Singapore, the Gateway to Asia!

Meeting the Boat in Singapore 

Robby and I have just returned from a great portcall trip to visit Rob in the tropical oasis that is Singapore. This was our second time in Singapore, but this time was extra special as we got to meet daddy while he was on deployment, and this time we got to spend an entire week in this Asian melting pot.

How We Got There

Traveling alone with a baby is tasking and is an art form that is ever changing and takes practice and a large dose of patience. That is just simply describing traveling alone with a baby domestically back in the states, haha. Traveling solo with Robby abroad and on long flights can at times be another form of torture, but it is empowering and rewarding just the same! Robby and I try to travel the most economical way possible so that we can afford to travel more often, which means more daddy time! Traveling more economically doesn't always mean easy, but this time it was.

Robby and I were flying standby on Delta from Tokyo to Singapore and needed to pick a day of travel that offered us the best chance of us getting a seat. With a typhoon and the weekend approaching, Robby and I decided to fly 2 days before Rob was to arrive in Singapore. The flight was easy enough, as it is a 7 hour direct trip from Tokyo. Robby and I booked seats on a military bus that took us straight to the terminal, we checked in and enjoyed some snack and play time in the Delta Sky Lounge. We boarded the flight and Robby and I were able to get an entire row to ourselves. Robby fell asleep as soon as we sat down. I was hoping that since the flight was scheduled to take off at Robby's bedtime (7pm) that he would sleep for the 7 hours before we were to land at 1:30am. Unfortunately, we were waiting in line to take off for 2 hours and that tapped into the small window of Robby's patience. Between a quite vocal captain and a crew that was on the hunt for the person who decided to light up a cig in the lavatory, Robby was tiredly awake and not happy for most of the flight. We landed at 3am and took a cab to our hotel for the night. By the time we got settled for bed, it was 5am. We were tired! The hotel we were at was a cheap hotel, but still pricey as most places are in Singapore. It was a beach hotel on Sentosa island, and between the breathtaking sunrise and my excitement to see Rob, I was away and ready to start our day by 8am. Robby, however, slept in until 10am, when I woke him up for breakfast and to pack for check out.

We made a quick trip to the beach, and after letting Robby run in the sand and towards the ocean, I realized it was his first time ever to visit the beach. This is a shock coming from such a sea salted family. After 30 minutes of play time, we headed to our room to wash up and check out. We were headed to the beautiful Moevenpick Sentosa resort, which was also located on the island. This resort was the only hotel with a separate living space where we could put Robby in his crib which would allow for some privacy and also a better nights sleep. We checked in and was offered fresh fruit and ice cream. We killed time by venturing to the shopping area (like City Walk) and then headed to the hotel for dinner, baths then bed. Robby slept great and so did I. We had a lot of sleep to catch up on.

Daddy's Home!

When we woke up, I gave Robby some fruit and a snack to hold us over until we could head to breakfast. I was constantly checking my email in hopes of getting an update from Rob as to if/when the boat pulled in and when we could expect him. After waiting for an hour and not hearing from him, I decided to take Robby to breakfast. We had pancakes and hashbrowns at McDonalds, which Robby LOVED. We headed back to the room around 11am and I tried to hold Robby off on his nap until Rob got to the hotel.

Rob had directions to the hotel and was going to grab a key from the front desk when he arrived, as we had not way of communicating unless he found wi-fi. So we waited and waited not knowing when he would show up. I placed Robby in a chair and sat him at the desk to watch cartoons on his iPad. The desk was at the foot of the bed and was in view of the front door, while the bed was not. Around 1pm, I heard the door open and saw Robby's head look towards the door. I then saw his bounce up and down and squeal. Then I heard Rob's voice. Daddy was home!

This was the first time Robby had any concept of being reunited with Daddy and it was a sight to see. As much as I wanted to wrap my arms around Rob, I sat back and watched Robby and Rob cuddle and play.

Two Peas in a Pod

Rob and I wanted to make this a family trip, where he could play with Robby so we did the toursity thing and stayed on Sentosa for the most part. Sentosa is an island in Singapore with resorts, theme parks and family fun. I was glad we did this, as Robby could easily be taken to the room for a nap. Rob and Robby were twins running around Sentosa. They are more alike then ever now that Robby is growing up, and it was cute to watch. Robby spent half the trip on Rob's shoulders or being chased by Rob.

Best Food in the World

We spent the first day walking around the resort, grabbing dinner on the island and swimming in the pool. The following day, we traveled mainland to Chinatown where Rob and I are always on the hunt for a bargain and Robby loves getting fresh tropical fruit from street vendors. Robby especially loved the papaya and ate an entire one that afternoon. Rob was detirmined to give me an "island" makeover and bought several dresses for me in the shops there. After an afternoon of walking around Chinatown we decided to go on our culinary hunt for the best food.

Singapore has some of the best food that Rob and I have ever had. On our first trip we were in search of the best bowl of Laksa, a signature Singapore dish of noodles, seafood and spices in a coconut and cilantro broth with hints of lime. We were not disappointed and were anxious to try another Singapore favorite... Chili Crab! We found Chili Crab to quite pricy but found a great hole in the wall in a Hawker. A hawker is an open air food court lined with street food vendors and filled with locals. It looks questionable, but the food is anything but!

Our chili crab was about $50 USD. We were sticker shocked, but not after digging into this messy dish. We were served a large crab that sat in a pool a sweet and spicy chili sauce that also had lumps of delicious crab meat. The crab is a type of crab that was special to the area, I believe they were called Sri Lankan crabs, but the taste was comparable to the sweetness of Maryland blue crabs.  Rob and I found ourselves lost in this dish as we devoured every piece of it. We both agreed, that this was by far the tastiest dish we have ever had. We complimented the meal with the Natural Ice of Asia, a Tiger Beer, and a side of fried rice. The meal was an attraction in itself. Robby even delighted in a few bites despite the spice

Fun in the Sun

On our third day, we decided to go to the water park where we floated in the lazy river, saw some fish, ventured into the wave pool and Rob and I even did some water slides. Robby was so pooped that he napped in his stroller as Rob and I soaked in the sun. We were in paradise. We were all so happy to be reunited, having fun together as a family and lost in the tropical lure of Singapore.

We spent another day visiting the largest aquarium in the word. That's right, move over Atlanta. Singapore boasts the largest now, but even while lacking the whale shark and gigantic manta rays, we enjoyed the trip. Robby was lost in the bright colors of the coral fish and wasn't quite sure what to think of the sharks. It was a great way to spend the late morning and early afternoon.

We then headed to Little India. Singapore is a melting pot of asian cultures and a great way to get introduced to traveling in Asia Singapore is home to Malays, Indos, Indians, Chinese and all those in between. Because of it's diverse inhabitants, places like Little India are not to be missed. Though the day was hot and the humidity was high, we were refreshed by views of fresh fruit stands and Indian flower garland stands. There were so many bright colors and cafes that poured the aromas of curry into the streets. This made Rob quite hungry and while Robby was napping in his stroller, we decided to get some Indian food.

After exploring Little India, we made our way to the Raffles Hotel, an old English hotel which is home to the bar where the Singapore Slinger was invented. After spending a godly amount on our small drink and putting a check in the box, we walked along Clark Quay and took in the sight of beautiful Singapore. The storms were rolling in, so we took shelter in the squadron's admin for a few minutes before making our way back to the room.

Much like our last port call visit, Rob and I wanted to take it easy on our last day and enjoy the things we don't take for granted being a military family... spending time together. We took Robby to the beach and came across a water playground that sat in about 1 foot of water and had water shooting all over it from several fountains, and there was amazing water slides. We spend the entire day here and Robby had never been more in his element. This way likely the highlight of our trip, as it was the three of us having so much fun and loving the time together.

There was so much we didn't get to do in Singapore, but the city is always our gateway to our travels throughout Asia. We know we will be back and ready to devourer another chili crab.