Singapore - MBS, Long Bar and Gardens by the Bay

Our last day is a short one. We're already at the airport and about to head back to Perth.

Marina Bay Sands

Yesterday we checked into our one day and night at the Marina Bay Sands (MBS) hotel. It's magnificent! The hotel itself is lovely but nothing new, but the views and the infinity pool are something unique.

We enjoyed the infinity pool in the afternoon and at night yesterday (and again this morning), and it wasn't too packed at all. It was really refreshing having a swim after being in the humidity all day, but I was actually cold and shivering after about 15minutes! This morning though after running on the treadmill it was bliss. 

This morning Andrew braved the humidity and ran around Marina Bay, while I enjoyed the aircon and views from my treadmill at the MBS gym. We met up at the infinity pool and had one last swim.

Breakfast Dim Sum

Yum! Quite different from Dim Sum in Perth (which is Hong Kong style), with no carts and a menu to order from. The rice rolls were my favourite, with the corn and egg custard bun a runner up.

Long Bar at Raffles

Andrew and I went on our own to the Raffles hotel to take in the history and also enjoy a $31 (++, which means plus tax and GST, so $36 all up!) Singapore Sling at the Long Bar.

The hotel was a great sight to see, and the price point meant there weren't many tourists so you could imagine how it might have felt to stay there in luxury in the past. 

The Long Bar was a dark, pretty, English style bar with swaying fans (like the Merchant in Fremantle) where you're encouraged to throw the shells of the peanuts you eat on to the floor. The floor was covered in peanut shells which made a satisfying crunch as you stepped on them. It actually took some practice, I had to convince myself to throw those peanut shells. It really goes against my nature, but I got the hang of it and started enjoying it by the end. 

The Singapore Sling was a nice drink, but really sweet. I enjoyed it more when I reached the bottom and it started being diluted by the ice. I thought it would be right up my alley with the gin and Benedictine, but I couldn't make out those distinct tastes because the flavour was overwhelmed by the cherry liquor. That aside, I really enjoyed and savoured it, and all together I would definitely recommend the Long Bar experience.

The Singapore Sling was the first alcoholic drink we'd had since being in Singapore. I can totally see why Singaporeans don't drink, you'd have to be rich! Not all alcohol is as expensive as the SS, but its still crazy to see a bottle of Bombay marked at $220 on a beverage list. 

Gardens by the Bay

After the Raffles, we headed to Gardens by the Bay. We were a bit rushed for time, but we decided to visit both the Cloud and Flower domes and we're glad we saw both. We preferred the Cloud Dome (the one with the giant indoor waterfall) because it was more architecturally impressive, but the Flower Dome was very pretty too (especially the baobab trees). 

One thing learned is that so many plants grow a giant spike in the middle like my parent's alien plant did a few years ago. 

At night we watched the Gardens by the Bay light show from Alvin and Rain's room. We were planning to walk over and see the show from the bridge, but the view of the "trees" from the balcony was really good and we could hear the music so we could appreciate the light choreography. Very cool!

Dinner at Gluttons Bay

We all walked over the Helix bridge to have dinner at Gluttons Bay. I pretty much ate a whole plate of carrot cake, which is like taro cake at Dim Sum, although neither of those names describes what it actually is, which is fried cubes of turnip. Yum! Alvin and Rain ordered some stingray for us to try, and it was really nice. The meat was the texture of chicken breast (pulled apart with strings), and the taste was mildly fishy. It took a bit of convincing to get me to try it though because it really looked like what it was. I also tried oyster (in oyster omelette) but hated it! It looks as bad as it tastes, yuck, pass the stingray please.

We then caught a cab to club street which was quite dead late on a Sunday Night, so we went to another place and the guys had some Haagen Dazs for dessert. This area was Michaels favourite place because it had sports, pizza, bars, and ice-cream! All that was missing was the Maccas. 

Here we said goodnight and good bye and thank you to our wonderful host Ben, and also Michael (but we'll see him back in Perth). 

Breakfast

This morning we had breakfast at Amoy Street and said good bye to Alvin and Rain. 

Goodbye Singapore!