3 years ago today, we said "I Do!" I can't think of a better way to celebrate that day, and the life we're building, than in the beautiful city of Siem Reap! The landscape is gorgeous, the culture is unlike anything we've ever experienced before, the people are incredibly friendly, and they've got this unbelievable complex of temples called Ankor Wat :) It's completely different from our last stop in Singapore, but not any less amazing. Here's how our time in Singapore went down...
Because of the crazy storms in Hong Kong, we lost a half a day in Singapore, but we were determined to make the most of our time there. Singapore wasn't on our list of places to visit when we first starting planning our trip to Southeast Asia, but I'm so glad we added it to our itinerary, and especially glad it was our first stop. If you've never been to Asia before, it's a really great way to ease into things with a clean, modern and efficient environment. The government heavily regulates things in Singapore, which can definitely have it's pros and cons, but in our day and a half there, I was nothing but impressed with how things operate. Everywhere you go it's incredibly clean (you'll get fined if you litter...like seriously, they'll find you), the streets aren't crowded because cars are insanely expensive to purchase (and there's no need to drive when you have public transportation that's cheap, easy & efficient) and they have an amazing public housing system in place to prevent people from becoming homeless. It was also really helpful stopping here first, because we stayed with the ultimate hosts, Wen-Ai & Bill, who have been living in Singapore for the past 9 months, and showed us all of the local stops.
On Sunday morning, we started off our day with a traditional Singaporean breakfast of kaya and kopi--the local coffee which Matt enjoyed several times throughout the day (obvi). We took a stroll through Chinatown and Little India, and then stopped at a Hawker Centre (like an open-aired food court, also regulated by the government) for some fresh-squeezed starfruit juice and the most delicious Laksa (spicy noodle soup). Then we stopped for some more kopi at Chye Seng Huat, this cute coffee boutique that used to be a hardware store but now serves kopi on the first floor, and sells items made by local artisans upstairs.
Marina Bay Sands was our next stop, and although "operation sneak into infinity pool" failed, we did get the most amazing views of the bay from the 56th floor. From there, we walked through the Gardens by the Bay and marveled at the Supertrees, which are exotics plants fitted with environmental technologies that harness solar energy, and serve air intake and exhaust functions as part of the Gardens' cooling systems. Singapore government FTW, once again.
We went back to Wen-Ai & Bill's for a bit to enjoy some reflexology and spa time at their rooftop pool, before making our way out again for another delicious meal. We ate at JUMBO Seafood Gallery, a Singapore staple, and had the best black pepper crab, chili crab and fried mantou (which I almost didn't try, but thank goodness I did because OMG so delish). Our walk home along the bay, featuring the brightly colored skyline, was the perfect way to end our eventful day. We stopped in at the Fullerton hotel (just in time for some Wimbledon!) and got to see the Merlion in all his glory.
On Monday, we walked through the Tiong Bahru neighborhood, home to one of the oldest housing estates in Singapore, ate the most amazing snack that I cannot for the life of me remember the name of and can't even begin to describe (see picture below, although even that doesn't look half as appetizing as it really is) had chicken and rice, a signature Singaporean meal, and of course, more kopi. Then we were off to the airport, but not before convincing Wen-Ai & Bill to meet up with us in Chiang Mai, later on in our trip. Can't wait to hang out and eat more delicious food with them again ;)
We arrived at The Siddhartha, our quaint, picturesque resort in Cambodia, and decided to get right to it! We went out on Pub Street, in the heart of Siem Reap, which several of our friends had told us was the place to be. Locals and tourists alike, tuk tuk drivers on every corner, bright lights, live music, cheap food and drinks, (non-sketchy) massage boutiques...all of our expectations were greatly exceeded! We grabbed a drink at a couple of bars, may have gotten foot massages, and met our tuk tuk driver, Sokah, to take us back to our hotel.
This morning, we took a tour through several of the temples at Ankor Wat: Ankor Thom, the Bayon temple, Baphuon temple, Terrace of the Elephants & Terrace of Lepper King. We've seen ancient architecture before, in places like Rome & Turkey, but something about these 900 year old temples blew us away. Maybe it was the fact that many of them are still frequented as places of worship, or maybe it's the intricate construction of the face-towers, but we spent hours getting lost in their history. And to think we haven't even visited THE Ankor Wat, yet. We can't wait to go back for more tomorrow.
After our tour of the temples, we came back to the Siddhartha for lunch, pool time, and some anniversary massages at their spa. We're getting ready to have a six-course dinner at Cuisine Wat Damnak, a local Cambodian restaurant (thanks Shannon & Steph for the rec!), and will finish the night back on Pub Street. We're having the time of our lives so far, and can't wait to share more with you soon.
Because of the crazy storms in Hong Kong, we lost a half a day in Singapore, but we were determined to make the most of our time there. Singapore wasn't on our list of places to visit when we first starting planning our trip to Southeast Asia, but I'm so glad we added it to our itinerary, and especially glad it was our first stop. If you've never been to Asia before, it's a really great way to ease into things with a clean, modern and efficient environment. The government heavily regulates things in Singapore, which can definitely have it's pros and cons, but in our day and a half there, I was nothing but impressed with how things operate. Everywhere you go it's incredibly clean (you'll get fined if you litter...like seriously, they'll find you), the streets aren't crowded because cars are insanely expensive to purchase (and there's no need to drive when you have public transportation that's cheap, easy & efficient) and they have an amazing public housing system in place to prevent people from becoming homeless. It was also really helpful stopping here first, because we stayed with the ultimate hosts, Wen-Ai & Bill, who have been living in Singapore for the past 9 months, and showed us all of the local stops.
On Sunday morning, we started off our day with a traditional Singaporean breakfast of kaya and kopi--the local coffee which Matt enjoyed several times throughout the day (obvi). We took a stroll through Chinatown and Little India, and then stopped at a Hawker Centre (like an open-aired food court, also regulated by the government) for some fresh-squeezed starfruit juice and the most delicious Laksa (spicy noodle soup). Then we stopped for some more kopi at Chye Seng Huat, this cute coffee boutique that used to be a hardware store but now serves kopi on the first floor, and sells items made by local artisans upstairs.
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| Kaya & kopi + a very happy Matt |
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| Chinatown |
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| Little India |
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| The MRT, where you MUST place your feet in the outlined footprints (thanks, gov) |
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| #billphotobomb |
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| Yummy Laksa! |
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| Kopi at Chye Seng Huat |
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| #AccidentalMatching |
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| Supertrees! Look how tiny we are in comparison. |
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| Foot reflexology and spa on the rooftop |
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| Pictured: Chili Crab (our fave was the black pepper crab) |
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| Merlion! |
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| More kopi :) |
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| The best snack that there ever was. No joke. |
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| Tiong Bahru |
We arrived at The Siddhartha, our quaint, picturesque resort in Cambodia, and decided to get right to it! We went out on Pub Street, in the heart of Siem Reap, which several of our friends had told us was the place to be. Locals and tourists alike, tuk tuk drivers on every corner, bright lights, live music, cheap food and drinks, (non-sketchy) massage boutiques...all of our expectations were greatly exceeded! We grabbed a drink at a couple of bars, may have gotten foot massages, and met our tuk tuk driver, Sokah, to take us back to our hotel.
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| Sokah, our tuk tuk driver |
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| Drinks at Mezze, on Pub Street |
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| Tiger beer at Picasso |
After our tour of the temples, we came back to the Siddhartha for lunch, pool time, and some anniversary massages at their spa. We're getting ready to have a six-course dinner at Cuisine Wat Damnak, a local Cambodian restaurant (thanks Shannon & Steph for the rec!), and will finish the night back on Pub Street. We're having the time of our lives so far, and can't wait to share more with you soon.
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