There is so much to see and do in Singapore that knowing where to start is a bit of a nightmare and of course true to form I haven’t done that much research on the entire trip.
Yesterday after travelling around by MRT I kept seeing the signs for the Harbour and I know there’s an island just 500 metres off of Singapore which is billed as Asia’s playground so I thought I’d start my day there.
As I say I really haven’t done much in the way of research so don’t really know what’s on the island but I do know you can take a cable car from Singapore across the water to Sentosa so that sold it to me. I love being high up and being able to get a real impression of where you are in a place.
Getting off the MRT though it was a bit confusing as to where I was meant to be going. I was expecting a big sign saying ‘cable car this way’ but unless I totally missed it I saw nothing. What I did see though was a lot of tourists queuing at a ‘ticket office’ in the underground although it didn’t say what tickets they were queuing for and instead of stopping and finding out I carried on wandering around for a bit trying to find the cable car before, quite a while later, going back again to the underground and seeing just what tickets everyone was getting. It seems there are two massive cruise ships in and all the people queuing for tickets were from the ships and were getting day tickets for the MRT. So not the cable car? I’ll keep looking!
Eventually I find my way to the cable car ticket office only to be faced with package decisions that I can add to the ticket over but seeing as I didn’t really know what was on the island in the first place it was all a bit confusing once again, a part of me feels like I really am missing something here. ;-(
They have an Underwater World attraction on the island, a Universal Studios, a fort, lots of beaches and all sorts of other activities. In the end though I opted for just the ticket over and see how I get on when I get there.
The ride over was quite amazing. It goes from the top of an office block on Singapore and travels across the water directly over the top of the two cruise ships which was quite surreal. There were people sunbathing on the deck while we’re travelling way above them…..taking pictures.
The cruise ships in Singapore
I wonder how long they have in Singapore because even if they’ve been before I think I can think of better things to do while here rather than sunbathe!
On Sentosa it’s a little like stepping into Disney Land except a bit quieter and a bit smaller. I hopped on the free shuttle bus and went to the Fort, Fort Siloso which was quite interesting although it also had an air of Disney Tours about it. Once again I deliberated about going into the Underwater World but when I got there they had a couple of pools outside with turtles and big fish in and the water was really murky and horrible and very concrete so in the end I decided that no I really didn’t need to see that.
Shall I tell them they've built them crooked?! ;-)
I think Sentosa would be a fun place, if an expensive place, with kids but not really a place to be on your own especially when you don’t really like beaches.
Sentosas Merlion
One of the beaches on Sentosa
Taking the cable car back to Singapore my ticket included going another stop further to Mount Faber which of course I did before returning back to where I started.
Someone I met in Melaka had mentioned to me about the Asian Civilisations Museum that she had visited and really loved so I jumped on the MRT to get there and do the same. I really am loving the underground system.
The museum is on the riverfront right near where Sir Stamford Raffles is reported to have first landed on 29th January 1819. It’s a very beautiful area with lots of small old buildings, most of which are now restaurants and bars and then behind these are massive great tower blocks and the business centre of Singapore, it seems to be dominated by banking but I expect Mick will know more about that than me.
At the museum I had around and hour and a half before they shut. The lady at the counter said they recommend about an hour to see the museum but of course everyone is different but an hour should be enough. I took her word for it and took a gamble but as soon as I walked into the first gallery I just knew I would need several hours here and not just one! But then again I’m not going to take it all in am I? So I just did the best I could and in the end got herded out at closing time, you can’t read it all anyway right?
A gorgeous elephant part of the Elephant Parade
Asian Civilisations Museum
Back at the hostel I managed a quick shower then out again. It’s a never ending whirlwind of sightseeing in Singapore. First though was dinner. My hostel is in Little India and tonight I fancy curry. I always think it’s best to find somewhere popular with the locals so the first café/restaurant I come across that was busy I went in and a very helpful server recommended a selection meal of all things vegetarian. I was served with a big tray covered in greaseproof paper and in the middle was a pile of rice with around 6 different smaller servings around the edge - it was just delicious. ;-)
Singapore by night
Next stop was Orchard Road. Orchard Road is the big shopping mall road and although I don’t shop I did opt for a wander down there after dark to check out the Christmas lights. Singapore’s Orchard Road is like London’s Oxford Street…..great if you earn several times what I do but if you’re on my wages it’s the pretty lights you’re looking at!
Orchard Road Christmas lights
It was really nice to see though but by now my feet were seriously killing me.
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