Singapore confused the shit out of me. On the one hand, you have this very asian city located incredibly close to the likes of other south eastern asian countries. On the other hand, the influences of western cultures and ideals seem so deeply integrated in the city that at certain points during my visit, I questioned whether or not I was actually in Asia.
As a Chinese-American, the city was so perfectly accessible to me. A huge chunk of the population is mainland Chinese, but English is so widely learned/used that by having the duo combination language of Mandarin and English that everything was accessible. Singapore felt incredibly safe, clean, and well-designed; it was nothing like the chaos of the majority of other asian cities that I've visited.
I've actually heard a decent amount about Singaporean food. One of my favorites is Singapore-style noodles, which I heard isn't actually Singaporean. On the news in the recent few years, I have heard about how famous the food-hawker stalls are and how even a couple of them have won Michelin stars. Once here though, I think I realized what Singaporean food was about. Singapore is this amazing hodge-podge of all sorts of popular Chinese and asian style food. Go to any of the many (and I really mean many) hawker food stall centers and you'll find nearly endless amount of dirt-cheap, but delicious cuisines. I've had the pleasure to eat famous dishes like Hainanese chicken rice and curries. It's like each hawker stall sold the most delicious and famous dishes of distinct Chinese provinces and asian countries. There's so much choice!!
Singapore is a pretty extraordinarily small city. It's an island located south of Malaysia, but seems separate enough that it maintains its own national identity. If I had to find a city similar to this one, I would have to say it's similar to a Osaka or Kobe in Japan. It feels seemingly meticulously well designed, clean, and incredibly safe. The shopping malls all feel luxurious and high end, but there's still a sense of depth to it. Even in malls, the food center is designed similar to the popular and traditional hawker food stalls and some high end stores sell Singaporean-designed products (like their national flower, the orchid).
The Singapore Botanic gardens was one of the best botanical gardens I have ever visited. Seeing the mass amounts of orchids in the national orchid garden was truly a sight to behold (also 10/10 place for taking portraits of people). "Gardens by the bay," a massive billion (supposedly) investment is amazing to visit at night and is situated in a prime tourist location. Sentosa, an island south of Singapore, is basically the tourist island as it hosts a plethora of touristy attractions such as aquariums, beaches, and even a Universal Studios.
Singapore is a city I wish a lot of other cities in Asia could mimic and evolve into. With a well-designed layout, clean streets, and superb infrastructure, it really feels like a true metropolis of the future. Yet, it is still able to maintain local traditions/customs and keep a strong national identity. If I ever need to take a break from the mundanes life, but also don't want to experience too much culture shock, then I would definitely come back again.