Sightseeing, Shopping & the F1 Grand Prix
This covers our latest trip to Singapore mainly to meet up with a friend from the UK who had come over for a birthday party in Bangkok and wished to spend a couple of nights seeing the sights in Singapore.
The stay became complicated by the fact that the Valley Wing at the Shangri La was twice its normal price and other hotels were either booked or non smoking. We decided to try The Regent which is just off Orchard Road and offered a suite with club facilities with smoking allowed on the balcony rather than in the car park. Later found out that we were going a few days before the start of the F1 Grand Prix which explained the hotel issues.
After a bumpy flight from Phuket on Singapore Airlines (monsoon season) arriving at T1 which I did not like, long walk or train to get to the long queue at immigration, I was not overly impressed when arriving at the hotel, the reception area is dated and guests checking in before me were just given a key and sent on their way. Once they saw the booking I was quickly shown to our room which turned out to be an upgrade to the Governor's suite so put the champagne on ice, unpacked and went up to the club lounge for tea and cakes to wait for Tracey and Sarah. My only issue was that it is a atrium hotel so getting from the central lifts without crawling was a challenge.
As usual Tracey had everything planned with dinner at Lantern tonight which is at the Fullerton Bay Hotel overlooking the marina so great views and good food. Quite surprised by the price of the wine, very reasonably for a hotel so would definitely recommend going and they have a smoking section!
After a decent if not inspiring breakfast we went shopping on Orchard for a few hours, did not manage to get much further than Ion so loaded with bags we returned to the hotel to change for Afternoon Tea with champagne of course! Another quick change and we were off to meet a friend for drinks at Mr Stork, a rooftop bar at the Andaz Hyatt. Decided it would be cheaper to buy a Magnum of Champagne which meant they would actually serve us in the smoking section.
Crawled into a tepee for the obligatory photo before moving across the road to Atlas for food and more drinks. I was presented with a free glass of champagne and a Happy Birthday treat which was absolutely delicious...ok my birthday was in August but Tracey booked it and had put down it was a birthday celebration!
Back to hotel and one more glass of champagne at the Manhattan bar before retiring to bed....the walk from the lift was much easier after a few drinks!
For Sarah’s last day a visit to the Gardens By The Bay was planned followed by dinner at Lavo at the top of the Marina Bay Sands.
Of all the times I have been to Singapore have never got round to going to the gardens, they are certainly worth doing especially if you like plants, be prepared to take lots of photos. We went into the Cloud Forest and the Flower Dome followed by the Floral Fantasy which is actually a waste of time, very tacky. You can just go to see the Supertrees without having to pay and they are amazing.
You can walk from the gardens over to MBS if you like heights and glass lifts but it is possible to get down to the mall section and then walk back over to the hotel.
Eventually found our way to Lavo which actually turned out to be very good, food was lovely and they had free flow sparkling wine from 6 pm for the price of two glasses. The smoking area was terrifying for me as it was right at the edge with just a sheet of glass between me and infinity.
Time for Sarah to leave so back to the hotel to collect her suitcase and say goodbye until we meet her in Jordan later in the year.
Full day shopping planned for today, managed to boost the economy and do over 10,000 steps.
Exhausted we headed to the club lounge for dinner and got talking to a couple from Milton Keynes who were over for the Grand Prix. As this was their first time in Singapore over a few drinks we asked them if they wanted to join us at Altitude, our choice for another rooftop bar experience so off we went. More terrifying lifts and views for me but there was a smoking area.
We were kindly offered free tickets to the F1 Practice sessions by our new friends as they only wanted to go to the Race day.
Shopping or F1…no contest really so off to the Grand Prix and seats in the stand opposite the pits. Lots of photos of empty space but great experience for us, we spent a few hours watching the cars and had a wander round before returning to the hotel to change for our pre booked dinner at The English House by Marco Pierre White.
This was our second visit and again excellent food and service but it was absolutely freezing in the restaurant. Tracey had again said it was my birthday so chocolate brownie with ice cream but no champagne this time.
Last day and some serious shopping for a few hours including getting my ears pierced! Up and down Orchard via a handbag sale before returning to the hotel to attempt to fit everything into the cases. Just time to visit the club lounge for a last glass of sparkling wine and some nibbles, paid the bill and off to the airport as we had to deal with getting the tax back on our purchases.
As usual I was asked to open my cases but as they could not decide what they wished to see from the many receipts I was let off.
We intended to go to see Jewel but did not realise we could not get to it once through immigration so off to the bar via Ted Baker and another new dress. A glass of sparkling wine turned out to be a glass of Perrier-Jouet so fitting end to the trip before boarding the plane back to Phuket.
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