On an overnight flight from Melbourne to Singapore you would think I’d be trying to sleep. Instead , I’m reliving my previous visit to Singapore in 2012. I remember racing on the Formula 1 GP track. Well, when I say racing, I did run 20 metres down the track very fast. Ruthie took me on the Singapore wheel and as some of you know, I’m not all that keen on heights. She has done much worse height things to me since and I think my fear has subsided considerably. We had a drink atop the Marina Bay Sands Hotel as well as visiting the Gardens by the Bay on its opening weekend and enjoyed the Night Safari at the Zoo. We also caught the cable car to Sentosa Island.

This time it’s just an overnight stop before we begin our 68 day adventure on 5 legs of the ultimate world cruise. More about that later.

After a nonsleep flight, landing in Singapore at 3am is not ideal. I’d heard that the airport itself is worth exploring and though we tried, it was dark and not much was open. As time was on our side, we decided to try the train adventure to our hotel knowing our room wouldn’t be ready. It took 3 train changes but our hotel was reached without incident. The best thing was the trip cost us nothing. Fancy that hey Melbourne, trains from the airport to the city costing zero!

Leaving the station, the Singapore heat and humidity hit us. It was 6:30am and our room wasn’t going to be ready until 3pm! We relented and paid for the early check in. Our heads hit the pillow and we slept soundly for a couple of hours.

After a quick explore of the immediate area and a dip in the hotel pool, we were refreshed and back on track.

Back on the train, we went in search of some authentic street food. Ruthie was on a mission to find a Popiah wrap that was a not to be missed item she had seen on a travel show. It did not disappoint. We shared a combination of chicken, prawn and vegetarian wraps. The friendly server upsold us into having some deep fried yam cake for dessert, all washed down with a cold beer. Yum!

Of course, you can’t go to Singapore without going to Raffles Hotel. Most people will know of the colonial history of this hotel so I won’t bore you with that. Except to say it really takes you back to another period. The rich green gardens, the sparkling white hotel facade and the rich timber decor inside with the old fashioned leaf cooling fans. Even the music was from way back and set the vibe.

In the Long Bar we were given a big bag of peanuts and Ruthie took delight (as is tradition) in sweeping the shells onto the floor. The absolute highlight was sipping on our original Singapore Sling cocktails. They were amazing! I could easily become a gin drinker. Apparently a Dutch archeologist is famous for drinking 10 of them in one sitting. Hmmm…. I’m Dutch heritage.

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It was amazing that we had found the energy as earlier in the day I was sure we were going to sleep for 24 hours.

The subway system in Singapore is amazing. All underground, trains on time and plentiful. In fact, we caught the train with all our luggage to the cruise terminal. It was so easy. And suddenly we were on board our ship Serenade of the Seas. Our home for the next 68 nights!