Today was an early start. I wasn’t feeling amazing (no idea why) and ventured out on a pre-booked bike tour around some of the districts in Singapore, nonetheless. It was well worth it, despite the rain. I saw so much. The guide was very entertaining. Taking a bike around a city you don’t know is great: fast enough to not be too slow while covering plenty of ground and stopping when you want.
We also cycled down the pitstop section & finishing line of the F1-racing track. Mega.
I met a lovely couple from Manchester celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary, and a solo traveller from the Netherlands who has been travelling for 5 months and has two more to go. It’s so interesting listening to people’s stories and reasons for being in a certain place at a certain time.
You can take hundreds of pictures, and try and share a moment, but it’s just not the same, is it?
Anyway, here’s the Marina Bay Sands on the left. It is regarded as the world’s most expensive stand-alone casino, and the hotel has around 2500 rooms, yes two and a half thousand, and the highest rooftop infinity pool in the world! Moshe Safdie designed it inspired by a pack of cards. Okay, I can see that. I think. Can you? The lotus-like building in the middle is home to the ArtScience Museum, designed by the same architect. Obviously.
The very famous Atlas Bar is on the ground floor of the Parkview Square office building. It is beautiful. Flip flops and shorts only before 17:00, thereafter posh. The gin lift is amazing. The most expensive bottles are at the top of course. The lift is no longer in use due to safety reasons, so now the waiters climb up a ladder to access the best of the best bottles. Not sure if that is less dangerous!
I stayed at the Naumi Hotel. A small boutique hotel. Pool on the 10th has a lovely view.
This waterfall is iconic. It’s the world’s tallest indoor waterfall at about 40 meters. A must-see when in Singapore. You can visit it without taking a flight when local, but you can’t see it if you’re only in transit.
So, in a nutshell: 36 hours is definitely not long enough for Singapore. But it was a start. I reckon it’s worthwhile coming back to see more of this amazing dense concrete jungle.
Sydney up next. It’ll be cold.