While in Singapore, I got the chance to see two sides to the country. Half of my time was spent in poorer, rural areas, while the rest was spent in areas that make it easy to understand just why there are so many millionaires in Singapore. As people have mentioned, it's safe to say I had a gentle introduction to Asia. While I enjoyed visiting the poorer areas, with some of the most welcoming and open people I've ever met, I'm glad I got to explore the other side to it too. One of these places was the designer shop filled shopping centre located near the Marina Bay Sands hotel (an amazing experience in itself). From here, you see the entire skyline of the city, including various different old-fashioned hotels, the Lotus building and Louis Vuitton Island. Being a girl who loves her labels, I obviously had to visit LV Island, which is basically just a giant LV store located in the middle of the river, with a boardwalk leading to it. It's made of glass so the first thing you notice is the reflection of the water, lily-pads and lights reflected on it. We wanted to see the area both at night and during the day, so went back twice. It's safe to say we did plenty of walking, so much that I actually had to just have a lie down on the floor outside the shopping centre (lying and sitting down on the floor is actually illegal in Singapore, so I feel like I should point out that I was just watching a light show!)
Next up was Raffles Hotel. Upon seeing it, it immediately reminded me of The Grand Budapest Hotel (SUCH a good film). We'd actually spent the previous few hours on a hike and were very wet from having gotten caught in the torrential rain, but the staff were extremely friendly and said there was no problem. If you go to Singapore, you have to go here. Everyone goes just to visit the bar, which is open to the public, which is the best place in Singapore to try their famous drink, the Singapore Sling, a drink made up of four or five different alcohols. I was happy after the first one, so would have been rather tipsy had I had another. Alcohol in Singapore is extremely expensive, so you're looking at $30 for one drink, but it's worth it for the experience. At Raffles, you're also served a giant bag of peanuts, and, as you sit up at the bar eating them, you're supposed to just throw the peanut shells on the floor. If you don't, and just leave them in a neat pile at the bar, the bartenders come round and sweep them on the floor for you. As well as being an amazing experience, I think I've found my new favourite drink!
One of the best things I did in Singapore and potentially one of the best places I've visited in my life was visiting 1-Altitude, the highest rooftop bar in the world, and also a place no one seems to have heard of. Entry fee is normally $30 and that includes one drink, but we went on a Wednesday night, which is ladies' night, meaning free entry and $10 drinks! I do wish we'd tried the food up there, but we had plans elsewhere. We arrived just before sunset so we could experience it and see the views in different lights. We saw daytime, sunset and then the entire city all lit up at night. You can see for miles and are even able to see the iconic Gardens by the Bay light show from up there! Even if you're afraid of heights, I'd say you have to go up if you ever find yourself in Singapore - just stand far away from the window in the lift (you go very fast, very quickly) and keep away from the glass barriers once on the roof.
Have any of you ever been to Singapore?
Let me know in the comments below!
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