How to Spend Two Action Packed Days in Singapore

On Thursday, March 21st we took United Airlines, 10:30PM flight from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to Singapore. The “pilots” selected this flight because the aircraft was a Boeing 787 (a.k.a. the “Dreamliner”) and one of their favorites. The flight was an exceedingly long seventeen hours with a bunch of turbulence over the Pacific. We arrived in Singapore Saturday morning at 7AM. It was nighttime the entire way, so it really wasn’t as bad as I had expected, but it is always weird when you find yourself saying, “Hey, we are halfway there! Only 9.5 hours left to go!”.

Singapore’s Changi Airport

Landing at Singapore’s Changi Airport, we quickly cleared customs, and immediately changed into shorts and t-shirts. We took note of the “digital waterfalls” upon arrival, but before the kids would let us leave and take the train to the city, they wanted to find the Jewel “Rain Vortex” — the worlds tallest indoor waterfall that they had read about on the flight over.

Jewel is not a terminal in Changi Airport, but directly adjacent to it. It is essentially a large shopping mall with a number of different attractions. To get to Jewel from Terminal 2 or 3, you take the 10-minute walk, via a link bridge, from the Departure Hall on level 2. It was early in the morning when we arrived at the “Rain Vortex”, and unfortunately the waterfall did not start flowing until 10AM. Maybe next time.

It was a tad bit challenging to figure out how to purchase the MRT (public transportation) card but we persevered. For 10 SGD, one would receive a 5 SGD credit for the train and a 5 SGD deposit on the card. Taking the East-West Line to Tanah Merah, then the East-West Line to Tuas Link, we disembarked at City Hall and walked about 5-minutes to our hotel, the Fairmont Singapore. The journey was around 55 minutes and cost barely 2 SGD. (Or $1.50)

Garden’s By The Bay

It was mid-morning in Singapore by the time we were settled into our hotel room. Grabbing a quick snack (3rd breakfast?), we were off to explore. We knew that if we stopped moving, we would all fall asleep. Gardens By The Bay was first on our agenda. From our hotel it was a 25-minute walk to Gardens By the Bay. By the time we entered the Cloud Forest, we were a sweaty mess. *The combo ticket for Gardens By The Bay (Cloud Forest and Flower Dome + Singapore Flyer) was $44 USD a person.

The Cloud Forest is home to another one of the largest indoor waterfalls (Singapore seems to have cornered the market on “indoor waterfalls”) and a “mountain” full of lush plants from around the world. We feel that this may have previously been a multi-story parking garage but it was cool nonetheless. The structure was pretty impressive and quite high off the ground once you reached the top floor. It also offered a respite from the heat which was critical.

Leaving the Cloud Forest, we headed next door to the Flower Dome. The Flower Dome was so well air-conditioned that we were all freezing and suddenly craving the heat and humidity of the outdoors. Go figure.

Singapore Flyer

After getting our fill of flowers, we walked about thirty-minutes to the Singapore Flyer. Opened in 2008, the Singapore Flyer stands at 165 meters, with a diameter of 150 meters, making it one of the largest Giant Observation Wheels in the world. Each capsule could hold 28 people, and was the size of a city bus. When we visited, we shared our capsule with a couple from Germany who were just as sweaty and jet-lagged as we were. It took 30-minutes to make the full loop, and it is not for the faint of heart as you are uncomfortably high up when you reach the top. I’m not sure I need to do that again.

While exiting the Singapore Flyer, we did come across a shop in the “mall” that was advertising a Flight Simulator. This immediately caught Roy and Greg’s attention. To humor them, we entered the shop and learned of the hefty price tag ($300 USD). While the simulator was not going to be in the cards, we still chatted with the employees for a bit. Low and behold, one of the women working there (who looked to be barely twenty!) was a pilot for Singapore Airlines! Shop worker by day, pilot by night? Kinda concerning….

Marks & Spencers

Walking back towards the hotel, we passed the Merlion. This fountain is half mermaid, half lion, and apparently a “thing” in Singapore. Just before we turned in for the night, we stopped at the food court in the shopping mall next to the Fairmont and found what became our favorite place to eat – Marks & Spencer’s. (A British grocery store). The kids got milk, I got fresh bread, Doug got something organic and all was right in the world again.

Chinatown

After a good nights sleep, we woke up and walked the 30-minutes from the Fairmont to Chinatown. Chinatown is home to a good mix of hawker centers, temples, and teahouses, set alongside trendy bars, cafés, and independent art galleries. It is very colorful, but fairly quiet early in the morning. (We were still on California time.)

Our visit took us to Buddha Tooth Relic Temple. This Temple houses the Buddha Tooth Relic. Buddhism is the 4th largest religion in the world. Upon entering I was provided with a robe to cover my shorts and t-shirt. Doug and the kids able to enter sans robe. We had taken the kids out of school for a few days to bookend this trip, and while our local public school wasn’t happy with us (in California they send you threatening letters) I’m pretty sure that allowing the kids to enter this Temple and view the Buddha in real life trumps anything they will ever read about the Tang Dynasty in school.

Before exiting Chinatown, the kids sat down to play a little Mahjong.

Skyline Luge

On our way to Sentosa Island, while trying to figure out the ticket situation, we found ourselves in front of a vending machine full of oranges. This vending machine was selling “fresh squeezed, organic, orange juice from Australia”. The kids desperately wanted some, and the marketing pitch worked on Doug, so we were sold. Best orange juice from a vending machine in a subway station ever.

To get to Sentosa Island, we took the North East Express to Harbourfront. From here we used our credit card at the turnstile (so easy!) to take the Sentosa Express to Sentosa Island. We had purchased luge tickets at Skyline Luge so exited at Imbiah Station and walked up the hill to the luge.

Sentosa is an island resort off Singapore’s southern coast. There are a number of kid friendly attractions here, Universal Studios being the most famous, as well as beaches, resorts, bars and restaurants. Because we were spoiled visiting Universal Studios in Florida during Covid, we opted for the 4-ride combo at Skyline Luge for $29 SGD. We arrived when it opened at 10AM and had the place to ourselves.

This was the kids favorite attraction in Singapore. Each of us had our own luge, and chose from one of four different tracks. (Eventually we did them all). When you reach the bottom of a track, you jump on the chairlift back up the mountain, and go down again. It was only on our fourth ride that we started to see the line form. Waiting in a long line in the heat would not be fun, so get there early if you do the luge!

It was quite hot by the time we left Sentosa Island, so we chose to return to the Fairmont and hit the pool. Greg and Roy had a blast whacking each other with pool noodles, which seemed to be a popular activity amongst many different sibling sets also swimming in the pool that day. Unfortunately none of these kids spoke the same language so they couldn’t quite figure out how to interact.

Marina Bay Sands

In the early evening we walked back over the Helix Bridge to the Marina Bay Sands. Marina Bay Sands is an iconic integrated resort with luxury accommodations, upscale shopping, an infinity pool and unparalleled view of the city. It has three 55-story towers that are topped with the Sands Skypark, which allows for 360-degree views from the observation deck which we were able to visit. Tickets were $23 SGD.

Garden Rhapsody

With the sun having set, we walked back to Gardens By the Bay to see the Garden Rhapsody. This is a spectacular show “Supertrees” being lit up, and dancing to the sounds of Opera (at least when we were there). This was a popular place to be, so there wasn’t a place to sit down but you just needed to look up, so not a big deal. We left a little early to beat the crowds, but this is something that shouldn’t be missed. The best part is that this show is free!

Our next stop was Kuala Lumpur. Check it out here!