Day 11
We landed in Singapore around midday and with the new bar code entry cards it was super easy to come through customs and immigration. We checked in to Robertson House by the Crest Collection around 3pm for a brief rest before our river cruise and twilight tour collection time of 5:30pm. Our original choice was Hotel Fort Canning but they have been taken over and cancelled our booking…so not impressed with that! Nice room view though and a free mini breakfast.
A bus collected a bunch of people from hotels then took us to the river. We started off from Clarke Quay (nice and close to the hotel) with a 30-minute scenic river cruise. During the first part of the cruise, we got a quick glimpse of the Merlion. It symbolises Singapore’s fishing heritage and spouts water into the river.
The purpose of this tour (for us) was to see the gardens by the bay light show. The “Garden Rhapsody” light and sound show is where the towering Supertrees come to life in dazzling colours, set to music.
Just down the road (river?) we then also stopped for the Spectra Light and Water Show at Marina Bay Sands This is an amazing display of lasers, water fountains, and projections. It was cool but not as good as the super trees and that would be my winner.
Form there we returned to land and were given the choice of a drop off at Hotel or Lau Pa Sat Hawker Market. We went to the market, had some (average) satay on satay street then off to bed.
Day 12
We woke up around 9am, ate our included mini breakfast and then caught a grab to universal studios. It was only a $16 SGD ride for 15 mins and was a lot more pleasant than 45 mins on various underground lines.
We bought the ride express passes and while we didn’t need them initially, by lunchtime standard queues were 70 mins plus so it was well worth it. Rides we went on included:
- Battlestar galactica roller coaster (I went one way, B went both)
- Revenge of the mummy
- Transformers 3D (made me very nauseous)
- River rapids
- Shrek 4D
We missed canopy flyer as it doesn’t have express and the line just kept getting longer and longer!
Taxis at universal studios…this is a thing we didn’t know. They can refuse card fares. We tried 5/6 and asked to pay with card and they all wanted cash which we didn’t want to use. We thought they couldn’t do this but apparently they can – they just can’t turn the meter off. Disgusting behaviour though. We ended up walking back to the main entry and getting a grab which was only $11. B is now annoyed at all taxis and considering not getting in one at all 😂
For dinner we walked to a local place near the hotel and I had Hainanese chicken rice (yum). Singapore food is very Chinese based and it’s definitely not my favourite…lots of noodles, rice, oily stuff and sweet heavy sauces. The chicken rice dish is one of the better ones for my lighter taste and angry stomach.
Day 13
It’s Easter Friday here so lots of things are closed. We made sure we had some snacks organised from the day before and spent most of the day just relaxing.
We went in search of some Hawker Food gems for dinner and wandered 15 mins along the river to Heng Kee Curry Chicken Bee Hoon Mee (shop 02-57/58/59) located in Hong Lim Market & Food Centre. This shop finally received a write up in the Michelin guide in 2023 after numerous awards and mentions over the years. The shop was founded in the 1970s and is currently run by its second-generation owner. The stall’s hallmark single dish is a mild (for most) curry broth, custom-made tofu puffs and fish cakes with delicious poached chicken and yellow noodles. We got the small bowls for $6.50 SGD each and also bought a sugar can juice for $2.50 SGD each.
The walk along the river near ClaRke Quay was lively and we even saw some cheeky river otters!
Tomorrow we head home on a 5hr scoot flight. I’m hoping the chairs are a lot better than our short HCMC to Singapore leg as that was awful.
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