I accompanied Bobby on a work trip to Singapore. We set out on October 13, 2025. Getting there took even longer than planned because of a four hour delay at JFK. We got manicures and pedicures, and went out to dinner to pass the time. We had an eight hour layover in Istanbul. We took a shuttle bus to a hotel where we slept for about two hours and then went back to the airport. It was nice to spend all that time alone with Bobby. During the long flights to and from Singapore, I watched the entire Harry Potter series (eight movies!), The Materialists, and Megalopolis.

I bought a Go City pass for seven attractions without knowing if I would have time to get to seven, but I worked it out and got to see more than seven.

Day One:

Big Bus Red Line Tour

Gardens by the Bay: Flower Dome

Gardens by the Bay: Cloud Forest

Gardens by the Bay: Supertree Grove

I went up on the Skyway and it was my favorite thing up to that point. It was like each attraction was better than the previous one. I took so many pictures and loved the views. It looked like it was going to thunderstorm any second, but it never did.

From the Gardens By the Bay website:

Come face to face with 12 of the Garden’s 18 Supertrees at the Supertree Grove! Rising up to 50 metres above ground, these iconic giants provide shade in the day and come alive with an exhilarating light and music show at night.

… More than just futuristic-looking structures, the Supertrees present a bold new way to grow and display plants.

… 7 of the Supertrees are designed to harvest solar energy

Gardens by the Bay: Floral Fantasy

This place was breathtaking. I don’t exactly know what it was – some sort of garden with a mixture of real plants and artificial plants – but it was gorgeous. It was also great that there were not many people around. With the sounds of relaxing music and waterfalls it was a nice place to sit and meditate. I spent awhile in there, feeling grateful for the beauty, and the AC.

Big Bus Yellow Line Tour

Next I walked through the amazing Marina Bay Sands hotel to get to the bus stop for the yellow line tour. This brought me around the other side of the city, by the botanic gardens, hotels, churches, and lots of shopping galleries. I could see some interesting architecture as I rode by, but I had no interest in getting off the bus to shop.

Raffles Hotel & Chijmes

Here’s where I got off the bus to see the hotel where the Singapore Sling drink was created. I never drank one, and hopefully, never will. I walked over to another site called Chijmes, which was a filming location in the movie, Crazy Rich Asians.

Boat Quay & Merlion Park

At night, Bobby was free and we ate dinner together. (I took pictures of the subway because it was as clean as I heard it would be.) We went to a restaurant at the Boat Quay for dinner. Then we walked around and the lights were really pretty. We headed to Merlion Park because I wanted to see the Merlion statue, and the light show at the Marina Bay Sands. It was kind of dull because we couldn’t really hear the music, but it was pretty. I never did make it to the light show at the Supertree Grove.

Day Two:

Metropolitan YMCA Hotel

The hotel we stayed in was not in downtown Singapore, but the walk to the subway was not very far. There were also bus stops nearby, but when I tried to take a bus one time, it really didn’t work out, and I stuck with the subway after that. The hotel provided us with breakfast, so that was convenient. I canceled the downtown bike tour I had booked for Day Three. I would have been riding around the same areas that I had seen on the red and yellow line bus tours, and more importantly, I really didn’t want to be riding a bike in the hot, humid weather.

On the second day, I went to two sections of the zoo. I would’ve loved to have seen the Singapore Zoo, the River Wonders, and the Night Safari, but there just wasn’t enough time. So I picked what sounded most interesting to me, Bird Paradise, and a park called Rainforest Wild Asia because it was right next to it. I was not disappointed. Both parks were amazing. I got tired out at the rainforest because I had been walking in the heat and humidity for quite a while. I was drenched with sweat that day, but I loved it (the parks, not being sweaty) and took way too many pictures.

Bird Paradise

Rainforest Wild Asia

Day Three:

At night on Day Two, I planned what I would do on Day Three, which was to explore Sentosa. I decided to take the Singapore cable car ride (one of the Go City attractions) to get to the island. I already had a reservation in the afternoon for an observation deck at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel. I had anxiety that the cable cars would be crowded and I would have to wait in a long line and not make it back in time for the reservation. Also, taking a subway there was gonna take an hour, so I ended up getting an Uber type ride, with an app called Grab. As is usually the case with projecting negatively into the future, there was no need to worry. I rode in my very own cable car because I was the only one there.

Singapore Cable Car

I really wished I had more time to spend on the island of Sentosa. There was a Universal Studios theme park, a wax museum and more…but I would have loved to spend a whole day (or week) at the beaches.

On Sentosa, I found my way to the beach station and got on the tram. I stopped at Tanjong Beach, then walked over to Palawan Beach. I crossed over the rope bridge and climbed the two watch towers. I guess I made it to the islet known as the southernmost point of continental Asia. The views were beautiful. I so wanted to plop down on the beach for the day, but since I only had two hours, I made my way to Siloso Beach. (On the way I ate some gelato for lunch.) This place was empty, so I left my backpack unattended and went in the water up to my waist. I was wearing a bathing suit, but I only brought bottoms to change into so I didn’t want to get my upper body wet. The water was warm and wonderful. After a few minutes, I went to the changing room, back to the beach tram, and then I took the Sentosa express to a station where I was able to pick up a subway to the Marina Bay Sands hotel. I arrived on schedule.

Observation Deck

The Marina Bay Sands Hotel is no doubt the nicest hotel I’ve ever seen. And it probably should be the nicest because I think it cost $8 billion dollars to build. I probably could’ve spent a day exploring it. The observation deck was a comfortable space, not too crowded, and offering beautiful views.

Next up was a shower back at the hotel and a Grab ride to Mass. (I wore a pretty white dress and I didn’t wanna get it all sweaty before the banquet I would be attending with Bobby that evening.)

Church of Our Lady of Lourdes

So these are some of the things that I saw and experienced in three days in Singapore. Traveling home, we had a layover in Hong Kong. It was a very long way from home. I always get a little nervous before I leave my family, thinking of going so far away from them. I didn’t even know where Singapore was on a map before this trip. It was not only enjoyable, it was also a learning experience. I’m grateful that I had this opportunity.