When planning our route before arriving in Australia, everyone thought it was weird we picked Singapore because it's on the more expensive side than other places in Asia. That being said, Singapore is a common place for airlines to stop over before getting a connecting flight to OZ so it made sense. That, and it's a country you can pretty much explore in a weekend if you were very organised and efficient. After watching Crazy Rich Asians, I more or less had an idea of what the place was going to be like, and I was excited to see all the spots we had seen in the movie in real life. If you're looking to explore Singapore in a few days, here are my tips on where to stay, what to do and where to eat.
WHERE TO STAY
If you have an unlimited budget for this trip then the best place you can probably stay is Marina Bay Sands. From the pool to the rooftop bar to the views of the Gardens, it really is luxury at its finest. If you're just hopping around Asia or have the budget of a student, then I'd look at staying in Little India or China Town.
We stayed at Marrison @ Desker and we were a 10 minute walk from the Little India MRT station which had good connections to the rest of Singapore. We had a triple room which was basically one giant bed, a bathroom and a desk. The property had no lifts so we put our gym regime to the test by having to carry our 20kg suitcases to the second floor ourselves. The reservation included 'free breakfast' which was a token for a Indian naan omelette type thing at the restaurant beside, so not the buffet breakfast I had imagined.
We paid £100 each for 4 nights so we got what we paid for really - a place to sleep that had Wi-Fi, hot water and no bed bugs.
DAY 1 IN SINGAPORE
AM | Gardens By The Bay
We started out trip by heading to the most photographed place in Singapore - Gardens By The Bay. Here you will find dozens of very tall futuristic trees, gardens and a number of beautiful conservatories. The actual gardens are free to enter, but there is a fee to enter the Flower Dome and Cloud Forest. If you'd like, for 12 SGD (singapore dollars) you can also walk from supertree to supertree with the OCBC Skyway.
Lunch | Satay by the Bay
We had to walk like 15 minutes to get here from the Cloud Forest (that's how big GBTB is) and in 30 degree heat there's no better feeling than finally sitting down and eating. Despite the name, you can choose from over 30 food stalls here but as suggested, I ate satay by the bay. Here you can get meals from 10 SGD and I got 12 sticks of chicken satay for that. This was also one of the locations where Nick Young and his pals had dinner in the movie Crazy Rich Asians.
PM | Art Science Museum
You've probably seen lots of futuristically artsy pictures from this place on Facebook and Instagram - and trying to achieve the same photos in real life wasn't very easy. I do always enjoy museums more when they're interactive (am I 4 or 24?) and it doesn't get more interactive than the Art Science Museum. You can colour in animals and watch them appear on a screen, you can move objects on walls and create music by drawing on a screen and so on. For all of you Instagram lovers, there are a number of very aesthetically pleasing rooms. The one pictured below is more of a walk through, and you're allowed like, 10 seconds before you need to keep walking because there'll be a queue forming behind you.
Dinner | 'The Shoppes' at Marina Bay Sands
If you are on a budget, then the restaurants in this mall are slightly on the expensive side (we're talking £30+ for a plate of pasta) but the food court at the end has a lot of variety and for 1/3 of the price. I had a katsu curry (not exactly the same as the one we get at Wagamama) for 10 SGD which came with miso soup and white rice. If you're frozen yoghurt and bubble tea obsessed like I am, you can find pretty good ones here.
Evening | Marina Bay Sands Spectra / Rooftop Bar
As you can see from todays itinerary, you're basically spending the whole day in one area as GBTB and Marina Bay are both within walking distance of each other. However if you plan on dancing into the early hours of the morning then you might wanna nip back to the hotel and shower and maybe change from your converse. The Spectra is a light and water show and you can see this from the balcony of the first floor of the mall. The shows are only 15 minutes long but they really are beautiful. After, I definitely recommend having an overpriced Singapore Sling at the hotels rooftop bar. You have to pay $28 to get up there, and you can use this as a token to buy a drink (the cocktail was $31 so we had to add a few extra bucks on top). There is also a more club type area up here if you fancy a dance too.
Sun – Thu: 8pm & 9pm
Fri & Sat: 8pm, 9pm & 10pm
Earth Hour on Sat, Mar 30:
8pm, 9:30pm & 10:30pm
DAY 2 IN SINGAPORE
AM | Little India
If you're looking for some colourful shots for your IG feed then Little India is the place to do so. We did a free walking tour with Monster Tours which gave us more of an insight to what we were actually looking at and the history of Little India in Singapore. Sights included the Former House of Tan Teng Niah (picture below), Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple and Little India Arcade. These tours run on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday and they also run tours for China Town, Kampong Glam, Bugis & Bras Basah and the Civic District.
Lunch | Khansama
No trip to Little India would be complete without a curry, and we were told Khansama was the best one in town. They have an extensive menu and their portions are big. We made the mistake of ordering a curry each and a rice to share, and to be honest we could have probably had enough with 3 dishes between the 5 of us. Each curry came with a basket of mixed naan breads, so you definitely won't leave this place still hungry.
PM | China Town & Haji Lane
After lunch we took another metro to Bugis MRT and then walked 10 minutes to find Haji Lane - a very hipster spot in Singapore. Here you'll find an explosion of colour, quirky cafes, vintage shops and a lot of drunk travellers. We were exhausted so we also took this opportunity to sit down and have a cocktail in a Spanish bar playing reggaeton and people watch. After this we took the metro to China Town and just had a walk through the area really. Here you'll be able to see Pagoda Street, Sri Mariamman Temple, the former Opera House, a Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum and the 'Street of the Dead'.
Dinner | Maxwell Centre
In China Town you will find a Hawker Centre (indoor/outdoor food court) which is known for being one of the best ones to try genuine Singaporean dishes that are cheap and tasty. The most popular food stall in Maxwell Hawker Centre is the Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice and it did not disappoint.
Evening | Gardens By The Bay Light Show
After seeing this place in the day I 100% recommend going back in the evening and seeing the light show. The shows take place at 7:45pm and 8:45pm and is free to watch, just find a spot by the Supertree Grove and enjoy. The show theme changes so jump on the website to have a look what's on during your visit.
DAY 3 IN SINGAPORE
Full Day | Sentosa Island
The main attraction here is Universal Studios, but you can also find Adventure Cove Waterpark, iFly Singapore and a variety of other attractions. The park is probably half the size of the one in Florida, but there are handful of good thrill rides including two rollercoasters, The Mummy one and a super cool Transformers simulation one.
Lunch | anywhere, it's all going to be overpriced and will taste the same
Dinner | Chili's
I hadn't eaten here since I lived in Florida in 2015, and honestly we just went into the first restaurant we saw after leaving the park, and I thoroughly enjoyed my buffalo chicken burger.
TOP TIPS FOR SINGAPORE
- Singapore accepts US dollars but for a better rate get your currency in Singapore dollars.
- The metro system is very easy to use and each trip will cost you $1-3.
- From the airport, you can order a taxi from the machine depending on your party size.
- It's very easy to eat well and cheap in Singapore, just go from Hawker Centre to Hawker Centre!
- I know you want a tan, but Singapore is very hot and humid - so wear sunscreen and a hat!
Have you ever been to Singapore? What were your highlights?
G
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