We recently explored Singapore during our 18 hours transit to India and I should say that it is a beautiful country. We will make sure to spend a longer time next time!
Getting a visa for Singapore is very easy and hassle free. Check if your nationality requires a Visa and if yes, email info.singaporeUSA@vfshelpline.com to get the required documents to be sent back to them to get the e-visa. It took us less than 5 days to get the Visa an we got 2 years multiple entry.
We had planned our travel such that we have a long transit 18 hours in Singapore on our way to India. Due to other reasons we were not able to spend a longer time in Singapore.
Our flight landed at 2:30 AM and since we were Priority Pass holders, we had access to any of the lounges to crash for couple of hours. We went to the SATS to take a quick nap and refresh ourselves after a long flight of 10+ hours. If you do not have lounge access there are rooms that can be rented for few hours to refresh as well, though we did not explore that option and I do not have more information on that. The lounge was very comfortable and we were able to rest our eyes, take a quick shower and grab a breakfast before we started our day. We left around 6 am, and dropped our hand baggage at the baggage storage facility at the airport. The baggage storage was a safe place to drop our luggage as we did not want to lug them around the full day. But it was a bit pricey and they were very strict on the weight to classify them for a small or a large luggage.
We had decided to explore on our own with a Taxi, but the airport does offer a free tour as well. The free tour line was very crowded and we were glad that we opted out of that. We completed immigration and exited the airport. We got the airport Taxi and headed to the Merlion Park. It was around $25 to get there by the local Taxi. The driver was very kind and gave us lot of information during the drive. We spent about an hour at the Merlion Park. It was very crowded inspite being a weekday morning. You would be able to get stunning views of the Marina Bay sands hotel from here. It was super hot and we were exhausted already! Luckily there was a fresh juice shop in the park and we got ourselves some fresh Mango Juice for $7.
The next stop on our plan was the Marina Bay Sands Hotel. It might look walkable in Google Maps, but I recommend taking a cab there from the Merlion Park. It costs us little over $5 to get there by the local cab. The driver dropped us at the entrance of the hotel. We spent an hour exploring inside the hotel. It was very beautiful inside and most of all we were able to get out of the sun! Unfortunately we were not able to go to the infinity pool since it was only for the hotel guests. We also skipped the Sands SkyPark Observatory as we head mixed reviews about it and we also did not have time.
There is a way to get to the Gardens by the Bay from the Marina Sands Bay just beside Tower 2. There would be a sign that point to the exit. Take the exit out from the mid of the hotel and there is an elevator outside the hotel that takes us to a top of the bridge to Gardens by the Bay.
The view of the Marina Sands Bay from the bridge is breathtaking. We would get a view of the entire Marina Sands Bay and the Singapore Flyer.
We walked to the Gardens by the Bay and spent time there till the afternoon. There is no entrance to enter the park. The park is very vast and will take a full day if you plan to explore all the areas. We explored some areas and then walked to the visitor center to get tickets for the OCBC Skyway. There are options to see the Flower Dome and the Cloud Forest. We chose to skip that. Please keep in mind that food options are limited and vegetarian options were even more limited. There were few places to eat by the visitor center. We just grabbed some fries and milkshakes as it was very hot.
The OCBC Skyway was really worth it. It would have been even more breath taking in the night with the lights, but we did not have time to stay past sunset.
If you do, please choose to stay after sunset. It started to rain just as we finished the skyway and we were asked to get down. We waited for few minutes for the rain to die down and then walked to the nearest exit to get a cab back to the airport.
It was around 3 pm and we chose to spend couple of hours at The Jewel. The major highlight was the waterfalls. It is the largest indoor waterfalls in the world and was magnificent. The Jewel is a piece of work by itself with a variety of shops to shop from, lots of activities for all and to add the waterfalls.
It is linked to Terminal 1,2,3 by a skytrain that goes by the waterfalls. There are plenty of forest-y trails inside the Jewel, gardens and beautiful landscaping surrounding the waterfalls.
We also spent an hour in the top floor where there is a huge Canopy Park with lots of activities.
Do try the Ice Cream - Birds of Paradise- they have the most unique and yummy flavors.
After some relaxing time in the Jewel we headed back to our terminal to head to our home town - Chennai, India!
We had planned our travel such that we have a long transit 18 hours in Singapore on our way to India. Due to other reasons we were not able to spend a longer time in Singapore.
Our flight landed at 2:30 AM and since we were Priority Pass holders, we had access to any of the lounges to crash for couple of hours. We went to the SATS to take a quick nap and refresh ourselves after a long flight of 10+ hours. If you do not have lounge access there are rooms that can be rented for few hours to refresh as well, though we did not explore that option and I do not have more information on that. The lounge was very comfortable and we were able to rest our eyes, take a quick shower and grab a breakfast before we started our day. We left around 6 am, and dropped our hand baggage at the baggage storage facility at the airport. The baggage storage was a safe place to drop our luggage as we did not want to lug them around the full day. But it was a bit pricey and they were very strict on the weight to classify them for a small or a large luggage.
We had decided to explore on our own with a Taxi, but the airport does offer a free tour as well. The free tour line was very crowded and we were glad that we opted out of that. We completed immigration and exited the airport. We got the airport Taxi and headed to the Merlion Park. It was around $25 to get there by the local Taxi. The driver was very kind and gave us lot of information during the drive. We spent about an hour at the Merlion Park. It was very crowded inspite being a weekday morning. You would be able to get stunning views of the Marina Bay sands hotel from here. It was super hot and we were exhausted already! Luckily there was a fresh juice shop in the park and we got ourselves some fresh Mango Juice for $7.
There is a way to get to the Gardens by the Bay from the Marina Sands Bay just beside Tower 2. There would be a sign that point to the exit. Take the exit out from the mid of the hotel and there is an elevator outside the hotel that takes us to a top of the bridge to Gardens by the Bay.
The view of the Marina Sands Bay from the bridge is breathtaking. We would get a view of the entire Marina Sands Bay and the Singapore Flyer.
We walked to the Gardens by the Bay and spent time there till the afternoon. There is no entrance to enter the park. The park is very vast and will take a full day if you plan to explore all the areas. We explored some areas and then walked to the visitor center to get tickets for the OCBC Skyway. There are options to see the Flower Dome and the Cloud Forest. We chose to skip that. Please keep in mind that food options are limited and vegetarian options were even more limited. There were few places to eat by the visitor center. We just grabbed some fries and milkshakes as it was very hot.
The OCBC Skyway was really worth it. It would have been even more breath taking in the night with the lights, but we did not have time to stay past sunset.
If you do, please choose to stay after sunset. It started to rain just as we finished the skyway and we were asked to get down. We waited for few minutes for the rain to die down and then walked to the nearest exit to get a cab back to the airport.
We also spent an hour in the top floor where there is a huge Canopy Park with lots of activities.
Do try the Ice Cream - Birds of Paradise- they have the most unique and yummy flavors.
After some relaxing time in the Jewel we headed back to our terminal to head to our home town - Chennai, India!
Comments
Post a Comment