Singapore! What a great city!

One of the ports of call eagerly awaited on our recent South East Asia cruise was Singapore.  Having never been before, but hearing so many good things about the city, I couldnt wait to disembark!

We were on board the Marella Discovery which docked at the Harbour Front Ferry Terminal, instead of the main Marina Bay Terminal. Which was a bit of an inconvenience as it meant a much longer transfer into the centre.   However disembarkation was smooth, and we made our way to our first ‘port of call’ the Marina Sands Hotel Skypark Observation Deck.  Now this hotel is famous for its infinity pool overlooking the skyline of Singapore.  You will all recognise the iconic building,  looks like a ship balancing on 3 giant plinths!

We couldnt visit the pool, as only guests are allowed access, and the entrance is guarded!  However you can visit the Observation Deck for HK$23.00,  get yourself a drink at the Ce La Vie bar, and enjoy the panoramic views of the city!

You can spot loads of great landmarks, including  Sentosa Island, the Grand Prix Race Track, Merlion Gardens, the Singapore Wheel (like our London Eye) and (my personal favourite) Gardens By The Bay. A fantastic futuristic nature park spanning 101 hectares, and filled with exotic plants, blooms and of course another iconic site, the  trees that are lit up at night.   It costs around £15 entrance, and well worth it to visit  the Flower Dome, Cloud Forest and OCBC Skyway.

So after taking in the wonderful scenery, we boarded a ‘HoHo’ bus to explore the rest of the city before heading back to the ship.                   We passed the Botanical Gardens, drove along Orchard Road (loads of designer shops, outlets, malls and restaurants) and ‘hopped off’ at the Raffles Hotel.  You cannot visit Singapore without popping along to this fantastic colonial hotel and perhaps treat yourself to a rather exorbitantly priced ‘Singapore Sling’ in the Long Bar.  Its got a great history, so well worth the visit.  We also saw the cable cars which take you over to Sentosa Island & Universal Studios.  (Where the ship’s crew were off to so spend some free time on the rides)

Before heading back to the ship we stopped off in China Town and visited an incredibly talented calligrapher who created some fantastic works of art,  names of our family members in Chinese.  He was a very interesting man who had visited the UK and had studied Law at Cambridge!  Its a small world isn’t it?  Here’s a photo of us with him in his shop.

I loved Singapore, and will definitely pay a return visit, and spend longer.  There is so much to see, experience and explore. The city is beautiful, full of history, & culture, its clean and well tended. The people are friendly and very proud of their home.