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Choosing to skip Christmas and New Year’s Eve with loved ones is never easy, but this year we are trading rainy Sweden for Singapore and Bali. Honestly, being in the southern part of Sweden during November, December, and January is a special kind of misery. I cannot remember the last time I saw the sun.
Yesterday, at noon, it was so grey and dark that the lampposts were still on. With 4–5 degrees Celsius and rain, it was the sort of weather that makes you question why anyone would willingly visit this time of year. If someone asked me for travel advice about the south of Sweden right now, I would probably recommend skipping the suitcase and Googling sunnier destinations.
A couple of weeks ago, we decided to escape to Singapore. While the journey is long, spending two full weeks there seemed excessive. To balance the trip, we added Bali to the itinerary. It may not be the ideal season for Bali, but it felt like the right choice.
The Colony Brunch at The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore
We did explore other destinations with more reliable weather: Tenerife (a five-and-a-half-hour flight in a cramped plane with very little legroom), Dubai (not for us), Mexico (everything was booked), and Cape Town with its surrounding areas (stunning, but with crime rates making it the 10th most violent city in the world in 2023, is also a no).
We even considered the newly opened Cheval Blanc in Seychelles. Tempting, but their holiday pricing bordered on absurdity. Besides, new hotels often need time to get things right, and Seychelles is also not in season. It is on our “watchlist,” though, perhaps for just before or after the high season when the weather is still good, and the prices are a little less eye-watering.
This will be our third trip to Singapore together, and we are looking forward to revisiting old favourites, like the brunch at The Colony, and trying some new restaurants. Last time, we had a reservation at Zen but cancelled it for some reason. That is not going to happen this time.
Hopefully, this trip will bring the perfect mix of city buzz and tropical calm, with new memories to take home—and maybe even a little sun.
Our last visit was in early 2020, when we stayed there for a couple of days before heading to Australia. Singapore took the COVID pandemic seriously, with temperature checks at the airport and in some shops, you could not even step inside without a fever scan and gloves.
Front pages of newspapers were filled with safety advice every day. By the time we returned to Sweden four weeks later, wearing masks, it was as if nothing had happened. The only hint of change? Supermarkets emptied of toilet paper, pasta, rice, and canned goods.