What to expect on a long weekend in Singapore

Six weeks after arriving in Chongqing, we’ve just got back from our first Asian exploration - four days in sunny Singapore. So now we are back we are obviously armed with all the knowledge and expertise there is on how to survive as a tourist in those sunny climes… Well. Whilst this isn’t entirely accurate, we do have some tips. Here are our key takeaways from our trip to where East meets West:

It is perfectly set up to accommodate short-stay tourists. Something that we were really impressed by was the tourist SIM card that you can buy in 7 Eleven - 100GB data and a load of local calls and texts valid for seven days, for SG$15 (less than £10). All they needed was our passport, and it was great as it meant we could get online, navigate using Google Maps and keep in touch with friends and family as we would normally - this was an especially nice unexpected treat on my birthday! It also meant we were able to download local apps which require text-verification, such as bike-sharing app SG bikes which was much cheaper than hiring bikes from stalls, and Grab, which is a poor-man’s Uber. We were also able to get a three-day public transport travel pass for SG$30, with a $10 refundable deposit. We navigated the city using its metro and buses with no worries about having to buy tickets everywhere we went.

It’s a real expat Disneyland. A combination of Asian culture, cuisine and climate and English language, plug sockets (!) and shops makes Singapore a really, really easy place to be, as both a visitor and a resident. Whilst Singapore does have its own language and culture, you can get everything from Turkish and Indian food in one area, to Hawaiian and Italian food just around the corner, and everyone will greet you in English. A food and drink ban on the metro network ensures even the country’s below-ground lands remains spotless, and the mélange of nationalities and types of people all around was a sight to behold after Chongqing’s lack of diversity. If you’re the type of person who wants to spend some time on a beach, or go cycling on a nearby island, or go hiking, or go shopping in Gucci or Prada, or drink a Singapore Sling on a rooftop bar, or nip over to Malaysia or Bali, then it’s pretty likely you’ll find something you like in Singapore. One of my favourite days was my birthday (I wonder why!), when we hired bikes and cycled the 11km around East Coast Park on the sea front. Palm tree-lined streets made for bikes and pedestrians, spots for BBQing, camping areas, and a few bars and restaurants made it feel worlds away from the corporate shiney-ness of Downtown, and even further away from the hills and terrifying driving you get in Chongqing. We finished off the day with a trip up to rooftop restaurant Artemis Grill where we could watch over the marina as it lit up for the evening, and watch the Gardens by the Bay lights show from above, which was pretty spectacular. The food was also delicious - I would recommend it if you want dinner or drinks with a view. The day after we went to watch the same lights show from the ground, and it is definitely worth doing - 15 minutes of magic akin to those displays Disneyland is so famous for. And on the final evening, we went up to Spago Lounge, at the top of Marina Bay Sands to look over the famous infinity pool and the Singapore skyline (Ce La Vie had a really long queue…). Pretty hot viewing, that’s for sure (even if you did have to look at half naked people whilst you sip your cocktails).

However, whilst it’s easy to put Singapore under the same umbrella as The Happiest Place On Earth, it is actually a pretty unfriendly place for LGBTQ+ people. Same-sex relationships of any kind are not recognised at all and same-sex sexual activity is illegal - laws inherited from the British Empire. Knowing this did take the edge off the country’s Canary Wharf-style sparkle and you have to wonder how long it will remain so.  

It is not cheap. We were lucky enough to stay in the spare room of my ex-colleague Katie’s apartment, who was in the last week of her #183daysaroundAsia from Chicago, and even with that financial relief we were still feeling the heat. We mainly spent money on meals out (not especially fancy ones, mind), and kept our daytime excursions as free as possible. Our most shocking revelation was our evening on Haji Street in the Middle Eastern quarter, where we sat amongst the hustle and bustle of music, dancing and people trying to encourage you into their restaurant. Four 330ml cans of Tiger beer, a portion of falafel, halloumi and two hummus/chicken shawarma dishes plus service came to £86! Ouch. On my birthday we went for brunch which consisted of poached eggs/avocado/salmon on toast, huevas rancheros and two cocktails, which totalled almost £60… and happy hour deals was two pints of Budweiser for £10. Happy-ish. But then you turn around and look at the clear blue water, blue skies and luscious green trees moving in the warm breeze, and it takes the edge off. Slightly.

It is as hot as you’ve heard, and when it rains, it pours. Singapore’s equatorial location means that the sun rises and sets at the same time every day 365 days a year, and the high temperature and humidity doesn’t change much from month to month. We weren’t able to get a real feel for what it might be like to live somewhere with no seasons in just four days, but we did get to dip our toes into the true tropical heat and mugginess of the city. The temperature hit 32 degrees every day we were there, but we didn’t get to experience the true ‘wet heat’ until our last full day, which made doing anything pretty uncomfortable. On this day we visited the stunning Botanical Gardens, walking at snail-pace, and needing ice cream and ice water at every turn. It was sticky, and sweaty, and very uncomfortable. The only answer was to go and find a bar, get some cocktails and a Norwegian salmon poké bowl (one of my highlights from the trip, as anyone who follows my @eatinginchongqing Instagram account will know) and people watch. And as we tucked into said poké bowl, sat on a terrace watching over the city, the heavens opened, the thunder cracked and the lightning flashed. It rained and rained and rained until the moment we got on the plane and began the 4 hour flight back to Chongqing. Even in the rain, the temperature barely dropped, so be prepared to be hot and sweaty pretty much all the time if you visit Singapore!

An awesome first look towards what our future holidays have to offer - and a big shout out to Ash for making my first birthday without multiple celebrations and hundreds of people so memorable. And for fixing the chain on my bike in the scorching heat when it came off a hundred times.

Next stop: Hong Kong!