The more I travel, the more I realize that traveling isn’t very complicated. I used to think that I needed a lot of time for it to be worth it to travel to places far away, and that for shorter trips I’d be better off just staying in Europe. I used to think that lots of time to plan a trip was essential. This is no longer the case.
Since about a month ago I have a new job, and while it’s nice to once again have an income, it also means I can’t just jump on a plane whenever I feel like it. But Easter was coming up, and when my other travel plans fell through, I knew I had to come up with something quickly. I simply had to take advantage of this full week of vacation. And so, all of a sudden a ticket to Singapore was booked. Departure time? Two days later.
I quickly realized that I didn’t know much at all about Singapore. Oh, it’s about thirty degrees every day? How lovely. Wow, there is actually quite a few things to do there. I had no idea. But off to Singapore we went, with suitcases fully packed with summer outfits, and having only booked a hotel for the first two nights. And to be honest I really feel like this is my preferred way of traveling; just making the road up as I go.
China Town
For our first two nights in Singapore we stayed in China Town. Our hotel wasn’t anything special, as the bathroom was tiny and the bed was literally a mattress lying on the floor, but being located fairly close to the MRT (the Singapore metro), it was still a good base. Our first evening was spent exploring the area and having dinner at a restaurant close to one of the street markets. The food in Singapore is simply amazing. We decided to end the night early, as we were pretty tired from a long day of traveling.
The river walk
The morning after we woke up feeling revitalized, and set out to begin properly exploring the city. I had read about a river walk that was easily manageable on your own, and being a big fan of exploring new places by foot, I decided this was how our first day would be spent. We started by walking through China Town to reach the river in the Clarke Quay area. I immediately liked this area, as it had cute little restaurants, tons of bridges and little statues everywhere. All around you could see the skyscrapers that are very typical for Singapore. After having a healthy, delicious breakfast at a salad place, we ended up by the Merlion Statue that is a national icon for Singapore. From here we also had our first view of the Marina Bay area. This is probably one of the most popular areas in Singapore and also where our walk would terminate. When we were done taking photos of (and with) the Merlion we crossed the Anderson Bridge to get to the Esplanade. Here we bought some delicious coconut ice cream, that we had in an outdoor theatre that was slightly sheltered, as it had now started raining. Our walk finished as we crossed the Helix Bridge and made it to Marina Bay. Although the weather wasn’t completely on our side, it was still a lovely walk.
Gardens by the Bay
When first arriving at Gardens by the Bay, I had no idea of how much time I would be spending there throughout the next few days. There are a lot of things to do there, for sure, but we could probably have saved some time had we only done our research. Oh well, at least I can now say that I’ve seen those Supertrees in every lighting and weather condition possible.
We made our way to Gardens by the Bay after visiting the Art and Science Museum located just across the Helix Bridge. The museum is fairly entertaining, but also expensive, so if you’re on a budget I would recommend only visiting the Future World exhibition, as this is by far the best one. Upon entering Gardens by the Bay we quickly got the sight of the Supertree Grove, which made me really happy. The Supertrees are probably what made me eager to visit Singapore in the first place. In Gardens by the Bay you can also find the Flower Dome and the Cloud Forest, two greenhouse-like glass domes designed to be energy efficient showcases that minimizes the environmental footprint. The Flower Dome features plants found in seven different regions of the world, and is the world’s largest columnless glass house. The Cloud Forest replicates the climate found in tropical mountain regions, and features a 42 meter tall “Cloud mountain” and the world’s tallest indoor waterfall. The Cloud Forest was definitely my favourite out of the two. As for food, we had my favourite meal throughout our entire stay in Singapore in Gardens by the Bay. The street food at Satay by the Bay is simply divine, even for me as a vegetarian. Truth be told I am still dreaming of the satay mushrooms I had that evening, and had it not been quite a long walk to reach the place, we probably would’ve gone back to indulge even more. It was that good!
The Supertree Grove
While the Supertrees make for an impressive watch from the ground, most people will also want to walk the OCBC skyway; a panoramic walk where you get really up-close to the Supertrees at a height of 22 metres. We attempted to do the walk several times, and succeeded on our third attempt. If you plan on visiting, remember that the skyway closes when it rains, and that the ticket sales end at 8 pm. Standing in line for about an hour should also be expected, although we found the queue to be quick and efficient and probably only took half an hour. In the end I found going up there to be well worth the effort. Another reason to visit the Supertree Grove is the light and sound show held every night at 7.45 pm and 8.45 pm.
Sentosa Island
Sentosa is a beach resort-like part of Singapore, a bit away from the centre, but still very accessible with the cable cars (and it’s worth going there for the cable cars alone, really). We got on the cable cars at Harbourfront, and went all the way up to Mount Faber before getting off at Sentosa Island. On Sentosa we found another Merlion Statue and visited the aquarium, before sitting down to relax with a coffee and a donut. We then got on the second cable car to get a nice overview of the island and its beaches from above. Like the rest of Singapore, Sentosa is very nice and clean. We were really lucky with the day we spent on Sentosa as this was in fact the only sunny day we had in Singapore, and Sentosa is definitely best on a sunny day.
Sky bars
Have you even visited Singapore if you haven’t been to a skybar? I think not. We had postponed our sky bar visit every night, and on our last night we realized that it was just something that we had to do. And if you’re going to visit a sky bar, you might as well visit the tallest one with the most impressive sky deck. One-Atmosphere it was. To enter One-Atmosphere you have to pay 35 SGD (about 210 NOK), but that includes a drink. Inside tip: the Singapore Sling does not have alcohol, and may or may not be a disappointing choice. I went with the Monster Caipiroska, and it was really good. The sky bar offers a 360 degree view of the city and they play music very much to my liking. Although we weren’t there to party the bar was well worth a visit, and I reckon it’s a pretty good place for a girls night out.
Apart from an actual sky bar, we also made it to the top of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel. As we weren’t staying nor eating at the Hotel we only bought tickets to the observation deck to take in the views. There was a lot of queueing involved, not only to buy tickets and to get into the elevator to go up there, but also to take the elevator back down. This made it slightly time consuming and it was also pretty expensive, but the views are stunning and it felt like one of those things you just have to do when in Singapore.
Arab Street
The Arab Street neighbourhood turned out to be such a pleasant surprise for me, and I can’t believe we almost missed it. After days of walking, stressing and exploring, we found ourselves having no plans for our last day in Singapore, but with an evening flight we had some time to kill before heading to the airport. We decided to hop on a metro to Bugis, just to stroll aimlessly around for a few hours. Arab Street is the Muslim quarter of Singapore, but also a bit of a hipster area. While the actual street called Arab Street didn’t instantly appeal to me, the rest of the neighbourhood sure did. Here you will find beautiful mosques, cute little Arab shops selling all kinds of stuff, amazing street art and some really cool restaurants and cafees. We sat down at a juice bar because we liked their chairs and their chilled vibe, and I had a really good ginger juice. The day spent in Arab Street was so nice, mostly because it didn’t feel stressed at all. Very much needed after doing all of the exploring.
Our little, spontaneous Easter adventure turned out to be eventful to say the least. Not only did we prove to ourselves that planning a trip to Singapore while already being there is perfectly manageable, but we even managed to fit a 48 hour excursion to Kuala Lumpur into the itinerary. I mean, we were only a six hour bus ride away so why not? During our four days in Singapore I feel like I got to see the essentials while making myself acquainted in the city. Singapore was a pleasant surprise, and who knows? I might even make it back there some time in the future.
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