To get from Tonga to Singapore we took two flights with a stop over in Sydney. Given the muck up of timings the layover was now 9 hours! Having learnt from a air steward it’s possible to leave the airport, the mission was clear. Even though the transit staff were Opposed to the idea we break free and catch the train to circular key and spent the day basking in the glorious sunshine and soaking in Sydney for an unexpected last time before dashing back to the airport.
We arrive late in Singapore with hopes of smooth exit to our hotel….this wasn’t to be. Thea breezes through passport check where as I get sent to immigration, have several people look seriously at me, photocopy my passport & take my fingerprints. Still to this day have no idea why. They spoke few words, only ‘don’t worry’…. But in that environment it’s a little hard not to.
Finally though the gate – last passengers to the belt to find no luggage. After looking a tad worries we are directed to where they are – phew. We get a Taxi to the hotel and it soon becomes clear it’s in the red light district which on arrival at the hotel a sign shows you can pay by the hour…..on to a win here!!! The reception informs us we we don’t have a room booked because we booked our dates not factoring arriving at 1am, but thankfully they find us one! After all the excitement we are pleased to be in our room, which is the size of a postage stamp! By this point we don’t care and collapse.
After a slightly lazy start we head off for the city and find our nearest station, the system is very easy to navigate, much like London with a few notable improvements – air conditioning everywhere, led lights to mark each stop, floor markers to direct people where to stand while waiting for trains and some driverless trains!
First stop, Sentosa Island to visit the aquarium. Now some you who’ve travelled with us must be thinking ‘again?’ but this is for one reason – they have Manta Rays! We’ve always wanted to see one & after the fail in Belize & missing the arrival in Fiji by 2 days we are not missing this. Turns out to be pretty amazing place, the central tank is incredible – could sit & watch for hours! Sentosa Island itself is an odd place, it’s the hub for all attractions with a random mix of development & themes such as universal studios. A day there would definitely drain your wallet so after a wander around we head back to the mainland.
From friends who’ve visited we’ve heard the place to eat at is the Hawkers Centres – effectively a shopping mall solely for street food. With a huge array of sights and smells we soon understand why, it’s paradise for foodies. Problematic for a non decision maker like me but we eventually settle on a place. It’s delicious, decent portions and all for the grand sum of £6. Amazing.
Our next two days are centred around the City Sightseeing Tour – my favourite way to see a city. First stop – Marina Bay Sands. Anyone who’s been will appreciate its dominance and presence on the city skyline, consisting of 3 towers and a balanced plinth across the top of all three with the worlds largest infinity pool. It screams wealth and luxury and we learn after it’s cost a cool US $5.6 Billion to build. We dream of a room there compared to our postage stamp, but given you probably couldn’t eat a meal there for the price we paid for a week we visit the viewing deck for a breathtaking glance at Singapore and move on.
Close by is Gardens by the Bay, an incredible space, designed and manicured perfectly. It may be completely man made at a cost of US $1.6 Billion but it’s beautiful, with its draw feature of approximately 10 tree like towers adorned with lights and exotic plants. We sample the walkway between each one which for Thea is a definite ‘don’t look down’ moment but worth it. Twice nightly here they have a musical light show for the public to enjoy which we did manage to see and it’s was amazing.
Back on the bus the tour continues, by the end of our second day we’ve seen all the sights, heard some bonkers facts and completed all lines possible. One particular fact we learned was regarding traffic. For a major city it’s flows extremely well, this is because owning a car is made very difficult. Firstly cars are taxed at over 100% and to discourage ownership even further it’s near impossible to buy a second hand car. Plus all drivers must have a ownership permit, these are released at 2 week intervals and the number released is equal to the amount surrendered. On top of this you have to bid for a permit which can set you back up to US $50K and it only lasts for 10 years, this all before purchasing the car. On top of all that they have something similar to a congestion charge, only instead of one charge for the day it charges every time you pass them and they are everywhere! Singapore’s public transport is heavily invested in and we can easily see why people opt for it.
Next we visit Singapore Zoo. Rated as one of the best in the world, it needed to be seen by such zoo connoisseurs as we are & with 12 minutes left on our bus ticket we scrape a free transfer there. After a long day we finish off with a wander around the harbour and are lucky enough to see part of the I-light art festival which comes to Singapore for 1month each year.
One place to visit is the Island of Pulau Ubin, a small unspoilt piece of paradise. A place where no other vehicles are allowed other than commercial, we hire bikes and set off to explore. Being only a short ferry ride it feels a million miles from the city hustle, we relish on the unsealed tracks and jungle like surroundings, seeing monitor lizards, wild boars and monkeys, who’s attempt to steal our bag we successfully foil. Exhausted & very hot we retreat back to the air conditioned world of the mainland for dinner and Gardens By the Bay show. Sadly a funny stomach sends us back to the hotel before we get there.
After 6 days we feel we’ve captured Singapore and seen all we wanted. We have enjoyed Singapore, we imagine it’s a great place to live/work for a period of time, as visitors we feel we’ve had the right amount of time here. For me more so than Thea it’s been strangely nice to be back in city life.
Having a fairly civilised onward flight we leisurely make our way to the airport – next stop Hong Kong.
See you there.
xxx
jonandtheatravelling 