It seems like a lifetime ago since we set off in our van around Europe for part one of the big adventure. And yet, just like that, it was over in a flash. And now here we are, off on our travels again, which will this time see us travel to the other side of the world on our antipodean leg. It’s a pretty long way to Australia though, so we decided to break up the travelling time slightly and spend a few days in Singapore.

This tiny 278 square mile republic at the very southern tip of mainland Asia is a fascinating melting pot of cultures and religions. Contemporary Singapore began life in 1819 when it was established as a trading post for the British Empire. Having gained independence in 1959 it became an international powerhouse in the free trade markets, and today has the second highest GDP per capita in the world.

This ethnic diversity creates the perfect destination to explore diverse enclaves nestled among the towering skyscrapers of the Marina Bay skyline. We were staying in the Village Bugis hotel in the vibrant Arabic area of Bugis. The side streets here are lined with a multi coloured neon explosion of restaurants and bars. This is initially very enticing for our first evening meal, but beware, the food here is way more expensive that you’ll find in the countless local eateries to be found a short walk away from the crowds. We did take the chance to visit a Japanese style photo house for some kitsch PhotoBooth action before looking elsewhere. Rather than pay £20 for a single pizza on the vibrant Haji Lane, we instead paid the same amount for 4 hearty bowls of noodles complete with drinks from Luk Lu Eating House. This style of eating establishment is known as a Hawker Centre, and is essentially a large open kitchen area with several vendors preparing and serving food under one roof. The amazing part about this style of dining is the dizzying array of different foods on offer. Whether you’re on your own or in a large group, you can all sit at a communal table and everybody could order something different to enjoy together. These hawker centres really are the mainstay of modern life in Singapore with around 118 of them dotted over the city, feeding the local workforce and tourists alike from breakfast to dinner, and at a very reasonable price.

With full bellies we wandered back to the hotel to attempt to sleep off the jet lag and prepare for the start of our second term of home school in the morning, something we had all done a pretty good job of forgetting about since the end of term one in Spain!

After a night of horrendously broken sleep for all 4 of us, we wearily stumbled down for our included buffet breakfast (guess I’m getting even tubbier on this trip!) before stationing ourselves by the pool to take advantage of the free Wi-Fi to smash out day one of home school part two. To be fair the kids did really well and didn’t moan at all about having to go back to school. I guess the fact that they can have a swim in between lessons to cool off is a bonus too!

During the afternoon we took a trip to Bugis Street market and shopping centre to browse the endless corridors of fake Apple Watches and  knock off designer goods. I’ve never been to Singapore before, but I have been to Hong Kong many times and this is very reminiscent of the various rambling malls that litter the city there. It seems slightly more up together here though, and definitely cleaner, and less smelly (until you walk past the stalls selling the notorious Durian fruit). The food stalls in the shopping centre provided ample snacks for lunch, with Hunter trying various food items on sticks and the less adventurous Bam sticking with tried and tested pancakes.

One of the levels in this particular mall is completely dedicated to manicures and nail art. This is right up Bam’s street (6 going on 16 this one) and her eyes were literally on stalks as we wandered these hallways. Of course we couldn’t resist indulging her fashionista tendencies with a professional gel nail job, complete with embedded nail gems. She felt like a true lady as she sauntered away flaunting her glamorous new nails. 

Another of the levels is one giant arcade, again a very common sight in south east Asia. We bought twenty quids worth of tokens and spent a good hour accumulating thousands of tickets on the various games and machines. It’s amazing that not everyone in this part of the world grows up with a raging gambling addiction as we watch the crowds of kids pumping all of their pocket money into these luminescent false idols.

I’ve got to admit, it is pretty compelling, especially as these machines pump out infinitely more tickets in comparison to the British equivalents. It’s not long before the kids build up a huge basket full of tickets to feed into the ticket chomper (to be honest I think they find this just as gratifying as winning the tickets). When it’s time to exchange your hard earned tickets for prizes, instead of the usual glass cabinet or booth you might expect, there is an actual shop with actual shelves lined with prizes with their ticket prices attached. This is genius really, as most of it is way out of our ticket price range having only put in an hours worth of pocket money wasting time. The temptation is very real to return to the machines and win a few more tickets to get the toy you really want. Or to keep coming back, day after day, week after week. That’s how they get you I suppose, and another generation of gamblers is born.

Perhaps foolishly we had booked to attend the famous Night Safari at Mandai Wildlife Reserve. I say foolishly because we are still very much jet lagged, and no more than half way round the serenely peaceful 40 minute safari tram ride, we had two sleepers! It seemed that the dulcet tones of our guides voice describing the majestic nocturnal animals proved too much for the girls as they proceeded to grab a well earned nap. We didn’t manage too many pictures here as flash photography was prohibited, and the tram never fully stopped to use a long exposure. But essentially this is a regular zoo, but in the dark. It makes for a totally different experience though, much quieter and more relaxing. There is also a pretty cool live animal display included here in the pavilion where you can get up close and personal with the animals.

After a quick bite to eat in the zoo cafe, we made our way back to the tube station for our ride home. As I’ve said before, it’s pretty important to never miss an opportunity for a toilet break when travelling with kids, especially when dealing with public transport. For some reason Bam was convinced that she didn’t need to go before we left, but no more than ten minutes into the journey a familiar look of panic made its way over her face – old Peanut Bladder had struck again. She didn’t look like she was gonna make it this time, so we had to dive off the tube at the next station and run for the nearest toilet at street level. A relieved Bam and I sauntered back towards the tube to continue our journey, and luckily we made it just in time to catch the final train home for the night! 

The following day began with another lie-in and another morning of school by the pool. The day before had been pretty full on, so we thought that in the afternoon we would just have a mooch around a few malls for a bit of window shopping and a bite to eat. The electronics mall at Sim Lim Square is an absolute Mecca for everything tech. I was looking for an underwater selfie stick for my new GoPro, and I eventually managed to find one tucked away on a dusty shelf among the plethora of geeky boutiques. We also found an awesome shop called Dr. Clawtopus where you can apparently “claw your addiction away”! Just another example of the deeply rooted gambling culture which is nurtured here from an early age. These are no ordinary grabber machines, oh no! Each one has been cunningly designed as a game of luck (and maybe a tiny bit of skill) by each machines tenant owner. A genius if completely bonkers idea.

Also on the list this afternoon is a wander down by the waterfront, to see the world famous Merlion statue outside the Fullerton Hotel. This impressive 70 ton half fish half lion supposedly represents Singapores origins as a fishing village (the fish, duh), and the fact that Singapore means Lion City (the lion, c’mon). It’s pretty impressive for sure, and it provides a bit of entertainment for the kids and a great selfie opportunity as it rains a cooling mist down on the crowds. What’s more impressive though is the surroundings. The views from here across the Bay are amazing, the Singapore skyline is a thing of beauty and it’s great to simply wander about and take in the sights.

Before we head back for an early night, we decided to visit a traditional dessert house for an alternative dinner. This is not the kind of dessert us westerners are used to though, far from it. It doesn’t even look like dessert. Obviously, with my wife being from Hong Kong, I’m pretty accustomed to this sort of thing. In fact it’s a bit of a running joke in our house that for their desserts they just pretty much add sugar to savoury ingredients to produce some form of sweet slop. But give it a chance and this stuff can be pretty good, despite its dubious curb appeal. Ignore the descriptions of the ingredients too! Grass jelly and cheese foam sound pretty weird right, but when in Singapore…

We had one more day in Singapore. Our flight to Sydney was just after midnight, so we managed to pack up and get out of the hotel by midday, leaving our bags at reception to pick up later. Today we wanted to check out Chinatown, as it’s getting close to Chinese New Year, and the place would be buzzing. It did not disappoint. The Chinatown in Singapore is a huge sprawling place (compared to the ones I’ve been to before anyway), and it’s well worth a few hours just wandering through the markets and the streets. There are thousands of food options here, and my best advice would be to avoid anything on a street corner with a load of old white tourists sat outside and a soundtrack of Bon Jovi blasting from the speakers. Those places are gonna be twice the price for sub standard food. Be adventurous, dig deep, and find the food courts which are filled to the rafters with locals eating $5 pork belly noodles, that’s where the real action is. There’s a huge food court in the China Town Complex building, complete with stalls to browse and a wet market downstairs in the basement.

We chose to visit a local foodie haunt that we’d heard a lot about. Hawker Chan is the home to the very first Michelin starred hawker meal in the world. He earned his Michelin star from a small hawker stall in Chinatown in 2016, and 2021 was the first year since that he had not been awarded the star. So even though it currently doesn’t have a Michelin star, his speciality soy sauce chicken and rice is still known as being the cheapest Michelin starred meal in the world (even though it’s now $8 – a 300% price rise in 6 years). Since his culinary success he has become a pretty big deal with several branches opened in Singapore and worldwide. We chose to visit the restaurant on Smith Street in Chinatown to avoid the queues of the hawker stall a few hundred metres away (they serve the same food), and we lucked out because who was dishing out the lunches when we walked in – none other than Chan Hon Meng himself (selfie time!). We had the famous soy chicken and his fabulous Char Siu pork, and both were fantastic. Dare I say it, but I think the pork was even better, with the most luxurious and sweet glaze I have ever tasted. Well worth the visit if you’re in the area.

Our plan for the afternoon was to take a visit to the top of the Marina Bay Sands hotel for a view of the city from its SkyPark observation deck on the 57th floor. That’s the crazy looking 3 towered building with what looks like a cruise liner plonked on top which dominates the skyline in the Marina area. There is a full length infinity pool on that ferry-esque top level as well, but only hotel guests are allowed anywhere near it. Unfortunately there is a storm circling nearby and the SkyPark isn’t open to the public. Luckily there are loads of amazing attractions in this part of Singapore to marvel at, so we wander through the Gardens by the Bay instead. You could spend a whole day meandering through the various attractions here, taking in the Supertree Observatory, the OCBC Skyway aerial walkway or the enormous flower dome. But we only had a few more hours to kill, so we chose to visit the other soaring, geodesic greenhouse by the water, Cloud Forest. This huge, air conditioned dome houses a 35 metre tall indoor mountain, densely planted with perfectly maintained tropical vegetation and an enormous indoor waterfall. It is also currently hosting an Avatar themed exhibition with various characters hiding among the Flora and interactive exhibits to keep the kids entertained. It is simply jaw dropping in its beauty, and well worth the entry fee, especially as we were avoiding the tropical rainfall happening outside at the same time.

I had also planned on having a Singapore Sling in the bar at the Raffles hotel today (I know right, tourist insta-Mecca, but famous for a reason), however I suddenly realised that I was probably slightly underdressed. Despite the fact that they probably wouldn’t appreciate my new Smurf-like haircut and the holes in my clothes, I may have gotten away with it had it not been for the flip flops, that would be the real deal breaker! Ah well, maybe next time round.

That’s it for our first stint in Singapore, we will be back in about 11 weeks to stay on the local island of Sentosa. All that was left now though was to make it to the airport in plenty of time to squeeze in a missed day of lessons while we waited for our next flight. Next stop, Sydney…