Life in Kingdom of Thailand: Off to Singapore!

Marina Bay Sands as viewed from SuperTree by Indochine

Occasionally, a trip outside of Thailand can prove to be a nice getaway. Earlier this month, Tiger and Bird found themselves traveling to Singapore. With all the hullabaloo around the travel of some famous world leaders to the country, we thought it would be fun to post some photos from our own, most recent, trek. The last time we were both in Singapore was in 2011, some seven years ago, when the Marina Bay Sands integrated resort was just complete and the Gardens by the Bay were still under construction.

Now, as then, the city-state of Singapore remains one of Tiger's favorite destinations in the world: a shining example of a fully developed city with a strong trading economy and very efficient mass transportation system (train and bus systems all readily accessible and linked together). The Singaporean culture is very similar to the West, with English largely spoken by everyone. Theatrical productions and even stand-up comedy are also available.

Photo 1. Roadway at the edge of the financial district that leads to the beautifully maintained historic district around Chinatown via a place called Ann Siang Hill. Photo 2. A walk through the main tourist area of Chinatown, just down one of the walking streets from the MRT.

One of our favorite pastimes when on vacation is taking long walks in the early morning hours, and Singapore provides many opportunities for such adventures. Chinatown has many small restaurants and charming eateries nestled among the brightly-painted, two-story historic buildings lining the streets in the area.

Butter Crab, a not-to-be-missed specialty at one of the famous Mellben Seafood Restaurants

Tiger and Bird don't usually emphasize any particular restaurants in their travels, but the Mellben Seafood restaurants in Singapore are definitely an exception! This Chinese restaurant has all the traditional Chinese dishes, but we highly recommend trying one of the crab specialties: Creamy Butter Crab, Salted Egg Crab, or Chilli Crab. Preparation time is up to 25 minutes, but it is totally worth waiting for! Our favorite is the butter crab, eaten simply with steamed or fried mantou. Why spoil the fun? You're on vacation- just ignore those darned calories for now! Prices are high but relatively affordable when compared with regular dining options in Singapore.

Harbor view of Singapore from the financial district

The skyline of Singapore in most photos include either Marina Bay Sands or one of the many skyscrapers in the financial district. The price of lodgings can be quite high for visits - unless one uses hostels - but by moving just slightly up in price and watching for discounts using an online service like Agoda (primarily used in SE Asia) one can find affordable hotels nearby. To the south of the financial district lies the harbor, as seen above.

Photo 1. National Gallery of Singapore and other old government buildings. For this and the following photo, Tiger was playing around with various camera effects Photo 2. "the Durian", or officially "Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay" houses many smaller shows and theatrical productions.

Marina Bay Sands

Infinity pool overlooking the financial district

The highlight of Singapore has recently been Marina Bay Sands, rising up majestically before the ocean and across the bay from the financial district. Even years later, the integrated resort is incredibly impressive and well-maintained. Tiger and Bird decided to splurge and spend some more time at the famous locale.

Even with 2,500 rooms, the resort is usually fully booked, with a significant wait time to even check into your room. We decided to fill in the pre-checkin information form and were fortunate to receive the keys to our room at check-in with no wait time (pure coincidence, the receptionist informed me, since the room's cleaning had been completed minutes before we arrived).

Marina Bay Sands Hotel: Recommendations

Plan your trip ahead of time, book in advance on non-weekend days whenever possible. Weekend rates are higher.

Book hotel stay through the hotel website. Hotel rooms are perpetually filled, so using external online booking websites almost never give any discount to MBS's online rates. Check for promotional rates.

Book high level rooms for the best views. The city view is often recommended over the garden view.

Fill out the hotel's online pre-checkin questionaire, available up to 24 hours before the day of your arrival.

Arrive after 2:00pm and check-in the day of your stay

After a brief visit to our room, which was incidentally fabulous with a high floor and wonderful city view, we headed up to the highlight of the hotel: the 150m (480ft) long infinity pool. The pool itself is divided into three separate sections and is only available via key-card access to hotel guests.

Photo 1. Adult-only section of the pool, near the observation deck. Photo 2. All those selfies and profile pictures of people at the infinity pool? Illusions! The experience is great, but this is closer to reality. Photo 3. The infinity pool is sprawled along the city-facing side of the hotel. The ocean-facing side has loungers and occasional hot tubs under the shade of small trees and shrubs Photo 4. The family section of the pool

Having spent hours exploring the city on foot, shopping until you dropped along Orchard Road, nothing is better than just kicking back and soaking in the sun while lounging around the infinity pool. Throw in a vanilla smoothie and life doesn't get much better!

Huge freight ships in the Singapore Straight

View of the city from Marina Bay Sands infinity pool

The weather around Singapore can change very quickly, with a sunny day soon become cloudy with a chance at light to heavy showers. We were quite happy to have very intense, sunny days for our stay, although one morning was quite dreary and slightly cold with light rainfall.

Photo 1. Spectra light show put on nightly at Marina Bay Sands. The view and experience is most spectacular as seen from in front of the shopping complex. Come a few minutes early since the place gets crowded around showtimes! If you're familiar with some of the Macau performances (or the crane dance on Sentosa island), you will not be surprised by some Chinese influence. Beautiful presentation. Photo 2. Spectra as view from across the bay

Gardens by the Bay as seen at night

Gardens by the Bay is a must-see for anyone stopping by Marina Bay Sands. There are two separate botanical conservatories - with their own fees - the Cloud Forest and the Flower Dome. These are best visited during the daytime hours. The Supertree Grove is a series of artificial trees, several connected by a walkway in the sky, that are lit up at night. Garden Rhapsody is a great musical presentation in the Supertree Grove nightly at 7:45pm and 8:45pm.

The entire park is massive, requiring at least several hours to visit the conservatories alone. To help with mobility, several small buses operate around the park at regular intervals, available for a small fee.

Tiger and Bird stopped by the Cloud Forest for another visit. Just remember to dress for the occasion! The weather outside can be incredibly hot - bordering on 30C (about 95F), but inside the conservatory the temperature is kept considerably colder. Be sure to bring a light jacket to experience the best of both worlds.