On our previous two trips to Thailand we have routed through Bangkok. This time we decided to route through Singapore. We didn’t have much time there, but we made what we had count!
Waiting at the Phuket Airport for our delayed flight to Singapore. All of the salt and sun did a number on Kadie and I’s hair. We were in desperate need of a coconut oil hair mask!
Singapore Airport
To start with, the airport itself and the people working there are highly impressive. It is extremely clean, full of high-end retail shops and restaurants. Even more impressive is the efficiency with which everything is run. There was NO line to get through the passport check station, no wait for our bags and the line to get a taxi moved faster than any I have experienced before.
Taxi Ride
Our driver that took us to our hotel was very friendly and told us all about Singapore as he drove us to our hotel. It was obvious that he was proud of his country. It is a small country with a huge population, but it is immaculately clean, beautifully groomed and very high-tech. Space is an obvious issue with such a small country so property costs are at a premium. Their two main sources of income are banking and tourism. Our driver also told us that the culture is very efficient as a whole – they talk faster, walk faster and are always thinking one step ahead.
My dad visited Singapore through work when I was a kid and I remember him coming back and telling us about how clean the country was. He said that people could be caned for littering. Some quick online searching produced information that caning is a very accepted practice for parenting and that it is also common in punishing criminals, schools, the military and the domestic scene. Fines for littering are also quite high. Chewing gum is no longer sold in Singapore to further promote a clean, litter free country. If you bring gum into the country it can be chewed, but you will not be able to find any to buy in country. Interesting, right?!
Marina Bay Sands Hotel
Have you heard about the Marina Bay Sands Hotel? I have seen some specials on tv that have featured it and it looks amazing. This was part of the reason we decided to route back through Singapore. This 57 floor, three tower hotel boasts a pool at the top that spans all three towers. They call this deck the skypark, which is two and a half acres in size. The hotel also houses a casino, an art & science museum, a shopping area with ALL the high-end shops and 80 restaurants. It’s crazy, really.
Checking in went very smooth for the size of the hotel. We only waited in line a few minutes before being helped and the process was quick and efficient. It was refreshing. Our room was on the 36th floor, which we took a high-speed elevator to get to. The rooms are clean, spacious and well appointed. We didn’t spend long in the room though.
We quickly changed into swimwear and headed for the pool deck. As you can probably imagine, it was packed. And the water was cold! But looking over the edge of a 650 foot high infinity edge pool was an opportunity that couldn’t be missed.
The above three pictures were borrowed from the hotel’s website. There were forest fires burning while we were there causing a smoggy/haziness that didn’t allow me to capture the view in it’s grandeur!
The reality is that the pools are packed. Finding an open pool chair is difficult and getting a great picture without dozens of strangers in the photo is pretty much impossible.
I had visions of getting some incredible photos in this pool. Dale was up for working at it and did a great job.
However, I kind of ruined it by getting myself burnt the day before! #waytogo I could have omitted a few of these photos to make it all seem more glamorous, sans the burn, but decided to keep it real instead.
Now that it is clear that I did a bang up job of frying myself I’ll share the funny shots Dale took of me forcing myself into the pool. Have I told you how much I dislike being cold?
One Piece Monokini (Only $16!! This is coming from China, so will take several weeks to arrive and the sizing does run small. I am wearing a medium.)
Dinner Options at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore
Like I mentioned above, there are 80 restaurants to choose from at the Marina Bay Sands. Ten of which are celebrity chef restaurants. We chose The Bird Southern Table for dinner. The fried chicken was amazing, but the mac n cheese, which sounded so good after being out of the states for ten days, was rather bland. The decor and atmosphere in the restaurant was awesome though. Kadie garnered the nickname ‘Bird’ at just a few months of age, so we had fun getting a picture of her under her nickname.
The Night Safari
The most exciting part of our stop in Singapore was our visit to The Night Safari. We are zoo connoisseurs. We almost always go to the zoo when we visit a new place. So as an expert I can tell you this place is like none other. The amount of thought and planning that went into the design, layout and choice of animals is impressive.
The Night Safari is open from 7:30 pm until midnight. Tickets are sold on based on admission at specific times, every hour. We bought tickets for 8:15, but ended up being about 30 minutes early. We were allowed in early though and per recommendation we headed straight for the tram tour.
I was not excited about the tram tour, assuming we would not be able to see any of the animals and it would be a waste of our time. The line for the tram was decently long and for the first ten minutes didn’t hardly move. We about bagged it, but then it started to move at a decent pace. By the time we were close to the front of the line the length of the line had quadrupled. We got there just in time!
I must admit, I was completely wrong. Animals were fed and staged in all the right places. Of the 25-30 animals that were featured on the tour we were able to see all but one or two. It was simply amazing. Some of the highlights included lions, tapirs and hyenas. Yes, these animals are usually present in most zoos, but during the day they are napping in the shade. To see them active was really a treat.
Photo courtesy of VisitSingapore.com
After the tram tour we made a loop through Fishing Cat Trail before catching the Creatures of The Night show. It was quite a production with the animals taking center stage. The show featured a Fishing Cat, a Serval Cat, a Fennec Fox, two Binturongs, two Owls and three Asian Small-Clawed Otters and it was fantastic.
On foot we covered the park a second time, being able to stop and observe the animals’ behaviors and pay more attention to each enclosure. Strategically placed moats and well hidden hotwire fence kept most of the animals in their enclosures. We spent some time watching a hyena try to figure out how to get out of his paddock. He seemed to be eyeing the deer that were just across the path from him. I swear he was testing the hotwire and even laid down and tried to dig under it. Very clever, and worrisome! We also saw a pangolin, which Chase and I were quite excited about. Such a fascinating creature! We also were able to get close enough to reach out and touch a couple bats…
It was a little after eleven before we had seen it all and could call it a night. And what a night it was! What a trip it was. All that was left was a night’s rest and long flight home.
I hope you enjoyed this post and the previous ones about our trip. Have you wanted to vacation to Thailand or Singapore? Where would you recommend we consider for our next vacation?
