I’m glad that I planned the order of each stop in the way that I did – Korea, then Singapore, then Dubai – and not the other way round as it’ll give us a chance to step up the heat and the humidity slowly to get use to it.
I forgot how hot and humid Singapore can get but I really enjoyed our first day here.
Touring Singapore by bus
We has decided that the best way to get our bearings in the city was to take on of the open top bus tours but, rather than hopping on and hopping off, to take it for the entire loop and to see as much as we could in one go – leaving as much time for exploring as possible.
There are a couple of operators that you can pick but we decided to go with Big Bus Tours as they seemed the best option. Their departure point is Suntec City which is not far from Raffles Hotel – one of the main things my Mum wanted to come to Singapore to see – and so I surprised Mum with a walk past the hotel on the way from the bus stop to Suntec City.
There are two loops that you can take with Big Bus Tours. One focuses on the downtown area and one focuses on the outer areas such as the Botanical Gardens and Orchard Road. We weren’t sure if we were going to do both loops on the same day, or if we were going to do one today and one tomorrow, so decided to start with the downtown loop as this would be more useful in getting our bearings in the city.
The Red Route
The bus departed shortly after we got on board and we were lucky enough to get the seats right at the back of the bus, meaning that we could look out the back to see the sights as well as out of the side of bus.
The route took us through many of the main parts of the city starting with Little India before heading to Kampong Glam, City Hall, Boat Quay, and Chinatown with intermediate stops along the way. It then slowly headed back to the starting point taking in Marina Bay as it did.
I’m not generally a fan of these open top tourist buses as I prefer to do things on my own but this did give us a good overview of the layout of the city, helped us get our bearings, and helped us narrow down some of the things that we would like to do.
From the elevated vantage point we also had a great view of the works that were being done get the city back to normal after last week’s Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix. The roads were mostly opened up but many of the stands that weren’t in the way, parts of the track barriers, and the pit lane were all still set up. I used to watch the Formula 1 a lot when I was growing up so it was interesting to see – no way could I have afforded to be here last week with the prices that everything would have been!
The route was short, at just over an hour, but was a good introduction to Singapore.
When we arrived back at Suntec City we decided that we would do both routes on the same day. The Yellow route was ready to depart but we decided to head into the shopping centre to grab a coffee first, opting instead to be first in line for the next one in 30 minutes so that we could grab the back seat again.
The Yellow Route
The Yellow Route was slightly longer than the Red Route, at just over 90 minutes, but it got out of the city centre. After first heading to the Gardens by the Bay it passed the Merlion, City Hall, and Fort Canning Park before heading out to the Botanic Gardens via the Orchard area.
The bus does go right into the Botanic Gardens so you can just jump off here if you want to explore, but we wanted to take the full loop and then come back again in our own time to spend a couple of hours looking around.
On the way back into the city the bus goes down Orchard Road before passing the National Museum of Singapore, the Art Gallery, and Raffles Hotel on its way back to Suntec City.
A late lunch at Raffles Hotel
We decided to jump off at Raffles Hotel for a quick look around and a bite to eat. We’ll be back tomorrow for afternoon tea but this seemed like a good opportunity to check out the Courtyard restaurant – luckily there was a table available but they could only give it to us for an hour due to a later reservation.
This was enough time for us, as we only wanted a quick meal, and we ordered a range of light bites to share including samosas and satays along with a couple of Kir Royales to drink.
The food was expensive for what it was but the Courtyard had a great atmosphere and we enjoyed our time in this historic hotel.
Like many restaurants, service was great up until you want to pay but then we had trouble getting the attention of the waiters to ask for the bill. So did the table next to us, prompting one of them to question whether you needed to head up to the counter to pay – to which her husband replied “I don’t think it’s that sort of establishment” which made me and Mum laugh.
A few minutes later the table on the other side was served and we were able to ask for the bill, making sure we were out within the time that was given to us.
Gardens by The Bay
After leaving Raffles we jumped on a local bus to take us to Gardens by The Bay where we spent a couple of hours walking around and enjoying the scenery. Singapore is, of course, a city state but they’ve tried hard to have some green outdoor spaces for people like this and it’s definitely worth a visit if you have time.
If you feel so inclined you can head inside a couple of biodomes that contain a cloud forest, but we decided to forego the entry fee and look at the free gardens outside which were more than enough.
It had been a long day so after spending a couple of hours walking around the gardens we jumped on a bus back to the hotel to freshen up for a bit before making our way back into the city for dinner.
When I travel I don’t often make use of local buses, as they’re not usually the most useful mode of transportation for where I want to go – or they take too long. However, in Singapore, they’re frequent, don’t get stuck in traffic so much, and seem to go everywhere that you need to go with only a short walk at either end so we’ll probably end up using them more than the metro.
Dinner and drinks alongside the river
It was still a little early for dinner when we got back into the centre so we explored around the Clarke Quay area for a little while before grabbing a drink at a bar that was right on the river and which had amazing views.
While we were at the bar it started to rain very slightly so most people ran inside but we stayed outside because we were enjoying the view, and because it wasn’t that hard. It stopped after a while anyway, so we stayed for a second drink because we were enjoying ourselves so much.
In Singapore the rain can be unpredictable, and the weather forecast can change every hour, so it’s best to just be prepared for all eventualities. That way you won’t be disappointed even if it starts raining.
Dinner tonight was at an Italian restaurant overlooking the river where I went for my standard four cheese pizza. Not exactly Asian cuisine, but we really liked the look of it and we will be here for another 5 nights anyway so there’s plenty of opportunity to try lots of local food.
We got back to the hotel pretty late tonight, and it’s after 11 now. It has been a long day but, as we took it easy and took lots of stops, it didn’t seem so bad despite the humidity.
We have lots planned for tomorrow too including a very special experience.