UWC Day 136 – Singapore – Super Quick Day in Singapore with Friends and Family

End of another mini segment. A very short day in Singapore with friends and family. Way, way, too short of a stay to see the city.

Photo Gallery: https://pics.mattichan.com/-uwc136

Pulling into Port

We got in fairly early around 7am and while we waited to get cleared, went up to the top deck to take in the view.

Transit to the City

We had chatted with Mr. Marcus and Ching-Fong from Segment 1 (from the dinner table next to me) who were nice enough to come pick us up from port and take us to Maxwell Food Center to visit with family. As we traveled around, it was nice to catch up with them as get a primer of the city.

Nate and Mom had been here before, but it was my first time, so was nice to travel with locals.

Maxwell Food Center

Food Stalls

We got there pretty early and some shops were still setting up, but we got together with our family and got to do introductions and get set up.

Produce

Got to walk around a bit to take in all the vibes of the market. Lots of eggs and local fruits and veggies ready to make all the dishes. Anyone want a Swiftie Coconut?

Food

We ended up getting a bunch of dishes, with the highlight being the hainanese chicken rice. It was nice that we got there early, we were one of the first ones there, but as we ate, we saw the line get super long and people were lining up all around the corner and outside.

Got some desserts as well. A watermelon tofu smoothie (similar to the tofu fa), and then some hot and cold tofu deserts as well. Everything was so good.

Sanitation

Really nice to see all the signs and people following the rules to keep the community clean and organized.

Around the Market

Afterwards, we walked a bit more and it was nice to just kind of peruse all the different options and stalls.

Wandering the City

After Maxwell, we crossed the street and wandered for a bit through Chinatown.

A stroll through Chinatown with family!

Dessert with a Friend!

After a bit, I split off from the family to go meet up with a friend of mine who I’ve never met in person (just lots of Teams calls and messages). We used to work together, and one of the nice things about working for a global company is meeting people from all over the world.

The downside is that you often don’t get to meet people in person, but we got to meet in person and got to catch up and grab some dessert for a bit. Got some mango sago and it was delicious. I could definitely get used to that. Better yet, was really good to catch up and connect with my friend.

After dessert, we headed out to meet back up with the cruise friends (Shangam had made it off the ship and had come out to join us). As we walked, we found some nice street art. Definitely is hot in this part of the world as well, but it was a short walk.

We eventually made it to Chinatown Pointe and met back up to get a ride back to the ship. Nate, Mom and the rest of the family had gone up to Marina Bay Sands to see the view (and they like buildings) so they were on their own to get back to the ship.

Back to Ship

On the way back to the ship, we passed the merlion, and also drove past the ByteDance office, which made me chuckle a little with all the TikTok news that had been coming out the last couple days (the potential ban in the US).

Views from Ship

We got back to the ship with some time to spare, but really a couple hours in port was just way too short, and we didn’t even get any nightlife. Since we had to be back by 2pm, it was mostly for all the new passengers on the new leg (we assume) cause we didn’t actually set sail till 4pm as well.

Got some nice views from the ship though before heading back to my room to take a nap and get some rest.

As I was taking photos, some jets passed by above as well, which was fun to shoot.

Also a LOT of cars all lined up which is always fascinating to see.

Dinner

After a nap, headed down to grab dinner with Nate and Mom, and even though everyone was still full from the day, we grabbed some nice food. The special was the hainanese chicken rice, but obviously off the ship was better.

They did have some of the Coke Plus that we saw in Japan (assuming they’ve stocked up) which has extra fiber to help you….digest.

Night Activities

Got some images of the full moon before grabbing my shoes and getting a nice run in. Even with the heat, it was a good run, and nice to get back to it again.

Vibe Check

5 parts joy

Feedback

Leave a comment or question if you have any thoughts! Anything you want to know about as we go around the world? Any things you want to share as feedback, or any images that particularly spoke to you. I’ll try to read all of them as time permits!

UWC Day 136 – Singapore – Super Quick Day in Singapore with Friends and Family

Pulling into Port

Transit to the City