Singapore -- Mostly for the Noodles

5 am -- and we arrive. If you've never been to Changi airport before, the only way I can describe it: massive. Knowing that we had a very long layover, we rebooked a 4-hour tour in the city that we expected to show us the highlights of Singapore. Originally we had scheduled a small group food tour, but we obviously missed that already. And since our layover was longer, we figured we might try and see Singapore. We requested a tour focused on history and, true to form, food. The logistics were all handled while in the Dhaka airport, so that's a WhatsApp win right there.

Before we leave the Singapore airport, however, we crash nap in a lounge for a few hours. (Practice point: Not to gush about the Chase Sapphire Reserve infinitely, but its complimentary lounge access has completely paid for itself--even if you just account for the meals in the airport we were saved).

Why the picture of Minute Maid Refresh? Because it’s basically Sunny Delight, and I thought you all needed to know that. I drank a lot of it.

Okay, we get out. It is hot and humid. Really, really hot (at least as compared to our prior destinations). Keep in mind that although we could store some of our bags in the Singapore airport, I had to carry around the laptop bag since few places allow you to store laptops. Nonetheless, we take our uber to the requested meeting point.

Enter "Daryl," our former-stockbroker-turned-travel guide/tour operator. Nasheed described him as herself as a Chinese-Singaporean man in his 40s who gave tours. In other words, the ADHD was strong with this one. He also apparently wants to be a game show host/comedian/pastor/choir-master of an atheist church.

Little did we know that this was to be a walking tour in a part of the city that maybe had a less than huge tourist attraction draw. Mind you, we started at the legendary Raffles Hotel, where the Singapore Sling was invented. Actually, that's not quite accurate. The hotel was under renovation, so we stood outside it for about 30 minutes discussing the hotel we could neither see nor enter. Next, we walked through a Catholic church while the mass was taking place. Seriously, we just walked through. It was weird, but he took it as a proud moment to confess his own atheism (a subject which, apparently, is very taboo in Singapore). He quoted Dawkins like the best of them.

Next, we went to the historical Supreme Court/ Gallery of Art. Beautiful building, but not much to see there. We also had views of the modern Supreme Court. Daryl was quite the talker on all subjects, many of which were very tangential to Singapore or what we were seeing. But still very amusing, and definitely gave us a sense of Singapore. Singapore is trying to buck its reputation for being heavy handed, going for a "cooler" image.

Fun note on the modern Supreme Court, pictured here:

The design is supposed to reflect the values of the Court: circular, to represent equality throughout, and glass, to represent transparency. Except the glass isn’t transparent at all. It’s reflective.

Next, we went to the old legislative building, where the modern constitution was invented. Daryl was clearly quite proud of Singapore, its founder, and its accomplishments. We walked down by the Singapore River, where the architecture on the two sides of the river reflected the difference in British and Chinese influences. We not only saw, but actually identified, a Botero statue. This time, a fat chicken. For those who don’t know, we absolutely love his work, and are finishing out the trip in Bogota primarily to see his museum and buy one to take home.

We then went to Chinatown to walk through a Buddhist temple, which was gorgeous, but not exactly ancient. Really, everything was quite new. And spotless. Finally, we went for a legit Singaporean market lunch. Super cheap and delicious, we pigged out on two wet noodle bowls, and I ordered two funky ice dessert things that I can't even explain now.

To sum up, I'm not saying this was the best tour. In fact, I'm pretty sure we saw few real Singaporean highlights. But it was amusing, with highlights like an explanation of how the Federal Reserve was a government conspiracy. The city is super modern and clean, and I'm sure we'll be back on a layover again someday.

Back to the airport, where we lounged, ate more Singapore noodles, and did some duty-free shopping until our flight to Perth. Yes, even though we weren't staying there anymore, we still had to travel to Perth for about 2.5 hours just so we could make our next flight to Melbourne, and then to Queenstown.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the awesomeness of the Singapore Airport. Not only is it big; it also has all sorts of crazy entertainment options— free movies, a butterfly garden, and numerous visual displays which we used for selfies.

Note: I'd have better pictures, but Daryl orchestrated MANY "we-fies" on his phone and we haven't gotten them from him yet.