First Impressions of Singapore

I arrived mid afternoon on a Friday in August, after the mammoth overnight journey from London.

Singapore airlines A380 — A380 from an A380

The first thing I noticed was how calm and quiet Singapore airport seemed to be. There were no queues at passport control, no delays for luggage and only 3 people in line for the taxi queue ahead of me. This was like dream start to the trip.

I did wonder why the taxi queue was inside of the airport but as soon as I exited the building, I understood. A blanket of hot, wet air engulfed my body and for a few seconds I found it almost hard to breathe while my lungs adjusted to the shock. A few seconds later I was inside the air-conditioned taxi and comfortably on the way to the airport. My taxi driver was so friendly and pointed out areas of interest along the way to the hotel.

And then we arrived at Marina Bay Sands! I was checking in to one of the most iconic buildings in the city. This building is insane; the photos don’t do it justice. On check in I was asked if it was my first time in Singapore and check in clerk proceeded to upgrade me from my standard room to an Orchid Suite overlooking the Gardens by the Bay. I had front row seats to the night time light show from my the comfort of my hotel balcony

MBS Singapore

MBS and Singapore Flyer

Gardens by the Bay

What would I do with such a large room? I felt the need to invite some people over and have a mini party but I only knew one other person in the city at that time. So I invited her to come and stay with me for the night and share the experience.

Bedroom

Marina Bay Sands Bathroom

Marina Bay Sands Orchid Suite

We dined downstairs in Cut, the restaurant of Wolfgang Puck. It was a delicious meal of steak and chips and the Chef personally came out to greet us. When we ordered desert we had a personalised ‘Welcome to Singapore’ message on the dishes. Small touches like that make huge impressions on me.