Hi all,
First of all,
apologies for the missing entry last week, I was in Tokyo sans laptop and
typing an entire blog on my iPad jetlagged is just too much. So, better late
than never, here is blog number 6….Singapore!
If you’ve read my Ho
Chi Minh blog (its ok, I’m not mad if you haven’t) then you will know how much
I love Asia- from the cuisine to the climate to the customs, I love it all. So
when work sent me to Singapore on 2 2-day layovers, I definitely wasn’t mad.
Although being a relatively new and very small country (it celebrated its 50th
birthday in 2015 marking its independence from Britain) it is jam-packed with
things to do and if you find yourself with 24 spare hours here this is how you
should fill them…
My favourite thing in
Singapore and the first thing you should do is take the metro to Harbour Front
to visit Sentosa Island.
From Harbour Front you can get the monorail (for $4)
over to the beautiful island. Without one word of exaggeration this place is paradise.
Across the island there are many different activities: Universal Studios,
Aquarium, Casino and Waterpark to name a few but if you only have a day I recommend
you head towards Palawan Beach. 
From the station it’s around a 15 minute walk
and the walk is beautiful. Palawan beach is the perfect place to relax and
unwind and take in the gorgeous scenery while enjoying a cocktail at Bora Bora
beach club and catching some rays on the sand and in the water.
Walk across the wooden bridge to the miniature
island where you can visit the 'Southern most point of continental Asia’ and
climb up the watchtower to see for miles around.
This view is so amazing; it’s
like being inside a postcard. On the far
side of this little island there is a huge tree leaning out onto the water and it’s
a crew tradition to shimmy on out as far along the tree as you can and have
your photo taken here. This is much easier said than done because there is
nothing to hold onto and there’s hardly any surface to walk on.
Here’s my
effort, see if you can do better…
When you’ve fulfilled
your R&R quota for the day (I recommend staying 2 hours max if you want to
see other parts of the city), head back into the city and towards Little India
for lunch. Stepping off the train in Little India (especially post-Sentosa) is
like being in a different country. The colours, smells and sounds are like an
assault on the senses (in good way!!), walking around you can buy all sorts of
spices and beautiful jewellery and anything from all the tiny shops and stalls.
Lunch wise- there are tons of tiny restaurants with authentic foods all
throughout the area but my recommendation is head off the main road into one of
the less touristy restaurants and fill yourself up with roti and rice and butter
Marsala paneer (my favourite) all for less than $10. The food is delicious and
real Indian and not to be missed!
After lunch and any
souvenir shopping you’ve done, head back into the city and towards the Botanical Gardens.
Singapore’s botanical gardens has been Asia’s Trip Advisor
number 1 attraction for 3 years now and definitely needs to be on your to do
list for 24 hours here. The gardens are
free entry unless you want to go in to see the orchids, and you should, for
around $5 it’s an amazing flower wonderland. The orchid gardens are one of the
locations for studies in orchids throughout the world has thousands of
different types. You can spend hours
getting lost among all the flowers and being wowed by all the exotic plants and
water fountains.
From the serenity and
beauty of the gardens, head to Bugis Market for an opposite experience. This is
the perfect place to get your tack- souvenirs, phone fixing, traditional
snacks. The hustle and bustle of Bugis is so characteristically Singapore- a
mix of old and new, traditional and kitsch. Where else would you get knock off
Marc Jacob bags and bubble tea at the same time? Save yourself about an hour to
fight through the crowds and get a good look around.
By this time it should
be almost sunset so head across the city to the ‘Gardens by the Bay’.
If you’ve
ever seen any tourist adverts/posters/postcards of Singapore then this
attraction will more than certainly have been featured. The outdoor gardens are
free to enter and you will not be disappointed by the decision to visit. The
city describes it as ‘a city in a city’ and features all different parts to visit
and explore. From the bay east garden,
you can wander among the exotic plants and trees and get a beautiful view out
onto the city and the skyline and a place to watch the sun set over the city.
Depending on how busy and hungry you are you can spend hours and hours
wandering around particularly the Sun Tree Grove and the Kingfisher Lake.
Once the darkness has
fallen, head to the bright lights of Chinatown for dinner. Like Little India,
this is a whole section of the city that feels unique and separate from where
you’ve been all day. From the lanterns in the sky to the open air food stalls
and little trinket shops you’ll feel like you’ve been transported from
Singapore to Shanghai. Each little open air stall has something unique and
delicious to offer, whether its duck or dumplings, noodles or tofu, there is so
much choice that no matter where you pick you’re in for a treat. The tiny
tables and cosy restaurants make you feel right at home and so far away from
the commercial chains of the western world. You can wander around the stalls in
the market for hours and marvel at all you can buy , there’s even places you
can buy your own ‘tiny living city’ – moss, compost and flowers all growing in
a grass bowl! 
Now that the day part
of your time in Singapore is over its time to go from tourist garb to full on
glam. Clubs and bars in Singapore often have a pretty strict dress code and to
get into Marina Bay Sands sky lounge, you can’t be anything less than fab but
trust me it’ll be worth it. Head to the hotel and (provided you pass the once
over from the bouncers) get the lift up to the 53rd floor to get to
the exclusive and classy affair that is the Sky Lounge. Splurge on a Singapore
Sling and sip away while taking in the views of the city all lit up at night. 
If you’re not done
with drinks and views then head to 1 Altitude to dance the night away on top of
the city. The views there are so insane you won’t want to tear yourself away
from the glass panelling around the edge of the dancefloor. Those afraid of
heights should steer clear!
And there you go, all
24 hours in Singapore accounted for. I hope you’ve enjoyed the read and let me
know what you think! 
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