I’m back in the US for just two weeks, and here are the top 10 things I find myself surprised by, ‘back home:’ Driving on the right. I keep checking if I’m on the correct side of the road or not! This is something unique to cold places in the US: people wearing t-shirts in -5 degree Celsius weather.…
Singaporean cuisine is a fusion of Chinese, Malay, Indian, and similar cuisines. That means that biryani (Indian spiced rice) is just as much a local food as pig’s organ soup (Chinese and exactly what it sounds like). One thing that local dishes have in common – especially the kind found at hawker centres – is the use of a lot of oil.…
We didn’t set out to do it, but we’ve been on an inadvertent tour of Singapore’s hawker centres. A hawker centre is a grouping of many food stalls in an area with tables and benches or chairs. It looks like a US high school cafeteria, but with anywhere from dozens to hundreds of cuisine options.…
Neighborhood: Haw Par Villa Also Called: Queenstown, West Side Pros: It’s peaceful and quiet. It’s quite safe, though that’s true of much of Singapore. You can see how people actually live, rather than just the touristy spots. It’s close to the Harbourfront (where Sentosa is) and a wholesale market for produce, along with several hawker centres. Cons:…
Here is what surprised us most about Singapore: Food: There are Hawker Centres, which are like a cross between a giant market and a food court. They have many food options there, along with produce, toiletries, decorations, and even things like farm equipment. We bought everything from a pair of shoes to a toothbrush at…
For a while now, I’ve been wanting to try ‘Dining in the Dark,’ the idea of eating out in complete darkness. There are restaurants that offer it in SF, LA, San Diego, New York, Dallas, Boston, London, Paris, Barcelona, St. Petersburg, Seoul, Kuala Lampur, and in Singapore. We happened upon the one here and decided to give it a try. The…
We were in Sihanoukville, a beach resort town, for a week. Tubing: The end of Otres 1 Beach closer to town (as opposed to the end closer to Otres 2) has a bunch of kiosks for water sports. (One of them even has these boots that make you hover in the air using hydraulic pressure;…
We really enjoyed London, though the standard tourist to-do list had very little to do with that. Here are the things that made the biggest impressions on us: B’s List The subway system, and how frequently trains (and buses) came. It changes how you live your life in a city. Going to a party at a…
Neighborhood: Boeung Keng Kang 1 (BKK1) Also called: N/A Pros: Not as many guesthouses, which means that you can see how people actually live and the level of pestering (for things other than tuk tuks) is lower. The food is more authentic, especially from the local market (which you won’t find in any guidebook or site). It’s not close to the Russian…
We have now been traveling for eight months straight, so we’ve tried quite a few airlines, train and bus companies, hotels, apartment rental sites, and everything in between. Here are our honest, un-sponsored loves and hates: Loves Airlines: Turkish Airlines, Vietnam Airlines, China Southern – All three served us meals and allowed us to check baggage, two of…