Fifteen hours sound plentiful when you are talking about layovers but let me tell you, this was the shortest 15 hours yet! We purposefully picked a flight with the longest layover in Singapore so we could leave the airport. Yas! This happened to be with a budget airline Scoot, where you have to pay for everything; from check-in to food and even water! Kay and I even paid to sit together (you better do this online when you book your flight). It was a great flight though so I would recommend it! Also, drinking wine at 9: 00 is acceptable in-flight, right?

We arrived an hour behind schedule and we still needed to freshen up and store our luggage. There is a baggage storage area in all the terminals, it’ll cost you about SG$12 all dependent on the size and weight of the bag. Bear in mind that this is a huge airport so the immigration queues will be long. As South Africans, we didn’t need a visa to enter the country! Woot woot!

After 6 months of winter, wearing a t-shirt outside and still feeling hot is just amazing! Hopped on a taxi and the driver was very helpful; he told us a little bit about the city, the dos and don’ts (do not chew gum!!), and what we could possibly get up to in the evening. We had actually compiled lists of what we could do but we underestimated the lethargy that comes with 8-hour flights. We had missed the sunset that we had hoped for but Gardens by the Bay was a great start.

 I would suggest having dinner at the gardens, there’s a huge variety. I had a delicious vegetable curry and rice for SG$12! If you have been to Singapore, you know that it’s reasonably priced. Things can get a little pricey! The gardens suck you in, the next thing we knew, we were there for 3 hours trying to take photos on the lawns!

From there, we whipped out maps.me and walked across to Marina Bay! Apparently, that’s where everything goes down! You will find bars, clubs, huge shopping centres and expensive restaurants! We saw people running along the promenade at midnight; sheer dedication! It is so clean that you feel as though you should not even be walking on the pavement! For such a large city, it is really quiet! I think people whisper to each other, and maybe old, loud cars are not allowed in the city. Who knows? The buildings are impressive, especially the Louis Vuitton store that gives it that floating illusion! When you have made to the building and have had your walk around at the bay, stop for refreshment! The Dallas Cafe & Bar has reasonably priced drinks and snacks, friendly staff and cool music!

We could have gone to a club but the exhaustion kicked in and opted to go back to the airport at around 01:00 or so. This was probably the best layover I have ever experienced!

Cheers to that! x