classy Singapore

The time has come again to travel to the great land known as Singapore. Talk about a metropolitan city. The contrast is so strong, I culture shocked after walking into the airport. Just the airport! It's clean, and there are signs that accurately point to where you need to go...

There are many things I love about Singapore, and others that I don't so much. I love that I can walk around without being stared at and at night without fear (Singapore has a super low crime rate. No worries, still being wise). I love that I can take the subway. I love that I can drink water from the tap. I love the different cultural pockets in the city - Chinatown, Little India, Arab Street. I don't love the prices. Or getting lost in a 10-story mall after going up the wrong subway exit (whoever came up with building malls on top of subway exits/entrances was both brilliant and horrible - great for advertising, awful for navigation).

Buuut the good news is I got my visa! PTL there were no problems or complications! The way the visa process works actually sounds a little... shady. I meet a guy (a visa specialist) outside a McDonalds in the morning; hand him my visa papers, passport, and some money; and return that evening to pick up my passport with a new visa inside. It's all totally legit, though, and gets the job done! It also means I have the whole day to explore. First stop: IKEA.

 

The first time I went to IKEA was during my last visa run. I was overjoyed and overwhelmed and almost hyperventilated. After 45 minutes of wandering and occasionally putting something in my shopping bag, the overwhelmed feeling won out, and I ended up leaving without buying a single thing. This time around, I prepped myself a little better and was able to actually purchase a couple of things for the house.

On my way to pick up my visa, I ran into some friends who were doing the same. Afterwards, they took me to this lovely tea place and treated me to my first macaroon. I then made my way down to Arab Street and had some incredible Moroccan food and tea.

 

And then a nice evening stroll through the city.

 

If there was life on another planet, this is how I would imagine their trees. In reality, this is part of the new Gardens by the Bay.

"The man who has G-d for his treasure has all things in one. Many ordinary treasures may be denied him, or if he is allowed to have them, the enjoyment of them will be so tempered that they will never be necessary to his happiness. Or if he must see them go, one after one, he will scarcely feel a sense of loss, for having the Source of all things he has in One all satisfaction, all pleasure, all delight." - A.W. Tozer