Singapore on the Way to Japan and Back

Hi friends, and happy Friday! Today I’m doing my first travel recap, and I thought I’d cover Singapore. We spent roughly 20 hours there on the way to Japan. And about 15 hours on the way back, I think that’s right. But I have to admit, the time difference and catching red-eye flights to and from our destinations had me all sorts of confused.

Anyway, we definitely spent enough time to explore, discover and enjoy some amazing sights. We booked hotel rooms so we had somewhere to shower and leave our things, but sleep was not on our agenda. So, although we may have been walking zombies, we still made the most of every minute.

So I thought today I would just share all about Singapore. Hope this makes sense.

This is trip number two for our group of 7. Just like our USA trip, we travelled with my husband, younger son, and my cousin, her husband and their two teenage kids. The magnificent 7, haha.

Singapore on the Way to Japan

We “stayed” right near Changi Airport at YOTEL

The room reminded me of a space capsule. Nice fluro lights, aye!

We had a quick shower and changed into some cooler clothes because, oh my goodness, the humidity! I will never complain about the humidity we get here in Sydney again because Singapore is on a whole other level.

Changi Airport sure is beautiful!

It was bright and sunny, and our first stop was Gardens by the Bay.

So far, so good, and my keratin-treated hair was working hard to stay relatively smooth in the overwhelming humidity.

Then it got cloudier and cloudier.

Until it started raining on and off for the rest of the day.

We kept going and ended up in Chinatown street market.

We actually met up with a friend of Sam’s who lives in Singapore but spent a year in Sydney, where he met Sam through mutual friends. He was a lovely guy and showed us around.

I asked him if the humidity was always like this, and he said it felt pretty much like this all year round, which was one of the things he didn’t love about Singapore. He said he missed Australia.

We had the most delicious Hainanese chicken rice right here at Tian Tian, where Anthony Bourdain also visited.

After lunch, we kept exploring and found a shop dedicated to Tintin. I’m not quite sure how Tintin is associated with Singapore, but it was a great shop!

Next stop–a visit to a temple.

Then I found a shop that sold foldable rain hats, and I was very happy!

That was a wrap on our first day in Singapore, and the next few photos are from our return trip after we had visited Japan.

Singapore on Our Way Home

We stayed at YOTEL, but this one was on Orchard Road, and in the foyer, there was a robot cleaner. I had to take a photo of it because its name was Yolanda. My cousin and I are related to an aunt called Yolanda, who was very strict, clean and tidy, so we thought it was funny.

This time our group split up — some went to the pool, others had a business meeting, and Steve, Sam and I went to tick off Steve’s bucket list wish of eating Singapore chilli crab.

According to Google, The Fullerton Hotel in Singapore served up one of the best chilli crab spots. Well, the crab was delicious, but I can’t say the staff were very friendly; they were a bit on the snobby side. But oh well, we had a lovely time.

Now this was our first time eating a whole crab, and when they served it up, it looked amazing but very daunting. All I could think was how on earth we were going to eat this and not look like cave people.

I started googling and searching YouTube frantically, and it confirmed what I suspected. You just had to go for it with your hands, sauce and all. Luckily, we were given aprons. But they failed to tell us about the gloves.

When we arrived at the restaurant as eager beavers, we were the first customers. After a while, other diners came in, and we overheard the nicer waiter explaining to the couple next to us that they could use the gloves the restaurant supplied.

Well, it was too late by then. We had sauce all over us, and Steve was tucking in like there was no tomorrow. And oh my goodness, we looked down and saw the gloves on our table still neatly in their packets. We had all assumed they were wet wipes.

So messy, and look at the tablecloth! I felt better when I looked around, and everyone’s tablecloth looked the same. Phew!

After lunch, we stopped to look at the view outside the restaurant. There was a dragon spouting water nearby, and it must have been famous because it was so crowded, with people filming themselves doing unusual things. I’m not sure what that was all about, so we moved a bit further away from the chaos and took some photos.

Then we walked about 20 minutes to a waffle place.

We went back to the hotel, where Steve had a nap, Sam went to the pool, and although I could have easily curled up and fallen asleep, I thought no way! Sleeping is for the plane; Singapore is for shopping. I raced out to find the nearest shopping centre.

The shopping centre was called ION, and I had Google Maps guiding me. My sense of direction, even with Google Maps, is interesting.

I was looking for Zara as I had seen a few people carrying Zara bags. Then I turned a corner and gasped out loud when I saw a Massimo Dutti shop!

We don’t have them over here, and I’ve seen so many of their clothes on Instagram that I love. I had actually looked up the website once, but the shipping fees were astronomical!

I bought a top and cropped pants that cost way too much, especially taking into account that the Singapore dollar is stronger than the Aussie dollar. But there were no shipping fees, so I actually saved money, right?

Then it was time to head back to the hotel, and even with Google Maps, I still couldn’t figure out how to get out of the shopping centre, as I couldn’t remember which way or level I had come in. I had 6 per cent battery left on my phone. I thought if I never find my way again, at least I got to shop at Massimo Dutti.

A nice security guard pointed me in the right direction. There was a huge building between me and the hotel, so I just kept using it as my reference point the whole way back as I zigzagged through the confusing streets.

I made it back, and nobody had even missed me, haha! They were all happily doing their own thing. I had a shower and then we made plans as a group to go and see Singapore at night before we had to be at the airport at 11 pm.

We stopped at the incredibly fancy Atlas Bar for some cocktails and a cheese platter.

Then onto CHIJMES, which was used as a filming location for Crazy Rich Asians. It’s such a beautiful old building now filled with restaurants and bars, but you can see why they used it. It has that really grand, romantic feel and was one of the wedding scene locations in the movie.

My cousin told me all of this as we walked around. Although I have seen the movie, I couldn’t really remember, as it was a long time ago. It’s on my rewatch list now.

We finished with a Singapore Sling.

Then back to the gardens for a nighttime pic.

I think by then I had gone 24 hours without any proper sleep, but it was so worth it!

And that’s what we got up to in Singapore. I’ll be back to recap the time in between, which is all about the amazing experiences and places we saw in Japan. Thanks so much for stopping by!