Singapore only became a country in 1965 and since then the country has created attractions and beautified the city to make it attractive to visitors. That is why Singapore is home to Universal Studios, the zoo, and the world famous aquarium. It is also known to have the best airport in the world due to how they have done it up. Singapore is a mix of cultures predominantly Chinese, Malay, and Indian. A lot of the food is a fusion of Chinese and Malay and the streets are filled with small stalls called Hawkers selling street food. There are also many Chinese markets selling cheap Chinese goods.
I had one famous hawker stalk I wanted to check out called Lau Pa Sat situated in the downtown area. This hawker center has been rebuilt as a Victorian style food court. I met up with Sonali's cousin John, whom I had met at her wedding, and together we went to Lau Pa Sat. The food court had stalls from all over Asia serving Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Malay, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai and other Asian cuisines. John a I decided since it was dreary and rainy, it was a perfect soup day. We did several rounds looking at each of the stalls to see what they sold. Two selling noodle soups caught our eye and we decided to return to them. Finding those exact two was another nightmare in the sea of stalls. I ordered the Tom Yum Yong Tau Foo that came with 7 toppings plus broth. In the front of his stall were all the ingredients so I got to choose exactly what I wanted in my soup! Then, he boiled it and added the broth. It was a very quick process. The soup was so yummy! It was easily my best meal in Singapore. These stalls were much more hygienic as well compared to the ones I had visited a few days ago. I relished the soup that was filled with noodles, spinach, eggplant, fish cake, tofu skin, fish, and fish stick. It really hit the spot. It had a subtle yet different tom yum flavor than I was used to but it was very good! A very good meal to end my Singapore trip on.
Following lunch we rambled the streets of Singapore one last time. I had already walked everything so I was able to point out things to John. I admired all of the ways Singapore had creatively incorporated greenery into its infrastructure. I suggested that we go to Fort Canning Park so I could have a thorough look around before leaving. We walked the entire park and stumbled upon the Tree Hole. The tree hole was just a spiral staircase that led underground so you could look up at the green foliage. It was pretty underwhelming but the rest of the park made up for it. It was still raining so the foliage was bright green. Who would have guessed that above the city sits one of the greenest spaces!
I bade goodbye to John and headed to the airport. I went early so I could admire the Jewel. The Jewel is one of the reasons Singapore was awarded the best airport in the world. In the center of the terminals was a separate oval building filled with shops, greenery, and most prominently- the jewel fountain that fell from the ceiling. The water cascaded from the ceiling to another well on the ground. All around the massive fountain were tropical plants thriving with the mist and light. The fountain was truly something to admire!
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