A stopover in the Garden State of Singapore

Singapore night view

We were sad saying goodbye to our lovely family in Sydney last night. Despite having to leave around 6am, Sarah and Ali  insisted on taking us to the airport, where we shared more tears and farewell hugs.

Departing from Sydney was effortless compared with flying out from Heathrow last month when it took us two and a half hours just to get through security. We had a trouble free flight to Singapore – just under eight hours with good food and Singapore Airlines’ usual impeccable service. The only disappointment was the abysmal choice of movies.

It was mid afternoon when we landed at Changi Airport. We were quickly through immigration and after picking up our bags took a taxi to the Shangri-La Rasa Sentosa Resort, where we are staying for two nights. Our taxi driver mistakenly took us to the Shangri-La hotel in the city, which made for a slightly longer taxi ride, but we didn’t mind because we were fascinated by the incredible architecture and the many changes to the city since our last visit in early 2009. Back then, the Marina Bay Sands development was being constructed and Sentosa Island was a massive building site. Today, the lush green vegetation is fully restored and the island is home to Resorts World Sentosa, a large integrated resort with several hotels, the world’s biggest aquarium, a Universal Studios theme park, a casino, an ESPA day spa, cafes and restaurants, all tastefully situated amid exotic tropical greenery and flowers.

Our lovely room at the Shangri-La Rasa overlooks the resort’s  turquoise swimming pools and tropical gardens and beyond to the white sands of Siloso Beach and the South China Sea. Although it’s hot here in Singapore (around 34ºC), the weather is cooler than in Sydney, which we hear is sweltering today with unprecedented 45ºC heat.

I make a cuppa and we sit on the balcony enjoying the sunshine, recovering from too little sleep and our long flight. Sipping our drinks, we notice the armada of empty cargo ships anchored out in the bay. It seems that international shipping is yet another casualty of the global economic downturn. Apparently, these vessels flock to Singapore because it is a safe area and has few storms, excellent ship repair teams, cheap fuel from its own refinery and importantly – proximity to Asian ports that might eventually have cargo to ship.