Singapore - October 2024
Travel to Singapore
October 5, 2024
Our adventure to Singapore began on October 5th, when we flew from Raleigh, NC to Newark, NJ, where we spent the night at the Embassy Suites by the airport. John’s friend and work mate, Kush, came to the hotel, where we had a nice visit and dinner.
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Table of Contents
Newark to Singapore Flight
October 6 & 7, 2024
The next morning we took the shuttle from the hotel to the airport, where, after checking in through security, we had breakfast before boarding Singapore Airlines flight SQ21 from Newark to Singapore. A long 18-hour flight (the longest in the world). Leaving at about 9:45 am on the 6th and arriving in Singapore at about 4:15 pm on the 7th. There was a 12-hour difference in time zones.
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Conrad Centennial Singapore Hotel
Going through customs at the Singapore Changi Airport was a breeze and we took a taxi from the airport to our hotel, The Conrad Centennial Singapore. This was a beautiful hotel, and we were treated like royalty. The first night slippers were provided and they always kept us supplied with water. We had access to their Executive Lounge, where we had most of our meals for no extra cost. Although the fair was limited, it worked for us and saved us on buying most of our meals. On the 7th, after arriving at the hotel, we did some exploring around the hotel and retired early.
The following photos include photos of the outside of the building, the lobby and public areas, our room and views from the windows from our room and from the executive lounge.
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Long Bar at the Raffles Hotel in Singapore
The next morning, Tuesday, October 9th, we walked to the Long Bar at the famous Raffles Hotel, (about 1.9 km/ 1.18 miles from the hotel) where John had their famous Singapore sling. I wimped out and just had a coke. We then explored the historic hotel, which was interesting and impressive.
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The Singapore Flyer
We then walked to the Singapore Flyer (about 1.3 km / .81 miles) one of the largest observation wheels in the world. We had breathtaking views of Marina Bay and the city from one of the Singapore Flyer’s capsules. These capsules are about the size of a city bus and hold up to 28 passengers, but we picked a great time, because we had the capsule all to ourselves. Although the day was a bit cloudy, we had spectacular views of the city and got lots of photos.
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Marina Bay Sands Hotel, Casino and Shopping Mall
We then took a taxi to the Marina Bay Sands Hotel where we explored the hotel and the shopping area. We entered the Casino for a quick look at what that offered, although we didn’t play. Just a couple of looky-loos. The mall was huge, and it took us quite a while to find our way out. We walked for over an hour, maybe more. We ended up just where we wanted to be at the Bay Quay where we boarded the River Boat Cruise!
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Singapore River Boat Cruise
We then took about a 40-minute night river boat cruise from the Bayfront, a scenic cruise that showcases the natural beauty of the Singapore River. The tour took us out of the Bay Front and down the picturesque shops along Boat Quay. We saw grand bridges of Singapore and some of the country’s iconic sights and architecture.
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Dinner at The Black Tap
After the river cruise, we stopped at The Black Tap Restaurant located in the Marina Bay Sands Shopping area, for dinner. John got a kick out of a section on the Beer menu “Old School & Mexican Beers: Budweiser, Corona, Heneken and Pabst Blue Ribbon”.
After dinner we took a taxi back to the hotel. (Later we would figure out their MRT, their mass transit train, would take us to and from the Marina Bay Sands from only a short distance from our hotel.)
A very full day where we got in the most steps (over 17,000). And yes, it was hot and muggy, but we did good.
The following photos are various photos we took walking around the city, a snack in the executive lounge and our dinner at the Black Tap.
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A Tour Around Singapore
On Wednesday, October 9th, after breakfast in the executive lounge, we hired a car to take us around specific spots in the city, which included:
- Merlion Park where we got some nice photos of the Merlion and of the Marina Bay Sands across the bay.
- A short stop at Gardens By The Bay, an urban park spanning 260 acres. We didn’t see the whole gardens but just made a quick stop for a few photo ops. John stopped in Starbucks for a mug before heading out.
- The Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall where there was a statue of Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles, the founder of contemporary Singapore (he secured control over Singapore from local rulers in 1819).
- Drove down Joo Chiat Road and stopped at the “Hat of Cain” where John bought himself a new hat!
- A drive through Little India.
- A stop at Kampong Glam, an interesting shopping district with unique shops right up to the sidewalk.
- A stop in Chinatown for lunch at one of the famous food courts, called Hawker Centers. A crazy busy but cheap place to eat local cuisine. Outside of the Center, we paid $S2 for a cup of fresh squeezed Orange Juice out of a vending machine. So good!
- A stop at Fort Canning Park. In the 14th century the royal palace of ancient Malay rulers stood on the summit of this once “Forbidden Hill”. This is also where Lieutenant-General Arthur Percival decided to surrender to the Japanese during WWII.
Photos of our tour around Singapore
Merlion Park
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Gardens By The Bay
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The Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall
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Hat of Cain
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Kampong Glam
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China Town and Hawker Center
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Fort Canning Park
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Photos Driving Around the City
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Sunset In The Sky
After returning to the hotel for a short rest, we took a taxi to the Marina Bay Sands Hotel, where we joined in their “Sunset in the Sky” event at the SkyPark Observation Deck on the 57th floor. This was a fun experience with priority access (no wait for the elevators). There were about 5 couples in the group and it included Priority Access to the SkyPark Observation Deck, exclusive seating area for the most stunning views, Chocolates by Wolfgang Puck & Champagne, a personalized premium photobook, and an exclusive guided tour of the SkyPark Observation Deck.
Although we got some rain (they provided us with umbrellas during this time), it only lasted a few minutes and didn’t impact the event at all. We were there from about 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm, so we got to see the views as the sun set and into the night. A fun experience.
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The MRT to the Jewel Changi Airport
On Thursday, October 10th, and our 3rd day, we took the MRT to the Jewel Changi Airport. This was an interesting and fun experience. Their mass transit is very clean and people were very polite. It took maybe four changes of trains to get there, but John said “follow the folks with suitcases!” That worked. At the airport we saw the famous Rain Vortex waterfalls and had a nice lunch at Poulet Bijou Restaurant.
Later that day, John took the MRT to Marina Bay Sands shops to purchase coffee from Bacha Coffee. He had seen a store of theirs at the airport. From the hotel MRT station, he thought it was the 2nd stop “Marina Bay”, but when he exited the train and got above ground he realized he should have gotten off at the 1st stop “Bayside”. It was about a ½ mile walk back to the Marina Bay complex. The weather was not super hot, so he elected to walk. He finally located the coffee store and bought 3 varieties to gift to Toni, Jeff and Mia for taking care of our sweet cat Eliott.
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Mastafa Centre and Lunch at the Hotel
On Friday, the fourth day we took the MRT to the Farrer Park MRT and from there walked to the Mastafa Centre (about 543 meters / 1/3 mile). The Mastafa Centre is located in the Little India district. A cult favorite in the Singaporean shopping scene, it’s the best place to go if you’re after a bargain. It’s said to be 4 times the size of one of our Walmarts. The layout was a bit confusing and the aisles were narrow. After getting a bit lost we found what we were looking for (a battery pack). Then walked back to the MRT to return to our hotel.
We spent the rest of the day relaxing and splurged on a lunch at the Lobby Lounge in the hotel, where John had “Singapore Laksa”, very tasty and Pat had a grilled cheese.
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The next day was Cruise Day! Saliling out of Singapore to Long Beach California. I will be doing a separate post on the cruise, coming soon.