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Girl's Trip to Asia Part I, Singapore - November 2017

by - 09:42

With my group of girls, although some of us knew each other from the past, one way or another, the thing that really bought the 6 of us together, was when we attended the same University. Since then no matter what is going on in our lives, we always got together for our birthdays and for Christmas, at the very least. Another idea that had been floating around for a long time, is a group trip but with the 6 of us to plan for, it never came to fruition and though we tried, it just wasn't the right time. However this time, with 9 months planning in advance, 5 girls on board (minus V.P, who had no way of getting holiday off work at that time) and a determined D.N (who I have to say is the most brilliant instigator for our girl's holiday), we finally flew off together to Singapore and Malaysia.


SINGAPORE
Flight: The airline that we flew with was Singapore Airlines, which has a steady reputation as one of the top airline's in the world, so I did have high hopes. We flew direct from Heathrow airport and the flight duration was around 12 hours 55 minutes, my longest flight yet. When I first stepped onto the aircraft I couldn't help but think how dreary and dull the interior is, with a pattern of beige next to an off-blue seat. On a more positive note, the seats were quite spacious, especially the window-seat and the food was amazing. I have never tasted airline food like that before, the meat was proper meat and there was no questioning what anything on your tray was because it looked and tasted how it would in a restaurant, dare I say. The toilets were fully stocked with amenities for staying fresh and we were handed a pair of flight socks and our own toothbrush set in a little pouch.

On our flight back home we had a newer aircraft which had a touch-screen entertainment box and a shiny new control, topped with an empty seat beside us and staff constantly feeding us snacks and drinks (maybe because this was an AM flight compared with our evening flight coming to), it made for a comfortable journey home.

Side story - Airplane Woes: From the 5 of us, 2 of us (including me) were going home earlier than the rest so we booked flights separately. D.N booked for the 3 of them so they had the 3 side seats but me and J.C were only 2 and because I didn't have the correct booking I.D I couldn't reserve my seat in advance as I usually do and so my worst nightmare occurred; me and J.C not only had to be on the side seats but to decide who would sit in the middle and who got the aisle seat we turned to our usual game of rock, paper, scissors and guess who lost. I felt so claustrophobic and I had to cut down my toilet visits because I didn't want to wake up J.C, I did try climbing over her one time but that just made for an awkward wake-up call. Later I resorted to staying up and standing near the toilets for more time to exercise my legs but at the same time berating myself for not taking my phone with me. I do have to say the stranger sitting next to me, was very respectful of space and I didn't see him go toilet once.

Stay: When we were searching for accommodation in Singapore everything was so expensive, it took us awhile but we finally decided upon Furama Riverfront Hotel, which had decent reviews and was much cheaper than the other hotels we had looked at. The location is somewhat awkward, there is a 7/Eleven 5-10 minutes walk away but crossing the roads was confusing as there was no clear signs and so much construction going on in the area. However by taxi, we were only 10 minutes drive away from Marina Bay, and what a contrast it is! In our area it was so dead and quiet but as soon as we reached Marina Bay we started seeing more lights and people.

The hotel room itself was spacious and clean enough but the beds were so uncomfortable and the amenities given were such bad quality. Also our bathtub plug was stuck so we couldn't drain the water. We had to call housekeeping to help us fix it which they temporarily did for the night and they said they will fix it properly the next day. But then when we came back to our hotel room the next night, our sink plug was stuck instead which just made for an annoying experience.
Do: Gardens by the Bay, Supertree Grove. This is a must-visit in Singapore and I could see why; these tree structures are just stunning, both in the day and at night. It is free to visit but they also have a Skyway you can walk round which is $8 SGD for adults. We went in the day and came back at night for the light show (Garden Rhapsody) on daily at 7:45pm and 8:45pm and it was Christmas themed when we went.
Ever seen that Instagram picture with the beautiful waterfall behind the girl posing in Singapore? That is taken none other than in the Cloud Forest Conservatory at Gardens by the Bay. This place looks even more amazing in person. When you are done with taking pictures on ground level you can walk up this 'forest' and onto a sky-walk protruding out
Side Story - Heights: Me and D.N are the only ones afraid of heights so when we got on the skywalk we were literally shaking, the walkway had small holes so you can see below and it was so shaky in areas. Needless to say we were the first ones off the walkway but not before getting some pictures.



The other Conservatory at Gardens by the Bay is the Flower Dome. I'll be honest, it wasn't my favourite at all but it was all Christmas themed and there wasn't much flowers at the time, with a name like 'Flower Dome', you just wouldn't expect bits from Santa's grotto thrown up all over the place, maybe in Spring it would be much nicer here. For the 2 conservatories we got a combination ticket for $28 SGD. 

In one of our taxi ride's back to the hotel, the driver strongly suggested souvenir shopping in Chinatown and I am so glad he did! Chinatown is packed full of stalls and shops perfect for little gifts for family and friends. Just make sure you have enough cash with you, however we did find one currency conversion place in the market, near the T-crossing in the first picture (they also have a big sign outside).
Singapore has quite a few museums that we wanted to visit but as we were only there for less than 3 days, the only one we did get to go to was ArtScience Museum. We got a single exhibition ticket (for the Future World) which was $19 SGD and that includes access to the pretty light canvas which is actually very small but you are allowed to go around more than once (or so we overheard someone saying). It's probably better to go early, when it first opens, to avoid the crowds.


The ArtScience Museum was definitely interesting and I would recommend it to others visiting Singapore. There was also a kids-zone and though we drew a line at joining the kids on the fruit slide because we are mature adults, not because we didn't want to take off our socks and shoes, we did join in the colouring in of sea-animals and when you finished, you scan your art-piece and it gets projected onto a massive digital aquarium on the wall. It was most satisfying seeing your turtle/fish/octopus floating around.

Another must-do is sightseeing at night and catching the Singapore Skyline. In the first picture is Helix Bridge and in the second picture you can see the ArtScience Museum which is that sort of half lotus building with the famous Marina Bay Sands Hotel on the left.
Side story - The Bridge Incident: The first time we crossed Helix Bridge it was a happy time, we had just arrived in Singapore and we were in total awe of the view infront of us and after walking for awhile we even found a night food-market but the second time we went across this bridge, was in the daytime and I swear it was the hottest day in the whole of our holiday, the sun actually came out (which is surprising because we went in rainy season) and it turns out that we actually went the wrong way and didn't need to cross the bridge at all, so we had to go all the way back but by this time I was sweating like a pig and I was so scared of burning as I didn't have any sun-cream on. I hate to admit this but I am one of the palest out of the girls so if anyone is going to roast first, it will be me, in knowing this something inside of me kick-started and I speed-walked ahead, the only things on my mind was to get out of the sun and air-con. By the time I realised I had left the rest of the girls behind it was too late to turn back. From behind I probably looked like an angry bull but really, I was just desperate to live another non-burnt holiday.


One of the things I love to visit in big city holidays is a rooftop bar. You can't go wrong with cocktails and a beautiful view. The one we visited is called 1-Altitude. It has good reviews on Google and the pictures looked pretty too. There is an entry fee of $35 SGD after 9pm but it comes with a premium cocktail which the lady at the entrance will ring out the receipt and you take to the bar upstairs.


The dancefloor was empty but as we headed up to the rooftop area there were quite a few people there. We were directed to a big couch whilst we waited for our cocktails. We did go on a weekday which explains the empty venue but there was still a DJ upstairs, happily blasting out music for us.
Eat: The first Singapore dish we tried was at the night-market we stumbled upon which is called Makansutra Gluttons Bay (fitting name) and is open 5pm - 3am (depending on what day you go). They have an array of food available from big meals, snacks and desserts. Four of us ordered Chendol, a famous dessert made up of green jelly, kidney or red beans, coconut milk, shaved ice and palm sugar. It reminded me of the Vietnamese dessert Che Ba Mau which I love but the palm sugar in Chendol was very overpowering and there was just too much sitting at the bottom. The odd dessert out in the middle was durian shaved ice with bits of jelly underneath.
When in Chinatown, we had to go dimsum. We researched online and found Yum Cha and we ordered a feast. The food itself was decent and service was good. If my memory serves me correctly  I think we finished everything (that photo is just half the table), we were hungry 🙂
A must-try dish when in Singapore is their Chilli Crab and Black Pepper Crab. We went to one of the biggest seafood restaurant joints in Singapore, JUMBO Seafood. As we didn't have a reservation we had to take a ticket and leave our details as the wait was around 1 hour, I would definitely advise booking in advance if you can.
When our table was finally up and we got called to come back to the restaurant, we were swiftly seated and handed a bib for the crab-destroying that was to happen. We ordered one chilli crab and one black pepper crab to share, it was messy as crab-eating gets. Both of the dishes were delicious but if I was to choose just one, I did prefer the black pepper crab. The chilli crab was quite spicy which is nice but I love black pepper. We also ordered other dishes including different vegetables and a noodle dish which all in all set us back around £40 each which is not bad at all for seafood dining.


I do love food courts, there is just so much food in one place and when you're in a group not everyone will want to eat the same kind of food so a food court is perfect. It is also good if you just want a light meal (not me, as you can see from my pictures below). The 2 food courts we visited was Raspura which was near our hotel, and then the famous Lau Pa Sat or as it is also known as Telok Ayer Market (which slightly confused us but its the same thing) and both are open 24 hours! Although not every store because they still need to sleep and live. The food was good in both places and it was so cheap! My chicken set was $4.50 SGD or £2.60 GBP. I know this because I wrote this down in my notes because I was so shocked, you can't even get a decent sandwich at that price in London. Another famous food I wanted to try was the Kaya Toast, toast with kaya (coconut) jam and butter in between and its suppose to come with eggs to dip in but I picked the dry one. I don't think I would order it again, the kaya jam is very sweet and the slab of butter didn't melt properly so I basically bit into a big piece of butter.

I actually follow a girl on Instagram who is a mad-matcha fan too and is from Singapore, so there could have been so many matcha places for me to try but as we were in a big group and we didn't have much time in Singapore, I held my matcha-crazy in but thankfully on one of our random walks, we found Azabu Sabo Hokkaido Ice-Cream. I got the matcha flavour and the black sesame flavour. The ice-cream was spot-on, the flavours were strong and nice and the texture itself was creamy and smooth.
The next place is more for 'the Gram' than anything but if you love Hello Kitty then you can't miss it, Hello Kitty Orchard Garden Cafe at Changi Airport (after arrivals but you can also visit it when you're departing, you just have to walk about 10-15 minutes to find it).
The cafe itself is very cute and though it is not a big place there are various 'hotspots' to take pictures. We all ordered dessert and they were average, again it was more for the pictures, I wouldn't necessarily visit again.

That ends my trip in Singapore! Part II takes place in Penang, Malaysia which will be posted shortly ₍₍ ( ๑॔˃̶◡ ˂̶๑॓)◞♡

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