Girls Weekend in Singapore

Singapore was a much needed girls’ holiday to break up January. However, on reflection, Singapore can only really be enjoyed to the full if you have money to spend – which we did not. Going to Singapore from the UK would have been a treat, but coming from Vietnam, it seemed like a money drainer. So my advice, make sure you have disposable income before going.

Despite the ache of spending dollar after dollar, Singapore is a fantastic city. It’s a real microcosm of cultures, traditions and cuisines. The first thing that struck me was how clean it was. I didn’t feel like we were still in Asia. Chewing gum is illegal in Singapore, and you won’t see on bit of graffiti or litter on the streets. The weather was hot, like back in HCMC, however it was much more damp and humid.

Having gotten used to driving everywhere on my bike in Saigon, it was a bit of a shock to the system walking outside in the heat all day. By Saturday evening, all of us were aching with sore feet and legs. Despite the aches and pains, I love walking, as it’s the best way to discover a new city.

We set off on Friday night, after work. Our flight was at 9:00pm and we got in to SN at midnight, and by the time we got to our accommodation it was 1am. Our accommodation was dire, to say the least. That’s what you get when you do Singapore on a budget. We stayed in a hostel called Dawan hostel in Little India. Our taxi driver told us that the area had ‘dirty parlours’ and that it wasn’t the nicest; that was evident, but it was our cheapest and most convenient option. I wouldn’t say that it was worth the dodgy smell and bug infested dorms. We thus didn’t spend much time in the hostel, we left early each day as we were there purely for sleeping.

On Saturday, we all woke up early for breakfast and to escape the hostel. We decided to walk from Little India to China Town. On the maps, it said half an hour walk, but it took us a lot longer as we were strolling in the heat. We came across Fort Canning Park where we chilled in the sun. We then moved on to Clarke Quay, walking up and down the river, passing colourful bars and restaurants.

We eventually hit China Town, decorated with various lanterns and dog decorations to celebrate the Year of the Dog. It was the cleanest and most colourful China Town that I’ve ever been in. We had been told about a Hong Kong style street vendor that won a Michelin Star – ‘The cheapest meal at Michelin-starred Street Food Stall’. So we decided to check it out. We found one of the four expanded restaurants of the city named Hawker Chan - Liao Fan. We were expecting to wait all afternoon to be served but we were seated after about 15 minutes. The street stall turned restaurant was like a fast food chain. It was rushed and stressful placing an order. We all ordered the famous soy sauce chicken with either rice or noodles. When we picked up our food, it was not at all what we expected it to be… our expectations were perhaps a bit too high. The meat was not hot and the rest of the dish was pretty standard; I’ve had better chicken in Vietnam. Regardless, it was a good experience to try it.

From China Town, we stopped at a café with Wi-Fi in a mall as none of us could connect to the free street Wi-Fi as out Vietnamese numbers did not work abroad. We decided to head over to the Botanic Gardens to kill time before heading to the Marina Bay in the evening.

We got the metro from China Town to The Botanic Gardens. When we got there it was evident that it had been raining, and it hadn’t quite finished. The pleasant walk in the park turned out to be a brisk walk through the rain, hiding beneath the big, tropical trees. The rain eventually stopped when we found the Orchard Garden. We entered for a 5$ fee, a bit pricey, but it was worth it. We thought we’d be able to get a bus or metro from that end of the Gardens but it turns out we had to walk all the way back to get on the same station that we had got off at.

We were then rushed to get to the Gardens by the Bay. But we made it while the sun was still up. We got our tickets – 31$ for the Gardens and the the Cloud Garden -  the two big greenhouse domes at the Marina. It was amazing being inside, walking around big structure with many tropical plants and flowers growing upon them. We spent a good few hours walking around as the sun was going down.

We made it out just in time to catch the light show at the tall Tree Garden at the Marina – it was beautiful.

We then headed through the metro station to get out at the Marina mall when we had dinner at the food court and some cake at a cafe. After a rest and refuel, we headed out to the harbour and started walking in search of a bar. We ended up walking for ages, all in pain from the day and the amount of walking that we had done. Eventually we made it back to Clarke Quay where we stopped for a glass of wine in one of the bars that had some live music.

We decided to get a taxi back to the hostel which worked out as a fiver each.

Sunday morning was a struggle. Despite the lack of cleanliness, none of us could move from our beds, we were all still exhausted. After forcing ourselves up and ready, we got the metro to Harbour Front where we got tickets for the cable cars. The trip allowed us to go up to Mount Faber and across the water to Sentosa Island. This is where the people with money have fun. On the island you can find fancy resorts, Universal Studios, a water park, Shark tanks and white sand beaches.

We obviously were looking from afar and managed to spend an hour on the beach. We also managed to squeeze in a Singapore Sling at a bar at Mount Faber with the view of Sentosa behind us. At 13:30 we had to get fed and start our long trek back to the airport.

It was a whirlwind trip, but a needed getaway.

Granted, I was grudgingly spending money, but I’m glad that I got to experience Singapore. It reminded me of a small-scale Dubai, without the desert. They share similar extremities with the world’s largest whatnot. Cool cities, and worth a visit, but super expensive, especially compared to my cheap lifestyle in Vietnam.

Nevertheless, it was a great weekend spent with good friends and now Singapore is another amazing city to check off my list.

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