One should always celebrate their birthday. It is a time to reflect on the years past and years ahead. What do you want your future to look like, how can you create it? For me, my future always will involve traveling until my body is no longer able. Turning 50 was the end of a fabulous decade and the start of another amazing one. To celebrate this milestone Jacs and I booked a trip to Southeast Asia. We splurged and booked Business Class on Singapore Airlines because the direct flight from Seattle was over 17 hours. This proved to be an excellent decision. The opportunity to lay down and get some sleep was wonderful, the flight attendants were extremely attentive and the food was fabulous. It was lovely to arrive in Singapore relaxed and ready to begin our vacation.

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We woke up to a beautiful day in Singapore ready to start our tour. If you read any of my travel posts you know that I often hire a private guide to see places from the eyes of a local. For this trip, we booked one in each city. In Singapore, we used With Locals and found Monica. We spent two days exploring the city using secret tunnels, the subway, the bus and walking about 8 miles each day. If you want to truly enjoy this city I highly recommend booking a day or two with Monica. We visited Chinatown, ate Chicken and Rice at Michelin Star Hawker Chan, shopped in Little India for sundresses, had one of Monica’s favorite drinks…Chendol at Mubarak Ali Kopitiam (this one is a little more expensive than others but worth it for the amazingly light flavor). We had a chance to try my favorite food Bone Marrow called Toolong at Tash Tish Tosh and made a mess but it sure was delish. It was hot out and we passed a little shop on Arab Street called #Selfie Coffee and we couldn’t resist.

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We ended our first day celebrating with a birthday dinner at Ce La Vi on top of Marina Bay Sands. The food was delicious and the view was beautiful.

Day two was another fun adventure through the Colonial District, where we saw the famous Raffles Bar where the Singapore Sling was created. We went through the secret tunnel with the glass library bridge, to the Merlion sculpture. We had the yummiest treat after lunch, the famous Tan’s Tutu Coconut Cake at Food Republic, Vivo City. We caught the express monorail at Vivo City out to Sentosa Island where you can find Universal Studios, lovely beaches and delicious gelato.

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We ended our day at Gardens by the Bay visiting Supertree Grove, Flower Dome, and the Cloud Forest! If there are artisans in the Flower Dome make sure you check them out as I bought my daughter a cute pair of earrings. There is an Orchid Show coming later in 2020 but you can already see them in the Cloud Forest. We saw flowers in both that I have never seen before, it was simply breathtaking.

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We returned to Singapore at the end of our two weeks in Malaysia and Bali with just enough time for one last amazing dinner. The restaurant we chose was Justin Flavours of Asia. Since so many dishes looked amazing we decided to taste a few of them starting with the Crispy Prawn Fritters with Chili Crab Dip. Next up was the Fois Gras Xiao Long Bao (my fav), followed by Wok Fried Live Main Lobster Pork Belly Hokkien Noodle, the Singapore Hainanese Chicken and the Wok Fried Japanese Waygu A4 Short Rib. Everything about this dinner was fantastic, including the view.

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The night ended walking across the street to Gardens By the Bay, taking the walk over the sky bridge and laying down on the grass to watch the light show. You absolutely must go here in both the day time and at night.

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I have to say how impressed I was with Singapore, the beauty, the people and of course the food! You definitely must put this on your list of places to visit.

Happy Travels!