I arrived in Singapore the night before the rest of my colleagues, so I had some time to myself to explore the city. I was staying at the new PARKROYAL on Pickering hotel and had wonderful views of the city from my room.
Feeling inspired by the views, I quickly unpacked and then headed out for a walk to explore the city and grab some dinner. I headed towards the Clarke Quay, which is an area along the river that is lined with restaurants and was just a short 10 minute walk from the hotel. As I got closer, I realized this area was filled with people, eating, drinking, and just enjoying themselves. There were locals hanging out on one of the bridges, having their own picnics, and just people watching. I walked around the entire area, checking out all the restaurants where I could eat. I was tempted by the hooters and the mexican restaurant, but decided since I was in Asia, I should eat some local cuisine. So I opted for a chinese restaurant, where I had a couple eggrolls, a delicious, slightly spicy, beef noodle dish, and a nice glass of wine to wash it all down.
The next few days were filled with meetings and preparing for the work event coming up, but at night, I was able to go out and continue exploring. I walked through part of Chinatown the next night, enjoying some more Asian food, then had dinner with my colleagues the third night at an Indian restaurant where we ate really spicy foods off of banana leaves. My breakfasts and lunches were spent eating a combination of standard breakfast buffet of eggs and pastries, and delicious dim sum and other Asian delights. My goal while in Singapore was to eat as much food as possible that we just can't get in Geneva.
By the fourth night, Travers had arrived (yay!) so we were able to explore some more of the city together! We enjoyed views from the top of the hotel, and watched the sun set, then we headed out to a nice modern restaurant, called East 8, where we shared some Asian fusion tapas.
From there, we walked towards the well-known Raffles hotel, saw some beautiful churches and buildings, then found a complex nearby that had lots of shops, restaurants and bars. We grabbed a drink, watching people passing by, then eventually headed back to the hotel as I had several long days of meetings ahead of me.
The next few days, Travers explored Singapore on his own, taking a hop on hop off bus, seeing parts of Singapore like Chinatown, Indiatown, and the Islamic area. Meanwhile, I was given a tour of the Pan Pacific Singapore hotel, where my work event was taking place, and was able to catch some views of the city during the car ride over, like the large carousel and the casino in the shape of a cruise ship.
That evening, I took Travers back to Clarke Quay where we found an outdoor taco stand, where we enjoyed several small tacos and some refreshing Mexican beer.Yumm!
The next day was my final day of working, so Travers explored a bit more then lounged by the pool in the afternoon. After my event was finished, we joined the group for a final cocktail party, then we walked to Chinatown to see a temple and eat some dinner at an outdoor restaurant Travers found earlier where the food was cheap and delicious and the staff was friendly. We ordered several plates of food, enjoying every bite, before heading to a local pub to watch a rubgy match with some of my local colleagues.
The next morning, we packed our things up, said goodbye to everyone and headed to the airport to continue our Asian excursion in Chiang Mai, Thailand!
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