Spectacular Singapore
Back in 2003, our first visit to Singapore was simply a layover of 12 hours between connecting flights from Europe to Australia. We arrived very early in the morning and took a bus to the city, wandered around the river side noting the contrast between the modern skyscrapers and the little restaurants lining Clarke Quay, and admiring the old colonial buildings.
From there it was off to Chinatown where we sampled some Chilli Crab in a hawkers’ market. We were very tired having not managed to sleep on the plane. We found the humidity quite draining after the temperate weather in Europe, so we spent a short while diving in and out of airconditioned department stores along Orchard Road, before stopping at Raffles Hotel for a Singapore Sling, and heading back to the airport for a refreshing shower and a rest before our flight home.
So when another opportunity came to visit Singapore – before departing on a cruise in 2019 – we made sure to arrive a couple of days early in order to have a good look around. Top of our wish list was Gardens By The Bay, a spectacular showpiece of garden artistry. We marvelled at the colourful floral displays in the Flower Dome, climbed to the top of the waterfall in the refreshingly cooled Cloud Forest, walked the Skyway and took lots of photos of the magical Supertrees. For those who love gardening, this is a bucket list attraction!
Our next priority was a visit to the Marina Bay Sands Hotel. Such a landmark structure with the infinity pool atop! We hadn’t booked a room there, but we discovered it was still possible to go up the elevators to the bars and restaurants at the top. Fabulous views were had from the balconies, glass in hand, of the city, the Gardens, and out across to the bay where scores of ships lay waiting to dock.
This time, as well as the obligatory visit to Lau Pa Sat hawker centre for food, we also visited the Thian Hock Keng temple, a Hokkien Temple dedicated to the sea goddess Mazu. The Chinatown area is always such a fascinating area with interesting places to visit, such as the Buddha Tooth Relic temple, where we observed the monks leading worshippers in their daily prayer rituals.
Since then, we have had two more stopovers in Singapore, either side of our trip to Europe in 2023. Looking for new places to explore, we decided to visit Sentosa, an island resort off the coast. It’s possible to reach the island by road, cable car, boardwalk or monorail. We took the monorail from Vivo City – a vast shopping and entertainment mall in the HarbourFront precinct – to the Beach Station on Sentosa Island.
Sentosa’s attractions include two golf courses, 14 hotels, Universal Studios and Resorts World, Madame Tussauds, SEA Aquarium and a casino. Sentosa is also known for its beaches, with Siloso Beach regarded as the best for activities, bars and restaurants. We walked around various attractions there and down to spend some time resting on the sand. It was surprisingly very quiet.
Then we opted for the cable car ride to Siloso Point and back via Mount Imbiah to the main island and Mount Faber. The views from the cable car were fantastic, with cityscapes, docklands, resorts, theme parks and lush vegetation. It was a great experience.
Returning to Changi airport, we had time to spend before our flight, so we were excited to see the world’s tallest indoor waterfall – the Rain Vortex – in the heart of the Jewel retail complex. Extending over seven storeys and bordered by a massive tropical indoor garden, this 40 metre water fountain cascades from the top, illuminated by a constantly changing series of vibrant colours. A truly special photo opportunity.
On our return journey from Europe we again set out to explore. Arriving at night, we set out to experience the sights, sounds and smells of Chinatown again, browsing the night market in Pagoda Street, and nearby, admiring the ladies in their colourful saris at the Jamae Mosque where wedding celebrations were in full swing.
As once before, the contrast in temperatures and humidity from where we had been, made persisting with our exploration the next day quite difficult. However, we did manage a walk along the riverside past new high rise buildings and the grand Fullerton Hotel, where we found a dynamic sculpture display near Cavanagh Bridge, called The First Generation, commonly referred to as the Five Boys By The River. They represent the first immigrants to the area, where children who lived there would use the river as a swimming pool. It is one of a series of sculptures along the river commissioned by the Singapore Tourist Council with the aim of reflecting scenes from the olden days of Singapore.
Finally, we did the very touristy thing of visiting the Merlion statue, the symbol of the city. The fish-like body represents the the city’s origins as a fishing village, while the lion head refers to the original spelling of the city name which means lion city in Sanskrit. It had been under renovation on an earlier visit so we queued with scores of other tourists to get the perfect shot, before heading back to the airport once again for our return journey home.
