Women Who Travel Podcast: Why Singapore Is Best Explored Solo
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Born and raised in Singapore, Jemimah Wei uses her hometown as the backdrop to her new novel, The Original Daughter—a story of sisterhood and family drama set in the turn of the millennium. But as well as it being a great source of inspiration for the author, she also believes it to be a great destination for solo travelers. Lale sits down with Wei for her tips on how to plan a trip, navigate its vibrant hawker centers, and make the most of its 24/7 culture.
Lale Arikoglu: Hi there. Welcome to Women Who Travel. I'm Lale Arikoglu. Today I'm excited to talk to author and journalist Jemimah Wei, about her home Singapore and about how exploring the city, the beaches, the green spaces, and the 24/7 culture is the perfect solo travel expedition. Yes, for many travelers, the airport itself is a destination, but the island state with its diverse array of communities and cultures is compact, safe and easy to explore.
Jemimah Wei: This is the story of five million people that exists nowhere else in the world. We are a very young country, we turned 60 this year, and already we have established ourself very quickly. Singapore is an island everywhere, so you walk long enough, you hit the water. There's so much to do. There is so much to eat. There is so much to see. And I think something that people are always a little surprised by is Singapore's language of administration is English, so everybody speaks English and that makes us a very attractive location for global investors, which is also why it's so safe and wealthy, but also makes it very accessible just linguistically for tourists coming in.
LA: Jemimah, is so lovely to have you in the studio. Just before we started recording, I was saying that I have been to Singapore but only for a few hours when I pass through the airport. It is kind of famously a stopover city, but there is a lot to explore. I don't want to fall onto a very predictable cultural reference, but Crazy Rich Asians really put it on the map as being a destination unto itself. What do people miss out on when they just fly through Changi?
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