The Travel Crisis Decision Tree

I’ve been meaning to write this post for awhile – the decision tree to determine if you are, in fact, having some sort of existential crisis on your trip. Hint: there is approximately a 99% chance that you are not.

In my experience, potential crises usually present in conjunction with one or all of the following: shitty weather, jet lag, dehydration, hunger, loneliness.

This blog is my travel highlight reel, so I usually only tell you about the fun stuff, the delicious meals, the funny stories… but plenty of things go wrong, and it’s important, I think, to acknowledge that. No one lives a charmed travel life free of hassles, hangovers, and bad moods.

So here is your decision tree in the face of what can feel like impending doom when you’re hot (or cold), cranky, tired, annoyed with the person you’re traveling with, whatever:

Thought: this trip sucks. I want to go home. I’m (insert crappy feeling) and I wish I hadn’t had the stupid idea to come here.

Step 1: Sit. Drink a bottle of water. Better?

If no, Step 2: Is it noon? If no, get some coffee. If yes, get yourself a cocktail or a glass of wine.

No need for step 3. You’re better now. Unless you are in jail or the hospital, your travel problem can almost always be solved with water, food, caffeine, or alcohol. You are not having an existential crisis.

I had to remind myself of that this morning after I had the bright idea to walk 2 miles in the heat at 8 am to Little India and get Indian food for breakfast. I mean, why not? I thought. Look at me, the independent solo traveler, going to get Indian food for breakfast on a whim! At least I had the wisdom to have coffee before I set out.

Cut to me, an hour later, drenched in sweat and stomach still a little off from my wine-soaked lunch and super spicy dinner yesterday, faced with this as soon as I walked into the Tekka market:

Normally, super cool. Right that moment, blech. And by that point I was so hot I didn’t want Indian food, or really any food, either.

So, step 1: got some water. A little better.

Punted the Little India idea. I’ll come back later.

Hopped on the subway to the Botanic Gardens, where I have a lunch reservation at a restaurant inside the gates later. Right at the gate, found a smoothie shop and got an icy cold green-tea-and-some-sort-of-fruit smoothie that absolutely saved my life. Walked around the gardens until I couldn’t take the heat anymore, and now I’m sitting in the shade at a cafe having more tea and more water. It’ll be noon here in 20 minutes 😉.

Crisis averted.

The Singapore Botanic Gardens are really something, and worth a visit. The Orchid Garden alone is worth the trip – thousands of different kinds of orchids, all meticulously tended and displayed – it’s absolutely gorgeous.

Lunch here in a bit will be at Corner House, which I’m super excited to try. The friend I had dinner with last night said it’s her and her husband’s favorite place.

Speaking of meals, I got so caught up in my decision tree story that I neglected to report back on lunch and dinner yesterday. Lunch was at Odette in the National Gallery. What a treat – I can’t say enough good things about this restaurant. Rather than sitting me in a corner (which, as a frequent solo diner, has happened more than a few times, and I’ve learned to simply ask for a better table), they sat me at the prized chef’s table facing the open kitchen, where I could watch all the action. You know, in case I might be bored. 🙂

I chose a six course tasting menu with wine pairings, and the sommelier, who’s name is Vino (not kidding, that’s actually his name), cheerfully agreed to do half pours for me so I wouldn’t pass out at the end of lunch. The staff was super friendly, and the food was absolutely exquisite. My favorite dish was a rosemary smoked egg paired with a white, almost sherry-like wine from the Jura. Here’s Vino with the wine, and the egg presentation:

Vino, it turns out, is leaving Odette in a week to be the head somm at a highly anticipated new spot opening in Singapore called Cloud Street. He’ll be working with the only Michelin starred Sri-Lankan chef in the world, whose other restaurant I tried and failed to get into on this trip. Looks like I’ll just have to come back!

After a nap in the late afternoon to wait out the heat and sleep off the wine, I met a friend at Newton hawker Centre (which I think is the one from the movie) for my first street food dinner. We shared sambal stingray, fish noodles, and an oyster omelet, all delicious. My only advice so far on the hawker centers is to stick with water to drink, or Tiger beer if you’re a beer drinker, which I’m not. The “juices” and other drinks are super sugary sweet, so unless that’s your thing, water’s the way to go. Big thumbs up though, on the sambal stingray:

I’m off to lunch – time for some food and wine for this kid.

Cheers!

Traveling Girl