We saw the cleanest Chinatown in Singapore. Well, no wonder because the whole country is a real neat freak nation, in a good way of course. I’ve always been comfortable being in a nice, orderly, and clean place. Who is not, right? Also, back then, there were no reports of haze affecting Singapore; unlike now. Too bad the pollution from Sumatra is getting worse over time.
Apart from its tidiness, it is also the first Southeast Asian country I’ve been to where I realized that the sun sets late, at around 7 pm or 8 pm. Later on, living in Malaysia, this sunset time has become a normal thing. There was even a time when we were sweating while dining out at nighttime because the sun was still up at 7:30pm! Haha! In short, mainit talaga sa Singapore. It has humid weather like Manila.
Singapore is really small, just at the tip of Malaysia, and is separated from Indonesia by water. So, our stay of four days and three nights was enough to visit some of the must-see places.
First on the list was Universal Studios. The Mummy Returns was an unforgettable ride because the scarabs below our feet felt so real! Ewww…
Then we went to Sentosa Park, where we saw many birds and peacocks just roaming around. I am afraid of fowls. There was this time when, unbeknownst to me, a peacock was approaching our table because of the food. As I looked to my right, I was already face-to-face with a big peacock!!! I screamed in shock and moved away from the table. I saw the other diners looking at me. It was so embarrassing! Hahaha… Nagkagulatan kami ng ibong malaki! It also veered away from me. 
We also went to Palawan. Yes, there is a place called Palawan in Singapore, too, not only in the Philippines. Palawan Beach in Singapore is a reclaimed area with activities such as zip-lining. It’s a nice place where people can do picnics and other outdoor activities. Check out this link: https://www.sentosa.com.sg/en/things-to-do/attractions/palawan-beach/. We just went there for some picture-taking and sightseeing as we were not properly attired to do the activities.
In the evening, we went to witness a spectacular display of lights called Songs of the Sea. There, we were seated at benches near the shore while watching the show, a musical with the lights going with the beat of the songs. The gigantic holograms of the actors were also displayed blending with the dancing lights. It lasted for about an hour.
When it comes to food, Singapore is overflowing with hawkers, which are food stalls lined up in the streets or food complexes. We craved for crabs, so we had a serving at one of Chinatown’s hawkers. The price wowed us. One giant crab for PhP 2,700! Nothing is really cheap in Singapore. But that dish was goooood. 
My son, who was a little kid back then, enjoyed shopping for his toys. So, he did not mind going around with me as we were bargain-hunting. There were good malls in Singapore, but we preferred the street markets for some relatively cheap souvenir finds.
We loved the fact that Singapore has a clean (as expected) and efficient transport system. We enjoyed the train rides from one place to another. They were easy to access and less expensive than cabs.
With the sky-high cost of staying there, make sure not to go (Singa-)poor. Bring lots of dough with you. 
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