We made our way on foot along New Bridge Road to Clarke Quay and then Boat Quay. Both of these are areas of restaurants and bars, which would no doubt be more lively in the evening. Clarke Quay was fairly modern with more clubs and bars, and Boat Quay was more atmospheric.
We walked up to the CBD and popped into the posh Fullerton Hotel, which was done up all nicely for Christmas. Across the road is the “Merlion” which is a lion / mermaid and is the symbol for Singapore. It also gives ample opportunities for being immature by standing in front of it pretending the water is going into your mouth 🙂
After so much walking we gave up and got the MRT to the swanky Marina Bay Sands hotel. This looks like a boat on top of 3 skyscrapers, and my BF wanted to go onto the roof.
There was a good view of the skyline of Singapore from Marina Bay Sands, even at the bottom. This is a lovely view, and there is a light show from here every night – they project images onto fountains of water, which wasn’t amazing if I’m honest, but it was free.
At the bottom of Marina Bay Sands is a big shiny shopping mall with very posh shops in it. It always seemed pretty empty – I guess it’s a premium location so those staying at the hotel can shop without having to see riff raff like us 😉
The main shopping district was on Orchard Road. This was mall after mall after mall. It was literally ridiculous how big these were. Apparently Singapore is a popular place for tourists to go shopping, but I can’t understand why – things were no cheaper than at home, and a lot of the shops were the same as at home. I guess with so many shopping malls, there will be more variety than at home.
But back to Marina Bay Sands…
My BF was intent on going to the roof, but unfortunately we found out it was S$23 each to go on the roof! We agreed that was pretty ridiculous. Luckily the guidebook advised that if you go to the rooftop bar and buy a drink, you can take in the views for free (well, the cost of the drink anyway). You can guess which option we did. Except, we didn’t…. there is a dress code for the bar and my BF’s shorts made him ineligible. I thought we’d got away with not going, but BF insisted on going home to change and coming back another day…
On take two we did manage to get up to the 57th floor and after shelling out $18 for 2 cokes, we were able to enjoy the views, which were pretty special.
I will say that the people who paid to go on the roof get a lot more space, and get to go right to the edge, which they probably deserved for paying S$46. We were crammed into a tiny bar with about a hundred other people, some of whom were probably cheapskates like us, and others were actually there for a pre-meal drink at the bar. The views were really good though – 360 degrees so you can see over the city and out over the sea.
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