Positives from this trip:
⁃ The public transport here is cheap, efficient and easy to use. An EZlink card was only $5 and most trips within the city area are 0.77c so we counted it as a must buy.
This is probably the easiest public transport system I have ever used and I would have been totally comfortable on my own….which is not something I have ever said about a PT system in a new place before! Gold star for you singapore.
⁃ The weather has been pretty good for this time of year. We knew it would be wet and humid but that also seems to have kept crowds of tourists away so we were happy! A poncho and good waterproof or water friendly shoes are a must at this time of year. B wore travel hiking shoes most places and I wore quick dry sandals. Be prepared that nothing shuts down in the rain, people only really freak out about lightning
⁃ Most things didn’t have too much of a line up in late Dec/early Jan. A lot of the reviews and online comments I read suggest we got lucky with both timing and weather in regard to this. We had very short lines for the pandas at River Safari, Gardens by the Bay, cloud forest, universal studios and other things. We also got our own carriage on the Singapore Flyer champagne flight! That was seriously an amazing experience for $78 each. The only time we really saw huge lines was bloody Marina Bay Sands.
⁃ I am putting Hotel Fort Canning in both the good and not so good categories! It was a great compromise between my desire for a resort stay and B wanting to be in the city. It also got a big thumbs up from B due to its lovely surroundings, the very quiet pool area, it’s 5 min walking distance to the MRT, the fact we could Uber most places in the city for under $10 and the free drinks from 6-7pm each day for guests. The bath tub was my highlight. I loved those tubs soooo much.
⁃ The hawker centres were amazing and all visitors should try them! We visited two, the Maxwell Food Centre and the Hong Lim Complex. Amazing food for under $5. We were lucky enough to get to Ah Heng at 10:15am when there was no line at all
⁃ Changi Airport has The Haven Lounge which is in arrivals Terminal 3. Although we have qantas club access, we realised we had to clear immigration to get to it….which you can’t do without a boarding pass….which we weren’t going to get until 7:30pm at night! So we discovered this place. Basically you select a time and pay a fee and you can use their guest lounge. They provide free drinks, snacks, lounges, wifi, powerpoints, one shower and one meal. You can also pay a bit more for a nap room. What a good idea!
Not so good things:
⁃ Hotel Fort Canning has (mostly) been a positive experience for us, with two notable negatives. If you are like me and don’t sleep like the dead, be aware the doors are really not 5 Star Hotel level and offer no soundproofing AT ALL. It’s like being in a cheap motel in that regard. We ended up staying in two areas of the hotel (level 1 room 111 and level 2 room 216) and in both rooms we would be startled awake by guests next door closing their doors as normal and it rattling the walls, rattling our door and sounding extremely loud. You could here all hallway conversations as well. The second issue (out of their control) would be the fact the MRT return trip is only doable by going up extremely steep stairs or a very slippery footpath. I slipped and fell on the footpath. Not ideal for many travellers wanting to stay in a 5 Star Hotel! We did wonder why no shuttle but I assume that’s because as quite a pricey hotel, they figure many guests will taxi.
⁃ SGD and AUD are very close to on par, B tells me the aussie dollar is slightly weaker at the moment. Things here are not cheap AT ALL. Think Australian tourist pricing and then some because alcohol here has a significant mark up. A bottle of prosecco here is $40+ and a bottle of jack Daniels is $90+ so imagine how that translates to bar pricing! Most cocktails ranged from $17-$30. I would compare the costs here to visiting somewhere like Hamilton Island in Australia in terms of drinks, attraction pricing and “normal” eating. Hawker food centres are obviously an exception 🙂
⁃ It’s humid as hell at this time of year. Literally. So be prepared with sensible clothes and shoes. You will sweat like nobodies business!
Stuff still on the to-do list (and yes, we both agree we will definitely come back to do these!)
⁃ High tea at The Raffles (closed for renovation until mid 2018)
⁃ The skywalk at gardens by the bay which was closed due to wet weather when we went
⁃ Visiting some of the outlying islands, one is apparently inhabited by lots of friendly cats. They recommend you take tons of cat food when visiting. Seriously. They only have two ferries a day (10am, 2:45pm) so we gave this idea a miss on this trip
⁃ Explore more of Sentosa Island than just Universal Studios. There’s zip lining, beaches and so on.
– I still really want to stay at Marina Bay Sands just so I can get in that damn pool!
⁃ Singapore night safari and Singapore zoo in the day time because….polar bear!! POLAR BEAR! This is me staring longingly at the polar bears butt from the “sneak a view” window in the other zoo
After some ocean swimming and sunbathing. It was time for shore tours! Our first shore tour was guided snorkelling. The tour idea itself was quite good but unfortunately we got stuck with a selfish family of 24 who refused to be split. So instead of the usual 12, our group had 28 in it! Kinda ruined the fun. I did convince the manager to give us a partial refund despite their “no refunds” policy. The wrecks themselves were amazing, it was just the repeatedly getting kicked in the face that got old fast.
Mel's Travel Blog 