We flew via Singapore Airlines on our flight back to Dubai a few months ago. But instead of waiting for eight hours inside their airport as originally planned, we decided to extend our layover in Singapore to three days so we can tour around the city and also squeeze in a short side trip to Legoland Malaysia. Luckily, my husband had a few high school friends based there who were very nice to show us around. It's truly one of the most memorable and fun-filled escapades we've had in a long time.
Singapore is such an idyllic, clean, safe, and modern country. It almost felt like a mini Dubai to be honest, only not as hot. Their people are very friendly and their tasty cuisine is to die for. Our friends treated us to dinner in Makansutra Gluttons' Bay on our first night and my babyfats seriously had a ball. Of course we tried their signature dishes such as chilli crabs and cereal prawns.
The days we spent in Singapore became a discovery of pure gastronomic heaven. I still crave for their delicious food to this day. It's really that good.
Going around Singapore was very convenient thanks to their MRT. The nearest station was only a stone's throw away from our hotel. We stayed at Holiday Inn Express located in Clarke Quay, the riverside village which is like the center of almost everything.
The famous Merlion and Marina Bay looked beautiful day and night.
We capped our first night in Singapore chugging down a variety of drinks (Singapore Sling of course) and catching up with friends in one of the bars along a lively and beautifully-lit Clarke Quay. The Filipino bartender serving us even gave me another drink on the house and gifted me with a couple of super cute Singapore Sling souvenir keychains and fridge magnets. So nice!
Our entire second day was a day well spent around Sentosa inside Universal Studios Singapore and also the then newly-opened Madame Tussauds Wax Musuem. It was definitely so much fun to act like a kid again. We were so silly. We've taken so many photos that batteries of both the two cameras we had with us ended up dying.
Figured out how to get to Sesame Street of course!
I finally managed to force the husband to try a scary ride for the first time ever, Revenge of the Mummy inside Universal Studios (it was very scary in his books atleast). I actually made him think we were lining up just to get inside a mummy museum. Just imagining the shocked look on his face when he realized it's a rollercoaster ride is still making me laugh until now. I didn't give him the chance to back out of course.
We spent around seven hours inside Universal Studios before deciding to head out to Madame Tussaud's. It's located in Sentosa also along Imbiah Road. Again, we had to ride the train to get there.
We boarded the "Spirit of Singapore" boat ride inside the museum. It was quick but I found it refreshing especially that it was an extra hot day when we were there. The wax museum was newly-opened at that time so there weren't a lot of figures on display. Still, it was a nice experience.
Of course I got to hang out with my boys Leo and Tom and chitchat with Queen of Talk Oprah Winfrey, along with all the other stars (hello Audrey Hepburn) of Madame Tussauds.
We really thought that the almost three days we allotted was enough to see what this charming little city has to offer, but we were so wrong. It's not enough at all. There's so much to do and to experience. We seriously want to come back soon!
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