Officially day one in Singapore and we wasted no time getting out and about.

We kicked things off near the hotel, and honestly, the convenience here is wild — there’s a full shopping mall literally next door. Absolute dream. We grabbed breakfast there (I was starving, so no filming). It was meant to be a full English… not sure how English it actually was, but it did the job. They forgot part of the order, then apologised with cake — happy days.

Today also happened to be Chinese New Year — Year of the Snake, so we decided to head over to Chinatown to see what was going on. Weather update: cloudy, warm, and windy… the kind of heat that creeps up on you.

Chinatown on Chinese New Year

As expected, a lot of Chinatown was closed because of the public holiday. Street markets, food stalls — shut. Everyone was clearly off enjoying the New Year celebrations. Still, it was a great walk and interesting just soaking in the atmosphere.

Then suddenly… busy. Shops open, people everywhere, souvenirs, fruit stalls, little gimmicks to pull customers in. Proper Chinatown energy.

And then there was durian.

I don’t care what anyone says — that stuff STINKS. Big old stinkers. The smell alone nearly took me out. People swear it tastes amazing, but if smell is half the taste… I don’t know how they’re doing it. Someone needs to do a durian challenge, but today was not my day 😅

One thing that really stood out in Chinatown — and Singapore in general — is the architecture. You’ve got old-school residential buildings right next to massive skyscrapers. No uniformity, no “does this fit the area?” energy. It’s chaos, but it somehow works. Imagine London like that — Victorian houses with glass towers behind them. Madness.

Expensive Cars Everywhere

Quick side note for the car people: Singapore is loaded.

First night out I saw an LFA (yeah… that LFA). M cars everywhere, AMG Mercedes everywhere, G-Wagons by the truckload. Insane considering how expensive cars are here.

Gardens by the Bay & Marina Bay

After a lot of walking — and I mean a LOT — we ended up around Marina Bay and Gardens by the Bay.

Pictures don’t do this place justice. Those massive tree structures? Huge. Neck-breaking huge. Everyone’s queuing for selfies, views are unreal, and the Marina Bay Sands building is even crazier in real life. That rooftop boat situation is still confusing to me.

We made a tactical stop at a random bar inside the gardens because the walking was winning. Guinness ordered. Jet lag still hitting — internally it felt like 5am.

I attempted my first-ever split-the-G. Failed. Drank too much. We move.

MRT, Shopping & Snacks

Singapore’s MRT is spotless, fast, and ridiculously efficient. We took it for a one-stop ride that saved us a 20-minute walk — zero regrets.

Then came snack shopping. The goal: buy things we’d never see in the UK.

Here’s the haul:

• Chocolate-flavoured caramel corn

• Crispy chicken skin with salted egg

• Molten cream cake

• Yuzu mixed juice

The chicken skin? Crunchy. Dangerous. Very good.
The caramel corn? Weird at first… then brilliant.
The pandan gula melaka cake? Elite. Coconut, cream, flavour — they don’t miss with snacks out here.

Singapore snack game: 10/10.