Weekend in Singapore

It is true what they say about Singapore – you are Singa-poor after you visit Singapore, especially if you are a hotel snob and enjoy a night out. However, the long weekend trip was exactly what I needed after 2 months in India.

Singapore is a little gem in the Southeast Asia, and it is so modern and clean that you feel like you are in Europe, yet it also has that amazing Malaysian nature and food.

The island city-state has English as one of its three official languages, and a 0% starting income tax which not surprisingly attract a lot of expat workers. I did feel like at home.

We arrived to world’s best airport early in the morning and were a little sad to just leave it, but decided maybe we will explore more on the way back – you can enter several terminals on a slide, there is a swimming pool, cinema and much much more. We later learnt that these areas are public and you cannot access them when you pass the gate… There is even a short movie about two guys who tried to stay at the airport for 4 days – watch it before you visit Singapore.

I wanted some luxury and a nice swimming pool, so stayed at Marina Bay Sands. The service was exceptional – I arrived very early in the morning, yet the room was already ready and they let to check-in. Given that there was some time before sunrise, I went to the room and had a nap obliviously thinking that I will be able to go to the swimming pool for sunrise and take a photo while nobody is there. The pool was already full at 6am ! They only allow hotel visitors to enter the pool area, however you will struggle to find a time when there are no people. I didn’t manage to get a nice photo from there, but took a decent one once back in the room.

After a little nap, I had some coffee to keep me going and went to explore the Cloud Forest and Gardens by the Bay.

There are two main attractions to enter – Cloud Forest and Flower Dome. Apparently Cloud Forest is better, it was nice and definitely worth a visit. You can wander around the other areas for free, but you also have OCBC Skywalk (costs SGD8 to enter) to walk at the top of the trees. I was wandering around the gardens and OCBC Skywalk on my last day. I am scared of heights, but like getting those little adrenaline kicks so I just ran through the Skywalk very quickly as some parts are very narrow.

I always enjoy trying local food, so going to a local market for lunch was a must. We went to Newton Food Centre and everything looked d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s. It was not packed, as apparently people go there for dinner and it gets busier from 6pm. I had lychee water, fish soup and stingray steak – highly recommend. Another must try when in Singapore is chilli grab. It is quite messy, but I think it was the nicest grab I’ve had. I had it on my last day and chose the old strip by the river in the city centre, which is filled with restaurants – many restaurants will have it.

One great thing about Singapore is that you can just get lost in the city. It is small, so you can wander around and you will always find something amazing. The architecture is absolutely stunning – I don’t think I have been in a city with so many unique buildings.

And when you are done exploring, you can go out clubbing or go back to enjoy the amazing pool at the Marina Bay sands, and everything is has to offer. We went out one night to the club area and went to a gay club, as they always has a nice vibe and the other night just enjoyed the hotel facilities.

All in all, it was a good weekend. I have never visited Singapore before and it was a big change from India. One long weekend may not be not enough, but we ticked the main spots. If I visit it again, I will make sure to budget some time to enjoy the airport more and eat more local food.