Singapore

Making the most of a flight change in Singapore, we decided to tack on two nights and one full day in Singapore. Poor Keith, he knew there was only one place I wanted to stay, and I wasn’t going to Singapore without staying there. Marina Bay Sands. The three towers with the surf board on top.

I watched a programme about this marvellous hotel some years ago, and it’s been on my bucket list ever since. My husband is officially amazing, and rather than poo pooing it, he made it work. So when we arrived at Marina Bay Sands, once I’d stopped crying, I couldn’t get over that we were here. It is wonderful. The architecture is mind blowing, it’s like something out of a sci fi movie. It looms above the city and you can see it for the majority of the drive from the airport. It costs a fortune, but it was money well spent in our view.

Of course, the first place we went was the pool- perched high on the top, straddling over three high towers like a surfboard. The views are incredible and it’s the highest infinity pool on the world. It’s actually a bit scary being at the edge to begin with and not the warmest pool either but it was epic!

We had a swim, a little disappointed not to be able to have a beer up there. We’d not thought about dress codes – it is posh!- and therefore couldn’t get in any of the bars on the top floor. We settled for a very expensive beer on the promenade at the bottom, offering another great prospective of this wonderful building. But at £11 a pint, it was just the one beer!

Instead we decided to pick some room beers up and take advantage of our balcony. But we were 4 minutes too late for the 7 eleven, to be fair we couldn’t find it. It’s like a city in the mall that is below MBS and actually took us some time to acclimatise and get our bearings. It felt intimidating but unreal to be there! So we took ourselves to bed- the room was lush, and actually we were exhausted, even just our short hop from Siem Riep, had taken it out of us.

The next morning we awoke fresh as daisies and eager to explore- we only had the one full day so time was tight!

Singapore is a small city and we walked easily around the main sights. We did the area around the bay first, then through the financial and business districts, stopping to admire China town and enjoy some street food and coffees and later beers in the food halls.

By mid afternoon, we’d made it to the museum area and the historic raffles hotel. My mum had kindly given me some Singapore dollars for a Singapore sling in raffles for my birthday, so we joined a small queue, before enjoying our drinks inside the place where the Singapore sling was invented. They were delicious!

We then made our way back to Marina bay sands where we enjoyed free entry to the public observation deck – a perk of being a guest at the hotel, before more pool time; sundowners (more Singapore slings) in the greatest pool ever. I was in heaven.

That evening we went to view both free light shows- one at the gardens in the bay and then the one on the bay. Both blew our minds. We’ve never seen anything so great. And free! We loved it here.

Next day- our flight wasn’t until 11pm, and although we had to check out, we made use of the left luggage and the complimentary showers (when we picked up our luggage) and made the most of the day. We took the metro to the botanical gardens and enjoyed some time enjoying the displays. The orchids were especially beautiful , but wow was it humid.

From here we took a walk through little India, which was vibrant and colourful and enjoyed a Michelin starred Indian lunch. Yummy!

We then walked all the back from little India to the Merlion on the waterfront. We were going to take a boat trip along the river, but decided to walk instead and I’m glad we did as that area is currently under redevelopment so there wasn’t a huge amount to see.

From here we took a train back to the gardens on the Bay, where we enjoyed the newly opened Avatar experience. This was just phenomenal. The gardens in the bay really stood out as a highlight.

A huge wave of sadness hit us both as we made our way back to MBS to retrieve our cases, shower and make our way to the airport. The whole trip had been immense. We’d waited a long time for this, but it hadn’t failed to disappoint.

Thanks to Great Rail journeys for providing such a wonderful itinerary, tour manager, local guides and logistics. Once again you didn’t let us down and we are already getting excited about our next one!

Stay tuned – it’s coming soon

Until next time

Lx