After ~2 months in the water we took a long surface interval in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Our main motivation was too see friends, but we also had amazing food, caught up on vaccines, and enjoyed creature comforts like consistent AC and fast internet.

This was Vera's first trip to Singapore and Andrew's first time back since a 6 month stint at age 4. Though tiny, Singapore is an incredibly complex place, and we certainly can't do the history, culture or politics justice here. As a short term visitor, the positives shine bright - fantastic food, clean streets, solid public transit, abundant greenery, sparkling highrises. Restrictions on the press, protests, marriage and citizenship are less noticeable, the nuances of race, religion and language are hard to comprehend from an American "melting pot" perspective.

Our guides to the city were the Tan family, longtime friends of Andrew's family. They were fantastic hosts, treating us to chili crab, showing us around their neighborhood, bringing us to the club that Andrew played in as a young kid, sharing their favorite paratha stall, holding late packages for us and even feeding us in their home.

Hawker centers are a big part of Singaporean culture, and we made sure to investigate several. Here Andrew is enjoying "

", a fusion dish with dry noodles and a separate dipping sauce. We also indulged in more classic dishes like Hainan Chicken Rice, parathas, satay, and char siew wantan mee. 

We stayed in the Joo Chiat neighborhood, once a Peranakan enclave, where descendants of early Chinese settlers blended Chinese and Malay traditions. We were delighted to see so many beautifully restored residences and shops with bright colors and gorgeous tiles.  Joo Chiat is also FULL of pet-related business. Pet shops, dog boutiques, cat groomers, pet hotels, even a vending machine serving only ice cream for dogs.  The neighborhood is also brimming with fancy coffee shops, including "Waved" that claims to improve flavor with "ultra-low frequency electromagnetic wave". We didn't taste a difference, though maybe our barista forgot to apply the waves?

Singapore is full of greenery, inside and outside. 

The Gardens by the Bay, a 200+ acre complex on reclaimed land near the center of the city are the most famous. We have plenty of photos in our 

, including the delightfully-named "Aloes in Wonderland" section in a cooled conservatory. But the biggest surprise was an exhibit of life-size bears painted by artists in 100+ countries. Singapore was a brief stopover for this traveling exhibit that started in Berlin, called the "

The bears from Croatia and Cuba. The Cuban bear was the only one to feature a cigar.

Another stunning example of urban greenery is the Jewel mall connected to the Changi airport, featuring 130 ft waterfall (the largest indoor waterfall in the world, though we aren't sure who else is competing for that title since Singapore has the #2 spot as well). 

Another uniquely-Singaporean attraction is the Zoo Night Safari. One section of the Singapore Zoo opens after dark featuring nocturnal animals. There are large sections where herbivore species roam freely, and separate areas for viewing carnivores. Unfortunately the dim lighting to accommodate the animals meant we didn't get any photos worth sharing.

We had a beautiful time in Singapore and would love to come back soon! No more 30-year gaps for Andrew.