SINGAPORE TRIP 2023

I have just returned from a trip to Singapore. I went with my boyfriend Aaron and we had a wonderful time. Singapore is such a beautiful clean, safe country with so much to see and do, we spent a week in Singapore, four days in the mainland and two days on Sentosa Island. Below is a day by day account of my trip.

The trip started at Sydney International Airport, we flew from Sydney to Singapore via Singapore Airlines and let me tell you this is THE BEST!!! Airline I have ever flown with. We flew Economy and when we entered the plane I thought at first we were in the wrong section, that we were in Business Class because all of the seats had a pillow and blanket, something I have NEVER gotten on any other airline so I was pleasantly surprised to discover that we were in fact in the right section. The chairs were so comfortable, usually I find plane seats to be uncomfortable but these seats were perfect. The service is amazing, you never want for anything and the food was amazing too, for dinner I have Chicken Tiki Masala which was delicious and then after dinner we were given a Magnum Ice Cream. The flight to Singapore was 8 hours and it was a very pleasant flight.

When we arrived in Singapore, the first thing I noticed when we stepped off the plane was the heat, it was 9:00PM and according to my phone it was 87% humidity and the temperature was 28 degrees. This is normal for Singapore as it is very close to the equator, also May is the last Spring month before Summer in Singapore. We got our luggage and then got a cab to our hotel, we stayed at the Park Royal,

Aaron And I At The Sydney International Airport

The Park Royal Pool

DAY ONE

For our first day in Singapore we decided to do the famous Gardens By The Bay and Marina Bay Sands. We caught a cab from our hotel to Gardens By The Bay which took 5 minutes. We decided to do the Cloud Forest, Supertree Observatory and Floral Fantasy, we got our tickets and headed straight to the Cloud Forest. The Cloud Forest is absolutely breathtaking, it features one of the world's tallest indoor waterfalls which stands at 35m tall. The Cloud Forest is also home to a lush mountain covered in plants from around the world and also has an aerial walkway which provides a birds eye view of the Cloud Forest from above. There are many amazing plants inside the Cloud Forest such as Singapore's national flower the Orchid, but my favourites were the carnivorous plants. There is a whole section dedicated especially to carnivorous plants as well as lots of different kinds of pitchers (my favourite carnivorous plant) dotted around the forest. While we were there, "Avatar The Experience" the exhibition was on display inside the Cloud Forest which made it even more magical.

The Cloud Forest

After The Cloud Forest we headed over to the Supertree Observatory, the tallest supertree in the supertree grove which offers amazing views over the entire Gardens By The Bay and the Marina Bay area. There are a few cafes inside the building should you feel the need to stop for a drink or a bite to eat.

The Top Level Of The Supertree Grove

Our next stop was the Floral Fantasy, an indoor garden that provides both a magical experience and the perfect Instagram shot. Suspended bouquets hang from the ceiling and elaborate floral arrangements fills the garden and over 15,000 fresh cut, dried and preserved flowers hang from the ceiling. There is also a vivarium housing Poison Dart Frogs which I was most excited to see as I love frogs (I have a Green Tree Frog named Princess) and I had never seen a Poison Dart Frog in person before.

Floral Fantasy

We were pretty hungry once we existed the Floral Fantasy so we decided to head to the iconic Marina Bay Sands Hotel for lunch. We ate in The Shoppes foodcourt. Foodcourts in Singapore are unlike foodcourts any where else in the world, they are clean and offer a variety of the most delicious food, some of which even receive Michelin Stars. While I cannot remember the name of the stall I ate from, I do remember it was Japanese and I got the best Bento Box I have ever had, it came with Takoyaki, Rice and Katsu Chicken. After lunch, we went and had a ride on Sampan Rides, a little boat ride in a canal in the middle of the shopping centre. After that we had a little look around some of the shops before heading back to our hotel for a quick rest before dinner that night.

Sampan Boat Ride

That night we headed back to Marina Bay Sands and had dinner at an Italian restaurant on the rooftop called Lavo. The restaurant if on the same level as the famous infinity pool and the views across Singapore are absolutely stunning. As a non drinker, I was very happy to discover that this restaurant had a mock - tail list, in Australia where I'm from many places don't do mock - tails so I was very happy to be able to get a mock - tail. For dinner, Aaron and I shared Garlic Bread, for mains I had the Rigatoni Melanzana which was absolutely delicious and Aaron had a steak which he said was really good.

The View From Lavo

Dinner At Lavo

After dinner we walked back over to Gardens By The Bay where we watched the nightly Garden Rhapsody show, a sound and light show in the Supertree Grove that goes for 15 minutes. Once the Garden Rhapsody had finished, we got a cab back to our hotel and that was the end of our first day in Singapore.

Garden Rhapsody

DAY TWO

Day two was dedicated to the Mandai Wildlife Reserve which houses four wildlife parks, Singapore Zoo, River Wonders, Jurong Bird Park and Night Safari. We did the River Wonders and Singapore Zoo. To get to Mandai from Haji Lane took a trip on the MRT which took us about 45 minutes and from there a 10 minute trip on a bus. We bought tickets for both the River Safari and the Singapore Zoo, we decided to do the River Safari first. The River Safari is a river themed zoo and aquarium, over 6,000 animals including 40 threatened species call the River Wonders home with zones that replicate the habitats of rivers around the world. As we walked through the aquarium, I was delighted to see Red Bellied Piranha and Electric Eels as neither of these fascinating Amazon River dwellers can be seen anywhere in Australia.

Manatee

Red Bellied Piranha

Electric Eel

Green Anaconda

We got on the Amazing River Quest Boat Ride, this awesome ride, takes you through the "Amazon Rainforest" where you get to see all kinds of animals that roam through the Amazon.

Amazon River Quest Boat Ride

Once we got off the ride our next stop was Panda Paradise to see the resident Giant Pandas Kai Kai, Jia Jia and their one year old cub Le Le. This was the most exciting part for both of us as neither of us had ever seen a Panda before, the first time we went through they were asleep, however when we went through a second time they were awake and munching on Bamboo. We had lunch at the appropriately named "Mamma Panda Kitchen" before moving onto Singapore Zoo. I had Chicken Katsu Ramen which was delicious.

Jia Jia & Le Le

Lunch At Mama Panda Kitchen

Kai Kai Eating Bamboo

We went into the Singapore Zoo which is home to over 2,800 animals from 300 species and has won many awards both locally and internationally including plaudits from Forbes Traveler as one of the best zoos in the world, the Asian Attraction Awards for Most Popular Attraction in the Wildlife Park category and the STB 22nd Tourism Award for Best Leisure Attraction Experience of the Year, it was also ranked as one of the top 3 zoos in the world by the TripAdvisor Travellers Choice Award in 2018. I have been to many zoos in my home country Australia, we have many amazing zoos but I can honestly say that this is THE BEST!!! Zoo I have ever seen, such an amazing variety of unique animals in big beautiful enclosures that truly mimic Their natural environment. I loved seeing them all especially the White Tigers, Pgymy Hippopotamuses, White Rhinoceroses and the Orang - utans but my favourite section was Reptopia. I am a Snake fanatic and this zoo has many Snakes that I had never seen before as we don't have them in Australia, one of the Snakes I had never even heard of which is a rarity for me. My favourite Snakes were the West African Gaboon Viper and the Sidewinder but I loved them all.

Proboscis Monkey

White Tiger

Pygmy Hippopotamus

Asian Elephants

White Rhinoceroses

Orangutans

Poison Dart Frogs

King Cobra

Red Tailed Racer

Green Tree Python

West African Gaboon Vipers

Western Diamondback Rattlesnakes

Sidewinder

Green Pit Viper

Once we had seen all of the zoo we once again got back onto a bus then the MRT and went back to our hotel. That night for dinner we ate at a Mexican restaurant that was opposite our hotel called Piedra Negra, I had the most delicious Tacos and a Virgin Mojito beforehand.

DAY THREE

The next day we decided to walk down Haji Lane which is in the Kampong Glam area of Singapore and known for its one off boutiques and cafes. Located in the heart of Kampong Glam is the elaborate Sultan Mosque. Built in 1824 for the first Sultan of Singapore, Sultan Hussein Shah, Sir Stamford Raffles the founder of Singapore gave a S$3,000 grant to the construction company of a single story building with a double tiered roof. A hundred years later, the mosque desperately needed repairs and was transformed into what it is today, an elaborate building with huge gold domes that looks as though it is straight from Aladdin so of course I had to get a picture in front of it. We were planning to go inside to have a look, however the day that we went which was a Friday the Mosque was closed off to tourists as it was being used for Prayer. If you decide to go to the Mosque, modest clothing is required to enter, long sleeve tops covered to the wrist and long pants or skirts to the ankle are required, no shorts, tshirts or revealing clothing. Should you not have the appropriate clothing, the Mosque does provide free cloaks to visitors.

The Sultan Mosque

After walking down Haji Lane and seeing the Sultan Mosque, we decided to get a cab to Little India. Once known as Serangoon in the 18th century and operating as an important artery of commerce and transport for the plantations located in the interior of the island along the route to Serangoon Harbour as well as being a vital loading and unloading point for the Johor gambier and pepper planters, various communities began to establish themselves in this area in the 19th century. Many Kampongs (Malay Villages) were established around the area and attracted people from Java, Malaysia and of course India and by 1980, the area was officially named Little India. Today Little India is one of Singapore's most colourful and vibrant districts, there are many things to see and do in Little India as well as many great places to eat. We walked around the area a little bit until we came across the Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple. This beautiful Hindu temple is one of the oldest temples in Singapore. The temple was built by Indian pioneers who went to Singapore to live and work to help these pioneers feel at home in a foreign land. Sri Veeramakaliamman, the chief deity of the temple a powerful Goddess and destroyer of evil was chosen as her presence fulfilled the need of the early migrants to feel secure in a new land. Modest clothing is required to enter the temple, same standards as the Sultan Mosque and you also must remove your shoes before entering.

Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple

We then caught a cab to Chinatown where we went and saw the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple. Built in 2007, this is the place to go to see Buddhist art and learn about this culture which is over thousands of years old. The name itself comes from what the Buddhists regard as the left canine tooth of Buddha which was recovered from his funeral pure in Kushinagar India and is houses within this beautiful temple. We walked around the first level and then took the elevator up to the fourth level which is where the left canine tooth of Buddha is displayed. We then went to the very top of the temple, a beautiful rooftop Orchid garden. Modest clothing is required to enter the temple, same standards as the Sultan Mosque and Sri Veeramakaliamman. Shawls are provided free of charge and you are also able to purchase offerings in the temple.

Buddha Tooth Relic Temple

We had lunch at Maxwell Food Centre, a very well known Hawker Centre in Singapore. For those not in the know, Hawker Centre's are open air complexes that house many stalls that sell a wide variety of affordably priced food, You simply cannot go to Singapore and not visit a Hawker Centre. I had Haianese Chicken with noodles at Tian Tian, it was the best Haianese Chicken and noodles I have ever eaten in my entire life.

Maxwell Food Centre

After lunch, we got the MRT to Clarke Quay where we had a quick walk around the area before getting a cab back to our hotel where we spent the afternoon swimming in the hotel pool. After a few hours, we decided to go and get afternoon tea from a cafe across the road from us called Fika Swedish Cafe And Bistro. "Fika" is a Swedish tradition in which you stop for a coffee break and something sweet to eat for 30 minutes with family, friends or colleagues. In keeping with the tradition I had pancakes with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream and chocolate sauce.

Fika Swedish Cafe & Bistro

We went back to Clarke Quay for dinner that night and had dinner at Jumbo Seafood, a seafood place in Singapore that is well known for its chilli mud crab. This was my first time trying crab and I must say, I enjoyed every mouthful. We also had fried rice and some satay sticks as an entree, this was our most expensive meal in Singapore but it was absolutely worth every cent.

Dinner At Jumbo Seafood

After dinner we walked all the way around to the Merlion Park and saw and took pictures with the famous Merlion statue. The Merlion is the cities national icon. According to the legend, Sang Nila Utama, the 14th century Prince of Sumatra, was sailing in the South China Sea when a ferocious storm hit. Scared that the ship would be wrecked he threw his crown into the ocean as a sacrifice to the Gods. Once the weather cleared the ship had reached an island paradise, as the Prince came ashore he encountered a lion, a good omen which Singapore - Sanskrit for lion (singa) and city (pura) was named after. The Merlions fish like body is symbolic of Singapore's origins of a fishing city. Behind the Merlion statue is a smaller Merlion statue which is known as "The Merlion Cub"

The Entrance To The Merlion Park

The Merlion Statue

The Merlion Cub

Marina Bay Sands At Night

DAY FOUR

This was our last day in the mainland of Singapore before moving onto Sentosa Island the next day. We decided instead of going around by Cabs or the MRT to join a Hop On Hop Off Bus Tour and tour around the city for one last time this way. I would really recommend doing this as it takes you to all of the important sites and you get headphones which you can attach to an outlet and listen to information all about Singapore. Aaron is a bit of a history buff and very interested with the subjects of WWI and WWII so we made the decision the visit the beautiful Fort Canning Park which sits opposite Clarke Quay. The park itself is gorgeous and lovely to just walk through and admire the greenery, however we went for the Battlebox Museum. Many important historical events took place at the hilltop of this park, in the 14th century Malayan Princesses bathed in forbidden springs (the hill was known as Forbidden Hill during this time) and ancient craftsmen piled their trade for the royal family. During the British colonisation, Sir Stamford Raffles resided here and established the first botanic gardens to simulate agriculture in the country. In 1936 an underground bunker now known as the Battlebox was built, this was the command centre during the Malayan campaign and the Battle of Singapore. This is also the place where Lieutenant - General - Arthur E. Percival and the Allied Forces decided to surrender to the Japanese in WWII.

Aaron And I On The Hop On Hop Off Bus Tour

Forbidden Spring

Beautiful Fort Canning Park

The Battlebox

After spending the morning at Fort Canning Park, I wanted to go to Orchard Road and go through the iconic ION Orchard Mall, while Aaron wanted to go to Suntec City and look at some gaming equipment, so we both went our seperate ways for a little bit. There are nine shopping centres along Orchard Road, however I only went through ION Mall. ION is absolutely huge and has everything from fashion, food, homewares, technology and high end designer labels. I went through many of the shops, however the only shops I bought from were Daiso and Charles & Keith.

Orchard Road

Inside ION Orchard Mall

New Shoes I Bought At Charles & Keith

After a long shopping trip, I went back to the hotel and met up with Aaron and we spent the afternoon swimming in our hotel pool. For dinner we caught a cab to Lau Pa Sat and Satay Street. We started off our dinner in Satay Street with some satay sticks, we ordered 10 chicken satay sticks and 5 beef ones, they were the best satay sticks I have ever eaten in my life. We then went into Lau Pa Sat and tried a variety of different foods, all of the dishes are so cheap, my most expensive dish was S$12.00. I unfortunately don't remember the names of the stalls I ate from but what I had was Haianese Chicken & Rice and a plate of Spicy Tofu. We then went into Food Folks, a cute little shop inside Lau Pa Sat that sells dessert, Aaron had coffee and cake and I had a chocolate gelato. We then caught a cab back to our hotel and began packing up our room, ready for the next day.

Lau Pa Sat

Satay Sticks From Satay Street

Haianese Chicken & Rice

Spicy Tofu

DAY FIVE

We checked out of the Park Royal Hotel and called a cab to take us to Sentosa Island. When we got to Sentosa Island, we checked into the Village Hotel where we were staying and basically spent the entire day by one of the three pools just relaxing as we had been going non stop for the past four days. Around lunch time, we talk a walk down to Resorts World and had a look in the bazaar which is filled with restaurants and shops.

The Bazaar In Resorts World

Us Relaxing By The Pool

In the afternoon, we decided to go down to Siloso Beach, Siloso Beach is a manmade beach, there is a zipline and lots of bars and restaurants along the shore, many of the bars even have pools in them. When we got to Siloso Beach the first thing we did was take a photo at the famous Siloso Beach sign. We then walked around the beach for a bit before heading up to Rumours Beach Club, a bar that had a pool, Aaron didn't take his swimmers with him, but I did so I swam in the pool while Aaron had a drink.

The Famous Siloso Beach Sign

Siloso Beach

Rumours Beach Club

We had dinner at one of the restaurants on the beach called Coastes, it didn't have a pool but it did have amazing food, I had spaghetti Arrabbiata. After dinner we went back to our hotel and swam in the pool as we waited for the Wings Of Time show to start. The Wings Of Time, 20 minute laser light show featuring sound and fireworks is held on beach road and is a ticketed event, however we opted instead to watch the show from the rooftop pool in our hotel.

Spaghetti Arrabbiata At Coastes

The Three Hotel Pools At Night

Wings Of Time From The Village Hotel Rooftop Pool

DAY SIX

Our second last day in Singapore was spent at Universal Studios, located on Sentosa Island this is the first Hollywood movie theme park in Southeast Asia. With six zones that are populated by iconic characters from the famous franchise Universal Studios, there is something for everyone to enjoy here, wether you're a daredevil, a film buff or just looking for a day of fun, Universal Studios will provide you with a day of fun to remember. When the gates opened, we went straight to the Jurassic Park Rapid Adventure and managed to get straight on, this ride basically simulates the scene in the first movie where everyone goes on the card ride for the first time which later breaks down, leaving the guests stuck in the middle of the rid with carnivorous dinosaurs who are now roaming freely, except instead of a car you are in a boat. We got off the Jurassic Park Rapid Adventure ride and headed to the Canopy Flyer, a rollercoaster in which you are sitting on a seat which is suspended up in the air and moves quickly.

Jurassic Park

We existed The Lost World and entered Far Far Away where we went on the Shrek 4D ride, a really fun 4D simulator ride. After that we went on the Enchanted Airways rollercoaster before stopping in for a look at the Fairy Godmother's Potion Shop.

Far Far Away

We then made our way into Ancient Egypt to get on the Revenge Of The Mummy ride, an indoor rollercoaster that is pitch black inside, I'm not gonna lie, I was terrified because I am not a big fan of rollercoasters, they have always freaked me out and the only reason I went on the Canopy Flyer and the Enchanted Airways was because Aaron somehow managed to talk me into it and I enjoyed them both but I would never have even considered doing it on my own. As we got on the ride, I was really nervous like I said but there was NO WAY!!! I was backing out, leaving Universal Studios without riding Revenge Of The Mummy was simply not an option for me so I went through with it anyway. I held Aaron's hand all the way and according to him I was gripping his hand so hard I almost broke it LOL!!! the ride was for me very fast and full on as I don't normally do rollercoaster but I ended up enjoying it so much I insisted on going on it again one more time before we left the park.

Ancient Egypt

After riding Revenge Of The Mummy, we went into Sci Fi City, home of the famous Battlestar Galatica, now that is a rollercoaster I absolutely DID NOT!!! get on and there was no way anyone was going to talk me into it, but we did go on Transformers The Ride The Ultimate 3D Battle, a fun simulator in which you have to help save the Earth from total destruction.

Sci Fi City

Transformers Supply Vault

We then stopped in at Loui's Pizza for a quick lunch break before getting back into action.

The next ride we did was far more low key than the previous rides, the Sesame Street Spaghetti Space Chase. I know I know its for little kids, but I wanted to try and do as many rides as I possibly could, my goals was to do all of them, however there were some kids rides that adults couldn't ride on and as I mentioned earlier Battlestar Galactica was out of the question so on the Sesame Street Spaghetti Space Chase we went. While not a thrilling ride, it was really cute and visually really good.

New York

Sesame Street Spaghetti Space Chase

Having done almost all of the rides, we decided to do a little shopping, there was both a Hello Kitty and a Gudetama store in this park, I would like to give a personal shoutout to Aaron for being an accountability partner for me in these shops, without him I for sure would have emptied my entire bank account.

Hello Kitty Shop

Gudetama Shop

Minion Mart

We then went around and hopped on Revenge Of The Mummy for the second time before leaving the park and heading back to our hotel for a swim. While walking through Hollywood, I spotted a Vincent Price plaque on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame so naturally I needed to stop and get a photo.

Me With Vincent Prince's Plaque

We spent the afternoon in the pool and had drinks at the swim up pool bar

The Pool Bar

That night we had dinner at the rooftop pool bar Altitude in The Outpost Hotel which was next door to us. Aaron and I shared a Margherita Pizza as an entree and for dinner i had Penne Arrabbiata. After dinner we sadly and with heavy hearts went back to our hotel room and packed up our stuff for the next day.

Dinner At Altitude

DAY SEVEN

Waking up, we were hit with a pang of sadness as we had breakfast, packed up our room and checked out of our hotel. We caught a cab to Changi Airport and decided to make the most of our last few hours in Singapore by exploring The Jewel and the rest of Changi Airport, this airport is rated the best airport in the world and after going through it I can see why. We checked in our luggage and then headed over to The Jewel where we went straight to see the famous HSBC Rain Vortex.

HSBC Rain Vortex

After checking out the Jewel, we had a quick walk around the Shiseido Forest Valley before heading to the foodcourt for lunch, I unfortunately cannot remember the name of the place we ate at but I do remember that I had a very delicious pasta with red sauce. After lunch it was time for some shopping, The Jewel has many shops, my favourites being The Disney Store, Miniso, Charles & Keith and this really cute gift shop which I cannot remember the name of. With our last minute shopping done, we went up to the top level and went on the Canopy Bridge which gives you an amazing birds eye view of The Jewel, we also went through the beautiful Topiary Walk while we were up there.

The Canopy Bridge

The Topiary Walk

With only two hours until our flight to go, we headed back over to Changi Airport, we were in Terminal Three which has a butterfly garden, it is small but filled with all kinds of beautiful and unique butterflies. When we were done with the butterfly garden it was sadly time to go and wait for our flight back to Sydney.

Butterfly Garden

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