Toasting the Moon in Singapore

Travel for 2 cost breakdown (at the time of writing this post):

Marina Bay Sands Hotel + Nonstop round-trip flight from San Francisco: $3480
Food/Entertainment/Transportation/Souvenirs: $1000
GRAND TOTAL FOR 2 TRAVELERS – 4 days: $4480
OR – Book it with a 10-day package to Phuket, Thailand for $1925

***At this time, we are not endorsed by any outside affiliates. That said – when booking our trips, we have had a lot of success with Hotels.com, Skyskanner, and Tripmasters.

Booking

Booking a trip to Singapore is easy for Americans! The US passport allows US citizens to enter Singapore visa-free for up to 90 days. All you need is a US passport, flights, and accommodations and you’re good to go!

The Fine City – Singapore

Take that title as you will. It is a fine city in that it is clean, lovely, friendly, easy, and hospitable. However, it is also known as “The Fine City” because of it’s intense regulations and heavy use of fining it’s citizens and visitors alike. They sell T-Shirts in the airport that say, “I was fined in Singapore.” And it’s very true. Here’s a sample list of fines provided from Moneysmart.

Yes, you read that correctly. Smuggling GUM is a serious offense.

Crazy? Maybe…

Ridiculously clean, like feel free to eat spaghetti off of the sidewalk? Yes.

You may have also heard that it is a nanny-state with no privacy and lacking in many traditional freedoms.

This, at least to most Americans, is shocking. And, yes, it’s also true.

However, let’s look at it from another angle. Let’s say that everyone is expected (by law) to treat other citizens with respect. Be nice. Don’t screw or slander your neighbor. Is that so bad?

A short story from our trip —

We were leaving Marina Bay Sands and heading out for a walk around 2:30 a.m. (Because, yes, you can do that without fear of getting mugged.) On our walk, we saw some people yelling at each other just outside of a cab on the sidewalk. The cab driver was upset with the people who had exited his cab. They yelled a few words back and just kept walking away. The cab driver looked up and spotted a camera on the road. He called to the camera, “Those people didn’t pay their cab fare!” In approximately two minutes, there were three cop cars on the chase of the group. They were caught within five minutes of the original argument. You are being watched…ALL THE TIME. But, don’t be a jerk, and your life will probably never be better.

What We Did

Okay – time to fess up. We only spent a cumulative total of 24 hours in Singapore. We were fortunate enough to have long layovers on our way to and from Thailand. It allowed us two full nights in this remarkable city. Here’s what we hit up:

Changi Airport – Voted consistently the best airport in the world for the past seven years (and counting). There are hotels, malls, movie theaters, gardens, koi ponds, a butterfly house, full service spas, a pool, and too many lounges to count. You could easily spend a very relaxing and happy week in the airport alone.
Marina Bay Sands – we arrived at 1:00 a.m. in hopes of getting into the rooftop lounge. We were dressed in semi-casual wear and had just come from a 19 hour flight (we did manage to shower in the airport – THANK YOU CHANGI!) We walked up to the elevator with full expectations of the bouncers giving us a look up-and-down and laughing, but instead they warmly welcomed us. It was treatment we would’ve NEVER received in New York or Vegas. We were two happy travelers!
The Helix – A pedestrian bridge linking Marina Center with Marina South and representing, you guessed it, a helix
Gluttons Bay – One of the famous Hawker Centers specializing in street food from around the world
The Fullerton Hotel – famous hotel of the colonial times that is credited with creating the Singapore Sling