A holiday abroad | Part 1: Singapore

This winter, instead of spending the weeks leading up to Christmas planning our annual family gathering, we were packing for warmer weather and flying halfway around the world. We spent two and a half unforgettable weeks traveling through Singapore and across Thailand, exploring Krabi, Chiang Mai, Kanchanaburi, and Bangkok along the way.

Getting There:

While we typically splurge for more comfortable seats for long haul flights, flying business class during the holidays halfway around the world is cost prohibitive and airline points for these flights are not easy to find. We opted to fly economy from Washington, DC (IAD) to Singapore (SIN), with the hopes that our excitement for the destination would offset the discomfort. 

The looong flight: Our flight from IAD to Seoul, Korea was our longest leg of the trip clocking in at 15 hours and 50 minutes. Though it was a long flight, the seats and legroom on Korean Air was slightly larger than domestic airlines – who would have known that 1-3 inches of added legroom and seat width would make such a difference? As an added bonus of being a family of 3, the economy seat configuration was 3-4-3 so we had the whole row to ourselves and we were able to lift the armrests for Avery to lay across our laps to sleep.

The layover: We had quite a long layover at Seoul Incheon International Airport (~5 ½ hours), but it was a welcome break after such a long flight. We were able to grab a real meal, rested in the “nap zone”, and spent time in one of the lounges using Priority Pass (which Dan gets access to from his Chase Sapphire Reserve. Know before you go – Seoul Incheon Airport (and most int’l airports in other countries): Though airport lounges in the US have become overcrowded since it seems like every credit card now offers the lounge access as a perk, I’ve never had a problem finding a lounge at an international airport with availability. As an added plus, many major international airports in other countries are like mini malls. Yes, they have the standard duty free shops, but they also have high end luxury stores like Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Gucci, etc. where you can pass time and buy things tax free too!

The flight from Seoul to Singapore had a 2-4-2 configuration so we split up, but since this was our “short” flight (just under 7 hours) we were sleeping most of the way anyway. Know before you go – Singapore: Vaping, gum, and smokeless tobacco are not allowed in the country. As part of preparations for landing, the flight attendants came around to collect gum and smokeless tobacco from passengers.

Singapore – The Lion City

Where we stayed: We wanted to stay somewhere convenient and at a more upscale hotel that wouldn’t break the bank. The Pan Pacific Singapore was the perfect compromise – the hotel was attached to multiple malls with lots of dining options, walkable to the Singapore Flyer, and had a magnificent view of the Singapore skyline. As an even bigger bonus, they had a room available (for a moderate fee to upgrade) when we arrived at 6am, allowing us to settle in right away after our long flights. The upgrade included access to the lounge on the top floor that had food available all day, the best views of the city, and an afternoon tea time everyday that Avery really enjoyed.

What we did: 

• The first day we took things easy and explored Marina Square (one of the connected malls) and stumbled upon this awesome Care Bear experience that Avery absolutely adored. 

• On Day 2, we went to Gardens by the Bay and explored the Flower Dome, which holds the Guinness World Record for the largest glass greenhouse, and the Cloud Forest, featuring an home to one of the world’s tallest indoor waterfalls. The Flower Dome had flowers and plants from all over the world and because we were there in December, there was holiday magic sprinkled all throughout. 

• The Jurassic World Experience in the Cloud Forest was also a unique experience. We walked into an air conditioned conservatory (a welcome experience on a hot Singaporean day) into an immersive Jurassic World experience where we were immediately welcomed by the impressive waterfall. Once you get past such a cool sight (literally from the AC and water mist), we walked by giant animatronic dinosaurs to get to an elevator that took us to the top of a lush mountain. We took a leisurely descending walk around the mountain surrounded by beautiful views of Singapore greenery from all around the world.

• In the evening, we went to the Night Safari at the Mandai Wildlife Reserve where we were able to see nocturnal animals as they were waking from their slumber. Up close, we were able to see traditional zoo animals (like lions, tigers, and monkeys), as well as rarely seen and lesser known animals like pangolins, tapirs, bongos, porcupines, civets and even a tasmanian devil! 

• We started off the next day by going to the Singapore Flyer, the 3rd largest ferris wheel in the world, to see views all across the city. Leading up to the entrance of the ride, there were fun, interactive exhibits that helped teach us more about the origins and culture of Singapore. Since we arrived right after they opened at 10am, we were able to snag a private capsule for just our family.

• In the evening, we were picked up for a tour to see the city by boat as well as experience two different evening light shows: Garden Rhapsody at Gardens by the Bay and Spectra light show at MBS.
  • The boat ride started at the famous Merlion Park with amazing views of the Singapore Flyer, MBS, and the coolest Apple store that I have ever seen! We floated down the Singapore River past Boat Quay (pronounced “key”), Clarke Quay, and learned more about the history of the city. 
  • The Garden Rhapsody light show was centered around the glowing supertrees at the Gardens by the Bay. The lights twinkled and dazzled in synchronization with Christmas music for the holidays. For this experience, make sure you find a spot where you can see the biggest supertree clearly – we were unfortunately standing behind one of the smaller supertrees and the show was partially obstructed.
  • The Spectra light show was our final stop, right in front of MBS. The show was a 15-minute, 4 act spectacle that consisted of a unique mix of the Bellagio water show and a laser light show, all set to an original score.

• Of course going to one of the foodie capitals of the world, we had to find some of the most famous restaurants and hawker stalls in the city. Some of our favorite finds included:
  • Hawker Chan – The first Michelin starred hawker meal, featuring their famous soya sauce chicken.
  • Lau Pa Sat – A historic hawker center featured in ‘Crazy Rich Asians’
  • Jumbo Seafood – While Singapore is known for their Chili Crab, we opted for the black pepper crab as recommended by Singaporean locals.

How we got around: From the airport, we took a taxi to our hotel. Pro tip: Anytime I fly into an airport that I’m not familiar with, I always recommend the taxi stand to get to my first destination (unless you have arranged private transportation). Though it is pricier and I know everyone relies on rideshare apps today, I’ve found that it is inconvenient to search for the rideshare pick-up spot and it takes time before you are connected to a driver and actually get into a car. Once we got to our hotel, we were able to easily use Grab (SE Asia’s favorite rideshare app) to get around the city, if we weren’t walking.

Next stop → Krabi:

We had an amazing time in Singapore and were so excited to spend our final hours in the country exploring the world famous Jewel at Changi Airport. Unfortunately, what we didn’t know is that the Jewel section of the airport can only be accessed landside (i.e., before you go through passport control). Because of this, we were not able to explore the Jewel. We took the inter-terminal transport to take a peek at the inside of the Jewel and see the beautiful waterfall feature, but guess we’ll just have to go back to Singapore to see it up close! Biggest learning: The best way to explore the Jewel is to go right after you arrive in Singapore. If you are wanting to get to the Jewel before your departure, go after you drop off your baggage, but before you go through passport control. 

Another unique thing to know about the Singapore airport – the security checkpoints are at each individual gate. That means it gets pretty busy right before boarding so plan accordingly and try to get there at least 15 minutes before boarding. 

We took Scoot airline, Singapore airline’s low-cost subsidiary, to get from Singapore to our next destination. After such long flights from DC and Korea, this 1 ½ hour flight was a breeze. Next stop, Krabi in Thailand for Christmas!