Singapore has been a very different experience this time around to the previous time I was here. Last time I was here with Cat and we were determined to do a lot of stuff. We had 4 nights and we put them to good use. This time around it was 3 nights and we didn’t really do all that much. Our 3 nights really was 2 full days available to us and both of them had some time aside for me to “work” thanks to requirements of using our free stays.
Monday 25th July 2016
After getting the LimoTaxi into the city, we checked into the Fullerton Bay Hotel which was our home for the first two nights of our stay. The hotel is right down on the Marina Bay area and it was stunning. A small boutique style hotel that had a mix of history along with also modern contemporary. This was Heidi’s choice for a hotel and she picked really well.
After checking in we headed off to Orchard Road for some dinner (since a Food Court is an easy introduction to Singapore eating without going all out Hawker style. Grabbed some random foods, and an Ice Cream on the street (gotta love those Pandang Bread Ice Cream Sandwiches) and it was back to the hotel to pass out late.
Tuesday 26th July 2016
Woke up fairly average time today and decided to go for a run around the hotel area with a map provided. Managed to do what should have been 5km, but didn’t quite mark it as such so not sure what happened there. Good run in the morning as the sun came up but the humidity sure was a killer. After a long slow breakfast full of really good food and plenty of Kopi O, I had to do a bit of work for a while and by the time we finished it was almost lunch! We walked down into Chinatown heading to a Hawker Center. We were ok with directions as the Fullerton Bay provide you with a phone with local data capabilities and you can do stuff to your hearts content. We found the hawker center and a giant line that snaked across most of the length of the building. It was a line for one stall and it was probably 50 people or so. We weren’t sure what it was, but we got in it for a bit while we tried to figure out what else was there.
We ended up not going with the line (since we were hungry) and both grabbed some food and snagged a table by the open air part. It was raining at the time so some breeze was definitely welcome. After some food, we headed off to pick up some shopping and avoid the rain and then headed back to the hotel to relax. We scrapped our plans for the Botanic Gardens and decided to go crash out on the bed for a little break. After setting up a catch up with a friend we headed off to another food center this time out in Lavender and the place we were going to was actually one of two Hawker Stalls that have a Michelin Star (the other one turned out to be the one we were in line for at lunch!). We arrived at the Hawker stall around 530pm and we were sitting down to eat almost 2 hours later! It was worth the wait… the Pork Noodle dish was pretty amazing! A stop in Somerset for some ice cream waffles and then off the hotel for the Marina Bay Sands light show.
Wednesday 27th July 2016
A Bit of an earlier wake up today and a gym session instead of a run. Packing up and breakfast before grabbing an Uber over to our new hotel for the last night of our stay. I had redeemed a stay at the Raffles and I was looking forward to this. While the Raffles is not the most up to date, amazingly trendy hotel with all the bells and whistles, this hotel is about service, serenity and history. We arrived at the hotel and greeted by the Doorman (in full regalia) and personally escorted inside. This was the kind of arrival I like! We didn’t stick around long but got introduced to our butler and he helped set us up for a few things.
We headed off in another Uber to Gardens by the Bay to explore and this place was a mind blowing experience. It is the Most Expensive Garden in the world and it surely does show. The two conservatories were amazing and the Flower Dome was holding the annual Singapore Garden Show and Orchid Expo. The orchid’s were amazing but I loved the Cloud Forest more. It was like a giant rainforest in a dome including a big 7 story tall waterfall. We explored the outside of the gardens more and then slowly walked back to the Raffles for an afternoon of relaxation. We were going to hit the pool but it was baking hot so decided to instead explore around the hotel. Heidi and I got ready for High Tea in the Tiffin Room and after a quick bit of work we got down to business. The Business of pretending we were back in the colonial days. The Tea was fantastic and the food was to die for. The clotted cream on the scones was just amazing and some of the desserts were great. It was a great afternoon and although not cheap, we figured it was a great way to finish off our luxurious few days in Singapore.
Current Location – Raffles Hotel Singapore