Arrival

Our coach ride to Singapore was comfortable and quick, around 4 hours including the time taken to cross the boarder. A slightly complicated affair where you are lead off the bus twice, once to pass through Malaysian officials and once for the Singaporeans. There was a stark contrast between the two processes, in Malaysia the queuing was hectic and not very well signposted. In Singapore it was very organised and slightly scary with the penalty of death being waved around for drug traffickers.

Accommodation

We arrived at our AirBnB on Geylang Road slightly later than planned after having trouble finding wifi to get a Uber. Unfortunately our hosts mother had been waiting for us so we were shown to our flat whilst apologising although as she spoke little english it was difficult. Our AirBnB was a little studio apartment with the benefit of direct access to a shared pool from the balcony. We also found out that the Geylang road was the red light district of Singapore with brothels secreted behind red lanterns.

The move

After spending a couple of days exploring Singapore from our Geylang home we got a message during dinner. Our host had got feedback from a previous guest about a neighbour questioning them about being there. Apparently AirBnb isn’t exactly legal in Singapore and this spooked our host who asked us to move into an hotel. A little perturbed we packed up our things and headed to a brand new hotel in the Bugis area of the city. This turned out to be incredibly central and our exploring of the city continued by foot.

Fountain of Wealth

In the heart of the city in between some businessey looking buildings, and of course some malls, was a large fountain. Called the fountain of wealth it was very impressive construction in the middle of a roundabout. After watching the various cycles the fountain went through we saw people approaching the central column and run their fingers through the water. We headed down to the base of the fountain to discover this was only allowed at certain times and we missed the time by minutes.

Marina Bay

Possibly the most impressive part of Singapore is the Marina Bay. As you approach the bay the looming structure of the Marina Bay Sands hotel strikes you. Three sloping towers carry a boat shaped construction high above the bay which contains an observation deck and infinity pool. Although we didn’t access the top we did explore the gardens behind and also visited the spectacular Spectra light and water show a must for anyone visiting Singapore. Another tourist attraction in this area is the Merlion fountain, which was a lot smaller in real life.

Buddhas Tooth

Tucked away near China Town was a buddhist temple containing many religious relics including one of Buddhas teeth. It was a sweltering day as we made our way through the streets to the temple, most of which were covered with road works. With hundreds of statues lining the walls and larger statues dotted around it had more than its fair share of Buddhas. Finding a fancy lift we rode to the forth floor and were instructed to take our shoes off as we entered the room with the tooth. At the back of the room was a glass partition and behind this on top of gold floor tiles was an ornate gold alter that held the tooth. With people in deep meditation around the room it had a strange ambiance befitting of such a relic. Before leaving we visited the roof garden and spun the prayer wheel.

Canning Park

A short walk from our hotel was Fort Canning Park, a hill turned city park. It was covered in information boards explaining the historic importance of the area. We explored the park a couple of times and ran around one of its many routes where we found some exercise bars which was a nice touch.

Clarks Quay

If you want to be hurled into the air in a metal ball attached to a some elastic bands this was the place to go. Covered with bars and restaurants it seemed to be the place to be for lively evening drinks by the water. A short walk along the river was the more chilled Robertson Quay where we enjoyed curry at a warehouse turned bar and eatery, Bar Bar Black Sheep.

Leaving

Singapore airport was a short Uber ride away from the down town core. A large airport with lots to do and see including day trips for transit passengers, free film showings and a outside bar within a cactus garden. With little time to enjoy these things we were soon on a plane heading for a short stop in the Gold Coast before our destination, Christchurch New Zealand.