This summer it was back to normal programming for our annual visit to Singapore. No more tests or quarantine, just need to be fully vaccinated (3 jabs). And because the last week of school for the Son was project week and he could do that anywhere, we went early and stayed for 4 weeks.
Besides the usual; time with family and meeting friends, eating favourite foods and shopping, part of this trip was about preparing for the Son’s move to Singapore next year to do his military service. At least, we tried to make a start by clearing some space in the cupboards so he can have somewhere for his stuff.
We definitely enjoyed ourselves and it felt good to be able to freely meet up with people again. Here are some photos:
Transit MealTransit airport, new to us – Abu DhabiYummy SushiSpent time with this cutieOmuriceChocolate ODMust have – PrataTaiwanese NoodlesHarry Potter themed cafe Platform 1094Favourite Cake Cafe KkiToy MuseumAt the footballSingaporeans are always willing to queue for foodWafflesTested E-car sharingThis was not the only robot we encounteredYearly visit to JewelHaircut & colourGoodbye SingaporeTransit Meal 2Hello Switzerland
While we have done short trips across the border in the last 2 years, we have not done any long-haul travel at all. What this means is that we have not gone to Singapore to visit family and friends for 2 years! Sigh! We miss them all.
Why have we not gone to Singapore? The title of this post says it all. Because of the Covid-19 entry requirements. In 2020, there was so much uncertainty and quarantine requirements. In the first half of 2021, there was a 21-days quarantine requirement, even for vaccinated individuals.
Why are we going now? Well, they have reduced quarantine to 14 days. We don’t think they will reduce it further, at least not in the near future. The Son really wants to go to Singapore and if we don’t take this opportunity with the 3-weeks school break, then we will have to wait till next summer. So the Husband said maybe we should just go, even if we need to quarantine.
A negative Antigen Self-Test. We hope our pre-flight PCR tests will also be negative.
The last 2 weeks was a sort of rush to find out if we could get everything organised to go, deciding if we take the government allocated accommodations or look for our own, asking for permission for the Son to get 2 days off school to make the trip worthwhile, booking flights and accommodations, filling in forms, booking test slots etc… I have to give a shout out to that very informative Facebook group called Moving to Singapore – Quarantine Information, Advice and Experiences. They are such a helpful bunch with good advice.
So after all that, we are going! We opted to find accommodations which gave us a kitchenette and washing machine with a little living area, rather than hope that we will get allocated more than just a tiny hotel room for 14 days. This is just for the Son and I. The Husband has a project at work so he will fly out a week later, which means he has to quarantine by himself, so he will take the randomly allocated quarantine accommodations. We will compare experiences at the end of it.
Usually, we don’t pack any food when travelling to Singapore, except for chocolate gifts. But this time, with quarantine, i have had to think about things like bringing sauces, oils and condiments so we can cook, while we try to get online deliveries of groceries which we have been told takes at least a couple of days.
Unfortunately, we won’t be able to meet our friends because Singapore has tighten measures for this period and only 2 persons can eat out together (provided they are vaccinated or have a negative test), only 2 unique persons are allowed to visit each home in a day. But this trip is really about seeing family; my parents have had some health issues and my father-in-law is getting on in years.
Wow! It has been almost 3 weeks since we got back from our annual trip to Singapore. School started last Monday and we are trying to adjust to a new school timetable and get a routine going.
This year, our trip to Singapore was shorter than previous years because we could not afford to have Lexi (our black Standard Schnauzer) boarding for too long at the pet hotel. So we were in Singapore for just 24 days, instead of the usual 30 or so days. Plus we also brought Tobias’ best friend with us, which meant we did more touristy things, on top of having less time to see the usual number of family and friends.
It felt quite stressful while we were there and looking back, maybe we should have not done both shortening the trip and bringing an extra person with us at the same time, but i think we all did have fun in the end and we learned a bit about more about each other and our little island country while showing it to a new person.
Of course, we had lots of yummy food (it was quite enjoyable to introduce a foreigner to our unique food culture in Singapore) and lots of fun and laughter with our beloved ones. It was also great to have traveled there and back altogether, without the usual split where Walter had to come back first.
Here are some highlights of our trip in pictures (see captions for details):
Entertaining themselves while we wait for our flight.
The must-have shot when visiting the latest attraction at Jewel, Changi Airport
It’s been years since we visited the zoo.
Always wonderful to see animals in action.
Waterfall at Gardens By The Bay
Looking down from the top of the waterfall.
View of the Singapore skyline, with the Singapore Flyer in view.
Lightshow at Gardens By The Bay.
Watching my brother during Hair for Hope charity event.
trippingdifferently 