Stepping off the plane in Singapore was like stepping into a greenhouse. Immediately we were hit with this dwall of warmth and broke out sweating. However, I didn’t mind it so much at first as it was nice to not only see the sun but actually feel its warmth on my face! Its been some months, as you can imagine, that I’ve felt that. I’m not sure if it was the immediate temperature difference but it immediately felt as if Singapore was going to be very different from the high-paced hustle and bustle of Hong Kong and while not quite an island retreat I felt the immediate impression that everything would slow down to an island-holiday pace. And that was how it turned out.

Photos are here.

Day 1	On our first day we arrived mid-afternoon so we did nothing more than relax at the hotel and go for a little stroll to Orchard Road. We were staying at the Gallery Hotel and perhaps should have taken the advice of the Concierge NOT to walk there. It was quite manageable but in the heat and with the few hills in between we did get to Orchard Road a little weary and, for me in my jeans, just a little bit hot. In terms of Orchard Road itself, though it is known at the place to shop in Singapore it was going to be a bit hard to beat the bargains in Hong Kong (with both the better exchange rate and deals available) but the boys were intent on walking the whole of the Road and visiting all the malls along the way. I must admit it was nice to go in just to take advantage of the air-conditioning but I was very glad when we finally decided to turn around and head back to the hotel. This little stroll actually ended up taking nearly 4-5 hours! Yikes. Anyway, its fair to say we all had a nice decent sleep that night.
Day 2	On our second day we headed to Sentosa Island. Sentosa, meaning peace and tranquillity in Malay, is best described as a kind of island theme park. For an island that has an area of only 5 square kilometers there is plenty to do and you an easily spend a whole day there, which is what we did. There are a couple of ways to get to the island including by cable car. The cable car can take you from Mt Faber to Sentosa Island. For first-timers I recommend getting the cable car just for the views across the water. If you’re savvy and you know what attractions you want to visit on Sentosa you can find the right package and save yourself a bundle. Sentosa has definitely come along way from when it was apparently known as the “Island of Death from Behind” pre-1945 (having undergone several name changes since then.) With so many options we decided on the following attractions: The Carlsberg Sky Tower. The tower is reported to be the tallest free-standing observation tower in Asia. We climbed it (when I say climbed I mean sat in an air-conditioned revolving cabin) for the panoramic views of the island itself, Singapore mainland and the Southern Islands. We wouldn’t have known it but apparently if you get a clear enough day you can see all the way to Malaysia and Indonesia. Merlion. The Merlion statue used to be the best vantage point on the island for panoramic views. Even though the Tower now supercedes it somewhat its still pretty cool to climb (and this time I mean get into a lift) to the 12th floor. Though lower than the tower you can enjoy the views in the wide open air (as opposed to behind a window like the Tower) and then you can walk down a floor or two and get your photo taken in the mouth of the statue. Sentosa Luge. The Luge is like way cool man. No seriously, if you try the luge you definitely want to get at least the 3-ride package because the first time you go down the hill in your little cart it will feel like you blinked and missed it. With each ride you get a lift in the cable-car back to the top of the hill so don’t worry, there is no really strenuous activity involved. Lunch by Palawan Beach where a suspension bridge linked us to the Southernmost Point of Continental Asia (or Asia’s closest point to the Equator.) Here I saw some Cocktail-Tom-Cruise-Barmen-Wannabes practising their drink mixing skills on the beach. After a late lunch we took a couple of free beach train services from one end (the Southern most tip) and back around to the Western side where we hopped off. Whilst the boys went off and did the boy thing at Fort Siloso (I’d done it in 2003), I walked around Siloso Beach, watched a poor girl try her hand at The Flying Trapeze, and met some new friends from Iran. They were actually part of a tour group and were giving me food and inviting me to visit them so that was nice. By then it was actually getting towards the evening and time for the show at the Musical Fountain. This is definitely a show not to miss and you should get to the area early to secure good seating (facing the stage I recommend centre or towards the left side.) The show takes you through Sentosa’s history but to be honest I was too busy marveling at the use of the water found and lasers to pay too much attention to the actual storyline. After the show we had some time to duck in to Sentosa 4D Magix. For about 15 minutes you are taken on a wild 3-D adventure with the use of the fourth dimension – moving seats and water sprays and bursts of air. It was entertaining but those on a budget may baulk at the price (don’t forget to use your Sing Air boarding pass if you can!) By this time it was nearing 9pm so off we went to the Cable Car. Because we’d bough round trip tickets we went up to Mt Faber before returning to HarbourFront Tower for a quick snack for dinner. Yes it was a very full day and I even got a nice sun-tan to boot. (Not that hard considering I was ghostly white!)
Day 3	Day three saw us hitting a few spots including Bugis Street, Suntec City’s Fountain of Wealth (where we spent an inordinate amount of time taking photos of the thing as well as having a snack of a mini but delicious ube ice cream), Singapore Zoo and the Night Safari. Bugis Street has a very large permanent street bazaar which is a good place to go shopping for such things as tacky tourist souvenirs, clothes, bags etc. Its also a great place for cheap off the street (but yummy) food. Unfortunately we got there a little too early (11am!) so many stalls were still opening up. From there we went on to the Fountain of Wealth. We first heard about the Fountain of Wealth from The Amazing Race (fab show) and it is apparently the world’s largest fountain. You can walk around the fountain for good luck when the water flow is low but we had to settle for seeing it at its gushiest, which wasn’t a bad thing. After this we journeyed to Singapore Zoo. Its not hard to get there but catching the MRT and then having to catch a bus meant it was between an hour and a half and two hours before we finally arrived at the Zoo. Once at the zoo its actually fairly easy to get around to most of the animals in an afternoon but its best to maybe spend a leisurely day there and then you can catch all the shows and feedings which are much more informative and the animals much more active. We caught a few feedings and I finally got to see a polar bear doing more than hiding at the back of their enclosure. The girl who was feeding them had them doing lots of tricks including “hunting” a live fish. After the Zoo it was on to the Night Safari, which everyone has recommended. The first thing to note is that you can put your cameras away as no flashes allowed (understandable to protect the eyes of the animals) and as a result any shots you take are likely to be blurry. If you are very keen to get some photos try and get on the first tram ride around the safari when there is still some daylight. The tram ride will take you quickly around the park (and give you access to some areas you can’t access by foot) and you can see most of the safari and take your happy snaps. When the tram ride is over you can then head out at your own pace on foot on the various trails available. It was actually fun walking about the park in the dark but as you can imagine light levels are very low and the animals are most often hiding in the shadows. Make sure to schedule time for the Creatures of the Night Show. Its mainly the cute animals such as the otters, raccoons, and owls but the show is fairly entertaining and is played out above and around you. It is first come first served so get there at a reasonable time to secure seating. If you’re too late if you hang around at the back there is an area you can stand and if the employees are nice they will let you sit in the reserved sections if the people they are reserved for don’t turn up.
Day 4	On the boys’ final full day in Singapore the other two boys wanted to do some shopping so S and I went off and did our own thing before meeting them for a Singapore Sling at the Long Bar at Raffles late in the afternoon. We actually filled in the day pretty well with a visit to the Singapore Science Centre, Chinatown and Marina Bay. The Science Centre was once again a top-notch museum. It was also hosting a special Star Wars exhibition with some props and other items from the suite of movies. Here we tested our Jedi Strength, Reflexes, Balance, Mind Strength. Yes – I could be a Jedi. The Singapore Science Centre would maybe be about the size of the Science Museum in Hong Kong but it had the added bonus two outdoor areas and a greenhouse. After a quick ice-cream sandwich it was on to Chinatown. I guess it seems strange to have a Chinatown in a country where over 75% of the population are Chinese but who were we to complain. Chinatown in Singapore is fairly largish and again there were plenty places to buy that souvenir item or two and plenty of VCDs and CDs on offer. We were more interested in picking up something for lunch where the locals ate – at a hawker centre! At between S$2-3 you can get a meat, rice and soup dish and then you can top it off with a S$1-2 dessert. So my advice is to ignore the restaurants lining the streets (though to be fair they probably offered some reasonably priced dishes) and head to the Chinatown Complex Food Centre where you will find the hawker stalls. This open-air stall selling food arrangement is by no means an elegant one so don’t be put off when you first see it. It is one Singapore experience you can’t miss. You will find more local food here than anywhere else and at the prices they’re offered at you can afford to eat as much as you can. To work off our massive lunch a walk along Marina Bay from Clifford Pier to Merlion Park was next on the cards. The walk is a nice one and you can see some of Singapore’s cityscape and beautiful buildings along the way. You will know when you have arrived at Merlion Park because, er, well you won’t really see a park as such but you will see a giant Merlion (a lion head with a fish body) which, if I haven’t mentioned before is one of the most well-known tourist icons of Singapore. There is also a smaller one just a bit back from the water. Interestingly there are actually only five official Merlions approved by the Singapore Tourist Board, the largest replica being the one on Sentosa Island. There was a fake one at Ang Mo Kio that was even removed! And typically you will find imitation ones all throughout China. Getting a good photo of the bigger Merlion (and to some extent the smaller one) at Merlion Park can be quite a task because there are a ton of people milling about and just generally getting in your way but persevere if you really want one. Across the bay are the Esplanade Theatres on the Bay. The Esplanade, or The Durian, as it is affectionately known is Singapore’s premier performing arts centre. It is very impressive from the outside and no doubt is amazing on the inside. Unfortunately we weren’t organized enough to arrange for tickets to a show. By this time it was getting on in the afternoon and it was off to Raffles for the Singapore Sling. The Singapore Sling was invented for Raffles Hotel nearly a century ago. Apparently the original recipe was forgotten and was recreated based on memories of former bartenders and other notes. Today for a whopping S$20 you can try it out for yourself. A quick glance at the customers at the Long Bar (where the Sling was born) and it is clear who this cocktail was made for. That’s right – us little tourists. Despite all of the tourists the Long Bar did have an interesting kind of colonial era charm. I think it was the scattering of peanut shells on the ground, the whicker or cane fans above, the wood, and the ferns. It all combined to provide the right kind of atmosphere for downing the Sling. Wikipedia reports that this is the very bar where apparently the sole surviving wild tiger was shot to death so you could even feel this history around you. As for the Sling itself, nice and sweet going down and wayyyy over-priced but as a once-a-lifetime experience I guess you should do it. After Raffles it was on to Clarke Quay for a quick (well 45-minute) cruise up and down the Singapore River in one of those bumboats. We got on just before sunset so it was kind of nice to see the sun nearly setting as we cruised up (down?) the river. The boat gives you some nice photo opps of the various buildings along the River and also of the Merlion at Merlion Park and The Durian so if you have time definitely take one. For the boys’ final night in Singapore we thought it would be nice to have dinner at Clarke Quay. We expected prices to be pretty high but it was almost prohibitively high. At one point we couldn’t decide on where to eat and we were very close to eating at Hooters (where to be honest food was reasonable if not fancy) but ended up at the 1NiteStandBar & Comedy Club instead. To be honest I’m not sure it was any classier for the lewd jokes scrolling across an LED. Still the food was actually of a pretty high quality for bar food and didn’t break the bank too much and we had one of the nicest river views to enjoy during the meal.
Day 5	My final day in Singapore saw the boys head off at the very early time of 6am to the airport whilst I got to have a nice little sleep in. When I finally was able to rouse myself I headed out to visit Little India and to see what other mischief I could get up to. No visit to Little India is complete without a visit to Mustafa Centre. Its cramped, crowded, unorganized and definitely needs to be experienced. I was in there just to check it out but every bit of floor space is utilized for stock so though there are aisles you will find yourself constantly having to squeeze past others to get through. I’m not sure people managed with carts but the Mustafa Centre are definitely doing good business. Open 24 hours a day it would have been interesting to see how busy it gets at say 2 or 4 in the morning. I guess the Mustafa Centre is a reflection of Little India itself which was chaotic, colourful, loud and messy. Even to walk down the street there is barely a footpath to use as it is taken up by the stalls reaching all the way to the road. I would have stopped for something to eat as the food offerings looked very tempting but had to cut short my visit due to the giant storm I could see approaching. I fit in a quick visit to Chijmes. Once an old girls’ convent school, it is today a beautifully ambient dining site. I ended the day with a nice long walk back to the hotel.

Final Words

Singapore is what I call a good stopover city. You could probably make it a destination of its own (and then you would have time to factor in some day trips to Malaysia) but with many flights flying through there anyway the best way to utilise your time and money is to use it as a relaxing 2-3 day stopover to break up the journey between London and Australia.