Singapore

 Although I have transited through Singapore in the last few years, I haven't visited Singapore since 2011. So time to dust off some memories and see what's going on in this part of the world. United started flying directly from the US west coast to Singapore and I was able to hop onto that flight path and do a two part vacation in both Singapore and the Maldives.

Due to the current pandemic, United changed my flight itinerary a few times and I ended up taking an extra two days to accommodate the flight changes. I didn't bother asking United to readjust their schedules when the email announcements came but I did find it odd they didn't call to ask about changing the flights by more than 24 hours. Since I was still 1K for some of these changes, I chalked it up to computer automation.

The United Polaris chairs feel tighter in their latest configuration and I didn't realize that the middle seats had an "inward" and "outward" positions. The main difference is that the inward seats are great for couples travelling together because it brings the seats closer to the middle and you can raise the barrier up or leave it down and converse with your partner. The outward configuration puts you seat close to the aisle so more difficult to have conversations with anyone and best if you were going solo.

Upon landing into Singapore, the COVID requirements were reduced to only show a negative COVID test and be fully vaccinated. So going through customs was pretty easy. I picked up a prepaid sim card in the Departure Hall. Ironically, I had to walk to the furthest currency exchange booth to find a decent priced sim card. The first booth wanted $50 for a month of data, the second booth wanted $35 for a similar version (no transit pass), and the third was $12 for a data sim card. The guy would later tell me that the sim card provider will give me 120 GB of data within a day as a promotion. So in the end, it does work out to hold out for a better priced sim card option. I do think the arrivals hall is probably the worst place to get the sim card as they seemed to be priced the highest.

I am trying to maintain my Titanium Marriott status so I chose to stay at the Westin Singapore. It seemed on Google maps to be the best situated Marriott hotel in terms of MRT stations and ideal location in the city being next to Marina Bay Sands and Chinatown. Technically, I should have booked five nights as the cost in points is the same for five or four nights. I didn't care enough to do it but it was possible as I was landing in at 7 am. The hotel let me check in early so I was able to accomplish the same thing in the end. Since the lounge was closed, the hotel gave me a F&B credit of $100 per day. It actually is kind of difficult to spend $100 per day at the hotel when breakfast is already included. It did mean that I ended up eating at the hotel more because of the food credit.

Westin Singapore King Room

Westin Singapore Bathroom

The hotel has a lovely infinity rooftop pool. It isn't the actual rooftop but the ground floor of the hotel section of this building. The Westin is inside the Asia Tower complex and the hotel sits on the top third of the building. So the ground floor is really the 32nd floor. It's a great pool for lap swimming or just chilling and watching the city go by. When I was there, there was hardly anyone at the pool so it felt even more secluded.

Westin Singapore Pool

Dining

Crystal Jade Palace - I have missed having their dumplings and was excited to have dim sum on my first day in Singapore. Food was delicious and I ate like a fat American. One of the best salt and pepper pork chops I've had.

Crystal Jade Dim Sum

Cork & Brew - The Westin restaurant bar that is open until 9 pm. Due to COVID, their buffet restaurant Seasonal is only open until 7 pm which is too early for me to start thinking about eating dinner. I ended up dining here a few times due to the opening hours of the restaurant. The first time, I had mussels and roasted broccoli with sticky toffee pudding. The meal was on point and delicious. The second time, I ordered the same things except dessert and it was off. So I'm not sure if there is inconsistency but I was a little sad the second time around especially because I had wanted a grill platter but they had run out of food. Between the F&B credit and the automatic 20% discount on food for Titanium members, it was tough to always hit the max.

Seasonal - The Westin's main restaurant was where in house guests can get breakfast. The restaurant used to do a breakfast buffet that was open to the public but the converted to a preset breakfast menu and only for in-house guests during the pandemic. Breakfast starts with a plate of fruit and pastries, your selection of coffee, tea or juice, and a choice of congee, indian curry, nasi lemak, or english (they called it American) entrees. My favorite was the nasi lemak, it had a nice kick and the flavors just represent Singapore to me. Occasionally, the servers would walk around and ask if you wanted off menu items like a pancake or regional breakfast snack.

Seasonal Nasi Lemak

Goodwood Park Hotel L'Espresso - I'm a sucker for afternoon teas and Singapore has plenty of hotels that offer afternoon tea. In this particular hotel, the afternoon tea is an all you can eat buffet and it was pretty awesome. I didn't realize until late that the bakery also is part of the afternoon tea offerings and was too full to try the whole array. 

Dessert display at Goodwood Park Hotel

36 Brewlab and Smokehouse - Met with some local friends for a quick bite and some beers. An offshoot of Lion Brewery, the Chinatown location made it convenient for me to walk from the hotel. Out of curiousity, I ordered the scotch egg and pate. Only in Asia can I find western foods in a predominantly asian environment and it was pretty tasty.

Scotch egg and calamari from 36 Brewlab

Penny Black - After 36, went on a slight bar crawl with the local friends. Made a quick stop at this popular bar near the quay.

Southbridge - Went to a somewhat hidden rooftop bar to enjoy the skyline. The only downside is that they don't stay open as late as we wanted.

Fullerton Hotel - Ended the night hanging out at the rooftop pool bar at the Fullerton. I was crashing at this point so my memory of the venue is foggy. I did find the hotel very posh.

Koi The - While waiting for laundry at the laundromat around the corner, I went to the local plaza and found some bubble tea to pair with my McDonalds.

McDonalds - I wanted to try the Hokkaido Salmon Burger and it was actually pretty tasty. I did like that the Singaporean locations have garlic chili as a sauce packet. It was so tasty.

Hokkaido Salmon Burger from McDonalds

Activities

Marina Bay Sands Hotel - I wanted to check out this infamous hotel particularly after Crazy Rich Asians movie came out. It definitely reminds me of Vegas hotels like the Venetian, the place is massive. If you come in the evening, you can have a drink at the bar at the Observation deck. As I was there first thing in the morning, that was not an option. It seems you are better off in the evening and can see the city lights. It was cool to see the city skyline during the day.

Gardens by the Bay - From the Marina Bay Sands observation deck, the Gardens look really cool and I decided to visit after leaving the hotel. There is a walkway that connects the hotel to the Gardens entrance but not readily apparent within the hotel. It does involve getting to the third floor to access the walkway. Once found, it was simple enough to explore this large venue. Due to the size of the Gardens and all the possible places to visit, I limited myself to the Cloud Forest biodome. I found the whole exhibit fascinating because of the difference of "mountain" climate in a city along the equator.

Gardens by the Bay Biodome

Former Ford Factory - I didn't realize that Ford was manufacturing in Asia let alone in Singapore. Through some internet searching I discovered that Ford initially started planning on expanding in Asia and then WWII hit. Most of the original factory land was sold for development but the main building was converted to a museum in the 2000s. It isn't easy to get to but the local Uber equivalents will get you around.

Former Ford Factory

Singapore Zoo - Normally I don't go to zoos but it is listed as a premier facility rivaling American zoos. Most of the animals are indigenous to the area and I did find the facility enjoyable. It is a fairly large zoo and I only visited one of the three parks within the zoo. The food court inside the zoo is awesome. I found a New Zealand creamery and a quick casual market that had the best and cutest baos.

Best baos at the Singapore Zoo