Singapore is a very small country in south-east Asia. The capital is called Singapore too. It is a modern city. Mixed with Indian, Chinese, Malay, Arab and English cultures.
Languages spoken: English, Tamil, Malay and Mandarin
Price: €€€
It is like Japan not the cheapest country in Asia
Safety: Totally safe, visit https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/singapore for the latest information
Fly duration: From Amsterdam it will take around 13 hours to fly to Singapore Changi Aiport.
I had a transfer in Shanghai and that´s why it took me 18 hours to reach Singapore
Be aware of: The rain! It rains every day in Singapore, so take or buy an umbrella

Outside Europe for the first time!!
In 2016 I went with to Singapore with my family. This was the first time outside Europe for me, and the first time we would fly (my dad did fly before). My whole family was so excited, this would be an adventure!
We spend a week in Singapore and a week in Malaysia. In this blog I will focus mostly on Singapore, as it quickly started to become my favourite country.
In a week we visited Little India, Sentosa Island, Singapore Zoo and the city itself. What struck me the most was that there were not many tourists. We had a lot of space in the hop on hop off bus (travelling with parents has it´s perks 😉
You might know Singapore as high tech and huge shopping malls. But that is not the only thing Singapore has to offer. You can find here cultural neighborhoods with temples, restaurants and markets. There is an Indian and Chinese area, so it´s very diverse.


Little India
Little India, the Indian area, felt very special for me. The language, the food, the people. My dad is from Sri Lanka and I have sadly never been there. It´s one of my biggest dreams. Being in Little India, made me feel like I was there.
It was so cosy because of all the markets and colors. There were restaurants everywhere, with the food my family always makes at home. That felt very special. Also, like everywhere in Singapore, the people were so nice! Everyone wanted to help us with any questions we had.


Amazing country
I can’t get over the beauty of this country! The city is very modern. The Marina Bay, which is the huge building in a shape of a boat, is very impressive. I think it is one of the master pieces in this world.
Next to that, the Merlion is very cute. This is the lion Singapore is also known for.
I felt very safe in Singapore. There were a lot of camera’s and helpful people. Whenever we had a question, the people helped us out instantly. I am not used to that at all. I had never been to a country where the inhabitants were so nice (before Singapore)
The only disadvantage is that Singapore is an expensive country. I can´t name anything that was cheaper as in The Netherlands.



Multiculturalism
What I also like is the multiculturalism. Most people are Indian, Chinese or Malaysian. But there are also many people from Europe living here.
Singapore has 4 (!) official languages: English, Tamil, Malay and Mandarin. This means almost everyone speaks English and no languages barriers.
I spend 7 days in Singapore and for me it was enough to see everything I wanted.
Now 2 years later I would love to go back and discover more places in Singapore. I want to go to Gardens of the Bay, on top of the Marina Bay and outside the city area. Lastly I would loove to see the center of Singapore at night. I see too many beautiful pictures on Instagram about these area´s.
Singapore changed my travel life. It made me feel closer to one side of my roots. It was one big adventure. I can´t wait to go back one time and see how much more has grown. I have to go back to Asia soon!




Have you ever been to Singapore and what do you think of it?
Want to read more about my travels? How fun! 🙂

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