I’ve never been a big city girl. When people talked about Singapore, all I heard were the words “skyscrapers,” “expensive,” and “they’re so strict, you can’t even chew gum.” I remember thinking I was going to hate Singapore and dreaded it being the last stop on our trip. But even though all those things are true, it was one of my favorite places I’ve seen in Southeast Asia. I think after two months of heat and sweat in underdeveloped, dirty cities, Singapore was exactly what we needed. The second I walked off the plane into the airport, I took a deep breath and said, “Wow, I love Singapore.” It was so clean. And shiny. And I could actually breath the air. The subway system was surprisingly easy to figure out, and we went straight to our hostel on a cute little cobblestone pedestrian street marked with cafes and Turkish restaurants. After some street food for dinner, we crashed so we could explore the city in the morning.

We only had one day in Singapore, so first thing in the morning, we headed to the Marina Bay and botanical gardens. It was so incredibly beautiful there. As I walked around Marina Bay, I felt a little like I was back in Sydney with the same sort of circular quay – but there were also the over-the-top Vegas-like hotels and casinos, and the New-York-City-skyscrapers. Kelsey and I embraced our tourist identities and took heaps of photos of the bay, the architecture, and the famous Merlion spitting out a fountain of water.

Me and the Merlion

Our last night was different, but it was awesome. Through some au pair connections, we ended up staying with an Australian family who just moved from Brisbane to Singapore. We spent our last night in Asia hanging out with some adorable little Aussie kids in a nice, big house, eating cereal and salads and Tim Tams and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream – a bit of a Western binge – and slept in a big cozy bed after watching some Jimmy Fallon. I think it was exactly what we needed to ease us back into the ways of the West.

At the moment, I’m sitting in the Manila airport, waiting to board our final flight back to the good, old USA. I have so many mixed emotions. I’m exhausted, sick of lugging around my giant backpack, ready for some clean clothes, and some food and water that won’t send me running to the next toilet. I’m relieved that I survived this trip – it was a lot harder than I expected, and after meeting so many travelers in the last few months, I’ve realized that pretty much no one leaves Southeast Asia without some scars. I’m excited to see everyone I miss back in the States, and I’m pumped that this isn’t the end of my trip – I still have another three weeks of hopping across the country until I’m back in my hometown. But I’m also scared shitless because this is the last and final leg of the grandest adventure I’ve ever had, and I don’t have a clue what’ll come next after I finally land in New Jersey. I don’t want this to be over just yet. More than anything, I don't want my life to be boring.