Singapore, playground for the rich

Located at the tip of the Malaysian peninsula, Singapore is a tiny city-state that holds a heavy reputation. It's home to some of the wealthiest people in the world and it holds the record for most populated collection of billionaires. Singapore is known to be expensive, and of course I've had my eyes set on one of the most expensive places in the city; The Marina Bay Sands Hotel. I planned a trip to Singapore specifically for this dazzling hotel, and I honestly don't think I would've bothered coming if I wasn't so enamored by the hotel. I planned on having a "staycation" where I'd basically live either in my bathrobe gazing out at my bedroom views, or in my bathing suit at the highest infinity pool in the world. Though I did do both, I managed to do much more than I was planning in Singapore, and absolutely loved it!
For as much as I've traveled, I've done very little solo travel and Singapore got off to a slow start, as I figured it would. Although I light up around people I know, I'm painfully shy when it comes to strangers and I'd rather spend time alone as opposed to making small talk with people I don't know. My first afternoon in Singapore I checked into a far less expensive hotel and spent the afternoon lounging at the pool. I enjoyed quiet meals at the poolside restaurant with the company of my book, but eventually I had to get out and see the city that I had come so far to explore. I was just over a mile from the infamous Marina Bay, so I headed in that direction on foot, hoping to check out some sights along the way. The further I walked, the more I realized what a strange city Singapore is, especially compared to other Asian countries and cities. For starters, it's not crowded. I'll blame that on the fact that I was wandering through the business section for a while, but even after that there were very few people even out in the touristy areas. I never had to fight for space on the sidewalk, never had to fear my life while crossing the street and there was always room to sit on public transportation. It was weird, but a very nice breath of fresh air compared to the normal insanity of Asia.
Another huge difference in Singapore is how well it's maintained. Besides Swiss cities I don't think I've even been in a place that is so clean and proper. There are garbage cans and recycling bins always within your vision, the sidewalks and streets are clean and taken care of and there's absolutely no litter anywhere. Singapore is known as the "fine city", meaning that there's a penalty for almost any negative action you take towards the city. There's a hefty fine for littering and there's mixed reports on whether chewing gum is illegal (I think just purchasing gum in large quantities isn't allowed). This system is clearly working for them, because Singapore is spotless.
Although I did very few activities during my 48 hours in Singapore I absolutely loved this city, especially compared to other Asian locations. Although the energy of Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur can be fun at times, I'm a sucker for order and simple things and Singapore gave me exactly that. There's no questioning or guessing here; restaurants and coffee shops are clearly labeled as so, there's no wandering down a random alley and eating at broken plastic tables. Signs towards the public transit are clear and large so there's barely an opportunity to get lost. And most importantly, they follow traffic laws! A red light actually means stop, and there's no chance of a car barreling past you even though you have the walk signal. Coming to Singapore alone I thought I would always be second guessing myself, questioning which way to go or struggling to find a good place to eat. I think this was a great city to visit alone, because it was so simple! It also doesn't hurt that English is a national language, making directions a lot easier.
Singapore was a good end to my seven months in Asia and it helped ease me back into the Western world. A world where water is free, streets are clean, people drive on the right side of the road, and the currency doesn't require complicated math.

Marina Bay Sands Hotel

The Marine Bay Sands hotel, as seen from the harbor. 

 

 

Many moons ago I sat in my Intro to Tourism class at Ohio University and learned about the beauty that is Marina Bay Sands (MBS). Designed by Las Vegas Sands (the mastermind behind the stunning and intricate hotels of Vegas), MBS is a noteworthy contribution to their collection of unique hotels around the world. It's rumored to be the most expensive casino property in the world and it also is home to the world's highest and largest infinity pool. When I studied this hotel in school I couldn't even place Singapore on a map, but I still added it to my bucket list, knowing that I had to stand on top of that hotel one day.
As soon as I began looking into jobs in Asia I started planning a stay at MBS and subconsciously prepared to spend $450 for one night in a hotel. I like to think that the past six years of staying at cheap hostels helps even out the price a little. As my Asian adventure was coming to an end I figured it was more than a good idea to go out with a bang, and I spent my last two nights in Asia blowing my money in Singapore. I started my stay with a sensible mind and booked a smaller and cheaper hotel for my first evening in the city. I spent the first 24 hours wandering through China Town and various other classic Singapore sights, because I knew that the rest of my time would be spent inside MBS. Check-in at MBS technically starts at 3pm, but my overeager self showed up an hour early which seemed to be no problem to the staff. Check-in was a breeze and within 15 minutes of arrival I was in my hotel room. With over 2,500 rooms I figured that the lobby would be crazy during the afternoon but they seemed to have a pretty good system down, and there were never any long lines.
I'll let the pictures do most of the talking for this post, but needless to stay, my 21 hours at MBS were amazing. I was worried that such a large hotel wouldn't have the customer service and general attention that I'm used to from smaller hotels, but they appear to be very well staffed for the amount of people they host each day. I've read that they directly employ 10,000 people, but that can't be confirmed.

Bedroom view

 I booked the most simple of rooms with no package add-ons (such as breakfast or airport transportation) and I also chose the garden view over the harbor view ($30 cheaper). I figured garden view meant I would be looking at a courtyard, but clearly Singapore has higher standards than that. Pictured above is the stunning view from my 43rd floor balcony. Off to the left I was able to see part of the harbor that wraps around to the front of the hotel and the rest of my view looked out to the Singapore Straight. Singapore is home to the world's second busiest freighter port in the world and it was very interesting to see the number of ships that came and went during the day.

From certain angles it seems that the water just drops off the edge into the city below

The biggest appeal to MBS is the rooftop pool, which is only accessible to hotel guests. It sits on the roof of the hotel, connecting the three seperate buildings. Although it can definitely get crowded at times, the pool itself is more than 3x the length of an Olympic swimming pool, so it can hold plenty of guests.

No need to be nervous about swimming up to the edge, there are plenty of barriers between you and the ground

Sitting 55 stories high the infinity pool gives unparalleled views of Singapore. Getting close to the edge will offer you views of the harbor below, including the floating soccer field which is visible in the bottom left of the above picture.

The length of the rooftop platform is longer than the height of the Eiffel Tower

The majority of my stay at MBS was spent lounging in the pool and drinking $14 beers. Pool hours are from 6am to 11pm so there were plenty of times to enjoy the area without swarms of people in my personal space. $450 is a lot to spend on a hotel, and I never would have considered it had it not been for this record breaking pool. For me, this was a once in a lifetime experience and I'm grateful that I saved up for one night in this crazy location.
I was also very satisfied with my room in the hotel. The bed was comfortable, there were many English channels on TV and the blinds closed with a remote control. Besides that there's not much to write home about and the room itself doesn't rival my first night in Singapore where I spent $130 at Park Hotel. I had good service from friendly staff but I'm a firm believer that if $10/night hostels can provide free breakfast, then I could at least get some eggs from a five star hotel. Did I love it? Yes! Will I stay there again? Not unless someone else is paying.





** This post was written on a German keyboard with no spell check, so please ignore any errors you see :)