Part 1: Yunnan to Singapore, Adventure in the Lion City
Southeast Asia is rapidly becoming a new hotspot region for global travelers looking for new, exciting and foreign travel experiences. Living in Yunnan province, in southwestern China, it was convenient for me to travel to any of these nearby destinations within a few hours. My girlfriend and I decided to take the direct flight from Kunming, the capital of Yunnan to Singapore, a three and hour hour flight. Here’s what our Yunnan to Singapore travel experience was like.
Yunnan to Singapore Travel Experience: Beginning of Our Trip
The Yunnan to Singapore journey is approximately 2644 kilometers, however our speedy flight made it seem like it flew by. For those located in Yunnan, there is a cheap, direct early morning flight that leaves Kunming’s (长云) Airport every Tuesday morning at 7:30. We had planned for a five day stay, hoping to pack in as many museums, outdoor scenic spots, and tourists attractions as we could. For my girlfriend, it was her first international trip. Picking Singapore was the perfect trip with the diverse local culture, high percentage of mandarin speakers (almost 70% of the country), and close proximity to China.
Yunnan is already a very diverse region with 25 out of China’s 55 ethnic minorities living in the province. Singapore is similar, in that is is a melting pot of different cultures from across the world, making it truly an international destination.
With an early flight departure, we arrived in Kunming Monday night and booked a hotel close to Kunming’s Changshui International Airport (昆明长水国际机场). The next morning, although still a little sluggish, we woke up full of excitement, unable to wait and experience traveling from Yunnan to Singapore.
The flight from Yunnan to Singapore took was fast and we landed in Singapore’s Changji Airport a bit after lunch. Singapore’s airport was clean, green, modern, and elegant, everything as mentioned online. Throughout the airport are varieties of exotic plants and everywhere is extremely clean. After going through the super convenient, automated immigration clearance point, we purchased a couple of the Singapore Pass Plus cards and hopped onto the subway. Being in Singapore for the first time, we did find the Singapore Pass Plus cards very useful, but didn’t find the time to take advantage of the free city tour that was offered with the card.
Day 1 in Singapore
It was my first time out of China in close to four years, so coming from Yunnan to Singapore was a nice change of scenery. We checked into our hotel and prepared our belongings. Popping open my laptop to use a VPN-free internet was fantastic! I had almost forgot what it was like to instantly connect online without first double checking the VPN connection.
After grabbing a quick-bite at a small cafe close-by, we hopped onto a double-decker bus and headed to our first stop: The National Museum of Singapore.
The National Museum of Singapore
The National Museum of Singapore, located in a white, western-governmental looking building was easy to locate. For us, it’s important and helpful to pick up some of the background history behind the region before we start exploring an area. One of the main exhibits taking place while we were there was: LKY 100: The Life and Legacy of Lee Kuan Yew. Being a little time-crunched, we purchased our tickets and darted directly over to the main history galleries to see how much history we could squeeze in.
The galleries are very well-organized and offer plenty of information on Singapore. From its original settlement years (when it was referred to as Singapura), to multiple era’s of colonial rule, and to the buildup of Singapore finally gaining its independence in August 1965, one can easily spend a whole day at the National Museum. One of my favorite parts about the gallery was the massive amount of cartography on display and the history behind them. I definitely spent too much time absorbing all the details of the hand-drawn maps and reading about the evolvement of the cartography throughout Singapore’s development. With influences from colonial powers such as the Dutch and English, to the deep Chinese culture rooted in the region, Singapore has a fascinating history that everyone should spend some time learning about.
It was about time for dinner and the next stop on our list was downtown Singapore.
Downtown Singapore: Gardens by the Bay
A 20-minute bus ride later and we arrived in downtown Singapore, while witnessing the beautiful sunset setting behind the modern skyline that seems to always be shared on Douyin and RED. It was definitely as beautiful as it looked on a phone screen. Singapore is surrounded by iconic buildings, with the Marina Bay Sands Hotel and its infinity pool towering over the ocean, and the central business district with all its dazzling lights not too far away.
We grabbed dinner and after taking a good gigabyte worth of photos, took another public bus down to the Gardens by the Bay, situated right behind the Marina Bay Sands Hotel to catch a light show that was to happen around 9:00 pm that evening. Following the friendly Google Maps, we arrived shortly before the show began. What many describe as Avatar-land was definitely surreal with the mixture of exotic plants from across the world dancing above, to the sci-fi looking architectural theme spotted throughout the park. The Garden’s 18 Supertrees are one of the city-state’s most recognizable landmarks and at night are definitely magical-looking, with the light-purple neon-looking branches sprouting out above and green vines engulfing the massive tree trunks.
With only Shake Shack being the only food option around at that time of night in the park, I rushed over to scoop up a couple burgers and jogged back over to catch a part of the light show. After we finished watching the entertaining light show we took another public bus pass and made our way back to our hotel, to get a good night’s rest.
Our first day from Yunnan to Singapore was in the books.
Day 2 in Singapore
The National Gallery of Singapore
Our first experience traveling from Yunnan to Singapore would include plenty of museums and art. as Day 2 of our trip would be mostly spent at the National Gallery in Singapore. The beautiful art museum had over four levels and an accessible rooftop level full of different artwork to view. The National Gallery, which encompasses over 64,000 sq. meters, also included the former Supreme Court and City Hall buildings, giving visitors an in-depth introduction to some political history behind the country.
In between your visits through each of the endless galleries, you should definitely check out a small cafe on the first floor, the Courtyard Cafe which has a great selection of coffee and small entrees. Try out a Singaporean coffee, also known as Kopi, which is a part of every Singaporean’s daily diet. Check out the full list of variations of Kopi, as there is quite the selection to choose from.
Throughout your visit, you’ll find yourself weaving back and forth between different buildings and crossing different walkways. One of the most exciting parts of the National Gallery, and maybe to some of you while you experience traveling from Yunnan to Singapore the first time, will be the rooftop floor. You’ll come across many popular internet famous checkin spots that are often shared on Instagram and Red. From the detailed forest wallpaper that follows you up the escalator to the blown up wrestlers in awkward positions on the rooftop outside, you’ll most likely find yourself taking plenty of shots outside. There are some great views of parts of the nearby skyline as well.
Singapore’s Old Hill Street Police Station
After taking endless photos on the rooftop, we made our way down and walked over to another popular hotspot to take pictures at, Old Hill Street Police Station. From the National Art Gallery, Old Hill Street Police Station is within a 15 minute walk and easily spottable from a faraway distance.
Built in 1934, Old Hill Street Police Station, a previous police training ground, has over 900 windows that have now been painted into a dazzling-array of colors. The neo-classical building’s window shutters rotate across the color spectrum and are a striking scene against the dull-cement color that makes up the rest of the building. The eye-catching building is now a must-visit for tourists and youngsters looking to catch a shot with one of the most iconic buildings in Singapore. You’ll notice streams of people taking shots across the street from Old Hill Street Police Station trying to catch the perfect background shot and the right amount of sunlight.
The Raffles Hotel in Singapore
Named after the founder of modern Singapore, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, the Raffles Hotel is one of the most iconic names around Singapore. Located just down the road from Old Hill Street Police Station, the 15 minute walk has plenty of beautiful angles from which to take shots of.. We were walking around dusk, so the sunlight was beaming through between the tall buildings, forming stunning reflections off the glass windows of endless amount of skyscrapers.
Honestly, the Raffles hotel wasn’t as grand as I thought it would be, as we walked up to the front entrance. There wasn’t really anything special or iconic about it. Apart from some slightly different exterior symbols, it seemed like a hotel you’d come across in Europe or the United States. Eventually, we walked up to the main entrance and toured the small shops and bars sprawled out throughout. Finally, we stopped at a small Raffles gift shop tucked in the center. After strolling around for a bit, looking at the countless Raffles branded products, my girlfriend and I finally decided to write some postcards. The salespeople rushed us as they were ready to close shop, so we inserted them into a small vintage mailbox to send off. Mission complete.
Our night would direct us over to a small, rowdy taco bar where we would finish up the night with some carnitas tacos and American craft beer. Day 2 of our Yunnan to Singapore travel experience was in the books, as we made our way back to our hotel for a good night’s sleep.
Part 2: Experience Traveling from Yunnan to Singapore
Stay Tuned for Part 2: Yunnan to Singapore Travel Experience. I will share the remaining two days of our Yunnan to Singapore travel experience !
In the meantime read some of my articles about Xishuangbanna and Dalian, other major beautiful cities in China with plenty to explore!
