SINGAPORE - We were running short on Singaporean dollars and looking for an economical breakfast when the doorman at our Chinatown hotel suggested we try kaya toast.

SINGAPORE - Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. The sound of peanut shells cracking under our feet as we entered the legendary Long Bar at the historic Raffles Hotel was somewhat unsettling.

SINGAPORE - This is one of the most colorful cities in the world and it has nothing to do with its spicy ethnic neighborhoods or amazing gardens.

SINGAPORE - There are hundreds of attractions and lots to do and see in Singapore – but here’s 25 things Travelife.ca writers suggest you put on your “must do” list when in Singapore:

SINGAPORE - Long considered the melting pot of Asia, this city is boiling over with a new-found excitement these days thanks to its ongoing transformation from staid business capital to Asia’s new sun and fun central.

CHIANG MAI, THAILAND - Bangkok might get all the publicity, but Chiang Mai is the place you’re more likely not to forget when visiting this ancient land.

BANGKOK - The flower ladies sit in the stifling heat of a Bangkok morning delicately threading the petals of exotic orchids and jasmine flowers onto strings.

CHIANG MAI, THAILAND - The rumbling of some loose boards over a makeshift moat trumpeted our taxi’s arrival at the entrance of a regal-looking compound guarded by a large gate, a stone wall and a watch tower.

JAMES BOND ISLAND, THAILAND - The middle-aged couple hurried past the hawker selling island excursion tours in the lobby of Phuket’s Sheraton Laguna hotel, hoping the chap wouldn’t bother them with his sales pitch.

MUI NE, VIETNAM - I shade my eyes from the early morning sun and try to drown out the banter of the excited young foreign backpackers gathered outside Saigon’s main bus station on De Tham St.