Slinging in Singapore!

 

We arrived in Singapore at 2pm on Tuesday and due to pre warnings we received about Singapore’s pricing, we opted to only spend 2 nights in the city, giving us a day and a half to cram as much in as we could.

 

We stayed at a space pod hostel in Chinatown. The location was decent, with the main area, bayside , only being a 20 minute walk away. Aside from the location the hostel was very poor, no staff, limited air-con, and an abundance of strange middle aged  Indian men who found it necessary to take phone calls or watch videos at full volume in the middle of the night. However, we were somewhat expecting this as it was the cheapest place to stay, despite being almost 3x what we’ve spent on the nicest hotels we’ve stayed at previously.

 

Within a couple of hours of arriving, we made our way to the tiger brewery tour where we had already pre booked a tour. The tour was fairly interesting, the brewery was the first to be made in South-East Asia, established in 1932. The brewery is also responsible for providing Singapore and the world with Guinness and Heineken, alongside Tiger (which is produced at a rate of 75,000 cans per hour!). After the end of the tour we were taken to the tiger tavern- the closest thing to an English pub we’ve seen in SEA, decorated with United shirts, posters and Guinness memorabilia! Straight after the tour we caught the metro service towards Marina Bay, just in time to catch the 9pm light and water show which was fantastic. It felt like most of our time in Singapore was spent in the surrounding areas of the Marina Bay Sands hotel. The sheer size, shape and complexity of the hotel was mesmerising and I personally couldn’t get enough of looking at it. Towards the end of the day, we  walked towards the bayside garden to view the impressive flower structures at night, before getting back to the hostel for an early night.

 

On Wednesday morning, we went in search of the Formula 1 racetrack start. We found the circuit earlier than expected  when we realised the whole circuit was being prepared/ gated for the upcoming race in September. It was interesting to see the route of the circuit and we’ve all said that we’ll be keen to watch the race in a couple of weeks, with a better understanding of the route.

 

Shortly after, we stopped for some food and a beer by the side of the quay, again happy to take the surroundings in. We then spent most of the afternoon looking through shopping malls and walking around the city, it’s fair to say our step count was rather high for the time spent in Singapore !

 

At 8pm, we settled in a bar that was positioned perfectly to watch the light and water show again and we all indulged in a compulsory Singapore Sling cocktail. After this, me and Sam split with Connor for dinner. We caught a taxi to a Chinese food market, while Connor made his way to a restaurant that had been recommended by his dad to try chilli crab, shark fin soup and fried baby squid. Our food was less interesting but still nice, and fairly priced !

 

On our way home we stumbled across a  bar street that seemed to be the most lively place in Singapore, full of backpackers and young residents from all over the world. After a few beers it was time for bed in preparation for our flight to Jakarta the next day.

 

With our flight being scheduled for 2pm, we got to the airport at 10am to see what all the fuss was about! It quickly became obvious that the fuss was warranted, the airport was magnificent. The ‘jewel’ water vortex was very impressive and the airport also boasts all sorts of strange activities such as ice skating, yoga classes and rooftop swimming pools.

 

To conclude on our time in Singapore, it is easily my favourite city in the world. The cleanliness, safety and spaciousness create an incredibly chilled vibrancy, while the futuristic skyline and modern eco buildings create a really unique environment. It’s easy to see why people refer to Singapore as a playground for the rich, but we were taken aback by how nice everyone was and the fact that no one was trying to appear as flashy. While it wasn’t the cheapest place we’ve visited, there were ways around the pricing and we felt like we’d seen a good amount of the city by foot, without having to splash money on tours or viewing points.

 

Best memory in Singapore: Watching the light/ water show with a Singapore sling in hand.

 

Drink of choice: Singapore Sling, $29 Singaporean Dollars (£17😭)