Seat 2A

Nicely presented and exquisitely photographed. Thanks for another stellar effort, Matt. ^^

sdemw

Great photos and nice trip report. Many thanks,

jackrussellterrier

Always enjoy your trip reports Matt especially last Christmas featuring my home for the first 27 years of my life and now this one featuring my home for most of the last 20 years!
Thanks!

Jon_Heng

awesome photos and Awesome reports =D

Kagehitokiri

great pics !

fyi http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/luxury-hotels-220/

tipping in asia? at luxury hotel?

hassanal

stunning TR and amazing pics!
I really wonder what equipment you were using?!
^

luv_flying

Ok, that's it, I'm done with my camera.

Babykings

Hey Matt, your trip reports are just amazing. I really enjoy reading them. I have been to Singapore once for the Formula One racing. Haven't get much time to see the city, your report really make me go there for another time. I am waiting for your final part of the TR. Good luck!

matthandy

My Second Day in Singapore

I woke up at a reasonable 8.30am, got dressed and then headed down for breakfast. I didn’t have a huge number of plans for the day but decided at least to have a wander around near the river and also take a quick trip to Orchard Road before heading back to the hotel and then to the airport. My flight wasn’t until 7.15pm so I planned to head to the airport at around 4pm.

Unlike the day before, I woke up to glorious sunshine which meant that I needed to be extra vigilant to avoid being burnt. I have well and truly learnt my lesson when it comes to the sun.

I wandered aimlessly for a good couple of hours, making my way up the river towards Clarke Quay before getting on the MTR to Orchard Road.

A view of Clifford Pier


The Fullerton


A bum boat – not sure why they are called this


Raffles himself


Old restaurants along Boat Quay


Colourful shutters


Boats lined up at Clarke Quay

I suppose that it was a funny time to be wandering around places like Clarke Quay. It was a Monday morning and of course, everything was closed. I was quite pleased to see that I had despised was no more. I am referring to the one in Clarke Quay that was themed like a hospital. Having people sitting around in wheel chairs with drips seemed to particularly bad tastes in my opinion.

After deciding that I’d had enough of the heat I ducked down into the MTR station at Clarke Quay. For those of you that have never used the system before it’s pretty damn good. It’s quick, efficient, clean, air conditioned and cheap. I used the automated machine to buy a single ticket to Orchard Road which I think cost about $2SGD in the end. A few minutes later and I was out into the hustle and bustle of Singapore’s famous shopping district, it was of course, still hot.

I’d heard that the Singapore Marriott had recently had a make over so decided to take a look. While I wouldn’t call it a complete transformation, the reception area certainly looked a lot more modern than it used to. If I was looking for somewhere to cheaper to stay than the Fullerton Bay I’d have probably chosen to stay there.

On the corner of Orchard Road is something that my Mum would probably kill for in Australia, a Marks and Spencers. I must admit to having a fondness after having been dragged around M&S as a kid and then later getting my sandwiches there on a regular basis during my working life.
They even had a small food shop which instantly reminded me of home.
Unfortunately, everything was ridiculously expensive and I wasn’t prepared to pay what they were asking, even for the flapjack bites.

The Singapore Marriott


Heavenly


Thirst quenching

I was rather thirsty by this point and as M&S didn’t sell any small bottled drinks I moved on. I happened to come across a Wendy’s ducked in to get a cheap diet coke to keep me going.

After wandering around some more I decided that I’d had enough and it was time to go and enjoy the hotel pool instead! I took a quick trip back on the MTR and then a short walk to the hotel entrance. A quick change into my swim shorts and then I made my way up to the roof top pool again. A spot of lunch was had before finally relaxing in one of the loungers by the pool for a couple of hours.

Another thing that I noticed about the service at the hotel, staff were not proactively offering drinks to those sitting around the pool. At other hotels I’ve stayed at cool towels and water are provided as soon as you sit down. Additionally, where people had left their towels lying around, no-one seemed to be clearing them up. I’d have expected both things to happen, but sadly they did not. This didn’t spoil my time at the pool but it did take the shine off of the whole experience.

The entrance to the hotel


The roof top pool, bathed in sunshine


One of two ‘infinity’ jacuzzis


Casual seating with a great view


My sun lounger


Lounging area


The view from my sun lounger


The view – the Marina Bay Sands

At about 3.30pm I went back to my room to shower, change and pack everything away for my flight back to Sydney that evening. Check out was quick and was completed in a personal manner, with the receptionist asking me to sit whilst she prepared the bill and bought it over to me.

Then I made my way to the front of the hotel to get a taxi to the airport. The friendly usher was able to grab one for me rather quickly and I was soon on my way to Changi.

In the next part of my TR I'll tell you all about the wonderful new Qantas lounge!

matthandy

Thanks AhogZ. It was actually a friend who inspired me to go too so I'm glad that I can pass the inspiration along...

Thanks spizzy, I think that you'll enjoy it.

Thank you for your kind comments johnnie69. Yes, it did seem a little busy when I saw it. Do they offer poolside service such as drinks and snacks?

Thanks CelticIAH. I almost had the same thing, when I used to live in New York almost every photo taken looking downtown from the Rockefella Centre would feature my apartment.

I had heard about the 'alternative' route to the Skypark, but didn't think about it at the time. Next time.

Me either although I think that the 747 looked a little more prestigious than the 777 does.

Thank you BA5E!

Yes .

6 months!! Wow. Was DTF good? We have it hear in Sydney and it's a big average, certainly not as good as I've had elsewhere.

Thank you Genius1. Yes, I'm very happy with the night shots, particularly as they were taken with a bit of improvisation (no tripod).

Thank you tagv12.

Great to hear LineasAereas, please do stick around. Sorry about that. I feel the same when I see photoso of the UK.

Thank you flo_147. I use a Nikon D800 with 24-70mm f2.8 and 70-200mm f2.8 lenses. All of the photos are processed in Lightroom 4.

You are right. The hawker centres are fantastic and I've eaten at one near Raffles previously. I just didn't fancy trekking all the way out there though to be honest, with the limited time that I had.

Thanks genesys9. See my response to above for camera details.

johnnie69

Thank you for your kind comments johnnie69. Yes, it did seem a little busy when I saw it. Do they offer poolside service such as drinks and snacks?

Enjoyed the update Matthandy.
yes they did on one occasion but not the other. All the service was a little rusty as they'd just opened. All done with a smile though so no complaints. Will try another hotel on my next trip down under thoughm maybe the Fullerton!

uk1

Lovely pictures and trip report .... thanks.

We arrive for our next trip - our longest so far (15 nights .. ) in a few weeks so your pictures hit the mark!

Thanks.

Tall Travel Dude

Love your photos, and green with jealousy over your D800 (I'm stuck with a D300). The difference in resolution, sharpness, low light ISO and even saturation are amazing. You have a fantastic eye, which is half the battle (the other half is god damn lighting .

LH4116

Nice report as always. The pictures from Singapore looked great, and from the looks of it you had some luck with the weather as well. I was in Singapore a few days after your visit, and had the misfortune of visiting the town during the Haze crisis. It wasn't too fun to have two days of my weekend ruined by the haze, but luckily I was able to make the best out of the situation.

Digital01

Pics are incredible as always. Thanks for dedicating so much time to an excellent report. Looks like you had a great trip. Look forward to the rest!