Adjusting to new timezones is always a issue for me regardless of which direction I travel. Singapore is no exception and with an 8 hour time difference saw me awake very early this morning. I did manage to doze off again after what seemed like an eternity.
After breakfast we set off to explore and headed along the Singapore River towards Marina Bay. It was a 45 minute walk in very humid conditions and I felt totally drained when we got to our destination area. Prior to leaving from the UK, we were pointed in the direction of a self guided walking tour called The Colonial District Walking Tour.
We enjoy these self guided tours and this one was no exception. Everything was easy to find and below are a few photos of some of the places we found.
One of the places to visit on the walk was Raffles Hotel where I had the intention of getting a Singapore Sling in the Long Bar where the cocktail was invented. Apart from having an extortionate price tag, the bar didn’t open until midday and we didn’t want to hang around so moved on. We did have time to explore the hotel a bit and it looked amazing.
So, with it still morning we kept going and decided to make our way to Gardens by the Bay. This involved walking around the bay and crossing the Helix Bridge. Along the route there there were plenty of photo opportunities looking back from where we had come from.
Gardens by the Bay is now probably the most iconic landmark in Singapore along with Marina Bay Sands Hotel and both were very impressive. Gardens by the Bay is free to enter but there are several venues which have an entrance fee. Two of these are in the Super Tree Grove, one is to go up the tallest one which is called the Supertree Observatory, up there are some amazing views looking over the park and potentially the best view of Marina Bay Sands Hotel. The other pay for item in the grove was the OCBC Skyway which is a walkway from one of the shorter Super trees to another and again the views are amazing. It wasn’t busy and the queues were very short so I think we got lucky with our timing.
There are other things in the Gardens which we never got around to so may come back tomorrow to see.
Before leaving the park we stopped for a quick bite to eat in the Jurassic Nest FoodHall. It’s a self service food venue with a dinosaur theme selling Michelin Rated Food from several different vendors. Not expensive and really tasty. We opted for something from Hawker Chan who was the world’s first hawker to be awarded One Michelin Star. Half way through eating a large T-Rex came to life which not only the kids enjoyed but adults alike. Great experience and out of the ordinary.
It was late afternoon once we had seen the above so walked back to the hotel to shower and freshen up.
Our plan for the evening was to walk back to the Super Tree Grove to see them all lit up in the dark, there was a light show between 7:00 and 8:00 which we just missed although we could see some of it from Helix Bridge as we were approaching. I’ve taken a lot of photos today and it’s very difficult to pick which ones to post but hopefully the ones I have selected will give you an idea of what we experienced. Singapore in the evening looks pretty spectacular as you will see.
My Fitbit recorded over 41,000 steps today and both of us are feeling knackered but fulfilled from our days activities. It’s been an amazing day and I totally get why people love Singapore. No real plans for the daytime tomorrow and it will depend on whether we can both still walk. If we don’t venture out, we both think you need something to come back for which may be the case.
In the evening we are out for a meal with a couple who we met on Norwegian Jade last year that live here. We are looking forward to seeing them again and catching up.
Time is of the essence today so I will just let the photos tell the story.
”Really like your photos Wansbroughs.
Gosh! It’s been 25 years since I went to Singapore (in my backpacking days!) and even then, the Singapore Sling was impressive. It took a huge chunk of my budget for the day, but sitting in the famous bar & garden was so worth it! ‘Nice one.
More brilliant photos!
Lovely photos thank you for sharing them. We didn’t bother ith the Singapore Slings just enjoyed the wandering about the hotel. Amazing how far it is from the sea now when it is on Beach Road!
A brilliant selection of pictures – thank you. A lot has changed since we first visited in 2006 when Sentosa Island ( with its bird sanctuary), the night zoo, the orchid gardens and shopping in Orchard Road were the main attractions. Bespoke tayloring – shirts and silk clothing – was still relatively cheap as Singaporeans live to shop. What we bought still fits ( surprisingly). We stayed one night in Raffles ( in the Garden Annexe.) All very expensive even then and it was rather trading on its historical mystique Still it was the last night / day of our honeymoon) The Slings were OK but expensive. We need to revisit to see the “tree gardens”
I just knew you’d love Singapore Mike. It too is one of our Asian favourites: particularly for a stopover before embarking or post disembarking cruises. Our last two stays were at the Marina Bay Sands. We are back in November but not for cruising. Looking forward to your next instalment.
Wishing you a fabulous cruise! Singapore looks amazing. Say hello to J and B from Jim and Andrea. I’m so glad we met you all on the Norwegian Jade!
Don’t worry about going back to Raffles for a Singapore Sling. It’s so sweet you will think your teeth are going to fall out. We were sorely disappointed. But if sweet is your thing, go there.
Great to see all the places we have been and some new ones. Hope your visit with your cruising friends is a good one.
BTW: When you wake up that early, that’s when you process photos and write a blog…at least it works for me. ????
That is exactly what I have been doing in the silly hours of the morning. ????