Singapore is an amazing city to start our first trip to Southeast Asia. The flight over here on Singapore Airlines in Business Class was just lovely. We slept, ate and watched movies and arrived rested and ready to hit the ground running. This city is clean, well organized with a mix of historic and modern amenties. Three days really isn’t enough to delve into all this city has to offer but it was enough to whet our appetite to visit again.
Day 1 – Thurday Jan 25, 2024
The international flights from SFO arrive at 5.45am. The Changi airport is known as a tourist site on its own an indoor garden and waterfall in Jewel – Terminal 2. We headed there with our bags but at 6am the place was dark and nothing was open. But there were lovely restrooms for us to freshen up, change into lighter clothes and arrange our day packs for the days exploration. It would have been a bit tacky to open up all our suitcases in the lobby of the Sheraton! Getting a taxi to the hotel was very easy and reasonably priced. 60 SGD for six of us and our luggage. And they take credit cards. Paying by card is very easy in Singapore. We got about 200 SGD at the airport and have only spent some on tips. Still have 100 in our wallets.
The Sheraton Towers is a very nice hotel. They let us drop off our bags until check-in while we headed out to see the city on our own. All six of us are traveling with our small Eddie Bauer bags. My idea to take this silly photo.
No tours planned for our first day. I had read about a nearby Hawker Center (open air food courts). We headed over there to try some local foods. It was fun. Not many stalls were open mid morning.
After our snacks we took the local train (called MRT) to the Civic District for our cultural fix. The MRT is easy to move around the city. No tickets to purchase – just tap your credit card going in and then going out. We visited the Peranakan Museum and then the National Museum of Singapore – both in the Civic District of Singapore. The third museum that provides much history of this city/state is National Gallery but we didn’t have time to squeeze this into our schedule.
After an afternoon siesta, the six of us took the MRT to the famous Marina Bay Sands hotel. This is the hotel you see in all the skyline pictures of Singapore – with three towers and what looks like a boat perched on top of the three towers. It is a fancy place with many public amenities. The architecture inside and out is inspiring. Because it was raining we couldn’t buy tickets to walk on the Skywalk observatory on the 56th floor. Even better was that we were able to go into the Ce La Vie rooftop bar on the 57th floor. It took some negotiating with their bouncer to let us in – they have strict dress codes and he didn’t like the men’s shoes. This was the highlight of our day. The bar has 270 degree views of the Singapore skyline. We arrived in time to see the sunset and then a beautiful rainbow. There is a 30 SGD charge per person that can be used to buy very expensive drinks but it was so worth it, rain and all.
After sunset we went on a hunt for food. We happened on the elevated walkway that connects hotel with Supertrees. We just missed the 7.45pm light show. Finding a place to have a simple dinner was a challenge. We walked and walked through the mall and eventually found a sit down restaurant in middle of mall for dinner. TRW Tea was an excellent choice for delicious meals and reasonably priced.
We packed a lot in on our first day. Singapore has a great public transportation system – their subway system is called the MRT. It is clean and fast and fairly easy to get around. The trains and the stations are very clean, no safety issues whatsoever, no trash, no homeless people. Mostly locals traveling. The most we spent in a day with multiple rides was $5 SGD (about $3.50 USD).
Day 2 (Friday Jan 26)
The breakfast buffet at the Sheraton Towers is lovely with a mix of Western and Asian foods. This is the first time I’ve had curry and Indian foods with my breakfast. The fourth couple in our travel group arrived from Chicago on Friday morning. We barely gave them 45 minutes to freshen up before we hit the road.
Our first destination was the Cloud Forest in Gardens by the Bay. Singapore has developed extensive national gardens and horticultural attractions near the bay. The architectural components are now part of Singapore’s iconic images. There are multiple sites to visit and we chose to focus on the Cloud Forest. This dome is about six stories high and includes an indoor waterfall and plants from all over the world. Guests traverse a walk way that winds through each level. It was much better than we expected and we were happy it was air conditioned inside. The weather in Singapore is humid and can get toasty when the sun comes out. Evenings are very comfortable. Not all that different from early summer in Pensacola.
We tried a restaurant in Little India for our lunch. I found Kolcutta Beckons on Google Maps with excellent reviews. It was interesting winding our way on foot through Little India alleys to find the restaurant. It is next door to a another highly recommended restaurant (Banana Leaf Apolo). The proprietor helped us choose a variety of dishes and they were all excellent. We tried Butter Chicken, an assortment of veggie and non veggie starters and a fish dish, non of the names I can recall.
Afternoon we had time to chill and take a quick swim in the hotel pool. It is a beautiful pool and the water was refreshing (chilly).
In the evening we took the MRT back to Gardens by the Bay. We were looking for the Singapore River cruise but went to the wrong quay. However it worked out great because we were able to walk along the promenade right in the middle of Singapores modern skyline. Apple has this spherical iconic store right in the bay – clearly they are making way too much money.
We happened on a perfect place to watch a light/music show in front of Marina Bay Sands (Spectra at 8pm).
Day 3 (Saturday Jan 27)
We packed a lot into our last full day in Singapore. Nash, Bill and I signed up for the Lion City Bike Tour offered by Bike Around Tours. It is a four hour bike ride on small light city bikes that covers all the major sites. The ride lasts 4 hours and covers Marina Bay, the Formula 1 Race Track, the Colonial District, Merlion Park, Lau Pa Sat Hawker Center, Chinatown, Little India, Civic District, Haji Lane and Kampong Glam and more. By middle of the ride, it can get quite warm. The ride stays mostly on sidewalks and bike paths but you are still traversing some busy streets and crowded paths. By the time we got to Little India for a drink/snack break I was ready to stop. Got my second wind to finish the last hour and a half. Great guide named Wyman who provided so much information.
The rest of the group headed to the Civic District to see the famous Raffles Hotel where the Singapore Sling cocktail was invented.
I had booked a food tour with WithLocals for the early evening. We met our guide in the Arab district. We walked and took the MRT to eat in the three ethnic neighborhoods – Kampong Glam, Little India and Chinatown. The last was in a huge hawker center in Chinatown. I believe we were the only foreigners in this food court. We tried many different dishes, all simple food that people eat every day, none of it very expensive. It was a nice evening but probably not the best food tour we have done in our travels. We ended the evening in Chinatown which is all lit up for the upcoming Chinese New Year. Walking through the crowded streets felt a bit like New Orleans during Mardi Gras.
Recommended Afternoon/Evening by Guide with my changes
Our guide on the bike tour was super helpful in providing suggestions on how to enjoy his home town. He gave us a suggested itinerary which I have tweaked a bit. Wish I had found this during my research. I use Google Maps to save places we might visit. I create a map for each destination (i.e Singapore) and save sites, restaurants, hotels etc with notes about why I saved – who recommended, hours etc.
*3pm – 5:30pm – Walk through the Gardens and visit the Flower Dome and then the Cloud Forest. You can buy a combo ticket online and save the wait in the ticket line. https://maps.app.goo.gl/8utVCqztbnM1ovTa8
6:00 pm You could go to the Marina Bay Sands SkyPark Observation Deck in time for sunset (it will be crowded and you could make a reservation). OR pay 30 SGD to go up to Ce La Vie rooftop bar for same views with some food and drink at a table. I would get there at least an hour before sunset and check their dress code requirements before you set out for the afternoon. https://maps.app.goo.gl/rmtix2LHeJEsnkpP9
7:15 – 8:15pm Figure out where to watch the 7:45pm show called Garden Rhapsody – at the Supertree Grove, Gardens by the Bay. There is a way to watch from a skywalk that connects via lift to the MBS hotel. But most people watch from the ground below the trees. Figure out how to get to either beforehand. https://maps.app.goo.gl/9P5xUn5f8CKgPTfe6
8:30pm – 9:15pm. Find a spot for the 15 minute show in front of Marina Bay Sands facing the water. There is a show at 8pm and another at 9pm called Spectra – A Light & Water Show. https://maps.app.goo.gl/oBvBiZMF1R43Myip7
If you still have some energy, head over to Lau Pa Sat Hawker center on Satay Street. for dinner at one of the many food vendors. This is an upscale hawker center where you can get Satay, Chili Crab, chicken rice and all kinds of Singapore favorites. 15 minute walk, 15 minutes by MRT or a short drive by cab/rideshare.
Now we are off to the airport to fly to Phuket where we begin our sailing charter in the Andaman Sea!