Traveling

Austin - Having never traveled outside of the United States before, I did not really know what to expect when we landed in Singapore. The first thing I noticed was how extravagant the airport was. We decided to sight-see on our own, because we had a 10 hour layover before our flight to Bali. Daniel suggested that we take the MRT (similar to the subway system) to explore Singapore. To sum it up in a few words: Singapore looked like a cleaner, more diverse, and more architecturally interesting version of a large city in the United States. I really wish we had more time to spend here, but we were able to see so much in just a few hours of exploring. I could do without the extreme heat and humidity, but I definitely plan on visiting Singapore more thoroughly in the future.

Daniel - This is my second time visiting Singapore since we moved in December of 2002 and my first in 5 and a half years. As soon as I stepped off the plane all of the smells, sights, and sounds came rushing back; it was great to be back. Singapore is constantly changing, new buildings are going up everywhere and older ones are being torn down but the personality of Singapore is unchanged. Run down hawker centers next to high class apartment buildings is the norm and everyone is just as friendly and welcoming as I remembered. Now we are on to Bali and I can't wait to see what it has in store for us.

Travis - Before completing our final flight to Bali, we were lucky enough to have a long layover in Singapore.  With Daniel leading the way, we hopped on the MRT subway to check out some sights.  The MRT is a smooth, efficient, and above all, clean public transportation system that we all enjoyed.  Once we got off, we mostly wandered through the heat and humidity, using a map every once in a while to reorient ourselves, and eventually came to a hawker center (food court) for some chicken rice.  It was just as awesome as Daniel made it seem, and should be on anyone's to-do list for Singapore.  Although our layover was long (10 hours), it was not nearly long enough to see all that we wanted, and we definitely exhausted ourselves trying.  Looking forward to Bali, and another long stop in Singapore on the way home!


Some pictures:

Left to right - Travis, Austin, Daniel leaving the US

 Walking around Orchard Road

 A feat of civil engineering

 Walking through Boat Quay

 Boats on Singapore River with downtown and Marina Bay Sands in the background

 Hainanese chicken rice stand at a Hawker center

 Gig 'em for chicken rice

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