Hi everyone,

Singapore has some to a close. 11 massive days we spent in this country. Most people that travel to Singapore don’t spend this much time here. It is usually used as a stopover on the way to Europe for a 2-3 nighter. When we travel we like to assume that we will never be in this country ever again. We ask ourselves, if we never come back here, what would we regret missing? And plan our time like that. With that said, 11 days in Singapore is too long. We think we probably could’ve cut it down to about 6 days and fit in all the essentials.

It feels like we have certainly completed Singapore. A few of the things that we had itinerised that we weren’t able to do were to drink a Singapore sling at Raffles Hotel (cocktails were $55AUD ea), a few different museums (we learnt in Sydney that going to museum with Julian was an absolute nightmare) and our biggest regret was not getting to satay street for satay skewers (it didn’t start til after 7, which is a tough ask to be out that late with toddler). If we ever do return, we’ll do these things.

We do think that over our 11 days that we did it justice though. We saw nearly everything we wanted to see, all of the major tourist attractions and explored neighbours that are a bit off the beaten path culminating in a fulfilling and diverse experience.

Singapore is a beautiful country, there is no denying that. It is very pretty, very safe and very orderly. The trains and busses always run on time and are simple to navigate. We used them almost every day. The attractions were world class. The city felt almost futuristic at times. If you want a true taste of the real Asia, this is not it. It’s not rough around the edges. The people are kind enough, but not overly friendly. Everybody seems like they’re in a hurry to get somewhere and we often felt like that too. Julian had some special interactions with a few people that and that was really sweet.

Now, to our evaluation of it:

Highs

Neighbourhood exploration – we absolutely loved exploring the little sub neighbourhoods of Singapore. Little India, Kampong Glam and Tiong Bahru. There is something about being amongst these communities that feels real. It’s local, its culture and it is exactly what we enjoy on a trip. All of these places were a little bit rougher, but they had charm.

Mandai Wildlife Reserve – what more can we say that we didn’t say in our blog two days ago? The Mandai wildlife reserve is world class. An absolute treat of a day. We loved every moment of it even though we got rained on. The animals, the layout, the parks, the professionalism, it’s all second to none. It also helped that it wasn’t crowded at all and it felt intimate. Just brilliant.

Gardens by the Bay – There is a reason why they are the most visited and most well-known attraction in Singapore. This facility including the cloud forest and flower dome earns every bit of its acclaim. Absolutely spectacular in every sense of the word. All parts of it are completely unique and are so incredibly well maintained. It’s the nicest park/garden area we have ever been in. An absolute bucket list must-do for any traveller.

Lows

The heat – The heat in Singapore is completely unrelenting. It is about 30 degrees around the clock with about 100% humidity. The wind is hot, the air is dense and rain offers no respite at all. You sweat, and you sweat and you sweat. With that said, we felt a bit used to it on the last two or so days.

Price – Singapore is expensive there are no two ways about it. Accommodation is the worst of it, but also everything else is steep. You can do hawker centres all the time for pretty cheap, but they’re all pretty samey and you get over the same foods quickly.

What would we differently next time?

We would stay a bit more central. To get the room we got for a somewhat reasonable price with the decent amenities (laundry) we had to stay a bit away from the centre. At times it was worth the trade off but it was nearly a 1km walk to the nearest MRT station which added up very quickly in the heat and after 20k steps and needing to get home at night.

We would get out more at night time. Singapore has no morning culture. It is all about night time and when you’re travelling with a toddler, being out after 6PM because a terrible experience for everyone. We didn’t get a chance to experience Singapore at night very often and we would like to.

Singapore is a great destination. We would recommend it to anyone. Keep it to about 6 days though and stay centrally. Use public transport, it’s incredibly easy and efficient. Bring lots of money and don’t pack any warm clothes, you won’t need them.

Total step count: 206,292 or 144.56kms

Total cost of 11 days in Singapore minus flights: $9,104.09

Much love,

Ronnie, Aimee and Julian