2018 – Singapore City Break
Friday 2nd March Arriving in Singapore
The flight seemed long, we were tired and the plane was full. It was clear as we circled into Singapore and we could see the lights not only of the city but of the surrounding islands and boats.
We were met by a driver who whisked us into the city in twenty minutes telling us how safe it was, and that there were 3 languages spoken English, Tamil and Mandarin. It was very different clean well lit and orderly
We arrived at our hotel where we were staying on the 12th floor of the G hotel. It was a new hotel made out of an old multi storey car park. Young and quirky with an original room layout with bed in a corner and glass around shower and toilet and a small round basin in the room, refreshing after staying in a lot of standard hotels.
It was gone 1.00 when we eventually slept.
Saturday 3rd March – Singapore
We awoke around 8.00 and wandered out into the heat and humidity of a rapidly heating up day.
We found ourselves in Fort Canning Park, which like everything in Singapore is well interpreted and signed, a lovely park with lots going on, football, keep fit, guided tours.
The park is a pleasant mix of wooded and open areas with interpretation boards and footpaths with occasional temples and viewpoints.
We walked up beside an old brick wall with lots of plaques and noted how many women died young as well as their children in the colonial mid 19th Century.
Taking you own wedding photos is stunning and exotic locations take on a new dimension in Asia with wedding couples going away for the weekend with the all their weddings clothes to photograph themselves in beautiful and interesting settings. We had seen it in Hoi An and had heard about it from Doan.
From Fort Canning we headed for China Town metro station and picked up two transport passes and continued into the China Town area which was very commercialised.
It was interesting to watch the public chess games but we were hoping for something more exotic.
We had a drink in a café obviously waiting for a busier lunchtime and quickly wandered out into a more cosmopolitan area and found an interesting Buddhist temple and a café with proper iced coffee.
The clientele were younger thirty something’s meeting for business and pleasure discussing what they were going to do over the weekend. There was a buzz outside of the main quarter that was natural and comfortable.
We then went to Raffles Hotel and along the water front to the Merlion fountain and Raffles Hotel which was being renovated under wraps, but we got the feel of the place but declined it’s famous Singapore sling cocktail being offered in tacky bars nearby.
From here we caught a bus that took us to the Botanical gardens. A large parkland in a built up area comprising lakes, woodlands, grassy spaces and flower beds amongst which were sculptures, rest areas and café’s.
We found a busy café and enjoyed a much needed salad before wandering more through rain forest, and beds displaying medicinal and scented plants.
As it clouded over and started to rain we got back to the hotel and had a bit of down time.
The travel pass was being well used.
After a couple of hours rest we visited ‘Little India’ another of Singapore’s ‘quarters’.
It felt familiar, friendly and very different from our morning experience of China Town.
Feeling peckish we had a beer at a small stall and then decided to have something to eat; one rice and one noodle dish simply cooked and presented and very welcome.
We then returned to the hotel for an hour before going to Marina Bay to watch the evening light show.
This was set to music and was played across the water focussing on the Sky Park Hotel.
We then took a circuitous route around the iconic Sky Park building (3 tall buildings with a boat shape across the top) and clambered through hedges to access a large park where illuminated giant artificial trees were performing another light show geared more towards children. 
It was all very magical.
We caught the metro back to the hotel and stopped in at a coffee house near to the hotel and had a ‘good’ coffee before heading off to bed after a very ‘Full’ day.
Sunday 4th March
Wanting to make the lost of a HOT DAY we were up at eight catching the metro to the coast to the south-west of the city to Labrador Wildlife reserve. It was easy to wander to Little India where we got the Metro from having breakfast of coffee and croissant on the way sitting opposite an old synagogue.
It was an uninteresting walk from the station down to the tree lined hills of the reserve and the water’s edge. This was Sunday morning joggers and cyclists everywhere. This was definitely an urban reserve.
Here we had a good view of the extensive dock land area, reminding us that Singapore was built on trade. Again it was a busy place with lots of people doing their own things.
As we walked back through the forest we found the remains of a British Colonial fort, Fort Pasir Panjang, which had been built to defend the harbour.
We wandered in the shade before catching a bus back to the hotel. Showering and booking out at 12.00.
We then walking very slowly went to the Arab quarter and had lunch in a Turkish restaurant; it was a nice lunch and interesting quarter.
Getting our bus passes refunded we returned to the hotel and got a taxi to the airport for an eight o clock flight to Katmandhu.
Leaving Singapore airport undid all the goodwill we had felt about the efficiency and common sense we had experienced in the City.
There were numerous security checks after you had checked in and even when waiting in the departure lounge.
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