back to the hotel pretty late and wanted to go for a swim in the outdoor pool before it closed, so we decided to order some Hainanese chicken takeaway to the hotel whilst we went for a dip. And then that concluded our last night, and we packed and slept in our little luxurious king-sized bed before waking up at like 5am to catch our flight. Until next time, Singapore.

Sentosa Island

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Times Square at night and trying to get a shot where a million people aren't walking in front of the camera

After what seemed like a lifetime of counting down to D-day, we finally made it to The City That Never Sleeps, and they weren't exaggerating - it really doesn’t. I have also decided that I won’t be going anywhere cold ever again for a holiday because, despite the deceivingly blue skies and blinding sunshine, it really was traumatically cold.

Our 10-day vacay comprised of all the usual tourist attractions, hunts for blogged-about food spots, nights out, constantly getting lost, and shopping until our feet felt broken. We stayed at the New York Hilton Midtown situated on Sixth Avenue, aka Avenue of the Americas. It was slightly sub-par for a Hilton hotel, but we got upgraded to a huge room with 2 queens, and it was a nice, central location only a few blocks away from Times Square, and down the road from Central Park and the Upper East Side. Residing on the same avenue are Radio City Music Hall, HBO and The Jimmy Fallon Show (had we known earlier, we would have attempted to get tickets). Granted that 10 days is a long time and you can definitely do NY in half of that, we wanted a long, leisurely, un-rushed holiday for our first time ever in America.

The Sights

Top of the Rock and Empire State

Equipped with our heavily researched and planned-out itinerary and City Passes, we were very prepared for all the sightseeing. We also bought a 7-day subway card for travel and skipped out on hailing a yellow cab. Warning: NYC Subway is confusing AF.
Of course we didn’t miss out on the daytime and night views of the Empire State Building and Top of the Rock. Perks of going in March is that it isn't peak holiday month, and both places had basically zero queuing times. Woo. (And downside of going in March is that it is very, very, very cold)

Without saying, the New York skyline is obviously incredible because it is the concrete jungle where dreams are made of after all. We were also lucky that there were clear skies (on the days when there wasn’t a blizzard). Our Statue of Liberty visit ended up being a semi-fail as when we arrived to get the ferry tickets, they'd sold out for the entire day. On our last day there. But we did see it from a faraway distance though, if that counts. Note to everyone: get there when it opens.

NYC skyline from Empire State

Times Square

Times Square is picture perfect - a spectrum of bright colours and dazzling lights at night, and still vibrant against a blue sky, or even a bleak clouds, during the day. London Piccadilly Circus and HK Times Square cannot compare - it is photogenic from every angle. We visited and passed by so many times just because of our hotel's proximity.

Times Square, again

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met steps is where all my 16 year old Gossip Girl dreams came true. Of course, home to famous art and history, and the annual Met Gala, but I was just stoked to sit outside and pretend to be Blair Waldorf for 10 minutes. xoxo.

Ground Zero

The 9/11 Museum is one of the most haunting and emotional experiences. Even here in person, seeing all the surviving remnants and photos, and hearing all the stories, we cannot fathom the magnitude of suffering that occurred that day.

Broadway

Broadway is a compulsory part of the NY bucket list, so we got tickets for The Lion King at Minksoff Theatre. Apparently, there's some lottery system there where you can get cheap tickets, usually unbeknownst to tourists. As expected, it was a grand production with world class vocals - shoutout to Mufasa and Rafiki. Not a cheap experience, but gotta do everything at least once, aye.

More Times Square

Bethesda Terrace, Central Park

One of my favourite spots (aka Chuck and Blair's wedding venue of choice) because it's so pretty, and the 'Friends fountain' also makes for a nice photo. We underestimated the size of Central Park and kept getting lost trying to find Bethesda Terrace, but well worth the trek! If money were no object, I'd probably want to get married here too.

Koreatown

Taking a break from the typical tourist-y escapades, Koreatown was our little escape for night life because we didn't want to be too far from our hotel. To adhere to our holiday traditions, we booked a two-man karaoke room at Karaoke Duet 35 because we like to pierce each other's ears for two hours straight. Sadly, we ended up skipping out on the 230 Fifth rooftop bar from our itinerary because I caught a horrendous one-day cold and 0° also isn't exactly rooftop weather. We then had to wait until the following weekend to go out and spontaneously chose the On Now bar which ended up being the land of our people. In a turn of events, we ended up making friends at said bar with randomers who introduced us to the R&B Korean hangout club that is Maru. Here we partied until close, then feasted on Korean hotpot and watermelon soju next door at Pocha 32, at 4am, before bidding farewell and parting ways forever. Interesting night.

My Blair Waldorf moment on The Met steps | The Oculus | Central Park in the snow

Shopping

One thing I definitely miss the most about NYC is the shopping. Sorry to my bank account.

Make-Up

Cosmetic shopping at Macy's did not disappoint. There was 15% off on all things beauty, which was the perfect time to stock up on Kiehl's and NARS. In fact, I think I was too sensible and didn't buy enough, in contrary to Izzy who splashed over £xxx (yes, 3 digits) on make-up. Also, no introduction needed for Sephora - it's a beauty paradise and makes you want to buy something just to tote around a black and white striped bag. Stocked up on First Aid Beauty too here because it's my Winter holy grail. Again, I didn't buy too much - namely because I prefer Korean products (that are not at extortionate prices).

Sephora

Clothes

We took a bus to the Woodbury Common Outlet at $33 return from Port Authority Bus Station and the ticket counter is a mission to find, but hello $38 Levi's and cheap Calvins. There was also 80% off Kate Spade so I naturally ended up getting two purses that I didn't need. They also had eye-watering discounts at Michael Kors, and I kind of regret not getting anything there just because 80% basically means it's like, free. We were lucky because it was practically void of shoppers that day, but it was also possibly the coldest day my existence has ever experienced. There is also everything from J Crew and Stuart Weitzman to Steve Madden and AEO, but everything else was cut short because we spent about 3 hours trying to find our perfect jeans in Levi's.

An NYC trip also wouldn't be complete without a visit to Fifth Avenue. Again, I didn't buy too much because I had my shopping fix at the outlet, but also because I went to the Apple Store which is casually open 24/7, and got new phone since it was around £300 cheaper than the UK. BARGAIN. Although unfortunately for me, New York has one of the highest tax rates in the US and the exchange rate has not been in GBP's favour. Thanks, Brexit. Soho is also a cute place to visit - lots of 'American' apartments and stores like Brandy Melville and Glossier.

Food

Admittedly, I'm not a huge fan of typical American food and we had a good mix of hits and misses. I must hang my head in shame for having at least 4 days of McDonald's breakfast. Only because we were always behind schedule and it happened to be a few blocks away. Plus it had Wi-Fi. But actually, McDonald's in NYC is even more expensive than in England. Even our Groupon 'deal' for Kikoo Sushi's sushi buffet wasn't cheap. NYC overall is pretty expensive for food, unless you hunt for cheap eats like Vanessa's Dumplings. We also tried the dumplings at Mandoo Bar in Koreatown, but Vanessa's is essentially the same - just cheaper (and less clean).

The Egg Shop | Cha An Teahouse | Sweet Green

I think the Matcha Lava Cake at Spot Dessert Bar was the best dessert I've ever had. Where can I get that in London?! Also had a pretty nice poached egg and quinoa bowl with avocado and goji berries at The Egg Shop, but the portion wasn't huge and I was starving an hour later. Managed to get a table straight away, as opposed to the over-hyped Jack's Wife Freda. We had to wait 50 minutes for brunch there, and the eggs benedict was just average considering we waited so long. Ramen at Momofuku was also another place I found overrated!

I tend to prefer Asian food so Cha An Teahouse was another restaurant we were drawn to from reviews. We were surrounded by oriental interiors and the smell of incense; they also have the prettiest gourmet desserts which we didn't end up trying as we opted for the Japanese lunch set instead which was probably my healthiest meal all week, along with the warm bowls at Sweet Green - went on a whim and it ended up being the best salad I've probably ever had. But my favourite American restaurant of them all probably had to be IHOP. Went to the East Village branch twice for a fry-up and pancakes because we liked it so much. American pancakes with whipped butter are the tastiest and fluffiest clouds of unhealthy goodness that I would let myself succumb to everyday if I could.

Instagrammable Spots

The entire city is photogenic. All you need is a skyscraper and yellow cab in your photo (which isn't hard because they're everywhere) and it already looks good for the gram. Besides all the main landmarks and attractions, the city is riddled with other pretty places.

Broadway looking vibrant even in the rain | Sprinkles Cupcake ATM before a massive queue pressured us | Radio City Music Hall

There are lots of cute eateries and ice cream places riddled around NYC, although unfortunately we couldn't bear to face ice cream in minus degrees weather. Sprinkles on Lexington Avenue for it's Cupcake ATM. It's overpriced for what is essentially just a cupcake, but makes for a cute Boomerang if you're extra like us. Cha Cha Matcha is really insta-worthy - decked out in pink everything. And Sweet Moment in Chinatown has a combination of wooden tables, neon signs and matcha milk teas with cute latte art. eat by Chloe. is another very Instagrammable fast food joint.

Latte art at Sweet Moment | Trying not to get run over in Soho | Cha Cha Matcha interiors

Brooklyn Bridge and DUMBO - Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass are also popular and busy. The views on the bridge from Brooklyn direction facing towards Manhattan are also pretty iconic. We also tried to navigate to Brooklyn Bridge Park, but Google Maps failed us and it was so cold that we had to abort mission. We just about managed to find the overly-crowded DUMBO in the afternoon for a few shots before we retreated from the bitter cold. Even in the winter, you'll find girls stripping down to just a tank top in freezing winds for the gram.

Brooklyn Bridge | Bethesda Terrace | DUMBO

Other honourable mentions include The Oculus in Financial District for its architecture, Radio City Music Hall at night and the Flat Iron building.

As I sit here digging out my NY photos, I feel so nostalgic for the Big Apple, despite spending the majority of our time freezing our toes off and hating on the confusingly-designed subway. But there's nothing like shopping and seeing pretty city sights with your best gal. Our next 'shopping' holiday is scheduled for Seoul 2k20, woo.

Bethesda Terrace

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Behold, the Pantheon

So, I seem to be two seasons behind with my blog posts... But once upon a time, I had the perfect getaway romancing in Rome and over-indulging in gelatos (5 in 3 days, oops). A plethora of architectural landmarks, Rome is home to one of the current seven wonders of the world and is currently probably my favourite European city.

My photo of Trevi which honestly does it no justice

The Trevi Fountain is the most mesmerising and romantic spot in Rome. Although constantly surrounded by flocks of tourists, it is surprisingly tranquil and just so serene. At least two visits are a must - once in the day and once at night. A nice spot to just sit and do nothing but enjoy the prettiness.

My next favourite place in Rome was the Pantheon. It is an amazing, monumental landmark and I was completely in awe - how did they build such a complex and detailed grandeur of a structure thousands of years ago, and it still remains intact?!

The Pantheon sits in a little square adorned with a pretty fountain and makes you feel like you stepped right out of a movie (aka Troy). We managed to dodge the crowds on a weekday and enjoy a quiet wander round, but expect insufferable crowds at the weekends. TV star Minh was also interviewed by Sky News right outside as he told the UK public his ~~insightful~~ opinion of the EU.

The Colosseum | Somewhere that looks like Gringotts | Vatican ceiling

The Colosseum was interesting, albeit eerie - it was a battleground for gruesome deaths after all. We bought a 72-hour transport pass that included entrance into one tourist attraction and used it here. (Watch out for the African men who loiter around here and try to con you into buying their souvenirs though)

Other notable mentions include Piazza Navona, the Roman Forum (although we only drove past this and then completely forgot to actually visit. THE REGRET) and the Vatican, which is a complete maze. We kept getting lost inside and ending up in the same spots, but the Sistine Chapel inside Vatican City has the most amazing, intricate ceiling of all ceilings.

Giolitti | More Giolitti | Fatamorgana

Apart from admiring all the spectacles Rome has to offer, we hunted for popular gelateries like Giolitti and Fatamorgana. Gelato shops are everywhere, but some are overpriced and don't taste that good. Really nothing beats Giolitti though - we went three times and the chocolate gelato was actually one of the highlights of my trip. Can they not franchise it out to the UK :(

Cantina & Cucina | (Overpriced) Pataclava | Bad photography of the best spaghetti alle vongole at Sora Margherita

Most of our food endeavours were average at best despite rave Tripadvisor reviews. It wasn't until our final pre-airport lunch and stumbled upon Sora Margherita that we had the best, authentic meal. Kinda unfriendly waiters speaking minimal English with no English menus, but my random pick of the spaghetti alle vongole (vongole I later discovered = clams) made up for the previous lacklustre meals and restored my faith in Italian food. We didn't really meet the friendliest of Italians on the trip, but the service was friendliest in Catina & Cucina and tried our first Limoncello shots.

In my pledge to be more well-travelled, I typically wouldn't want to visit a European city more than once, but I'd like to visit Rome again one day (and hopefully find better food places).