Quinntologist : An impulse trip to Singapore

If you guys have been following me on Facebook or Instagram, you would know that I just came back from a South East Asia trip (I’ll write about my experiences soon). I had another extra two weeks break before I would start my new job so I've decided to visit my friends in Singapore for a few days.

The last place I visited during my South East Asia trip was Phuket. I was surrounded by numerous Australians which made me miss home more than ever. When I go back to Ho Chi Minh I felt uninspired and lost motivation to do anything. I wasn't looking forward to my new job. All I wanted to do was to go back home.

At first I decided I shouldn't go to Singapore because I have spent quite a bit on my holidays but other part of me thought maybe this trip is what I needed before getting back to work. Hence, I booked the flight the night before and flew out the next day. I'm glad that I followed my gut.

I've transit at Singapore a few times a while back. One time I had to stay overnight and another times I had half a day so I've already explored Singapore by day and night. However, this time I got to experience travelling around the country by the MRT and have the locals showed me around.

This time in Singapore I wanted to explore other places beside the main tourist attractions. When I travel I love to visit small towns, the people are always extremely friendly and down to earth. I searched ‘Singapore Old Town’ online and Tiong Bahru came up. I told one of my friends I wanted to go there and she was a bit surprised. First of all, it wasn’t a tourist attraction and second, she said there’s nothing to do there. She took me there anyway. We walked around the peaceful neighbourhood and had a nice brunch at F0rty H4nds located on Yong Siak Street. After brunch we explored the rest of the street. There’s a cute little independent bookstore called Books Actually that doesn’t only contains books from international best sellers but also local Singaporean authors. If you like organic cold pressed juice, you can get it at Superfarmers and a bit further down is a nice bakery Plain Vanilla that looks like something you would see in small towns of Italy or France. Even though it was a small street, it’s one of my favourite areas in Singapore. I think my friend was surprised how unique Tiong Bahru is and enjoyed her time there as well.

My friend got invited to one of Her World magazine events to celebrate their 55^th birthday and she got to bring a plus one and guess who she brought? Yup, me! We got to cruise along the Singapore River in a small float boat. Everything looks amazing at night when the lights are turned on. I didn't get a chance to visit Garden by the Bay but I did get a quick glance as we cruised along. It looks interesting and I will definitely visit there the next time I visit. I've also visited other places which I will post the photos below.

Overall, I had an amazing time even thought it was only for a few days. This trip somehow gave me motivations and I got back to Ho Chi Minh feeling fresh and excited to start my new job.