I was there as a (very lucky) guest of Club Med Kani and was flown here by Scoot Airways. This trip was organised by Sam & David from the Good Funny Smart Collective.
We had a quick stopover in Singapore on our way back through the Maldives which gave us a quick chance to soak up all that’s on offer in this great city, mostly the wonderful selection of food (it’s always about the food with me). There’s nothing like the array of food on offer in this city. You can check out the last time we travelled here with the kids a few years ago in these posts:
Singapore Postcard
River Safari Singapore
Gardens by the Bay Singapore
I do love Singapore as a place to travel with kids especially. It’s clean. It’s gorgeous and green. There’s lots to do. It’s organised and efficient and everyone is SO friendly. It’s dead easy to get around with transport, cabs are cheap as chips (like under $20 from the airport) and Ubers even cheaper than that. The food is cheap and the variety is HUGE and you won’t get sick from anywhere you eat. If you have never travelled to Asia before with kids – this truly is a great city in which to do it.
We took a 9pm Scoot Airways flight from Male which got us into Singapore around 4.55am which I must say made for a long day. A mention at this point about how I found Scoot. I truly couldn’t fault it. It’s very different to the usual way that I fly. I am pretty loyal to one airline and am part of their rewards system and have been lucky enough to take some business class flights around the world. I love air travel, so was quiet keen to check out the budget airline and I suppose a little hesitant as people always have their horror stories. And as I said, I truly couldn’t fault it. We flew on their 787 Dreamliners from Australia to Singapore and back again and even though I completely flaked some great seats which made for extra leg room it was good. Fast. The service is no frills but I guess you get what you pay for. You can pre-book the meals you want and so long as you have snacks (you can buy them on board as well as alcohol) and a device loaded up with TV or a good book, you will find it no problems at all. We arrived early on two of the legs and because it was not peak season there was plenty of room to move about and lots of people with 2-3 seats to themselves. As I said, everyone has their own bad tales to share: I have plenty from lots of airlines all around the world: cancelled flights, lost luggage and even when flying at the pointy end of the plane from the US or Europe, and with this trip, I couldn’t fault it. Quick, efficient and new and clean. And for the price you pay? A game changer. Set some watch prices on their website for somewhere you are keen to go and if you can book far enough out, you can grab a bargain. I just had a quick scan and there are some to Athens for $450 one way. Hello Europe!
Ok, back to Singers. We were staying at the Ibis Bencoolen a well located hotel with everything you need for a stopover in the city. Some highlights for me with this hotel was the no plastic policy – there are glass bottles you can fill up and take with you as well as each room coming with its own mobile to use during your stay with unlimited data. We used our own phones to hot spot off it during our stay. A game changer!
After a quick rest thanks to an early check in and a quick coffee to refuel we hit the streets to explore and eat and (for me at least) soak up the warmth before heading back to the arctic depths in the Highlands. First stop was to Haji Lane, a cute little lane way in the Muslim quarter of Singapore lined with cute little boutiques and LOTS of colour. I loved it there!
After a refreshing caipirinha (oh how I love those) we jumped in an Uber ($4) over to Raffles Hotel for one of their iconic Singapore Slings. I had always wanted to go and check out the Colonial beauty and whilst it’s pretty much closed down for renovations now (except the bar that is still serving the Singapore Slings) I got a little taste of the grandeur and beauty of times gone by. Oh if those walls could talk!
From there after a brief rain storm, we walked down to the waterfront through some shopping malls, down to Marina bay Sands and then over to Gardens by the Bay. There was plenty of set up for the Formula 1 that is on next week 15-17th Sept, I’m sure that would be great to see. As I had been there before I didn’t head into the gardens, but did go to Satay by the Bay where we had a great dinner exploring lots of different food washed down with ice cold beers. With satays at 70c a stick or a big bowl of noodles, greens and pork for $5 it’s a no brainer. Do try the Stingray – it’s excellent!
It was then a quick walk through those gorgeous gardens to watch the light show that’s on twice every night – truly beautiful. Kids and adults will both delight in it.
It was then back to the Ibis for a great nights sleep and an early rise for my flight back to Sydney and then drive home. The flight home was on time and actually got in 40 minutes early, 7 hours door to door and then a quick trip down the highway I was home before 9pm!
Today I am feeling a little delirious (too late to bed and up all kinds of hours with Mags) and am pinching myself wondering if this past week actually happened? Such great memories.
Plenty of people to thank as well…
Scoot Airways for flying us there and back safely.
Club Med Kani for hosting us on their gorgeous resort and showing us the delights of Finolhu Villas.
Ibis Bencoolen for hosting us in Singapore.
Bupa for organising our travel insurance and keeping us worry free.
High Sierra for my suitcase.
Sam & Dave from Good Funny Smart for organising the whole thing.
My eyes have been opened up to the world of Club Med and the game changer that is all inclusive holidays. The opt in, opt out thing would be enough to consider it for our own family. I know that my three would have had the time of their lives there. I will definitely look to Scoot in the future for cheap flights if I can plan far enough in advance and I was once again reminded of what a great city Singapore is for families – a perfect first taste of Asia. Ibis always gives a great standard and Bencoolen was a terrific location.
Thanks to you guys for travelling along with me, it will take me a little while to come down with a thud, until then I have a little tan on my toes (if I can get my feet out of socks to look at it I will!).
What are your family tips for Singapore travel?
Used Scoot to fly before?
