Singapore

We were expecting a futuristic city of glass and steel, and Singapore did not disappoint. The newly-opened Marina Bay Sands Resort is an interesting assortment of architecture, not least the 'boat building' we were vaguely aware of, but unprepared for how strange it appeared - like a cruise ship dumped on skyscrapers by a tsunami.

The interior was also impressive, and was a welcome respite from the overwhelming humidity we had so far escaped. Unfortunately Singapore's abundant opportunities for shopping were completely lost on us, and we merely used the building as a refreshingly cool path to the botanical garden.

The architects had also had a hand in designing the botanical gardens, which were free to walk around, but cost an exorbitant $20 / £15 to enter the raised walkway and biospheres. Needless to say we were happy to stroll around the public areas.

While the architecture was interesting to admire, I was much more excited by the prospect of sampling as much food as was possible in 48 hours. Not far from our couchsurfing host's home was a vegetarian hotpot restaurant. We did not visit a hotpot restaurant in China because they are very meat-centric and we would have struggled to communicate our desire to avoid pig penis and other such delicacies. Here though, there was a cornucopia of vegetables, fungi, dumplings and salads, all available to take back to our table and cook in one of two boiling hot broths.

One day, we also visited the touristy Chinatown to have a look around. It was nothing like China, though the decorations for the upcoming Chinese New Year were interesting to see. Unfortunately most of the old colonial style buildings are hidden behind large signs and glitzy façades  but it is still possible to see some of the old charm if you look above street level.

At lunchtime, we found our way into a very local hawker centre, with at least 100 booths specialising in a few dishes. I had heard about a must-try dish called Carrot Cake, which contains no carrot, and is not a cake. I opted for the 'dark' Carrot Cake and was delighted to find it was a mixture of egg and a gelatinous mixture of daikon (a large radish) and rice flour. It was fried in dark soy sauce and was extremely delicious. My biggest problem was that I could not fit any more food into the short time we stayed.