Singapore in 15 (and a half!) hours- Part 1
Set off from Heathrow fairly early this morning on the first leg of my journey.
I've never done any solo travelling outside of the UK before so I was fairly apprehensive, but the flight was pretty unremarkable and I got some good tips from the girl next to me about what was and wasn't worth doing in Singapore.
Arriving in Changi
My flight arrived in Singapore at around 5:30am, so I'd booked in advance to spend four hours in a small room in the Terminal 3 arrivals area. It was about £60, but for that I got an extra two and a half hours of sleep, a nice hot shower and a cooked breakfast before starting my day which was completely worth it!
I didn't want to have to carry my heavy bags around with me all day so I left both my main backpack and (most) of my carry-on in the luggage store in T3. That meant I just had to carry a small tote with all my stuff for the next two days with me, which was a lot kinder on my shoulders!
To get around the city, I bought a tourist pass, which gives you unlimited use of public transport for 24, 48 or 36 hours. You have to return the card for a deposit, but it's pretty good value!
Gardens by the Bay
Once I'd hopped on the train into the city (~45mins from the airport) I headed straight to the tourist attraction I wanted to do most- I'd seen plenty of pictures of Instagram from friends who had visited at this point, and I was looking forward to checking things out myself. It was a bit of a cloudy day, so the skywalk was closed and the place didn't look quite as impressive as I'm sure it would do in nicer weather, but I still had a great time filling up my camera with photos of pretty flowers and plants.
After I finished wandering around, I headed back to the bay to check out the ridiculous shopping centre below Marina Bay Sands (it has a fake canal with gondola rides along it!) and grab some coffee and a cake to help stave off my jetlag, before heading to my hotel.
I checked in to Hotel Clover on Hongkong St in Chinatown and was actually really impressed by it, given it was one of the cheaper options I could find! It was super close to two stations, and even gave me free slippers and soft drinks (the slippers just fitted in my hand luggage too- even better!). I was feeling a bit grim at with point so grabbed another shower, a cup of coffee, and made use of the more reliable WiFi to arrange a place and time to meet some friends for dinner.
Marina Bay Sands
Once I felt a little more human, I headed out again to the MBS hotel. If you want to head up to the top, you have two choices- either pay to use the sky garden, or buy $20 of credit at the rooftop bar 'Ce La Vi' one storey above. I went for the latter, and though my glass of wine was by far the most expensive I've ever bought, it was worth it for the amazing views too. It was nice and quiet this time of day, so I could spend as long as I wanted taking in the skyline and snapping pictures.
Chinatown
Although my hotel was in chinatown, it's a little far from the most interesting areas, so I spent the time until sundown exploring. It's a colorful place in the day, but really came into its own once the sun came down and lights came up.
I met some friends by the station to head to dinner in the chinatown food courts. There's no way I would have found this place by myself, but it was a great way to find some cheap and cheerful food- about $10 for two plates of food and a beer! The maze of different stands is super easy to get lost in so if you're in a group make sure to agree on a table number to meet back at after you all find what you want to eat!
By the time we were finished I was completely exhausted and headed back to my hotel in search of a better night's sleep than I'd managed on the plane.
I've never done any solo travelling outside of the UK before so I was fairly apprehensive, but the flight was pretty unremarkable and I got some good tips from the girl next to me about what was and wasn't worth doing in Singapore.
Arriving in Changi
My flight arrived in Singapore at around 5:30am, so I'd booked in advance to spend four hours in a small room in the Terminal 3 arrivals area. It was about £60, but for that I got an extra two and a half hours of sleep, a nice hot shower and a cooked breakfast before starting my day which was completely worth it!
I didn't want to have to carry my heavy bags around with me all day so I left both my main backpack and (most) of my carry-on in the luggage store in T3. That meant I just had to carry a small tote with all my stuff for the next two days with me, which was a lot kinder on my shoulders!
To get around the city, I bought a tourist pass, which gives you unlimited use of public transport for 24, 48 or 36 hours. You have to return the card for a deposit, but it's pretty good value!
Gardens by the Bay
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| Inside the flower dome |
After I finished wandering around, I headed back to the bay to check out the ridiculous shopping centre below Marina Bay Sands (it has a fake canal with gondola rides along it!) and grab some coffee and a cake to help stave off my jetlag, before heading to my hotel.
I checked in to Hotel Clover on Hongkong St in Chinatown and was actually really impressed by it, given it was one of the cheaper options I could find! It was super close to two stations, and even gave me free slippers and soft drinks (the slippers just fitted in my hand luggage too- even better!). I was feeling a bit grim at with point so grabbed another shower, a cup of coffee, and made use of the more reliable WiFi to arrange a place and time to meet some friends for dinner.Marina Bay Sands
Once I felt a little more human, I headed out again to the MBS hotel. If you want to head up to the top, you have two choices- either pay to use the sky garden, or buy $20 of credit at the rooftop bar 'Ce La Vi' one storey above. I went for the latter, and though my glass of wine was by far the most expensive I've ever bought, it was worth it for the amazing views too. It was nice and quiet this time of day, so I could spend as long as I wanted taking in the skyline and snapping pictures.
Chinatown
Although my hotel was in chinatown, it's a little far from the most interesting areas, so I spent the time until sundown exploring. It's a colorful place in the day, but really came into its own once the sun came down and lights came up.
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| Sunset over Chinatown |
I met some friends by the station to head to dinner in the chinatown food courts. There's no way I would have found this place by myself, but it was a great way to find some cheap and cheerful food- about $10 for two plates of food and a beer! The maze of different stands is super easy to get lost in so if you're in a group make sure to agree on a table number to meet back at after you all find what you want to eat! By the time we were finished I was completely exhausted and headed back to my hotel in search of a better night's sleep than I'd managed on the plane.
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