Flashback Friday Travel 33 – Singapore

2012 was one of those years – everything was amazing, everything seemed to be pretty darn perfect.  Not just the holidays – and there were a few – but the whole country was smiling – first for the Queen’s Jubilee and then for Olympics and Paralympics, and the sun shone too.  The UK was absolutely buzzing and it was impossible not to have a great time.  I’m looking forward to the next few iterations of my flashback series as it will take us through the epic year, starting with Singapore.

Singapore is a perfect place for a city break, and in fact it is the only city I have visited that I could really see myself living in – safe and clean yet vibrant, varied and ‘fit for purpose’ it is too.  We were there for just a few days – Mr P was there with the Clipper Race so I flew in to join him near the end of the business trip.  We had 3 days once work was finished – plenty of time to see the main sites as my article on A Luxury Travel Blog explains.

The trip started well – having boarded my flight and found my seat in economy was next to 2 small children whose parents were across the aisle, I was so thankful that the cabin services director approached me… ‘Mrs Parker may I take your bags’, he said, or something to that effect.  Happily this was a case of life being about who I knew and I was delivered to the final business class seat on the plane where I tucked in to fizz, film and sleep.  12 happy hours of flat-bed recovery and I was nicely rested after a busy time at work!  The strangest thing about the flight – BA wake everyone up for breakfast at about 5pm local time, so I duly ate my breakfast, then got a taxi to Mr P and had a glass of wine… Random and confusing for sure!

Acclimatisation was easy – based in a marina cafe I read my book and drank coffee whilst coping with the heat and humidity.  As expected – there was a wonderful leaving ceremony for the boats and plenty of parties and jollity.  After we moved out of the work accommodation we stayed at the luxury boutique Naumi hotel which, and I still believe, was an incredible find.  Small and personal hotels aren’t easy to find in Singapore so this was a gem – not only was the service friendly and the room peaceful, relaxing and stunning, but the rooftop bar and pool was quite incredible.  The view looks over to Marina Bay Sands and the CBD and down on Raffles – a good location to see the city and not far from transport connections either!

There is such variation to the architecture.  There is an incredible amount of new development and quirky is an understatement.  There is plenty going up all over the place too – Gardens by the Bay was just in build in 2012 as you can see.  There is plenty of colonial architecture and history in amongst the hi-tech development.  I didn’t realise quite what an important shipping centre Singapore is – but look out to sea and there are literally hundreds of ships waiting to dock.

If I am going to fall for a city then it needs greenery and quiet space – there is plenty to be found in Singapore.  The botanical gardens are stunning, we spent a relaxing afternoon pottering around enjoying the smells and fresh air.  The ‘cool house’ was thankfully just that – a favourite, and the orchid garden was beautiful.

As well as the gardens, there is also a tropical island – Sentosa – which is just a train ride away from the city (and I think now home to some luxury hotels).  It isn’t quite paradise (and the view is somewhat broken up with ships) but it a lovely beach a matter of minutes from the city it is a fantastic way to spend an afternoon.  We came very close to booking a longer stay and heading out to one of the island paradises that are easy to reach from Singapore, we didn’t on this occasion which of course means there will be another visit!

As one would expect for a city blessed with so many high end hotels and big businesses, there are some incredible places to eat.  We treated ourselves to a night at Equinox which is many floors up above the city in the Swissotel Tower (cannily close to Naumi).  Incredible.  Attentive service, an unbeatable view (pay extra for a window seat and wait to watch the light show which plays a few times through an evening) and an all-round fantastic dining experience.  It was actually Mr P’s birthday when we visited, but since he booked the table, the cake came out with my name on it… Still – it made a good photo!

It is all too easy to miss other aspects of the culture by seeing only the new, touristy and central parts of the city.  Make time to go to Little India and China Town.  Incredible colour, smells, temples and food – we loved exploring this part of Singapore and I only wish we had made a little more time for this.  There is such variation to Singapore that there really is an incredible amount to see.

No trip to Singapore would be complete without a Singapore Sling at its home – the Raffles Hotel.  We ended our trip here before getting a taxi to the airport. Granted they aren’t actually that nice tasting and they certainly aren’t cheap.  But it is all about the experience and one that we very much enjoyed (although had a different 2nd drink of course).  Another part of the history is to crack peanut shells onto the floor, the floor of the bar is simply covered in nut cases!

A fantastic city to spend a few days, either in its own right as a destination as we did, or as a jumping off place for an island paradise nearby (which we will do one day I promise you).  A city that you might expect to be all new but which has incredible diversity of culture, attractions and history.  A fascinating place.