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Published: February 1st 2015
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What is the first thing to do if you happen to have a layover of a day in Singapore? Yes, exaclty , extend with another day at least if you could, because Singapore has so much to offer and so much to see and do...
With appr. two days in Singapore ( from afternoon of 24.01 to the evening of 26.01), I didn't had much time to waiste, but heading the streets of it straight after check-in in the hotel. I stayed in a little boutique hotel in the Kampong Glam or the Arab Quatere, an urban area centrally located in the heart of Singapore, offering from everything I like - from the many middle-eastern, Greek and Turkish restaurants to the gift shops, art galleries, textile and parfume stores, transferring you in the above mentioned. The sweet and spicy aroma from the water-pipes and the pastries were completing the picture in a way, that I didn't want to move much further...
But anyway, they say that no other building is more iconic for Singapore than the Raffles Hotels and the area around it. So the target for the first day, was to explore that area. Untypically for such cosmopolitant
city, walking in Singapore is actually easy, what I like. The building of Raffles hotel was only 15 minutes walk from the hotel I stayed. Unfortunatelly, when starting my tour, it also started to rain... a lot. So, I decided to first make a longer stop in the just a minute away- Malay Heritage Center, the Masjid Sultan Mosque and especially the Bussorah Pedestrian Mall ( one of my favourite streets, overlooking the Masjid Sultan Mosque), where I actually find a lovely turkish restaurant to make my pause until the rain stopped.
What I love best about the area of Kampong Glam is the architecture and the colours of the houses. All well preserved, painted in different colours, many of them turned into shops, cafes or restaurants, offering goods from Middle East, Greece, Turkey, India, Malaysia and others. It is just a minutes away of one of the main metro stations "Buggis MRT" and the shopping district Buggis Junction, but if you prefer walking like I do, you won't feel sorry.
My main goals during that rest of the day were set to Raffles Hotel, Asian Civilisation Museum, the Arts House, the Victoria Thater, Fullerton Building and crossing
the Oldest Bridge in Singapore before heading to Clarke Quay and enjoy a bit of the evening life in Singapore. The great news is that all of them are withing walking distance away from of each other, and on the way to them, you will be passing or crossing another buildings with beautiful architecture or parks, which you may decide to cross though.
During my second day I decided to spend time in Sentosa island- spending the morning on the beach of Siloso, check on Universal Studio, The Merlion of Sentosa, throwing a coin in the Lake of Dreams, before having a late lunch and a cocktail in Quayside Isle. Situated in Sentosa Cove, Quayside Isle set to be the Capri of South East Asia, offers a wide gastronomic selection for all tastes and occasion. The evening was saved for the Gardens at the Bay and having a drink in Ku De Ta Lounge, located on the 57 floor of Marina Sands Bay. Herewith I have to be honest by sharing that Siloso beach was not what I have expected and the views to the many many ships awaiting to enter the port of Singapore, didn't help relaxing, but
anyway if you live and work or stay longer in Singapore,I can understand why people like to come here.
Last morning of my stay was dedicated to the more modern part in Orchard Road, by having breakfast in Wild Honey Lounge ( the lounge serving breakfast from all over the world and all day long), doing my last minute shopping, while passing through the National and the Art museum of Singapore. In the evening was time to say Good bye to Singapore and therefore my 2 months spent in South East Asia as well.
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