Arrived with low expectations, left completely converted

Singapore wasn't high on my travel list. A friend pushed me to go and I'm genuinely grateful. The first full day in Chinatown reset everything — the scale of Singapore Botanic Gardens and the quality of the kaya toast with soft-boiled eggs were immediate signals that I'd misjudged the place completely.

world-class hawker food became my personal highlight of the whole trip. Spent 11 days and could easily have stayed twice as long. Now I tell everyone who'll listen that Singapore is underrated — add it to your list.