Singapore

07/04/2016

Singapore

Trent and I have a social visa which means after living in Bali for six months you must leave the country and update this visa with a new one. The most popular and closest country to do this is in Singapore. It is also known amongst Bali expats as doing the ‘Singapore Visa Run’. The kids however are able to live in the country for the whole year because they are on a student (Kitas) visa.

So last week we all went to Singapore to get our new social visas and we did some exploring for a few days too.

Two and half years ago we went on a family holiday to Singapore so we already knew what a great city it was for tourists. It is very easy to get around, English is spoken everywhere and they have some wonderful attractions to visit.

In four days we went to the Science Centre, Gardens by the Bay, an Indian temple, Singapore Zoo and the ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay Sands. Oh and I almost forgot to mention that I promised Demi if we went to Singapore she could get her ears pierced! That was the first thing we did after we landed – straight to the shopping centre to get them done. My baby is growing up!

After living in Bali for the last 6 months and then spending money in Singapore gave us a shock! Things cost about 3-4 times more expensive than Bali! I still don’t know how you can charge about $6-$7 for a coffee in a cafe?!

For this quick stay, we decided to keep costs down and stay in an airbnb studio apartment that had great reviews in Little India near a local mosque.

Singapore is such a culturally diverse country and you can enjoy this when eating the great range of cuisine on offer everywhere. For example, food courts and many hawker centres cover all the population’s food – Chinese, Indonesian, Malay, Indian and Western.

Driving around you are constantly looking at innovative architecture and iconic landmarks. Places like Marina Bay Sands, built 6 years ago was billed as the world’s most expensive standalone casino property at S$8 billion!!

Apart from the high-rise living and city skyscrapers you can still go to places like Chinatown and see pre-war architecture and old shops.

Even Changi Airport is world class and is an attraction in its own right. It is huge and there is much to keep you busy – just in our terminal there is a butterfly garden, movie theatre, and the world’s tallest slide (12m) in an airport!

Whilst we were away, Cinta our gorgeous new addition to the family was cared for by our lovely housekeeper. A huge thank you to her for looking after her so well – she was amazing!