Periods:

We went to Singapore 4 times: 3 days from 03 to 05 September 2010, 4 days from 02 to 05 September 2016, 7 days from 15 to 21 February 2017, 8 days from 20 to 27 February 2018.

The first two times in September the weather was overcast, the rains and thunderstorms numerous. In February good weather almost every day, a few showers at the end of the day. Whatever the hot period (32 to 38 °) and wet. With a light refreshment at night.

About international flights: the most economical fare and time plan is from France with stopover in Zurich, flights operated by Swiss and Singapore Airlines.

When in the summer, it is possible to have an early morning flight with a connection almost immediately. Arrive the next morning in Singapore.

In winter, SWISS Airlines changes its schedule between our city and Zurich, we no longer have the opportunity to leave early in the morning to have correspondence for Singapore.

We must either leave the day before, stay at the hotel "Transit" from the airport.

The double rooms are windowless with minimum comfort. Shared bathroom with all rooms and dormitory. Clean. It is expensive compared to the price of a room at the Dubai airport hotel, much more comfortable, window, private bathroom, and without comparison to the comfort / price level of a room at the Ibis hotel in Singapore for the same price.

At Zurich airport everything is expensive: a simple Quick Burger menu 15 euros! A bottle of a quarter of mineral water 5 €, against 0,50 € at the airport of Dubai!

Or take a Swiss flight to Zurich at the end of the day with a connection for a Swiss flight from Zurich to Singapore arriving the next day at the end of the day, with a return on Singapore Airlines, we save the hotel night. If you book through Singapore Airlines, it's cheaper than using Swiss Airlines.

On the level of the aircraft: Boeing 777/300 very uncomfortable on Swiss Airlines, just 65 cm between the back of the front seat and the rear seat back. When the passenger in the front seat tilts his seat, we are really embedded without being able to move. Reservation of seats paying. Airbus A380 for Singapore Airlines, much more comfortable, free seat reservation.

Incidents:

On the 14/02/2017  flight on Singapore Airlines, a suburban bastard created panic in flight over Iran by setting off the fire alarm. He smoked a joint in the toilet ! Bastard because he thinks he's above the rules, suburban because he wears the look of suburbanites who regularly make headlines on television. With another airline he would have been expected on arrival by the local police and would have had an exemplary sanction. Singapore Airlines just gave him a warning. Can not sleep because of stress.

During the return flight of 28/02/2018 on Singapore Airlines an asshole opened the luggage rack above me, in the dark, dropping a relatively heavy object on my head while I slept. I kept a blue and a pain that persisted for some time. He hardly apologize!

On arrival:

When you arrive at Changi Airport, there are 3 ways to get to the city center: a shuttle bus that serves most hotels 18 SGD / pax, if it is at the end of the journey it can take 1h30.

the taxi which according to the time of arrival or departure, varies between 20 and 25 SGD. it takes 20 minutes

The metro between 05:30 and 23:30 for 2.50 SGD (2.40) by planning to change line to Tana Merah (2nd station after the airport). It takes between 30 and 40 minutes)

About accommodation: we chose the Ibis Bencoolen hotel, for its location, 5 minutes from MRT Bencoolen, Rochor, Bugis. 10 minutes walk from Little India, 10 minutes walk from Kampong Glam.

In terms of quality / price, it is a good affordable and comfortable, breakfast buffets very rich.

We have sympathized with members of the team (Vicky, Casey LI, Suhamai) who recognize us when we arrive, which can give the impression of being expected.

Incidents: the day of the fire alarm on the plane (14/02/2017), we take a rest on arrival at the hotel in order to de-stress. As soon as we are asleep, we are awakened by the fire alarm in the hotel, signal and recorded voice inviting us to leave our room as soon as possible by taking the safety stairway. 16 floors to go down. In the race, Nadia falls and crumples her wrist. Arrived downstairs her arm had swelled and was very painful. We spent the rest of the day at Raffles Hospital. Crumbled cubitus and displaced carpal bones Radio, consultation, medicine, sled will be taken care of by the hotel, of which a member (Siok) accompanied us during all the steps.

A taxi driver's asshole voluntarily triggered the fire alarm by breaking the glass of the alarm located outside on the parking lot of the hotel: joke, revenge, crisis of madness, we will not know!

Transport: the bus and the MRT. This is the most practical and economical. We take a tourist pass with a recharge of 3 days which allows to circulate on all the peninsula during these 3 days, then we reload according to the desired duration.

Tourist Passes cost:

- for one day 10 SGD + 10 SGD refundable deposit = 10SGD per day

- for two days 16 SGD + 10 SGD refundable deposit = 8 SGD per day

- for three days 20SGD + 10 SGD refundable deposit = 6,60 SGD per day

If we move a lot or if we move from one end of the city to the other is very interesting, knowing that some courses cost between 2.50 SGD and 12 SGD for a section.

A taxi outside rush hours costs 18 SGD from the airport to the city center, it takes about 20 minutes.

During rush hours from Monday to Friday from 06:00 to 09:30 and from 18:00 to midnight the rate is increased by 25% (from the city center to the airport, 23 SGD). From midnight to 05:59 the rate is increased by 50%.

At the level of the program of our visits: we use different sources: classic like the guide Lonely Planet which is rather disappointing in term of peculiarities. It seems that his interests are more "connected", a word that comes to every page of the French version. (Trendy bars, trendy restaurants, trendy streets and neighborhoods, trendy sites)

We mostly use information retrieved from blogs, websites, flyers, and tips from people there.

Beyond the appearences : In India, where one tends to highlight the beauty of Maharajas' palaces and forts and their wealth, I think of all those artists, craftsmen, servants, peasants who have built, decorated, serviced palates and their princes, for ridiculous wages and sometimes just a little food. Small people who deserve more attention and recognition.

I feel the same thing in Singapore with regard to the sinkheh, the Samsui women, the majis, the coolies, the small people often treated as slaves who worked in the plantations, in the factories, in the constructions that we admire today for ridiculous wages, helping to enrich an elite. This is often how it happens: fortune, prestige is built on poverty. Without the work of the poor, the rich would not have anything!

On the other hand, when I discovered how people lived in Singapore in the 50s, and when I see where the city has arrived, I am impressed. Singapore made in 50 years a development that we have taken centuries to achieve.

Our top 10 must-see sites:

- Chinatow: Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Chinatown Heritage Center

- Tao Payoh: Shan Lian Shuang Lin Monastery

- Kampong Lorong Buangkok the old village

- Shophouses :  Emerald Hill road, Kreta Ayer, Everton road, Little India; Koon Seng Road, Geylang,

- Kampong Glam: Sultan Mosque and the streets surrounding it

- Little India: Serangoon, all the little streets and Abdul Gafoor masjid

- Katong: Joo Chiat road its village atmosphere

- Telok Ayer: Thian Hock Keng Temple

- Marina Bay: the quays and Garden by the bay

- All the painted walls of Yip Yew Chong see the addresses: https://yipyc.com/ycs-mural-locations/

About restaurants and meals:

Singapore is full of restaurants ranging from luxury food temples hosted by world-famous chefs to popular foodcenters and other hawker stalls, trendy "theme" restaurants, tourist canteens and other junk food temples.

Getting an idea of where to eat by searching on the web is misleading: everything is so subjective, especially as more and more bloggers and bloggers think they are "gastronomic experts" recommending addresses where everybody rushes by panurgism. This creates an effect of popularity that is not always justified. The queue of "geeks" in front of some stands is not necessarily the guarantee of quality or originalit. This seems to be more the sign of conditioning..

Seeking to discover the culinary and popular particularity of Singapore, we particularly appreciated:

1. Ya Kun Kaya Toast 18 China street, to savor a Singaporean specialty: buttered toast toasted with coconut milk jam, dipped in a bowl of soft-boiled eggs, with a cup of real coffee (at the sock ) or tea. A delight. $ 4.80 the Kaya set (4 double toast, two soft-boiled eggs, tea or coffee). There is another Ya Kun Kaya Toast in town, like that of the Tao Payot mall. That of China st is really mouth and a special atmosphere.
   

2. Din Tai Fung, 51 Bras Basah road. the best ravioli, wonton and dumpling of the city. It is unfortunately very noisy and very busy (impression of being in a kennel or aviary so people scream while eating). There are many expatriates who meet up with each other or introduce family to local cuisine. Count between 9 and 11 SGD the tray of 6 to 10 pieces. There are Din Tai Fung everywhere in the city, especially in the "trendy" places.
   

3. Lian He ben Ji Claypot, Chinatown Complex, 335 Smithn st, booth # 02-198 / 199 Chinatown open from 4:30 pm to 10:30 pm. For more than 50 years in the same family. Today, the sisters Nina, Judy and Sandy took over from their parents with great kindness and courage. Their reputation is well established. It takes a half-hour wait from the moment the order is placed, each dish being unique, depending on the customer's wishes. Rice, vegetables, meat or not, fish or not, sauces, all stewed in a claypot. A delight.
   

4. Pho Ho Restaurant Mr and Mrs Moghan, 7 Crane road corner Onan rd, Katong parata specialists: crispy, very low fat. Parata simple 1 SGD, parata with egg, cheese, onions, mushrooms from 1.50 SGD to 1.80 SGD, from 1.80 to 2.60 SGD if several toppings. Divine...
   

5. Veggie House - Max See, # 01-532 Tao Payoh Lorong 6 (in the mall)
   

An interesting little vegetarian restaurant that could be called "all at 5.80 SGD", with original dishes, including a formula where you choose the composition of your bento (6,80SGD), a good laksa with fake shrimp, vegetable dishes and pasta (5,80SGD). Very original drinks (5,80SGD) including infusions of fresh fruits, and the famous pearl tea (3,80SGD)

1. Food Village at the second basement of Takashimaya Mall (Orchard).
   

There are not too many people and therefore not too much waiting. We eat for reasonable prices varied and fresh dishes. Stands offer Indonesian, Malay, Chinese, Italian food. Japanese ice cream Hokkaido, to die for.

We have a weakness for vegetarian soup to compose yourself at Yong Tau Foo stand: there is an impressive display of vegetables, herbs and tofu products, very fresh. We take a big bowl that we fill, with the help of a pair of pliers, with the ingredients we want. Finally we choose the type of pasta that we want to add: noodles or vermicelli rice or wheat, with or without egg. The cook cuts our vegetables, adds the chosen pasta and entrusts them to an assistant who pockets them in a broth. After paying you get the steaming bouillon bowl with all the ingredients. The price varies according to the number and type of products: between 4 and 7 SGD bowl. With a large, well-stocked bowl you can easily eat for two.

1. Zam Zam, North Bridge road, Kampong Glam, famous for its murtabak, thick pancakes topped with vegetables, or vegetables and meat (chicken, beef, mutton, deer of choice). It's hearty, a bit spicy and not expensive: 6SGD a chicken murtaback, + a 1.80 SGD tea. The atmosphere is friendly: popular Muslim restaurant, many families. There is a lot of people.
   

2. The food court of Katong Shopping Center, a very popular shopping arcade, 865 Mountbatten Rd, the best Chicken Rice we have eaten so far. The chicken meat is tender and fragrant A chicken dish, a plate of rice, a plate of vegetables with a very nice little sauce, and a bowl of soup for 5.50 SGD.
   

The stand is called Delicious Boneless Chicken Rice. The queue og old local people suggests that it must be a good address.

1. The Maxwell road hawker, Chinatown a huge food center very popular with many stands. We reiterate the Hainanese Chicken Rice, correct but definitely less tasty and less hearty than that of Katong Delicious Boneles Chicken Rice. ($ 4.50). The address listed in Lonely Planet and other blogs as the best chicken rice in the city: Tian Tian Hainanese Rice Chicken is never open any time or day we went.
   

2. The Rasapura Masters food center of the Shoppes, for the pleasure of seeing Noodle Star a cook making spaghetti by spinning the dough he stretches in every direction. Unimaginable. He stretches the dough, snaps it like a whip, the dough splits into spaghetti as if by magic. What make the Italians hysterical. (They are already a little, no?) Delicious wonton, and different soups of pasta.
   

3. Dervich, Muscat st, Kampong Glam, a Turkish restaurant full of charm, very nice dishes. A little more expensive than elsewhere, but we are in the trendy restaurant area! Trend requires! A mezze for two 25 SGD, a homemade lemonade 5 SGD, a Turkish yogurt / turkish ayran 5 SGD (it's water and yoghurt).
   

4. Hanji Johan, stall # 01-254 Tekka foodcenter Buffalo st (Little India) Temasek Indian Rojak specialist: better than Malay rojak, because it has more vegetables and is less oily. We choose the basic elements: crispy chicken, squid, shrimp, fried fish, egg, fried tofu, potatoes, sausages, to which are added vegetables cucumber, tomatoes, squash, onions sometimes pineapple fruits, mango, and some pieces of bread. It is possible to compose a vegetarian Rojak. With a good massala tea bought in the shop next door.
   

5. Lee Hong Kee Cantonese Roasted, # 02-60 Tiong Bahru Market foodcenter, 30 Seng Poh rd, whose specialty is duck, roast chicken and suckling pig with rice or noodle, scented sauce and a bowl of broth.
   

6. Jian Bo Shui Kueh, # 02-05 Tiong Bahru Foodcenter Market, 30 Seng Poh rd, shui kueh specialist, small cup of steamed rice flour topped with radish confit, a little greasy, but very tasty.
   

7. The Toast Box restaurants that have classic dishes (excellent laksa, slightly spicy), nice sandwiches, and nice, good and cheap deserts. Rather canteen for "geeks", but a nice non-greasy cooking when there is nothing else nearby.
   

1. By greediness:
   

2. Rochor Beancurd, 2 Short St, the best bean curd to top with ginger syrup or pair with black jelly herbal. We never managed to get their recipe for making the beancurd, but we found some lactone in a specialized shop that is the essential element for curdling soy milk.
   

3. Bhai Sarbat Stall from Zamir Ahmad, 21 Baghdad St., Kampong Glam, an impressive variety of teas, including the famous tea tarik. Zamir is proud of his business, which he has had with his family for four generations. He is now working with his nephew, whom he trains to continue the family tradition. His success allows him to travel abroad.  He likes, between two customers, to talk about his travels, in Europe, USA. He is of an extraordinary kindness.
   

4. Nanyan Old Coffee, 268 South Bridge Rd, Chinatown for the variety of their coffees, with varied tastes. The freshly ground coffees are made at the sock as at the time of our grandmothers. Real coffee that smells good ...
   

Singapore can be a stopover or a destination:

In one day you can visit at least two districts:

Orchard and Kampong Glam or Orchard and Little India, or Orchard and Chinatown

we can visit Little India and Kampong Glam or Chinatown and Marina Bay + Garden By The Bay

We did not retain tourist attractions like the Zoo, Botanical Garden, Night Safari. As for Sentosa, the Universal Studio Los Angeles is incomparable. Other attractions are not worth the visit. They are just a place for Sunday relaxation for residents and their children.

Because it's a destination that feels good. It should be reimbursed by health insurance, so it's restorative. We are no longer used to meeting so many kind, beautiful, helpful, considerate, respectful people.

I'm not saying that there are none at home, but these are exceptions, while in Singapore, it's still a way of life.

Contrary to appearances and what the tourists in a hurry say, this city-state has a soul.

On a background of Chinese tradition before Mao (Ming period), the mixture of populations has favored the emergence of a culture specific to Singapore: the Peranakan soul.

The Peranakan come from unions or marriages between Chinese immigrants, mostly men, and Malay, Indonesian, Burmese women. Indian merchants have also helped to enrich this ethnic brew.

This diversity, with the adaptations that it implied, gave rise to a particular culture, with values, traditions, spirituality, art, a way of life (cooking, dwelling, decoration, clothes, rituals, etc.). .) which are his own.

To this day the Peranakan were proud to be who they are and promote their heritage. If there is a museum to visit is the Peranakan Museum, 39 Armenian st.

This ethnic brewing also contributed to the birth of very beautiful women. I have never met so many pretty women as in Singapore. Perhaps the peranakan effect is not entirely responsible, Singapore is a city where there are a lot of very rich men. It may also explain why so many beautiful women converge to this city-state.

The Chinese women from families who refuse the miscegenation are much less beautiful: small, round, white.

It seems that the new generation Peranakan is less attached to its roots. Everyone now wants to live on the internet planet, with internet  culture !

Singapore is also a city with a thousand cultural facets, it is endowed with numerous museums, numerous galleries of art. What I prefer are its painted walls. The city is a real open-air comic strip that tells stories from before and now. Most are works by Yip Yew Chong, a 48-year-old Singaporean artist. A genius. Its site gives the addresses where one can admire its walls: http://yipyc.com/ycs-mural-locations.

There are also Colonial traces so British, that we perceive everywhere were the English in Asia, with mostly Victorian buildings, monuments and a style of legendary administration.

Singapore is a relaxing city. We do not waste time to be on guard, to be wary, to doubt, to elbows, when we are not in the business world.

We feel safe.

The legendary vigilance and the rigor of Singapore have been the talk of many aficionados of "freedom", including the French. It's one of the first countries to have used security cameras everywhere. To avoid the excesses and incivilities that we are flooded, Singapore has become a regulator of social relations, imposing authoritatively (yet another word that frightens the French!) a minimum of rules and know how to live.

To live together peacefully, there are things to do and things not to do on both sides, which is called education.

Disposition that tends to be lacking for a few decades. That's what makes it nice to go to Singapore for the moment, to find, for the oldest of us, a minimum of education, of sociability that we still had twenty or so years ago. years. We did not need to gargle "Living Together", we knew how to do it.

As for immigration, the rule is simple, to emigrate to Singapore is provided to respect the rules and customs and to have a job (a firm promise of employment), otherwise one is invited to stay or return home. This has the merit of being clear. Here again, it makes the French jump (which until proven otherwise do not do better!)

Incivilities are rare: when there are, they are generally the case of foreigners, Chinese, Koreans, Japanese, Indians, Europeans.

No dog droppings on the street, besides we did not see dogs outside the beach and expats jogging sites.

Nobody tries to rip off (monkey business), to pass in front of queues, on the road. With the exception of the metro where young people tend to want to go up without letting those who go down.

Adults get up in the subway to offer places reserved for the elderly, pregnant women, the disabled. On the other hand, the generation "smartphone" immersed in its virtual universe does not get up even when they are on priority seats.

When we ask for information some people are willing to accompany to guide, we saw women get off the bus to show us the way, take us by car to the place where we wanted to go.

As soon as you stop with a map in your hand and you seem to be looking for it, someone stops and asks if it can be useful. When you ask something from a shopkeeper and he does not have what you are looking for, he indicates where he should go to get a chance to find.

How many times have we asked people where we could find something, and see these people offer us what we are looking for.

Singapore is changing: we have seen policemen being dislodged by Indians, we have seen posters warning women about sexual assault, posters warning about pickpockets, posters about the elite police (Sentinels and Defenders) that can be seen patrolling the city in groups of 6 big black motorcycles with their hooded passengers, armed to the teeth. On the doors of many houses it is advisable to be wary of the dog, at the entrance of the stores a poster of life-size policeman says that theft is a crime, posters indicate the number of thieves arrested in the store. In the subway, employees are obliged to enforce the fact of letting passengers down before getting into the wagon, in front of each row of automatic gates a cerber ensures that passengers validate their ticket ...

I am not convinced that Singapore will always be so peaceful and pleasant.

Thanks to the Internet, the democratization of the means of transport, the television, the globalization, the "delinquency and incivility" spread like a pandemic in all the countries of the world, rich or poor.

Like everywhere in the world, the new generation is addicted to smartphones and other digital gadgets. She is locked in her bubble, no longer paying attention to others, she is no longer connected to what is happening here and now, uprooted, anesthetized, ego-centered.

Many young people no longer respect the instructions, the rules of social life. When they are in local transport, in restaurants, in public places they have only a hurry, sit down to have their hands free to tap on their keyboard, send SMS or play games. Eyes on their screens, ears clogged by headphones, in complete ignorance of what is happening around them.

When they become adults, in a decade or so it will surprise me that they are able of carrying the values that make Singapore a place to live and for a while. Pity.

Garden by the bay sums it up nicely like this :