Singapore Travel Guide

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Foreign Grocery Friday: The Kaya Toast of Singapore

February 3, 2012 at 5:07 PM | by | Comments (0)

When we travel, one of our favorite things to do is to pop into a local grocery store and check out the food products and candies we'd never find anywhere else. So we're trying out this new feature, Foreign Grocery Friday, where each week we'll feature some of our (and your) favorite overseas treats. Got a recommendation? Let us know!

It can be tempting while traveling, especially for more than a week or two, to revert back to ordering the comfort foods with which you grew up. This maybe means eggs and bacon for breakfast or something similarly boring. Of course we urge you to overcome the temptation and, instead, take even more to the local menus. In Singapore, this means Kaya Toast for breakfast.

Kaya jam, which can be bought in jars in the grocery store, is a mix of eggs, sugar, coconut milk and pandan leaf. It's spread between two thin, toasted piece of bread and cut to neat rectangles. Adding butter is optional, depending on how decadent you feel.

Yes, it's green, but once you get over that and just bite in, you'll immediately forget the color for the flavor.

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Hanging Out at Singapore's Changi Airport: The Outdoor Pool. Yes, a Pool.

Where: Singapore-Changi International, Singapore, Singapore
February 2, 2012 at 5:38 PM | by | Comments (0)

There's a reason Singapore-Changi International Airport consistently wins awards; it's because the place is ah-may-zing. After spending much time at the three main terminals earlier this week, we're sharing with you our favorite, can't-miss bits of this massive travel hub.

Today: The famous pool atop Changi Airport's Terminal 1

Look, you have to believe us when we say that one of the terminals at Changi Airport has a swimming pool. Why? Because, crazily enough, it's true. You'll find the clear blue waters of the outdoor pool above Terminal 1, just follow the "swimming pool" signs and an escalator to reach it.

Technically, this pool (and whirlpool) is part of a hotel in the terminal—the Ambassador Transit Hotel—but it's actually situated across a landing from the hotel reception and, thus, quite easy to check out on your own before paying the $13.91 SGD ($11.15 USD) to actually use the facilities and take a dip.

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Four iPhone Photo Apps We're Freaking Out Over Right Now

Where: Singapore
February 1, 2012 at 12:33 PM | by | Comments (0)


Three Singapore art deco buildings we captured and then combined using Diptic

Okay, sure we're totally obsessed of late with iPhone photo-sharing app Instagram (find us by searching for user "jaunted" within the app!), but it's been a thing for us that, before embarking on a big trip, we'll not only download the best city maps and guide apps for our destination, but we'll also look around for new photo apps to up our iPhoneography game.

Thus, before hitting the road to Singapore, we bought four awesome iPhone photo apps that really worked so well, we were spreading their gospel by word of mouth. Now it's time to share them with you:

· Diptic
Perhaps you've seen these uploaded into Instagram and wondered "what the heck?" Yea, this app essentially allows you to combine several photos from your iPhone into one, combined spread much like setting up one of those old-school family photo frames that ends up dusty on a mantle. The layouts are flexible, and you can adjust each picture for size, color, brightness, etc before saving the finished triptych. See another example here.
- Cost $0.99 at the iTunes store

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Hanging Out at Singapore's Changi Airport: Riding the 4-Story Slide

Where: Singapore-Changi International, Singapore, Singapore
January 31, 2012 at 12:56 PM | by | Comment (1)

There's a reason Singapore-Changi International Airport consistently wins awards; it's because the place is ah-may-zing. After spending much time at the three main terminals earlier this week, we're sharing with you our favorite, can't-miss bits of this massive travel hub.

Today: The 4-story flume slide in Terminal 3

The line is full of kids shrieking with joy, their parents looking on with cameraphones at the ready. At first glance, a traveler could think that the slides (yes, there are two slides) at Terminal 3 are for children only, but they're not. They're so not.

In September 2010, Changi Airport debuted the twirly, stainless steel fun tubes, one only as high as a single story and free, the other four stories and requiring a ticket which can be obtained for every $10 SGD spent at an airport store. We stocked up on cheap accessories at one such store and headed to an Information desk to collect our ride—2 rides, since we had spent $20-ish.

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McDonald's Contribution to Chinese New Year: The 'Prosperity Burger'

Where: Singapore
January 26, 2012 at 11:58 AM | by | Comments (2)

Singapore may be like 22 hours of travel away from the US, but that doesn't mean they haven't got 24-hour McDonalds here and there. One we passed today—just off the Esplanade near the Fullerton Bay Hotel—was sporting some flashy banners for limited-time-only eats. Curious, we got closer. Holy shnickeys, they're trying to make a buck off of Chinese New Year with the introduction of four special items: Beef Prosperity Burger, Chicken Prosperity Burger, Twister fries and a Prosperity McFizz.

According to the banners, these babies are only around until January 31. According to the internet, this isn't the first McDs has been cooking "Prosperity Burgers." And just exactly how prosperous are these sammies? Well, the patties are dipped in black pepper sauce, topped with onions and finished with a sesame seed bun. Sounds okay, but none of those ingredients were in the traditional Prosperity Salad. The only thing we can tell is that the twister fries can resemble 8, an auspicious number.

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Onboard the Singapore Airlines A380: All About Business Class

Where: Singapore
January 25, 2012 at 11:04 AM | by | Comments (0)

The Jaunted Singapore A380 Series:

1. The Grand Tour
2. The Singapore Girls
3. Eating (and drinking) all the way to Singapore
4. Everything you ever wanted to know about Business Class
5. Design details

First, let us begin by saying that although we flew this baby in biz, we would absolutely go for it in economy as well. Or in Suites Class? You know the answer to that question. Still, Singapore Airlines is known for their business class product—there's the leather seats so wide two people can comfortably sit and chat, the Givenchy china and linens, the flight attendants who greet you by name even when you're away from 25D, and (of course) the fact that they blow other airlines' First Class out of the water. We're just stating facts here.

And actually, it's this better-than-first-class-business-class on Singapore which makes the JFK-FRA-SIN route so famous among frequent flyers. Sure, there are other airline options for flying from New York to Frankfurt, but if you can expense it or redeem miles, business on SQ is typically top choice among those who know about these things.

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Onboard the Singapore Airlines A380: In-Flight Dining and Drinking

January 23, 2012 at 4:36 PM | by | Comments (0)

The Jaunted Singapore A380 Series:

1. The Grand Tour
2. The Singapore Girls
3. Eating (and drinking) all the way to Singapore
4. Everything you ever wanted to know about Business Class
5. Design details

One time we actually attempted to cook a recipe straight from the Singapore Airlines cookbook. We're amateurs, but after watching the firsthand preparation of a service previously, we had some confidence. Truth be told, what we accomplished on land in a large kitchen will never equal what's enjoyed by passengers at 37,000 feet.

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Beginning the Year of the Dragon with a Healthy Dose of Fireworks

January 23, 2012 at 9:48 AM | by | Comments (0)

恭禧發財!

Just a quickie video to start the week off right—or rather, year off. Today marks the first day of the Year of the Dragon; it's Chinese New Year and yep, we're still chilling in Singapore, where we managed to take in the holiday fireworks with a view from the top of the RItz-Carlton, Millennia.

Whether or not you're passing out red envelopes or dining on Yusheng "prosperity salad," we bet you appreciate a good fireworks display now and then. And it was good! The pyrotechnics in Singapore burst above the Marina, surrounded on all sides by tall buildings from which to view the spectacle. There's the Central Business District (CBD) to the north and west, a gaggle of high-rise hotels to the east (where we are) and—we briefly pan over to it—the triple towers of the Marina Bay Sands to the south.

Pardon the fact that there's no sound; it was all people talking and our camera clicking, so you aren't missing any of the big booms.

Disclosure: Flights and some accommodation in Singapore are as a guest of Singapore Airlines. Regardless, all photos/videos and opinions presented are utterly and completely our very own.

[Video: Jaunted]

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Onboard the Singapore Airlines A380: The Iconic Singapore Girl

January 20, 2012 at 5:14 PM | by | Comments (0)

The Jaunted Singapore A380 Series:

1. The Grand Tour
2. The Singapore Girls
3. Eating (and drinking) all the way to Singapore
4. Everything you ever wanted to know about Business Class
5. Design details

This is how you usually spot The Singapore Girl: whizzing through an airport in a swirl of color, turning heads with her poise, polite smile and designer luggage. And then, just like that, The Singapore Girl has vanished beyond the security check and you're left wondering...who is she? where is she off to next? how does she keep her figure?

Naturally there are answers to all these questions, some of which we've discovered over the last few days in Singapore, both from flying for 20+ hours with them on the inaugural Singapore Airlines A380 flight on the route JFK - FRA - SIN and from visiting the official SIA Training Facility near Changi Airport.

Spoiler alert: The Singapore Girl keeps her figure thanks to "extracurricular activities..."

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Foreign Grocery Friday: The Chinese New Year 'Yusheng' Salad of Singapore

January 20, 2012 at 11:04 AM | by | Comments (0)

When we travel, one of our favorite things to do is to pop into a local grocery store and check out the food products and candies we'd never find anywhere else. So we're trying out this new feature, Foreign Grocery Friday, where each week we'll feature some of our (and your) favorite overseas treats. Got a recommendation? Let us know!

This Sunday night is more than just any old Sunday night; it's the Chinese New Year, when the year of the rabbit ends and the year of the dragon begins. The celebrations surrounding the lunar new year are many, and based on tradition. There's the giving of red envelopes containing money, the eating of mandarin oranges and sweets, and the gathering with family. And with almost every other special occasion ever, Chinese New Year mandates the preparation of special dishes to celebrate.

In Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore, the new year means eating a special raw fish salad called Yusheng, with ingredients added one by one, and each with its own deeper meaning (salmon for abundance, deep-fried crackers symbolizing gold, etc). Just as important as serving Yusheng for the new year is the act of mixing the salad with a toss called "lo hei." The higher you toss the salad, the greater you'll soar to new heights in the new year.

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Onboard the Singapore Airlines A380: The Grand Tour

January 19, 2012 at 3:38 PM | by | Comments (4)

On Monday, January 16, the massive Singapore Airlines Airbus A380 took off on its inaugural flight for the epic route JFK - FRA - SIN. This is flight number SQ 25, and we'll be sharing tons of details and photos from it for the next several days.

The Jaunted Singapore A380 Series:

1. The Grand Tour
2. The Singapore Girl
3. Eating (and drinking) all the way to Singapore
4. Everything you ever wanted to know about Business Class
5. Design details

We're going to be totally straight with you; jetting off into the sky onboard an Airbus A380 makes our eyes well up a bit. No, it's not quite tears, but it is being overwhelmed by the thoughts surrounding what exactly is happening right then. It's the fact that one can be cozy in an engineering masterpiece, a double-decker airplane, which can lift off from the ground as gracefully as any tiny aircraft and then manage to fly to places it once took weeks of travel to reach by uncomfortable boat.

On this route, the famous SQ 25 running New York-JFK to Frankfurt to Singapore, Singapore Airlines has now traded the 747 for this fresh A380, an upgrade on every level and totally deserved by passengers who spend over 20 hours traveling on it. Just before zipping away on this first run, we quickly snooped around the plane, peeking into all the leather-lined nooks and meticulously clean crannies to discover just why the Singapore A380s have been causing a hubbub since debuting in 2007.

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Scoot Unveils Cabin Crew Uniform, One Step Closer to Flying

Where: Singapore
January 17, 2012 at 9:25 AM | by | Comments (0)

One of the most exciting low-cost carriers to come out of Singapore has taken one step closer to hitting the skies. Last week our friends over at Scoot announced the frocks their cabin crew will be sporting on their inaugural flight. As expected, the companies signature golden yellow is a feature color to make the livery part of the cabin.

Black and yellow color blocking, females get a smart shift dress with a v-neck. Properly fitting and casual is the name of the game for the ladies walking the aisles. The dress is accented with the Scoot logo on the front left side. The ladies will turn heads, à la Pan Am, when walking through the airport for their Sydney launch in June.

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