48 Hours in Singapore

48 hours in Singapore.

We seem to transit through Singapore on a fairly regular basis, usually at breakneck speed whilst needing a) the loo and 2) a connecting flight from a completely different terminal.

I have previously had one night in Singapore and remember Raffles, but no Singapore Sling, due to 4 children aged from 4 to 14. I tried to lose them, but they stuck to me like glue. I remember the excellent night safari. But we were tired, dirty and most likely squabbling.

So after Bali, seeing as we were once again going to have to change flights at Singapore, we decided to have a couple of nights here and explore the city.

I’ll be honest, my initial intention had been predominantly shopping. And by shopping, I mean that of the luxury goods variety. But the Favourite Husband pointed out there was no money left after our 5 star stay in Bali but he was sure we could stretch to a Merlion keyring.

It’s only just under 3 hours from Bali, straight through the airport and into a taxi and we were at the hotel by around 4pm. We were staying at the JEN-orchard Shangri-La on Orchard Road. Conveniently nestled between shopping malls and high-end luxury stores. The hotel was pleasant and the room spacious. Once again we had a lounge access for the usual Happy Hour drinks and nibbles, 24 hour tea, coffee and sodas and breakfast served here too. Just down from the lounge was the small gym and the rooftop pool and bar. Spectacular views of the city and plentiful seating and sun lounges made this a great spot.

But we weren’t here to sunbathe by the pool. We’d had plenty of that in Beautiful Bali. We were here to see Singapore, in all its glory.

Singapore is known as a small city and easy to navigate. With a diverse, multi-cultural heritage and interesting landmarks; we had much to see in a short space of time.

No sooner had I sat down with a large glass of wine than the Favourite Husband decided we should get amongst it straight away. It’s possible he’d been doing some research of his own. Possible, but unlikely. Perhaps he just wanted to come between me and my Pinot Gris, but he didn’t need to say “pretty lights” more than once and I was up and in the lobby organising a taxi before he changed his mind.

“You realise you’ll be out after dark?” I said.

“Yes dear …” he smiled.

So exciting.

So, it was off to Gardens by the Bay where there is a twice nightly lights and music spectacular called the Garden Rhapsody, showcasing the amazing “tree” sculptures. There’s a treetops walkway but we were too late for that. Looked amazing though. The show is every night at 7.45 and 8.45pm, lasting 15 minutes. There are multiple other things to see in the gardens including the Cloud Forest and the Flower Dome to name my top two. There are various restaurants too. I’d suggest getting here mid to late afternoon and exploring more before the Garden Rhapsody.

From here we had great views of the Marina Bay Sands Sky deck and the Singapore Flyer. The Sky Deck was closed for a private function the one night we could have gone which was disappointing, but actually didn’t matter in the general scheme of things as there are multiple options to see the Singapore skyline.

We walked round to the Marina Bay Sands shopping mall and the Helix Bridge. From here we had a great view of the Art Science Museum all lit up too.

Singapore truly comes alive at night. The lights are stunning, it’s clean, it feels safe and there are many choices to stop and have a drink or a snack.

After catching the tail end of the second Gardens Rhapsody we were flagging and so went to the taxi line. Not so well organised or timed. It took us an hour in line to get a taxi, so if you can pre-book or have a ride share App do that.

Then it was a quick moonlit swim on the 19th floor before collapsing into bed, ready for our full day tomorrow.

Despite breakfast being included I was keen to do as the locals and have the Singaporean breakfast of kaya toast with eggs and coffee. Google was my friend and we set off round the corner for a local cafe. It was packed which is always a good sign. I sat the Favourite Husband down at the only empty table and went up to the counter to order; with much sign language, hand gestures, pointing and enthusiasm I was satisfied that I’d nailed it. On joining the Favourite Husband it turned out the coffee had beaten me to my seat. The Favourite Husband was trying not to be offended at how it had been slapped down on the table and spilt everywhere. Once I pointed out that everyone’s was the same, he wasn’t that special, he relaxed. Until he made the mistake of stirring it only to find that my efforts at conveying “no sugar” had failed. And then came our toast. But no eggs. Another fail. So we had very strong and very sweet coffee, cold toast with slabs of cold butter (literally one of my favourite things) and kaya jam. Or “sugar” as the Favourite Husband preferred. Kaya jam is coconut milk, eggs and sugar. And actually delicious. It would have been nice to get the full experience with the soft-boiled eggs and soy sauce too, but I need to work on my communication skills for that!

We had purchased a Hop On Hop Off bus pass for the day, but because we like to get a feel for a place “on the ground” literally, we started off by walking. We headed for Chinatown in a bid to see the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple. Before we got there we explored Sri Mariamman Temple. This is Singapore’s oldest Hindu temple believed to have been built nearly 200 years ago. A myriad of colour and culture with fantastic storyboards to explain what you’re looking at. It’s an active temple with many people worshipping so it’s important to remain respectful whilst trying to soak it all up.

Then it was on to the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple a little further along the same street. The actual tooth is reported to be 7.5 cms long, which would be highly unusual for a human tooth, but make your way up to the 4th floor and there you’ll find it sealed off in a golden shrine, a golden Buddha, emeralds, rubies, a jewelled curtain. It’s all going on. It’s breathtakingly beautiful. It would be easy to miss the rest of the building, including the tooth relic, as the ground floor is very impressive with 10,000 buddhas lining the walls and a 15-foot golden Buddha. All in all I haven’t seen this much gold since Butlins Bogner Regis, circa 1975.

Don’t miss the roof on the temple too, there’s a beautiful prayer wheel and over 11,000 buddhas adorning the walls.

From Chinatown we hopped on the bus to the waterfront where we picked up from where we were last night. We carried on to the Merlion where all of a sudden we found all the other tourists. The Merlion is aptly named with the head of a lion and the tail of a mermaid or fish. It is the national symbol of Singapore. The body of the fish represents Singapore’s roots as a fishing village and the lion head is from the original name of “Singapura” meaning “lion city.” It’s unusual … but I love it for that very reason.

Then it was round the corner to the Singapore Flyer because despite being scared of everything and especially heights, I find these observation pod things (no idea of technical name) ok. I think because there’s no noise so no obvious mechanics, there’s no swaying in the breeze and they move so slowly that you barely know you’re in motion.

After walking round in circles (fortuitously round the Fountain of Wealth so I’m expecting great riches) we picked the bus up again for a trip through Little India, Katong-Joo Chiat, the Botanical Gardens and back to Orchard Road and the shops. There was just time for a swim and a lie in the sun with a cold drink before it was time to get dressed up and back in a taxi to dinner down by the river. I quite fancied a ride on a “bumbum boat” but having seen the queues and how jam packed the boats were, we settled for a prime waterfront seat in one of the restaurants at Clarke Quay.

Not satisfied with the 19,000 steps we’d already clocked up, we headed (by taxi) to walk around Bugis Street market. A fascinating rabbit warren of stalls selling everything you could want and things you didn’t know you needed.

Our last morning was a leisurely stroll around Orchard Road’s luxury stores, pretending that we still had money on the credit card. Before heading off to Changi airport which is an excursion in itself.

We were too early to check in so left our luggage at the storage at the Jewel before having some lunch and a wander around. I carried my swimming things around for 2 hours before deciding that I wouldn’t go across to Terminal 1 for a rooftop swim. The thought of wet clothes in a bag for the next 10 hours was off putting, but if I’m honest, I regret not doing it.

We loved everything about Singapore, it was so easy to find our way around, there’s so much to see and it’s just fascinating.