April 12, 2015

Easter Holiday in Singapore

Hope you all had a great Easter and a lovely break with family and friends. I sure did! If you follow me on Instagram (if you don't, I suggest you do) then you'll know that I've been in Singapore for the last week and a half with one of my girlfriend's for a break of food, shopping and relaxation. 

I've been to Singapore many times, mainly as a small stop over or a fly through, but haven't done the whole tourist thing for probably over 10 years. So this time, and also because it was my friend's first time into Singapore, we decided to spend a bit longer here so that she could see and experience the sights, sounds and flavours of Singapore. 

We didn't spend the whole time in Singapore; we broke up the trip and made a side trip to Bintan Island, Indonesia, for three days of resort living to soak in some sun, sand and massages. I wrote a separate post about our time on Bintan Island which can be read here
The stunning beach on Bintan Island
Singapore doesn't have a lot to do but 5 days here you can seriously pack in quite a bit and really embrace yourself into the various Asian cultures that make up Singapore. It is pretty easy to get around Singapore via their public transport system; we mainly travelled on the MRT (their train network) and the cost to get from place to place is on average 0.90 cents (totally cheap!) and if you have to get a taxi then even they are cheap here!

Cereal Prawn
There are some highlights of Singapore that is worth experiencing and my number one recommendation is experiencing the food culture that Singapore has to offer. Singapore is made up of Chinese, Malays, Indians, Caucasians and Eurasians and other Asians of different origins which means the variety and options are plenty. Singapore is famous for their chilli mud crab, Hainanese chicken rice, roti and my new favourite, cereal prawn.

A very good friend of mine lives in Singapore and every time I come I always will catch up with him and his beautiful girlfriend. During this visit, as always, he met up with us and took us out for dinner at Clark Quay where many restaurants, nightclubs and bars are surrounding this waterfront. We had an amazing array of food which consisted of chilli mud crab with man tao (asian bread to dip in the sauce), cereal prawns, aromatic duck (also served with asian bao) and asian greens (to be healthy).

Aromatic duck and the man tao (steamed and fried versions)
The famous Singapore chilli mud crab
To really experience Singapore's amazing food culture you have to go to their many hawker centres which is like a massive food court offering a variety of food stalls. There you'll get to tasty many different cuisines and dishes for the cost of a coffee! Many dishes there cost around $3 - $5 so you can grab a few to try. The one that we went to which serves more local food is Lau Pat Sat
Some tasty food that you can get at many of the Hawker Centres
Ice cream in a slice of rainbow bread that you can find on the streets
Singapore Zoo would have to be my favourite zoo as it's the one zoo that I know that doesn't have cages (at least for 98% of the animals) as they have designed it in a way that the animals cannot come out and human can't go within. We had a special Jungle Breakfast with the Orang Utans that you can organise at the zoo. It's a buffet breakfast so that is plenty of options and then they bring out the Orang Utans to join you for breakfast and the keepers provide you with a history of them and what they get up to and enjoy. The best bit is that during the breakfast is that you get to get up close and personal with the Orang Utans and get a photo with them. Amazing! 

Restaurant where the buffet breakfast is served

To have breakfast with the Orang Utans, you had to book online. I would suggest getting in early as it gets booked out. It costs $33 pp (adults) and $23 pp (children 6 - 12 years old) for the buffet breakfast with the Orang Utans and $32 pp (adults) and $21 pp (children 3 - 12 years old) entry into the zoo. After breakfast you can then spend the rest of the day at the zoo exploring all the other animals and attending some of shows; which for me I had to attend the Elephants of Asia show. Elephants are my favourites so I couldn't miss that show.

Mother and baby Orang Utan enjoying breakfast with us
Baby Orang Utan chilling out and being cute during breakfast
Elephants of Asia show
Chinatown and Little India are a couple of places worth experiencing. I found Chinatown more fun and interesting with a lot more to do and see. Little India was a great place to go to if you really want to buy a sari dress and gold. Chinatown had markets to explore and traditional foods to try.

You haven't been to Singapore if you haven't been to Raffles Hotel for a Singapore Sling; the original Singapore Sling. So of course we made a trip to Raffles Hotel, to Long Bar, where the original Singapore Sling was invented. I'm not really a cocktail girl so we ordered one for my friend and I had a whisky. The hotel is beautiful and kept in its traditional 1920's style and the service is fabulous; the bar staff are quick to attend to you and will offer to take your photos with the famous cocktail in hand.
With my whisky at Long Bar, Raffles Hotel, Singapore
Laneways or Arab St is another place you should experience while in Singapore. Not only is it the place to go get some amazing Arab food but the laneways has some unique boutiques to explore and some great street art. You can wonder through the streets and just explore the different stores and cafes. Arab St also has many fabric stores so if you're after some beautiful fabrics, I would suggest going there. 


Haji Lane (parallel to Arab St), Singapore, with many boutique stores to explore 
Colourful wall art along Haji Lane, Singapore
Marina Bay Sands is also another place to visit especially if you're a shop-a-holic and a shop-a-holic of high-end fashion brands. Here you'll find the likes of Alexander McQueen, Kate Spade, Channel and Dole & Gabbana, just to name a few. Whilst there we treated ourselves to high tea at TWG Tea, the world's finest tea. 
One of the many TWG Tea places where you can enjoy high tea or lunch
We were provided with the tea menu and no joke, there was seriously, thousands and thousands of different teas to choose from. Not being a true tea drinker, it was like stepping into a unknown planet! Feeling a little under pressure to choose a tea, I fittingly choose a tea under the heading "day time tea" assuming that you drink these tea during the day!


Preparing for our tasty high tea
Singapore's Merlion

Sentosa is a little island that is part of Singapore and is a short tram ride or cable car ride across. We took a cab to Faber Peak to get the cable car across to Sentosa. At Faber Peak you can view the city of Singapore and from there get the Superhero themed cable car to Sentosa which crosses through a building and provides a stinging 360 view of the southern precinct. There are plenty of things to do at Sentosa so it does warrant either a full or half day there. If you have kids then it would have to be the perfect place to go to as there is a movie world there with activities and a (man-made) beach there were you can enjoy and relax.



Superhero cable car from Faber Peak to Sentosa
This time round I have experienced and viewed Singapore in a different light and I would happily say that I'll be more than happy to come back and spend a few days here; mainly for some light shopping and the food.

Thank you Singapore (and Bintan Island)…until next time.

Jo x  

Where we stayed?
While in Singapore we stayed at:
Orchard Hotel Singapore
It's located on Orchard Rd and the closes MRT is Orchard MRT. I totally recommend this hotel for anyone as it was comfortable, modern, friendly staff and very central to everywhere you need to go to in Singapore. 

April 08, 2015

Hello From Bintan Island, Indonesia

As the title calls, "hello from Bintan Island", I'm writing this post from the island itself! This is our third day here and seriously my first time on the laptop to write a post in what seems to be a while. About a week ago, a friend and I travelled to Singapore for a holiday of sightseeing and to enjoy the culinary delights Singapore has to offer.

We've since taken a side trip to Bintan Island, Indonesia. It's only a simple 50 minutes ferry ride from Singapore. I'll write a separate post about the amazing Singapore trip later but for now I wanted to share my time on Bintan Island with you. 

Bintan Island is part of Indonesia and as I mentioned before, it is only a simple 50 minutes ferry ride from Singapore so it's a fabulous and easy side trip for anyone going to Singapore and wanting something a little different. This is the first time to Bintan Island for me and I only came across it because of advice from friends and to break-up the Singapore trip I had planned.

We're staying at the Bintan Lagoon Resort which is about a 30 minutes drive from the ferry terminal when you arrive. The resort is nice but personally, nothing too flash; however, it does have everything that you need. The decor is still very much in the 70's and 80's - some updating to the decor could be done but I guess that is what the charm is about this place. The staff here, however, are very friendly and are always there to assist with anything you may need or not even need. 

Our private beach - bliss!
The resort is pretty much on the other side of the island from where the ferry lands so you are a little further away from the main town/village and the downfall is that they don't provide a shuttle bus that goes from the hotel to the main village. To get there you would need to get a taxi which would cost the equivalent of approximately $50 AUS for a round trip (a little expensive). However, there are 12 restaurants, bars and cafes so you do have plenty of options to choose from including two pools, the private beach, beach activities including kayaking, gym, activities for adults and children and even a karaoke bar!


One of two pools available at the resort
It has been great being here just lounging around by the pool and beach, reading and just generally relaxing and recharging the energy. Today we treated ourselves to a 2 hour body de-stress message at the Aroma River Spa which is a 50 minutes drive from our resort. Yes, we could have had a massage at our resort but Aroma River Spa provides a better value and the cost includes lunch and transport to and from. So, it was a nice treat to get away from our resort for the day and experience another part of Bintan Island. 




The massage was amazing; starting off with choosing the salt scrub, the aroma oil for the massage and a tasty lime and masala ice tea you're instantly relaxed and prepared for the next two hours of bliss! After the amazing massage we were treated to a boat ride through the mangroves, arriving to where our tasty lunch was being served with a giant coconut water! 





Our amazing and delicious lunch
Stolling along the beautiful beach
Ahhhh, I'm feeling all relaxing and my skin is feeling soft like a baby's bottom! A delicious dinner will end this day perfectly. 

Jo x