TR: Cup Weekend in Singapore

[zanzibar138]

Did you go on the Transformers ride? It was our favourite. We did the park in reverse order to you. Must have been my Disney experience, but I knew we should hit the big rides first, as it was quite crowded the day we were there. Battle star Gallactica was down for us too - shame, but I will have something new to try next time!

My Flyer photos were taken in contrast to yours, during the day. No private gondola or champas for us though, lucky you! Speaking of gondolas, I have a pic of my DH looking SO nervous on the Sentosa gondola!

We didn't do Transformers - neither of us are into sci-fi, and my tummy is not fond of simulators, so it didn't seem like it was worth it. It was just a 'going with the flow' kind of day for us, so we didn't want to rush around trying to do the big rides first or anything, just ease into it a bit.

about your DH!

Hi Zanzibar! I've posted with you in the HKDL section of the board and noticed this thread title. I live in SG (originally from California, hence the name) so I decided to sneak into the Aussie forum to read along. So far very good!

Welcome! Glad to have you aboard.

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Loving the report comparing it to our visit. Sounds like I need to employ your DH on the research front. How much was the champagne flight? The pod was empty when we did our round and empty whilst we waited and after so don't think its very popular. We had the chicken rice you did but we got it for free as part of our Singapore stopover deal (as too the Flyer). I still can't get over how great value that was - just wish I had been quicker on the uptake that for Aussies Universal Studios was also included as it would have been fun to go and being small would have had time to get around and get back to the airport in time as well as doing what was my favourite domes in Gardens by the Bay. Sounds like a lovely mini break.

Your DH is obviously getting several hints off the FF website though, earning status points etc by taking detours!! He'll be the one buying pet food next to earn massive FF points and donating it to the RSPCA though companies have got a ghist of how the system was being worked and I think have stopped some of the crazy offers. Did you read that thread?

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Loving the report comparing it to our visit. Sounds like I need to employ your DH on the research front. How much was the champagne flight? The pod was empty when we did our round and empty whilst we waited and after so don't think its very popular. We had the chicken rice you did but we got it for free as part of our Singapore stopover deal (as too the Flyer). I still can't get over how great value that was - just wish I had been quicker on the uptake that for Aussies Universal Studios was also included as it would have been fun to go and being small would have had time to get around and get back to the airport in time as well as doing what was my favourite domes in Gardens by the Bay. Sounds like a lovely mini break.

Your DH is obviously getting several hints off the FF website though, earning status points etc by taking detours!! He'll be the one buying pet food next to earn massive FF points and donating it to the RSPCA though companies have got a ghist of how the system was being worked and I think have stopped some of the crazy offers. Did you read that thread?

 

[zanzibar138]

Loving the report comparing it to our visit. Sounds like I need to employ your DH on the research front. How much was the champagne flight? The pod was empty when we did our round and empty whilst we waited and after so don't think its very popular. We had the chicken rice you did but we got it for free as part of our Singapore stopover deal (as too the Flyer). I still can't get over how great value that was - just wish I had been quicker on the uptake that for Aussies Universal Studios was also included as it would have been fun to go and being small would have had time to get around and get back to the airport in time as well as doing what was my favourite domes in Gardens by the Bay. Sounds like a lovely mini break.

Your DH is obviously getting several hints off the FF website though, earning status points etc by taking detours!! He'll be the one buying pet food next to earn massive FF points and donating it to the RSPCA though companies have got a ghist of how the system was being worked and I think have stopped some of the crazy offers. Did you read that thread?

Lol! Yes, we both had a laugh over that one. I don't think we will ever get that crazy Having said that though, the detour paid off, as we are now both platinum status with AA

The champagne flight was about AUD$120 for both of us, so definitely a splurge. But well worth it for what we got. We also considered doing one of the cocktail flights, but we thought the champagne one might be less popular (and therefore more chance of getting our own pod) because (a) they offer non-alcoholic cocktails for the kids, but for champagne, it's adults only, and (b) you don't get a free souvenir glass with the champagne one. The cocktail ones were the same price.

That Singapore stopover deal you got was amazing value! So many inclusions! You seemed to be so busy on your little stopover, I don't think you would have really had time to get to Universal as well. I'd say you were better off devoting that time to the domes Which I will be covering very soon

 

[gogo65]

Love the TR Zanzibar,

I also frequent the FF board and have learnt some amazing things, we pretty much only fly business or prem economy now, due to the hints from there.

The closest I haed got to Singapore is the airport about 5times, must actually stop and check it out one day

 

[zanzibar138]

Love the TR Zanzibar,

I also frequent the FF board and have learnt some amazing things, we pretty much only fly business or prem economy now, due to the hints from there.

The closest I haed got to Singapore is the airport about 5times, must actually stop and check it out one day

Oh nice! I'm pretty sure we'll still have our share of economy flights for a while, but at least we've got some good deals and a few perks

Singapore is definitely worth making a quick stopover

 

[zanzibar138]

It was another early start today as we were being picked up for another tour. We were more prepared this morning though, and managed to have a quick brekky at the hotel before the bus came.



We were driven to the same spot to wait for our proper tour bus. Today’s driver was friendly and pointed out a few things to us along the way. After stopping for another few guests, we were back in Chinatown.



We were stickered up again – the stickers for today’s tour were green, and there were a lot less of us! It wasn’t too long before we were shown to our bus (which would remain half empty) and were on our way (it was a much quicker getaway than the day before!).

Our tour guide (Desmond) introduced himself, and we were given maps of the island so we could follow along our journey. Our first stop was to be Kranji War Memorial, which is on the north west side of the island. Along the way, Desmond had lots of interesting things to tell us.

Being such a small island, it wasn’t long before we arrived at the memorial. We all got off the bus and followed Desmond to a plaque, where our tour of the site would begin. We were then taken to the entrance, and via the headstones of a couple of influential soldiers, before ending up at the top of the hill. It was very humid again today, and the sun was out too, so it was a hard walk! When Desmond finished his tour, we were given some free time to explore on our own and take photos. I felt a bit funny about taking photos, but Desmond assured me that it was ok. Still, I tried not to get the headstones in too many – it felt kind of disrespectful.



This was taken from the top of the hill, and shows the close proximity to Malaysia. Those buildings in the background are in Malaysia.



The memorial itself was specially designed to commemorate each section of the armed forces. There are 12 memorial walls, representing the 12 battalions of the army. The ‘wings’ represent the air force, and the ‘mast’ represents the navy. I thought it was quite clever.





It was definitely a place for quiet contemplation, and I said a little silent prayer for the lost soldiers on my way back down to the entrance.



Back on the bus, we were informed that our next stop was Bright Hill Temple in the town of Bishan, close to the middle of the island. Desmond informed us that this was both a Buddhist and Taoist temple combined.

The temple was wonderful, full of intricate carvings and bright colours. I could have spent all day there.



We were invited into the meditation hall to see the big Buddha in there (after removing our shoes of course). I was mortified when our guide ignored the ‘please keep quiet’ signs and started talking (albeit softly) about the hall and the Buddha statue. Of course I was interested, but I wondered why he didn’t tell us outside. I pretended that the ground had swallowed me up until he stopped talking, and followed him around the Buddha. I was doubly mortified when one of our fellow tourists started complaining fairly loudly about the weather and pretended that I was not associated with her.



Once we were outside again, I was able to relax a bit more, and enjoy some of the architectural details.



















I loved this lawn with all the tiny Buddha statues, all in different poses.





Then it was time to get back to the bus.





We were all getting a bit peckish by this time, and were pleased when Desmond informed us that the next stop would be for lunch. We were to make our way to Sembawang, which is the northern most point of the island.

When we arrived we were all ushered off the bus and taken to our own private room in the flash looking restaurant. We were sat down at two round tables, and lunch was served ‘family style’. I was very out of my comfort zone here, so didn’t take any photos of the food. It was quite good, but I was a bit slow so there were a couple of dishes I missed out on. After lunch we were given 10 minutes for a bathroom stop, and to check out the view, then it was back to the bus.

The view over to Malaysia from a pier in front of the restaurant.



More defence force.



Locals enjoying the beach.



To be continued...

 

[zanzibar138]

We had a fairly long drive ahead of us, and it was getting towards the end of a long day, so while we were on the highway, Desmond gave us a bit of quiet time to contemplate the days activities. We were heading towards Changi Museum, and when we were getting close, Desmond gave us a bit of background information about it.

We were soon there, and Desmond took us to the chapel (which is a replica  as is just about everything at the museum) and gave us yet more information.



He told us about the man who made this cross (which is in fact not a replica, which is why it is in a glass box).



And the Japanese students who make and bring cranes as a peace offering.



We had been given about half an hour here, and by the time Desmond had finished his spiel, we were down at least 10-15 minutes, so the museum itself was a bit rushed. Most of it was quotes from various people, presented with photos and information about that aspect of the war and Japanese occupation, so there was a lot of reading. I found that it was very factual, rather than emotional, and rushing through probably made it more so. There were no photos allowed in the museum either (not that there was anything that I really wanted to take a photo of anyway).

Back on the bus, we were taken to our next and final stop via the backroads of Changi and the coast. We saw the outside of a military school and training grounds, and were driven past the Johor Battery.



I found these signs on defence land a little amusing. I described them as step onto this land and army guy will shoot you with a rifle signs. They definitely get their point across anyway.



The next stop was the one I was most looking forward to (this tour was more for DHs benefit, him being the history buff of the family)  Gardens by the Bay.We were given 10 minutes (yes you read correctly, 10 minutes) there, then we were to get back on the bus to be taken back to our respective hotels. As we had found public transport so easy to use, I asked Desmond if we could just stay at the gardens and make our own way back. He crossed us off the list, and told us to have a good time.

As Desmond had led us to the Supertree Grove, we thought we may as well start there. I was pretty keen to walk along the skyway, so we thought we would do that first thing as the weather was becoming very threatening and they close it during rain. We found the place to buy tickets ($5 each), and climbed up the Supertree entrance.



It was a great view. In the distance we could the domes that we would be heading to next



The Singapore Flyer



Marina Bay Sands



And the rest of the Supertree Grove.





As well as the garden underneath us of course.



The Supertrees themselves were amazing, like massive hanging gardens.





We both felt sorry for this gardener, and hoped he didnt have to mow the whole lawn by hand in that humidity.



It was a very enjoyable walk  well worth it for $5 each.



I was keen to do more exploring on ground level, but I was also starting to feel quite tired after a long day, and with the weather getting more and more humid, we were getting very uncomfortable. We decided to make our way to the comfort of the air-conditioned domes sooner rather than later, just catching glimpses of the many gardens on the way through.













We gravitated to the café outside the domes. It was cool in there and we could sit down with a cold drink and relax for a bit. We ordered cake as well, to keep our energy levels up. It was just about the nicest cheesecake Ive ever had!



No sooner did we order, then the skies opened up and it poured and poured for about 10 minutes. Then it cleared up again and we never saw another drop of rain. When we felt rested enough, we set about trying to find the ticket counter for the domes, lined up, freaked out at how much it was to get in ($28 each), and bought our tickets.

To be continued...

 

[CaliBear]

Great photos! I've put off going into the domes at GbtB because of the price. I keep hoping they'll do a promotion or something. Looking forward to seeing how it was inside!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Fantastic! Love the look of the gardens.

 

[zanzibar138]

Great photos! I've put off going into the domes at GbtB because of the price. I keep hoping they'll do a promotion or something. Looking forward to seeing how it was inside!

I'm sure you're already aware of this, but they do discounted rates for locals - $20pp. Also, they DID happen to have some sort of promotion on while we were there, and we only paid $48 Not sure if it's still on though, or if there's any further discounts to the local residents price. They're definitely worth seeing though, especially the Cloud Forest

Fantastic! Love the look of the gardens.

The whole area looked amazing - I was pretty disappointed we didn't get to spend more time there. They do a light show at the Supertree Grove at night time, which we didn't get to see. Will definitely be re-visiting next time we're in Singy

 

[Aussie Wendy]

I am noting down the temple for a future visit as I am sure we'll be stopping over there again one day in the future. I missed the elephant. Even though we had longer I still felt like I could have gone back and spent more time exploring the gardens and Flower Dome as that was rushed. Looks like you had a very busy but enjoyable break.

Yaay for Platinum - I am impressed!
(at work too long loading to add smilies but pretend lots of thumbs up are there!)

 

[zanzibar138]

I am noting down the temple for a future visit as I am sure we'll be stopping over there again one day in the future. I missed the elephant. Even though we had longer I still felt like I could have gone back and spent more time exploring the gardens and Flower Dome as that was rushed. Looks like you had a very busy but enjoyable break.

Yaay for Platinum - I am impressed!
(at work too long loading to add smilies but pretend lots of thumbs up are there!)

Yes it was quite busy, but very enjoyable I much prefer to keep fairly busy on holidays - no point in going all that way just to sit around!

 

[zanzibar138]

I thought we should start with the Flower Dome. We were tiring quickly by this time, and I suspected that the Cloud Forest Dome would have enough novelty factor to perk us up. These couple of posts will be photo heavy and are fairly self explanatory.

The Flower Dome is set up with various gardens representing the plants from different parts of the world, with an open space for rotating exhibitions. The gardens have smatterings of sculptures among them, and there are plenty of information cards explaining the various points of interest.

The first garden we explored was the Cactus & Succulent Garden. This was a bit different in that it had desert plants from all over the world in one garden. As some of you may be aware, I am slightly obsessed with desert landscapes, so it turned out to be my favourite.

I loved how they worked with the sculptural qualities of the plants and some artwork to imitate an undersea environment at the very start of the garden.







There was a balcony area overlooking the ground floor.





Back to the cacti&



This sculpture was called Simba.





I loved the plants from Madagascar  its a place Im very keen to visit in the next couple of years.



View from the entrance area, taking in both levels of the dome.



The first garden going down the ramp was the Australian Garden. Obviously we didnt feel the need to spend too much time here.



Next up was the South African Garden. I was also familiar with most of the plants there, so it didnt take long to get through.





The South American Garden was a bit more interesting, with a few plants I dont see every day.





The Mediterranean and Californian Gardens were kind of combined  I couldnt quite figure out where one ended and the next started. They were generally pretty similar anyway, and again, pretty normal for me.

Having said that, I did enjoy seeing these massive old olive trees.



But the pot plants and flowers werent much of a novelty.





I liked the way they structured the palms so that they formed a canopy.



We had nearly finished our tour of the Flower Dome. We only had the open area to go. It looked like it was Indian themed, with heaps of pretty flowers kind of arranged by colour.













I enjoyed spending time in here, and there were some interesting and pretty things to see, but as most of it was pretty familiar to me, and we were pretty tired, it wasnt worth spending too much time on. For anyone interested, there is also a café in this dome.

It was time to move on.

To be continued...

 

[zanzibar138]

Upon entry to the Cloud Forest Dome, you are immediately greeted with the cool mist from the massive indoor waterfall.



The ‘mountain’, similar to the Supertrees, was like a giant hanging garden.



I should point out now that my photos are not just bad quality – the Cloud Forest is actually in a generated ‘cloud’. Similar to the Flower Dome, there were sculptures and other points of interest here and there.



To get to the top of the ‘mountain’, you go up a lift to a little landing area.



Then up a little set of stairs to get right to the top.



There is a little walkway that juts out from the ‘mountain’ and goes around the top. It’s called the Cloud Walk.



This leads to the little viewing platform that you can see in the first photo.



Going down an escalator, you come out in the Crystal Cavern, which leads to the next little walkway, the Treetop Walk.



Up above is the Cloud Walk.



There are little viewing windows all the way through the mountain. Through this one you can see part of the Crystal Cavern.



The exit takes you down through the Secret Garden, right at the base of the ‘mountain’, with a little stream running through it. It was just starting to get dark when we got to this part, and the lights all came on. It made me want to go back to the start and do the whole thing again with the lights!





Unfortunately that was the end of the Cloud Forest Dome, and we exited, thinking about dinner.

It was DH’s idea to head towards the MTR station, and I thought that could be the way to go too. We walked along the waterfront for a bit.





Unfortunately I never got to the see the Supertree Grove all lit up. Next time.



Before we knew it, we were in the vicinity of the Marina Bay Sands, and decided to see if there were any worthwhile eateries in there. As is usually the case when we’re on holidays, we just felt like somewhere casual with local food. We found nowhere suitable in the Marina Bay Sands complex, so we settled on the food court. It was expensive, and the food was not great. Pretty much what we expected. But at least it filled us up, and allowed us the opportunity to sit with a cool drink for a bit before starting the trek back to the hotel. I didn’t take any photos, because we all know what a food court looks like lol!

On the way out, DH was fascinated by this floating soccer field. I have to say, I was a bit impressed too.



We took the helix bridge (or whatever it is called) across the river, and took in the views on the way.





At the end of the bridge I noticed someone setting up his fancy looking camera facing the Marina Bay Sands. I wondered what he was planning to photograph, then I noticed some lasers coming from the museum. Obviously we were not in the right area for the water and light show, but managed to see some cool lighting.





DH had really had enough by this stage, so I wrapped it up, and we headed back to the hotel. It had been a long but enjoyable day. The next day would be our last in Singapore.

 

[CaliBear]

Beautiful, and thanks for sharing! Thanks also for the reminder about the discount.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Fantastic shots of the Garden. Thanks for sharing.

 

[BecBennett]

I also frequent the FF board and have learnt some amazing things, we pretty much only fly business or prem economy now, due to the hints from there.

I've been on FT a couple of times, and always get overwhelmed by it Wish I could wrap my head around it so I could work out how to get PE or business class flights...

Loving the TR Zanzibar

 

[zanzibar138]

Beautiful, and thanks for sharing! Thanks also for the reminder about the discount.

You're welcome

Fantastic shots of the Garden. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks PIO!

I've been on FT a couple of times, and always get overwhelmed by it Wish I could wrap my head around it so I could work out how to get PE or business class flights...

Loving the TR Zanzibar

It is very confusing. I'm glad DH is interested enough to figure it all out lol! It's worth trying though He's just found two more great deals - he's jetting off to Bangkok for New Year in premium economy for less than what an economy ticket would have cost!

 

[zanzibar138]

As it was our last day, and we had no specific plans, we allowed ourselves to sleep in and have a leisurely morning. DH still woke up early, so he went down for brekky on his own. I woke up while he was down there, so I got myself ready for the day and packed my suitcase while I was waiting. When DH came back up he needed to do some work stuff, so I did some facebooking and tripadvising while I was waiting. We were finally ready to head out at midday (which was when we needed to check out anyway).

Since I hadn’t eaten yet, the first priority was finding some lunch. We remembered that our driver from the previous day had pointed out a food court just across from our hotel. We made our way across there (never would have found it if we didn’t know it was there!) and found a couple of meals amongst the many vendors.



I had lemon chicken and rice, which was very yummy, and awesome value for only $2.50. DH tried a fishball noodle soup.



Even though we weren’t flying out until later that night, DH had the idea that we could go to the airport, check in for our flight and get rid of our suitcases, then be free to explore without having to worry about being back in time to check in later. I’m not sure if it was worth it or not.

We picked our bags up from the hotel, did our last walk to the train station, and made our way to the airport. It probably took 45 minutes all up. The whole time I was unconvinced that we would actually be able to check in so early, but we managed to find an early check-in counter and got rid of our bags. We also found a bag drop for our carry on bags so that we wouldn’t have to lug them around with us either.

After much confusion and pondering the map, we decided to make our way back to the bayfront area and see what happened. It was pouring with rain when we left the airport, but luckily it had stopped raining by the time we exited the train station (especially because my umbrella was in our safely stowed away carry on bag).

We made our way towards the river, and thought we’d follow that around for a bit, on the lookout for a nice looking bar or somewhere to stop for a drink along the way. Right near the river was the Fullerton Hotel, which I believe used to be the post office.





We crossed the Cavenagh Bridge and took in the views of the river.







We felt like we were on the wrong side of the river, so we crossed again a bit further down. This brought us out in the Merlion Park area. I’m not sure what the big deal is with this merlion, but there was a massive line to get out on the viewing deck to take photos. I just got a photo from a different angle.



This guy was trying to get a photo of his friend where it looked like he was drinking the water coming out of the fountain. He looked like a bit of a dill lol!



There was a great view of the Marina Bay Sands from here.



We walked further along the waterfront.



We eventually found a bar, and ordered some drinks.



And some very funny looking nachos, which came with sliced olives, and fondue style melted cheese on the side…



After a couple of rounds of drinks, and some hot chips, we had to say goodbye to Singapore and make our way back to the airport. As we had already checked in, we just had to get our carry on bags back, then get through customs. I was very surprised that we didn’t have to go through security!

We found one of the famous gardens – the cacti one!





We had another drink (there was a bar in the garden), then made our way to the gate. It turned out that we went through security at the gate.

The flight was fairly uneventful. DH was impressed with premium economy, and it was definitely more comfortable than economy. I got a bit motion sick, so unfortunately it wasn’t that comfortable for me. I tried to sleep, but every time I closed my eyes my head started spinning, so I made good use of my entertainment unit. I finally managed to see The Lone Ranger. Time actually went quite quickly all things considered, and soon we were landing in Sydney.