As mentioned on my Beautiful Bali blog, our travel arrangements meant that we needed to stop in Singapore to and from our destination. On the way home, we decided to take a couple of nights to see what we could of Singapore. It was a great way to break up the 16+hour journey home from Bali (to London) and sneak in a city break.

The first thing I noticed when we landed at Singapore airport was how clean everything was. The airport was impressively organised as well, although, there was the inevitable queue at customs. I could use the ‘Grab’ app from Bali to arrange a taxi, and even though I didn’t opt to do this, it was a good way to check the prices of the airport taxis. All were much-of-a-muchness.

Not knowing whether an opportunity to visit Singapore is likely to present itself in the near future again, we decided to stay at The Marina Bay Sands hotel, one of the most iconic landmarks in the country and close to many of the attractions within the city. Arguably, this was an extravagance, however, the views, bars, restaurants and as a resident, exclusivity of the roof-top infinity pool were certainly worth it. By night, you can either wander downstairs or find a decent spot to admire the spectacular light and water show at the Event Plaza, for free. These run regularly (Sun-Thur: 8pm & 9pm and Fri & Sat: 8pm, 9pm and 10pm) and are really worth a watch.

You don’t have to be a resident to enjoy the views from the observation deck though and they’re exceptional from up there; far reaching in every direction and a different perspective of attractions such as the ArtScience Museum and the Gardens by the Bay.

There were a few ‘to-dos’ in my view while we were there, and the Gardens by the Bay were one of them. 101 hectares of land converted into waterfront gardens is not something you see every day and even as someone who isn’t exactly big into horticultural activities, it’s a must-see.  You can purchase tickets in advance from the official website (gardensbythebay.com.sg) and select to see all or some of what’s on offer. The fees aren’t (or weren’t) extortionate and there’s something for everyone. At the risk of sounding like a teacher on a school outing – it was humid when we went so take water/stay hydrated.

Walking about after the sun goes down felt safe for us. On our quest to find somewhere new to dine-out on the first night we were quite surprised that many of the restaurants closed quite early or at least stopped serving food early so I’d suggest checking this out before you make your plans for the day. We could pick up a snack but if you’re anything like us, we don’t always want fried beige food. That said, when we were more organised the food and drink outside the hotel was also delicious but don’t expect a lot of change, it’s a mid-to-high cost to dine out almost anywhere (within walking distance of the Marina Bay Sands).

Overall, Singapore was a lovely place to stop over and we probably needed more than a couple of days to do it justice. The hotel was fantast and I would recommend it.