Buenos Aires, Argentina

South America is highly underrated. Buenos Aires is one of my favorite cities in the world. To be honest, I didn't have very many expectations before going there, but as soon as I arrived I was immediately in awe of this place. I fell in love with every aspect of this city: the food, the culture, and it's people. Most travelers just use Buenos Aires as a pit stop before making the trek through Patagonia, but I would urge anyone making the trip down there to spend a day or two in the capital city. 

Plaza de Mayo

Florida Street
Pedestrian street with every type of store you can think of. There are oftentimes musicians playing on the street, and always people yelling out "cambio" for you to exchange your US Dollars

Empanadas all day, every day

View from Hotel Pulitzer's rooftop Sky Bar

Neighborhoods

Recoleta

Cultural Center

Basílica Nuestra Señora del Pilar, church next to Recoleta Cemetery

La Recoleta Cemetery is located in a central area of the city. It is notably the final resting place of Argentinian presidents, Nobel Peace Prize winners, Napoleon's granddaughter and Eva Duarte Perón. 

"We expect the Lord"
Inside the entrance of Recoleta Cemetery 

Duarte Family Tomb

Eva (Evita) Duarte de Perón was the wife of Argentinian President Juan Perón. She was an opera singer, but is more famously known for aiding the suffragist movement in Argentina by creating the Female Peronist Party. All of this work ultimately elected her husband as president of Argentina in 1951. Evita had her sights on joining the ticket as vice-president, but in the end decided against it. It is speculated that her ambitions did not change, but the growing pressure from her husband, military officials, and Argentinian upper class made her decide against running for office. She is a beloved member of Argentinian history. The Duarte family tomb is often adorned with flowers from people paying their respects to Eva.

Floralis Generica 

El Ateneo Grand Splendid
Opera house turned book store

Palermo

Palermo is described as the hipster neighborhood of Buenos Aires. There's a lot of new restaurants and shops popping up in the area, including a lot of US based companies opening up shops there (Nike, Kiehls, Apple). It is also prolific with street art. Often times store owners will commission street artists to paint their store fronts. 

Decata - cafe
This little hidden oasis in Palermo has a cafe, tea shop (Tealosophy by Ines Berton) and home goods store (Paul French Gallery)

Cafe con leche and cinnamon bun from Decata

San Telmo

Every Sunday there is an Antiques Fair in San Telmo. Booths with handmade crafts, leather goods and artwork line the pedestrian street that goes on for a couple miles. This is my favorite place to pick up souvenirs. It's always bustling with a big crowd, and if you're lucky, you can see some people dancing to Tango music in the streets.

Patio Ezeiza
Antiques shops on the bottom floor. Cafes and kids playing football up top.

Cafe con leche is always a good choice

Graffiti Tour 

The highlight of my trip was taking a Graffiti Tour with Graffitimundo. Not only did I get to see all of the amazing street art, but our tour guide told us about the artists, as well as the political and cultural history of Buenos Aires that the graffiti movement grew from. The tour is mostly on foot, with a couple short drives in their minibus to and from different neighborhoods. They have 3 different tours, Street Art Walking Tour, Street Art Origins Tour, and Urban Art & Activism Tour. I did the Street Art Origins Tour, but I'm sure the other two are just as good. 

"Teta and Salta" 
Made and named in honor of two young boys that died in the neighborhood

Field workers paying homage to Mother Earth
Artist : Evers

Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo
Asociación Madres de Plaza de Mayo

In 1977, the Association of Argentine Mothers began protesting at Plaza de Mayo in front of the presidential palace. During the military dictatorship between 1976 and 1983, thousands of people "disappeared" for their public opposition to the state terrorism of the military dictatorship. They were completely erased from public record and no arrest information could be found. Their bodies were often disposed of in unmarked graves around the city, or thrown in the ocean. Often times these people were of college age. The Madres came together as they started questioning what happened to their children. They began protesting at Plaza de Mayo, but public protests were not allowed. Police told them if they stood and protested, they would be arrested. There was a law prohibiting public congregation of more than three people so the mothers would walk in pairs around Pirámide de Mayo, the monument in the middle of Plaza de Mayo. 

The white head scarves are used as a symbol of the Madres. They brought local and international attention to this human rights violation. White head scarves adorn the ground of the monument in honor of the Madres, seen above. The white head scarves are painted over the play ground on the left, symbolizing the Madres always watching over Argentina's children.

Hollywood in Cambodia was our final stop of the Graffiti Tour. It was an art gallery hidden behind a burger joint/bar with their roof top a collection of almost all of the famous street artists in Argentina. 

Singapore

Merlion and the iconic Marina Bay Sands in the background

Singapore is not everyone's first destination in Asia, most people go to Thailand, Japan, or China. Understandable as all are very beautiful countries. But as I got to spend some time in Singapore and explore the area and learn about the history of the small city state, I began to understand why people vacation here. I went to Singapore on two trips for work, one in December 2016 and another in January 2017. I got to explore so much, a little more on my second trip as I had a lot more free time. 

Singapore is very SAFE. Probably one of the safest countries you will visit in Asia. Laws here are very strict, and because of that, you feel very safe walking around late at night. Just keep in mind, gum is not allowed in public, littering and jay walking could result in a fine. Singapore is also a very rich country, with a lot of economy coming in through the ports. Prices for everything are pretty high, and the exchange rate for SGD is usually about equal to USD, so you end up paying quite a bit for everything during your travels here. 

Gardens by the Bay is comprised of the Flower Dome, Cloud Forrest, and Super Tree Grove

Site Seeing

Waterfall in the Cloud Forest

If you only have time to do a couple things in Singapore, going to Gardens by the Bay should definitely be on your list. You can purchase a ticket to see two of the attractions for $28 SGD. I wanted to see Supertree Grove and the Cloud Forest. Even if you can't go up to the walkway, just walking on the ground among the Super Trees is an experience. Going to the Cloud Forest, right when you walk in there's a huge waterfall. There's one pathway that winds in and out of the green marsh. It's misty throughout the whole "forest" to replicate tropical marshes that these plants typically live in. 

The SuperTree Walkway isn't very long, but you can see over all of Gardens by the Bay. It's an amazing view from the top. 

SuperTree Grove

Chijmes 

Chijmes is a former convent and school, that now houses bars and restaurants. It didn't eat there, but walked around for a bit. I got recommendations from a friend of a friend for Singapore and this was on their list. They described it as the setting of a rom-com and it's so true. There are string lights hung around the little park on the inside, and the all white walls of the Gothic-style is a really cute backdrop for the restaurants. 

Southern Ridges

The Southern Ridges is a walkway above a giant park. It's usually hot and humid in Singapore, so taking a walk near the tops of the trees gives you a nice breeze. It's a decent walk, but not like a hard hike. I had a little trouble finding the entrance to the walkway, took me a while and had to walk up hill.

Henderson Waves bridge

National Museum of Singapore

Singapore was a trading post for the British East Indian Company and later ceded to the British Raj. During World War II Singapore was occupied by Japan. After WWII it gained independence from the British with other former colonies and created Malaysia. Two years later Singapore separated over ideological differences and became their own sovereign nation in 1965. I was able to learn all of this history at the National Museum of Singapore. At the time I was visiting, there was an exhibition titled "We Built a Nation" that depicted Singapore's start as an independent city-state and the people that helped create it. The museum isn't all history, there are a lot of art installations as well.

Right outside the National Museum is a park called Fort Canning Park. It's a great place to just sit and relax if you've been walking around all day. They have a lot of different types of plants in the garden and they label almost all of the plants so you can tell what they are. 

Neighborhoods

Haji Lane

Haji Lane was probably my favorite area of Singapore. It's a small alley way with bright colored buildings and murals. There are small boutique shops, restaurants and bars. Perfect spot to sit and relax for a while and get some souvenir shopping in.   

Bussorah Street

Just around the corner from Haji Lane is Masjid Sultan, a preserved historical mosque from 1824. There are guided tours available, but I just spent my time walking around the area, enjoying the beautiful architecture and design of the mosque. I walked down Bussorah Street which is another walking street restricted from cars. There's a mix of Turkish, Lebanese and Persian restaurants on Bussorah Street. I stopped in at Derwish which is a Turkish restaurant. They have a store right next door with handcrafted trinkets and lamps. Near Masjid Sultan is also Bugis Street, a very large shopping mall, but the best part about the area is the street vendors where you can buy most of your souvenirs for back home.

Little India

My favorite part about Singapore is how ethnically and religiously diverse it is. So many different cultures and people are celebrated here, and the best part is the mix of all of the different types of food. I took a walk to Little India just see these colorful buildings. The alleyways were filled with merchants with colorful bags and garments. 

Chinatown

Chinatown is pretty central, there are some site seeing things there like the Hindu temple, Sri Mariamman, and the Buddhist temple, Buddha Tooth Relic Temple. But mostly Chinatown has really great food. There is a hawker food stand there that has earned a Michelin Star. 

Storefront of Hawker Chan

$5 Michelin Star meal, Soya Chicken and Rice

Sri Mariamman Temple, a Hindu temple in Chinatown

Hotels 

Marina Bay Sands

On my last night in Singapore, I booked a room at Marina Bay Sands just so I could have access to the infinity pool. You can eat at the restaurant next to the pool, but it's not the same. People will swim laps in the pool, but everyone is mostly there to go up to the edge and see the expansive city skyline. It's a little expensive to stay there, but well worth it.

Raffles 

The other iconic hotel in Singapore is Raffles Hotel. It was built in 1887 and named after Stamford Raffles, the British founder of Singapore. The old colonial style architecture like Raffles can be seen spread out around Singapore. Some of the houses and storefronts are still styled this way. You can also get a the well-known cocktail, Singapore Sling, at the bar inside Raffles Hotel. But be prepared to pay a lot for it. 

Food

The foods Singapore is known for is chili crab and their chicken and rice dish. You can try the infamous fruit, durian, although it was described to me as tasting like feet... I passed. Momma Kong's in Chinatown was recommended to me by a friend for chili crab, and I definitely recommend it as well. I was told Chinatown was not the place to go for chili crab, but it wasn't very touristy or overpriced. Chinatown Food Street is also a really good experience. Food stands line the street, you order and get your food and then find a table in the middle of the street. Near Chinatown is an area called Clarke Quay, a collection of restaurants and shops the line the canal. I was also told right next to The Float at Marina Bay, Makansutra Gluttons Bay, is the place to go for all of the best Singaporean dishes. I didn't try the food there, but everything smelled amazing. Chopsuey Cafe at Dempsey was my favorite restaurant throughout both trips, pictured below. It's Asian fusion, which can be hit or miss, but this place got it right with all of the flavors.