Remember Singapore? | April 2023 #Shorts

Every once in a while, a random photo folder pops up on our phones and pulls us right back into a memory we hadn't thought about in months. That's exactly what happened with this one — our April 2023 trip to Singapore. We were scrolling through old clips trying to find something else entirely, and suddenly there we were, sweaty, grinning, and completely overwhelmed by how clean everything was. So we figured it was time to put together a little throwback short and let you relive it with us.

Why Singapore, Again?

If you've followed our channel for a while, you know we're suckers for a good layover-turned-adventure, and Singapore was exactly that kind of trip. We'd heard so much about it — the food courts, the gardens, the sheer efficiency of the place — that we couldn't resist carving out a few days to explore. Coming from Mississauga, where we're used to sprawling suburbs and long drives to get anywhere, Singapore felt like stepping into a different universe. Everything was walkable, the transit system put the TTC to shame (sorry, Toronto), and somehow the entire city smelled faintly of satay no matter where you went.

The Food Was the Whole Trip

Let's be honest — for us, travel almost always circles back to food, and Singapore might be one of the greatest food cities either of us has ever experienced. Samantha, coming from a Vietnamese food background, was in absolute heaven navigating the hawker centers, comparing broths and noodle textures like she was on a mission. Amir, meanwhile, fell hard for the chili crab and spent an embarrassing amount of time trying to recreate the sauce at home afterward (he still hasn't nailed it). If you've read our post on Vietnamese street food for first-timers, you already know how seriously we take our noodle bowls — and Singapore's hawker culture gave us a whole new appreciation for how food can be a city's identity.

Humidity, Chaos, and Us

One thing the short doesn't fully capture is just how hot it was. We're talking the kind of humidity that makes your camera lens fog up the second you step outside. There's a clip we cut where Amir is visibly wilting next to a fountain while Samantha, somehow completely unbothered, is still smiling for the camera. It's become a running joke between us — she handles heat like she was built for it, and he handles it like he's melting in slow motion. Honestly, moments like that are why we love traveling together and sharing it here. Navigating a new country as an interracial couple always brings its own funny little dynamics, something we've talked about more in Traveling as an Interracial Couple — What We've Learned.

What We'd Do Differently

Looking back, we wish we'd given ourselves more time. We packed Singapore in almost like a long weekend stopover, and there's so much we didn't get to — Sentosa Island, more of the hawker centers outside the touristy zones, and honestly, just more time to sit and people-watch at a kopitiam with a cup of kopi in hand. If you're planning your own trip, our biggest tip is: don't rush it. The city rewards slowing down, especially in the older neighborhoods like Tiong Bahru and Joo Chiat, where the pace feels completely different from the glossy downtown core.

Traveling Before Kids

Watching this footage back now hits a little differently, since so much has changed for us since April 2023. Trips like this — spontaneous, light on planning, easy to just wander for hours — feel like they belonged to a different chapter of our lives. These days our travel looks a lot more like the kind we wrote about in Thailand With Young Kids: Is It Worth It?, which is a whole different beast, but honestly just as rewarding in its own chaotic way. It's part of why we love going back through old shorts like this one — they're little time capsules of who we were and where we'd been before everything got busier (and louder, and stickier with snack crumbs).

Would We Go Back?

In a heartbeat. Singapore left an impression on both of us that hasn't faded, even three years later. There's something about a city that manages to be futuristic and deeply cultural at the same time that keeps pulling us back to the memory of it. If it's on your travel list, our advice is simple: go hungry, go curious, and don't be afraid of the heat.

Thanks for watching and reading along with us. If you enjoyed this little throwback, you can catch the full short here: Watch on YouTube.

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With love, Samantha & Amir 🇻🇳🇮🇳🇨🇦