Stopping Off In Singapore

The last stop of our Balinese adventure was to Kuta and we made our way over to the makeshift boat terminal on the beach which was just absolutely packed out with tourists. I couldn’t believe how many people were pulling in and out of here each day.

As we pulled back into Padang Bai from the boat journey over, we went to get our shuttle to our accommodation which was included in the ticket price. What they don’t tell you is, that despite being picked up from your starting point in a small shuttle bus with others staying in the area, you will be placed on a coach and every person will be dropped off in all the locations, with Kuta being the last stop. I asked how long this would take and they estimated around 3 and a half hours without traffic and from here we would just be dropped in the centre of Kuta, not at our hotel.

So annoyingly, we paid 400,000 IDR for a taxi which still took over an hour and a half to get us to Kuta. We were staying at the Park Regis for the night before we finally headed back to Dubai. If I’m honest, the hotel wasn’t brilliant and the service for checking in was shocking. I’m so used to very swift check ins in hotels with my job that, to be waiting over 30 minutes just to be seen and then sat down for 15 minutes actually checking in seemed extortionate. However, as soon as we were done we threw on our bikinis and went down to the pool to catch the last of the days sun and have something to eat.

That evening we walked into the centre of Kuta for something to eat and see what the place was like. Scouring the shops along the roadside, we both bought two paintings for a bargain price to take back home with us before stopping for a cocktail in a nearby bar.

We were flying back to Dubai the following afternoon on standby discounted tickets, so basically that means if the plane is full we won’t get on, but if there are seats, we can get on at a fraction of the price. Which is great money wise, but this doesn’t always go according to plan. I thought I best quickly check the loads one more time for a flight back when I noticed the flights had rocketed. The earlier one leaving in a few hours time was also really full and the following days flight wouldn’t get me back to Dubai in time for my next duty. Not panicking, I knew we could get a cheap domestic flight over to Jakarta with one of the low cost local airlines for around £30 each, yet annoyingly these had all sold out since the morning when I last checked and I realised our holiday was going to have to come to an abrupt end. Checking the loads at nearby destinations like Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong and Singapore, I noticed the following evening flight from Singapore was half full and our best bet would be to make our way over there. Having to painfully book full fare flights with Air Asia for £300 over to Singapore Changi Airport it was only 6 hours until our flight departed and we were currently in Kuta, not packed and ready to go and had also not slept. So we quickly paid for our drinks, walked back to the hotel and packed up and jumped into bed with an alarm set for 3 hours time.

One of my friends Matt has just recently moved to Singapore so I messaged him asking him if he was around or free to see us for a little bit and with it being the weekend he was free to spend the day with us and would meet us at the airport when we landed.

The flight over was great actually, its always nice to fly other airlines and get a glimpse into how their working day differs from mine. The flight took just over 2 hours and I took a power nap before we landed into Singapore. As the plane taxied off the run way, we went right by our huge A380 planes. You don’t realise how huge our aircrafts are until you see them parked up next to a tiny one!

We met Matt in arrivals and jumped into a taxi over to his apartment so we could drop our cases and show my sister the city! My last visit to Singapore was almost two years ago, and since then I’ve never really been bothered for returning, so I was looking forward to someone who really knows the place to show me around!

Matt’s apartment was amazing and incredibly ultra modern. And after a quick FaceTime to our mutual friend Kitty back home who was confused why we were together, we made our way over to the Gardens By The Bay.

The sun was shining as we wandered around the gardens, and Matt was explaining that the gardens are way better at night as a light and music show turns on and brings the garden to life. You can also walk around the elevated walk ways at a cost, but we had plans to go inside the Cloud Forest dome instead.

Inside features the worlds tallest indoor waterfall and you could feel the spray hitting the back of you and you stood for pictures and/or walked past. You then take the lift all the way up to the top of the dome, to wander on down the spiralling down walk ways.

The walk around was beautiful filled with exotic flowers and leafy greens, and to say we were in a glass dome which you would expect to be like a green house with the humid weather outside, it was actually blissfully cool and nice to escape the heat for a short while.

There were also some great views from the glass dome of the surrounding area, especially of the Marina Bay Sands!

As Matt was nervous of heights, yet powered through it for me and my sister, we made our way down and walked back through the gardens before we went right up the top of the Marina Bay Sands.

You pay $20 entry to go to the top of the Marina Bay which can be claimed back in food and drinks, so we had a wander over to see the infamous roof top pool and the view before grabbing an edge side table and some menus.

The food was lovely, however the portions were very small, so if you’re hungry please do bear this in mind! I opted for the pulled duck and pork buns which were so yummy and of course when in Singapore and also STILL on my holidays I had a Singapore Sling.

Feeling content, we made our way back down in the lift with our ears popping at the rapid descent and walked through the shopping centre with the water ways for the boats like Venice.

Out the other side we walked around the waters of the bay in the direction of the Fullerton Hotel to stop for a drink and cool down from the heat.

The Fullerton is a beautiful hotel and had the most decadent decor inside and as we took the lift up to the outdoor bar, the lifts opened to the most beautiful view.

Chatting the day away with more of a wander around the city and a quick pit stop for a snack, it was time to go back to Matt’s place to collect our luggage and go back to the airport.

I had a great day in Singapore both showing my sister the city and catching up with Matt. Thank you for being such a great host and just being a real gem as always, I’ll look forward to seeing Singapore on my roster in future!