Singapore: Taking a Zero Day
Having spent almost one month in Malaysia, their favorite pastime is griping about their small-yet-mighty neighbor to the south, Singapore. 😂 “Everyone seems so stressed out”, “It’s so fast paced, everyone is in a rush”, “Too expensive. You’re broke before you can get drunk!” And supposedly, Singaporeans can come across a bit pretentious.
Now that we’re in Singapore, we’re here to confirm or deny the validity of Malaysia’s POV. 🤔 To be honest, we have a bias because what makes Singapore insufferable to Malays happens to be everything familiar to us, and there’s a level of comfort in that. We love Malaysia, too!
About Singapore. It’s got the Tokyo infrastructure with a New York City vibe and a New York City price tag. An important world economy that straddles East and West seamlessly. These days, Singaporeans have the global super power edge by being able to speak English and Chinese natively.
It’s an urban bigger-than-life destination where the uber rich (Crazy Rich Asians 🎥!) co-exist with fintech bros grinding out an existence to live in the world’s most happening city. Not to mention, the concept of luxury is on another level.
Which is why Singapore was the perfect place to take a page from the thru-hiking community and enjoy several “Zero Days”. Meaning, we checked ourselves into a lovely luxury hotel, Andaz Singapore by Hyatt, for a little pampering and had zero plans to put in any sightseeing mileage.
It seems ironic that we need a “zero day” from our do-what-we-want-travel lifestyle. Here’s the thing. When everything is foreign, our brains are working overtime and it takes exponential time to figure out even the simplest things. The chronic state of uncertainty, the lack of control, and eating lots of humble pie wears us down from time to time.
So, the Hyatt. It’s not even about the luxury. We’ve stayed at nice places throughout. It’s the ease. A mental break. Having the western comforts. Letting someone else take care of us and not have to think for a minute. Still pinching ourselves for these privileged opportunities.
Also, a nice chunk of our stay was compliments of Chase Sapphire Reserve! This is the exact circumstance in which these credit card perks come in handy.
Incidentally, 3 weeks ago, there was fraudulent activity on this credit card (a payment to some college in Turkey) so new cards are being sent to us to Bali, Indonesia.
Here’s a short list of the things we made exception to our “zero days” plan:
Long Bar, Raffles Hotel, for the iconic Singapore Sling
Views looking at, from within, and from the top of the Marina Bay Sands, Spago
The world’s coolest Apple Store!
