BryGuides

36 surprising hours in India 👇🏼

When mention India, its elicits strong opinions. It's a land of extremes. wealth and poverty. Chaos and serenity.

I didn't originally plan on coming to India, but an absurdly good ✈️ deal came up, a dear friend would be here, everything fell into place.

And boy, am I glad that I did & am extremely grareful to Parth!

I stayed at the Lodhi, which is one of the most luxurious hotels in all of India. It's a remarkable property, so much so that it earned a Michelin key, and from the design to the incredible staff and service.

I dove in deep head first and explored the old city (old Delhi - pics 3-7). People warned me not to go. It's not for the feint of heart, but I absolutely loved it. It's complete chaos. The sights, smells, spice markets, are overwhelming. Trash is piled high and in places and cows, which are sacred freely roam the streets.

It's quite a juxtaposition, going there I took the absolutely spotless Delhi metro and met up with Parth. He took me on a whirlwind tour of sights and culinary delights I'll never forget.
From lunch meeting one of indias most famous chefs, incredible palaces and temples, green sauce id literally kill a person for, I was completely blown away by the flavors, diversity, and history here. If you go to Delhi, save Nisaba and Jamun and tank me later.

He taught me about the history, showed me neighborhoods and murals and the battles the LGBTQ+ has made here for rights. As I headed to the airport, I felt a true sense of sadness for not having more time.

It's easy to get swept away with what is different. But when you have 1.5 billion+ people and limited resources, things are going to be more intense. Even the traffic cones are steel barriers.
But for seasoned travelers, who know how to discern, set expectations and lean in, what a treasure trove of culture, history and fascinating diversity of humans and interactions. I encourage you to see past its flaws and rambunctiousness because there is true magic to be found here.

I cannot wait to get back and experience more.

The most ridiculous suite in the sky for $55🤯👇🏼

Singapore Airlines First Class Suites is one of those products that genuinely lives up to the hype.

The experience starts long before you get on the plane with dedicated check in, private security, and access to Singapore's First Class Lounge and The Private Room.

There, I enjoyed champagne, wagyu, and chili crab capellini with caviar before even stepping onboard.

Then came the suite itself.

A massive private room with sliding doors, a separate leather chair and bed, incredible service, free flowing champagne, generous caviar service, a delicious fish main course, and strawberry cake topped with gold flakes.

Even the bathroom was absurdly oversized.

The craziest part?

I booked this flight from Singapore to New Delhi for just $55 out of pocket plus 112,500 points.

These suites are only available on select Airbus A380 routes, making them one of the more exclusive first class experiences in commercial aviation.

An incredible experience from start to finish.

Here to help you use your points to start flying like this whenever you're ready;)

Singapore summarized 👇🏼

Singapore was a place that had eluded me for years.

I had multiple trips planned and canceled because of injuries, health issues, and deaths in the family, so it felt really good to finally make it here.

On the surface, Singapore is an incredibly modern, insanely clean city state of more than 5 million people. Genuinely don't remember seeing a single piece of trash while I was there.

You've probably heard about some of the strict rules and regulations, but what you see on the other side is an incredibly well organized, structured society that functions remarkably well.

Though at times it almost felt sterile.

But the flip side was some of the prettiest parks and public spaces I've seen anywhere in the world, incredible bike infrastructure, and public goods that just work. After spending time in some of the more chaotic parts of the region, it was a breath of fresh air.

What surprised me most were the people and the food.

I'd been told Singaporeans were a little less friendly than some of their neighbors, but I found people to be warm, welcoming, and genuinely delightful.

And the food i knew would be good but exceeded expectations

Sure, you can spend a fortune on chili crab or an insanely overpriced Singapore Sling at Raffles, but the real magic is the hawker centers. Some of the best meals I had cost less than $10, and it's honestly wild how accessible great food is here.

I was also surprised by attractions like Gardens by the Bay and the Cloud Forest. I expected them to be tourist traps and ended up thinking they were genuinely impressive.

And while Marina Bay Sands gets all the attention, there are some fantastic hotel options throughout the city. I loved the Marina Bay Sands experience, but I also had a great stay at the Andaz on points.

Overall, Singapore is a beautiful, modern, fascinating place and absolutely worth a stop if you're traveling through the region.

Hello from the largest infinity pool on 🌏🤯

Some hotels deserve their own carousel ...

This is certainly one of them. I've had this property in my sights for years and after a bunch of missed trips to Singapore due to weather, injuries, I finally made it.

Home of the largest infinity pool on earth, connected by three towers this behemoth of a property is the definition of iconic. But anything that large is gonna take some hits to luxury and quality, which I'll cover in a later post.

But wow, this pool, only open to hotel guests, was alone worth the splurge.

And it ended up being good that I waited. I got a brand new renovated room, which was very nice. A few folks that warned me about going here mentioned the dated rooms being one of the trepidations, which they are actively addressing.

Overall, it's a fun splurge for a night or two. The value beyond that is shaky, particularly for a refined audience with high service expectations.

But if you're looking for iconic, it's tough to beat this.