Singapore

After our adventures in Nusa Penida, we spent a week back in Sanur staying with my uncle again. We took the time to relax, spent time with the family, went to the cinema and one day ventured to Kuta beach to release turtles. Apart from that, we had lots of rest and were ready for our city break.

After a 2 and half hour flight, we started our descent into Singapore airport. The pilot came over the tannoy and said there was heavy rain so we may be a little delayed. We weren’t that much past our scheduled time and when we landed the rain had stopped.

We cleared customs quickly and collected our bags and decided to get a Grab to our hotel. There is a separate area for the Grab drivers to pick you up, something to bear in mind if you decide to do the same. Within around 10 minutes, as were on our way to the city.

We pulled up to our hotel, Hotel 81 Orchid at around 9pm. The area, Geylang, was the red light district but, that kept the cost down as much as possible and it was discreet so didn’t bother us.

We checked in and went to our room on the 7th floor. The room was tiny, especially the bathroom; approximately a metre in length, but very clean and perfectly adequate for our needs when most of our time would be spent outside anyway.

We decided to not venture too far tonight and wandered to the main road for some snacks from the shop and watched some television and got an early night. The bed was a bit hard but we slept well.

Day 1

We walked to the nearest metro station, Kallang, around 10 minutes from the hotel. As we walked, we weren’t faced with the modern high rise buildings that Singapore is famous for, instead, this was a more traditional neighbourhood with small shop fronts and colourful shutters over the windows.

The stark contrast from Indonesia; where we’d just spent 2 months, was immediately apparent. The traffic was light and well organised, the streets were clean and cars even stopped at pedestrian crossings!

Once we arrived at the station, we enquired about a tourist pass that we would be able to use for the next few days. Only certain stations sell them so we were directed to Bugis station, just one stop away.

We opted for a 3 day pass at SG$20 per person ( approx £11). We also had to pay a deposit of SG$10 per card which would be refunded when we returned the cards at the end of our stay. The tourist passes allow unlimited use of both the metro and buses.

From Bugis station, we took the train to Bayfront station. The metro was very efficient, clean and air conditioned, providing a relief from the muggy temperatures. From Bayfront station we walked out to The Gardens By The Bay.

The Gardens By The Bay

As we walked out into the daylight from the underground tunnels of the metro, the got our first glimpse of the spectacular Marina Bay Sands hotel. This luxurious hotel dominates the skyline of downtown Singapore and is a truly wonderful piece of architecture.

We paid our entrance fee of SG$28 each (around £16). This allows access to the two conservatories, the other areas are free to explore.

We made our way over a wooden bridge crossing a large lake. The sky was grey with the odd break in the clouds, but the view was beautiful. From this vantage point, we could see the Singapore Flyer (a big wheel), the famous Supertrees and one of the domed conservatories which, we would later explore.

It was around midday now and we decided to go and get something to eat. I had been recommended to try Satay by the Bay, a food court within the gardens. We headed there first where I had some delicious mixed Satay. The food court itself had lots of different types of cuisine, from Thai to Turkish and the prices were very reasonable.

I enjoyed my lunch but Steve had other ideas about what he wanted to eat after seeing the sign for McDonalds! So our next port of call was to him to get his fix of burger and fries.

After lunch, we went to explore the first conservatory, the flower dome.

We had half expected the dome to be hot and stuffy like a greenhouse, so were pleasantly surprised when we arrived to a lovely air conditioned environment.

The flower dome was full of plants and flowers from around the world, some of which we’d never seen before like these weird cacti!

Beautifully coloured tropical flowers grew in abundance in this perfectly maintained environment.

Whilst we were there, a special exhibiton called ‘The Land of Oz’ was on display within the flower dome. This display was a new interpretation of the Yellow Brick Road in the form of a huge, spectacular assortment of sunflowers.

After the flower dome, we went into the next conservatory, the cloud forest.

This dome has been transformed into a mountainous environment, presenting a beautiful array of the vegetation and beautiful flora that would typically occupy cloud forests and tropical highlands.

As we entered we were instantly greeted with the world’s largest indoor waterfall which cascaded down over a carpet of lush plants.

Mist was being sprayed from small sprinklers within the dome to recreate the cloudy environment that these plants and flowers thrive in.

We then took a lift up to the top of the dome to the so called ‘Lost World’. This area exhibits some of the plants that would typically be found at 2000 metres. A small pond sat at the top with lots of greenery and also, strangely, Lego built plants and flowers!

From here, we started the trail down through the cloud walk and treetop walk, a path that winds down through the conservatory.

As we followed the pathway down through the lush greenery, we had an amazing view of the Marina Bay Sands hotel overlooking the bay.

We finished in the cloud forest dome and entered back out into the warm afternoon air. As we continued to walk around the gardens, the sky started to get darker and darker. Our original plan was to do the skywalk around the Supertrees but it wasn’t going to happen. Within a few minutes, rain drops started to fall. It became heavier and heavier and soon we were in the midst of a huge tropical thunderstorm. The skywalk always closes in such weather.

We sat an sheltered for about 30 minutes as the rain lashed down, turning the paths into small streams!

Once the rain stopped, we ventured to the base of the Supertrees and despite the grey skies, were able to take some pictures of these wonderful structures.

After we had finished at the gardens, we jumped back on the metro and headed back to the hotel. After all that walking, we were tired so we had a nap and then got ready for our first evening out in Singapore.

Clarke Quay

We headed out to an area called Clarke Quay, a bustling area full of restaurants and bars positioned next to the river.

We ate at a Mexican restaurant called Cafe Iguana, recommended to us by my cousin and her husband who had visited Singapore a few months before. We sat and ate a lovely dinner and had decided to go on a river cruise to see the city lit up.

As we sat eating, once again the heavens opened but we decided to take the cruise anyway as the boat was covered. The tickets cost SG$25 per person.

We boarded the boat and started to cruise up the river towards the bright lights of the city. The traditional buildings sat nestled next to the water with the modern skyscrapers towering above.

As the river snaked round, new sights greeted us. The city looked even more magnificent at night than it did in the day.

The rain had finally stopped allowing us to stand on the front of the boat to take photos. The Marina Bay Sands was lit up spectacularly (see feature photo) and provided the perfect selfie background!

The boat made a loop and started to make its way back to the pier. We passed a hotel called the Fullerton Hotel, the beautiful old colonial building looked stunning sat on the bank of the river, a complete contrast to all the modern buildings surrounding it.

We alighted the boat and made our way back to the hotel after an amazing first day in this wonderful city.

Day 2

Sentosa Island

Today we had made our minds up that we were going to take the cable car over to Sentosa Island.

We took the metro to Harbourfront station where we could take a short walk to the ticketing office for the cable car.

We decided on the Aquarium and ‘free and easy’ package which included unlimited trips on the different cable car lines, entrance to the aquarium and then two small attractions on the island. It wasn’t cheap at SG$90 per person but we decided it would be a fun day.

Sentosa is also home to the Universal Studios park which we nearly went to. It was only a little more expensive but we would have had to pay more to jump the queues so we went for the aquarium instead.

We boarded the cable car which took us over the bay providing 360 views of the islands and the city behind us. Once we arrived on Sentosa, we took a different cable car line to the station nearest the aquarium.

The island was well mapped out with walkways, ponds, restaurants and a couple of hotel resorts.

We eventually reached the entrance to the S.E.A aquarium and showed our tickets to enter.

One of the first tanks we came to was a ginormous shark tank with lots of different species of shark from reef sharks, to hammerhead sharks.

As we continued to walk around the aquarium, we were greeted with some of the most incredible marine life from all around the world. With colourful coral reefs and man made ship wrecks, we saw some amazing animals.

Moray Eel

Beautiful Sea Dragons

Stingrays

Huge tanks full of marine life

Colourful Jellyfish

Lionfish

We spent a couple of hours walking around the massive aquarium, it was a great experience.

As part of our package, we could choose two other small attractions that were available on Sentosa Island.

The first we chose was a 4D log ride at the 4D adventure Land. We were taken into a cinema like room and sat in pods. We were given special glasses to wear and then the animation started. The pod moved around making it seem like we were on a rollercoaster. It was over with fairly quickly but it was quite fun.

The other activity we chose was a taster Segway session, down near the beach area on Sentosa. We walked from the 4D adventure down towards the beach passing the huge Merlion statue that sat in the middle of the island.

We got to the segway office and then were told to wait for the shuttle bus to take us to the starting point near the beach. We waited ages for the shuttle but, finally we arrived and a man took us to show us how the segways worked. It was very sensitive to the movement in your body. We had a quick practice run before heading out on to the road.

My practice run was hilarious with me nearly crashing into a pole and a palm tree, but I soon got the hang of it and we went out onto the road. We only went about 500 metres in total but it was enough for me, it took a lot of concentration!

We decided, rather than wait for the shuttle bus we would walk back. On our way back we saw the man made beach so decided to check it out.

The beach was small and the water was calm but it wasn’t the most idyllic setting with the factories of the city sat on the horizon!

We made our way back to the cable car, back to the city and got the metro back to our hotel. It had a been a very long day but a great one at that.

The rain had started once more by the time we got off the metro we had a rather unpleasant walk back to the hotel!

That evening with more rain looming, we decided to get a Grab to China town. We only had big notes on us apart from a little change so the driver ended up accepting a lower fare which was very decent of him, although we did offer to go and change some money and come back to him.

We got dropped off in Smith Street, the main street of China town where all the food stalls and small restaurants are.

Lanterns hung above the street and shops lined the road either side.

We walked down towards the food area and chose a restaurant to eat at. There were many different options to choose from and something to suit all palettes and budgets.

After dinner, we decided to take a walk back towards the metro and yet again it started to rain. We didn’t spend to long walking around the little market streets therefore and instead hurried back to underground station. We were both exhausted from a long day anyway and were in need of a good night’s sleep.

Day 3

This morning we didn’t rush out, we woke up and decided to go and visit some more of the city. Having learnt from the past few days weather, we went out armed with an umbrella!

The sky was black when we set foot outside and we just hoped we may make it to the metro station before the heavens opened. It wasn’t to be.

As we stood at a pedestrian crossing waiting for the lights to change, we could literally see the rain moving up the road towards us. We put the umbrella up as it reached us and walked as quickly as possible towards the nearest shelter. The umbrella really did nothing to keep us dry. The driving rain soaked us from the waist down and we were like drowned rats by the time we reached the metro!

Long Bar, Raffles

We spent a little while walking Suntec city shopping centre until the rain stopped and then, still looking rather bedraggled from the earlier rain storm, we walked to the famous Raffles Hotel. Whilst the hotel itself is still closed for a huge renovation, the famous Long Bar has recently reopened. We walked around the front of the hotel and were lucky enough to see an open gap between the construction boards.

The hotel, not quite to its former glory, still looked rather grand. We expect that it will be stunning after the restoration has been completed.

We walked round to Long Bar and of course had to order the obligatory Singapore Slings.

At SG$32 per drink, they certainly weren’t cheap but they were very yummy and enjoyed them along with the bag of monkey nuts on the table.

Here’s an interesting fact for you…. The Singapore Sling was created by a bar man named Ngiam Tong Boon in 1915. At the time, ladies were not allowed to be seen drinking in public so he decided to create an alcoholic drink that looked like fruit punch thus, allowing them to enjoy a tipple too! What a fabulous man! 😁

The bar was busy but we were lucky not to have to queue to get in and everyone was dressed casually.

After our cocktails, we took a walk towards the river where a lot of the old colonial British buildings stood.

It was the same part of the river we had seen from the river cruise we’d down a couple of nights ago but it was nice to see it in a different light.

We made our way back to the hotel to get ready for our last evening in Singapore. Tonight we were going for drinks at the top of Marina Bay Sands.

Ce La Vie, Marina Bay Sands

To get up to the sky bar we needed to purchase a ticket from the bottom of tower 3 inside the hotel complex. The tickets cost SG$20 each which could be redeemed against drinks at the bar.

We got in the lift which took us to the 57th floor stepped out into the bar. The views over the city were magnificent.

The first glimpse we had was over the gardens by the bay.

Lit up at night they looked even more glorious than they did in daylight.

We continued toward the seating area of the bar and were able to get some pictures of the very impressive and world famous swimming pool. Unfortunately, only guests staying at the hotel are allowed to swim in it.

We both got a drink and sat admiring the view. The weather this evening was fortunately, some of the best we had had in our few days here. The air was warm and still and there was no rain!

After our drink it was getting late and I was feeling hungry. We decided to go and check the food court, Rasapura Masters, in the Marina Bay Sands own shopping mall. After walking past all the crazy expensive designer shops and luxurious boutiques, we got next the food court. A stunning chandelier hung from the ceiling of the mall and the area was bustling with families, tourists and locals alike who had all come to sample the delicious foods on offer.

There were so many different options available and I ended up going for grilled chicken with rice.

Once I’d eaten we headed back through the mall towards the metro station (Bayfront) and back to the hotel.

We had had a fantastic few days in Singapore despite the weather but I was certainly ready to head back to Bali the next day for some relaxing and the lovely Indonesian sunshine.

Tips for Singapore

1. Singapore isn’t the most backpacker friendly city in terms of cost. There are cheaper options available though. Dorms and ‘pods’ seem widely available and may be a good option for single travellers or those on a really tight budget, don’t expect them to be as cheap as anywhere else in Asia though. If, like us, you want a private double room, Geylang seems to offer some of the cheapest options . We paid SG$320 for 4 nights.

2. Be prepared for changeable weather! It remains warm all the time but thunderstorms seem to just happen every day! A raincoat, poncho or umbrella should protect you from the worst of it.

3. Raffles is closed until mid 2019 but Long Bar is open! An amazing experience and worth the cost.

4. To save money on food, all of the shopping malls have food courts where the food is half the price (at least) of the restaurants.

5. The metro is definitely the best way to get around. It’s cheap, efficient and clean and there are stations everywhere. You can even get to and from the airport easily.