Three Days in Singapore: Land of the Laser Show

Our flight from Vietnam to Singapore landed around noon. Armed with screenshotted directions from the hostel, Wyatt and I confidently hopped on the metro.

It should have taken a brief 30 minutes to get there, but we got so lost!

We spent FIVE hours of confusion and frustration toting our big backpacks all over the city.

Not to mention, it was 100 degrees and humid as hell.

I’d had a SIM card for the Vietnam portion of our Asian adventure.

Needless to say, I was REALLY missing it as my sweat-drenched brow furrowed trying to figure out the metro stops.

We eventually found the hostel with the help of a kind, Mandarin-speaking construction worker.

He looked up the address on his phone and pointed us in the right direction.

With only three days until we had to head back to the U.S., it was disappointing to lose so much time just figuring out where the heck we were.

Singapore is not traditionally thought of as a budget destination. However, we were determined to have a great time without breaking the bank.

The first aspect of our penny-pinching plan was to stay in the cheapest hostel we could possibly find– Betel Box Backpacker Hostel.

We reserved two beds in a 20-person dorm room with one bathroom and shower for about $9/night per person.

With limited time in the country, we only planned to spend a few hours at night sleeping at our accommodation.

The measly hostel was definitely not the best we’d ever stayed at, but it worked just fine. It even came with free breakfast (and plenty of ants).

Once we’d dropped our bags and checked in, we headed out to get our first taste of the city.

Wyatt and I made it to Gardens by the Bay just in time for the twice-daily light show.

This free park is gorgeous both during the day and at night, and the fifteen-minute display is breathtaking.

After the lights faded, we hurried over to the Marina Bay Sands plaza for the best light/water show I could ever imagine!

Aptly named “Spectra,” it was so beautiful and intense that Wyatt and I both teared up.

Our next stop was Clark Quay, a bustling shopping and dining area situated along the Singapore River.

I really wanted to find a specific restaurant that my aunt (who lived in Singapore for ten years) had recommended.

We walked around for two miles with no luck. (Directions are not our strong point!) Eventually, we were famished and decided to choose somewhere else.

After dinner, Wyatt and I meandered through the city. We opted to walk back to our hostel instead of taking the metro, both to save money and to explore.

Several times and from many sources, we’d heard that Singapore is a pristine country.

However, we found it to be only slightly cleaner than any other big metropolitan area.

People still smoke everywhere, litter is easy to spot, and the dumpsters are teaming with huge rats and awful smells.

(I assume it’s the coastal cuisine and decomposing remains of fish and seafood, but I’ve found that trash on this trip stinks worse than any other refuse I’ve ever sniffed.)

After this eye-opening walk, we laid down to sleep in our modest little hostel, excited for what tomorrow might bring.

Singapore’s famous merlion statue* greeted us as we made our way from the Sentosa Boardwalk to the beach.

After yesterday’s navigation fiasco, Wyatt and I were happy to have a day to relax at Sentosa Island.

This area is packed to the brim with activities ranging from free sun-bathing to luxury resorts to a Universal Studios.

Opting to stay on the cheap side, we had so much fun participating in all of the least-costly things to do around here.

I had been itching to see a monkey (my favorite animal) since we began our trip to Asia almost two weeks ago.

We had no luck on the jungly Sentosa Nature Discovery trail.

On the Fort Siloso Skywalk, perched high in the trees, my wish finally came true!

My first-ever experience with a wild monkey was actually quite terrifying. One of the two macaques on the Skywalk started scrambling down the railing towards Wyatt, baring its teeth.

I thought it was going to attack!

Thankfully, the animal was just giving us a warning, which we heeded.

Too scared to walk by on our own, we waited there admiring the primates until another group arrived. (There’s safety in numbers!) All of us slowly inched by together.

There are several beaches to choose from on Sentosa Island. We had a blast cooling off in the South China Sea!

After a swim, we went in search of lunch. While we were in Vietnam the previous week, I’d been craving two things that had proved impossible to find: chicken and salad.

Chicken was simply not on the menu anywhere we’d gone in that country. I was hesitant to eat salad because the greens might’ve been washed in unclean water that would make me sick.

(I actually did get a stomach bug in Vietnam, despite my caution. The antibiotics I’d brought with me were doing their job now, and I was feeling much better.)

Needless to say, I was thrilled when I found a restaurant with a grilled chicken salad!

Singapore has potable tap water, so eating greens here had no risk.

Dessert was a coconut shell filled with ice cream enjoyed while people-watching at Palawan Beach.

From there, we crossed a short suspension bridge to what claims to be the “Southernmost Point of Continental Asia.”

I don’t exactly know how they classify this, as Singapore, Sentosa, and Palawan are all islands.

They wouldn’t necessarily be considered “continental” by most standards. Furthermore, a quick look at a map shows that this isn’t even the most southern part.

Visiting this absurd landmark was fun nonetheless!

Singapore is the land of the laser show, and Sentosa Island is no exception. We attended three of them.

First, we decided to splurge a bit and pay around $15 USD/person for the Wings of Time attraction.

This half-hour, complex, beautiful light show/stage performance on Siloso Beach was excellent and moving. The colorful finale fireworks reflecting off the ocean almost brought tears of joy to my eyes.

Not ready to be done with the lights and lasers just yet, we found The Crane Dance.

I couldn’t hold back my tears anymore as two gigantic robotic cranes fell in love right in front of me.

It sounds incredibly cheesy, but don’t judge me. This free 15-minute performance was dazzling and romantic!

We’d also heard good things about Lake of Dreams. We decided to try to catch the end of it.

Confused, Wyatt and I watched the small and strange display for a few minutes.

It was nothing like the other amazing productions we’d seen in Singapore. At least it was free, so we felt no obligation to stay.

Exhausted from our fun-filled day in the sun, we walked back over the boardwalk that connects Sentosa to the main island.

Unhurriedly, we strolled back to the hostel for some sleep before our last day in Asia.

*Sentosa’s merlion, which was the tallest of several sprinkled throughout Singapore, was unfortunately demolished in 2020. Try Merlion Park for a look at the country’s national symbol.

Our day started with a peaceful stroll through Singapore Botanic Gardens.

Malayan water monitor lizards (komodo dragon look-alikes) scramble underfoot at this UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The orchid garden is a must-see.

There are dozens of temples to choose from in Singapore. With our short time in the country, we were only able to visit one.

No matter your religious preferences, the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple & Museum is a site to behold.

Located in Chinatown, this huge multilevel red temple is filled with gold-leaf accents, intricate shrines, and Buddha’s left canine tooth (allegedly). The temple is free to enter and definitely worth a visit.

For lunch, I’d recommend Little India. This vibrant district is only a few metro stops away, and you can find amazing meals for cheap!

In foreign countries, it’s always fun to stop in popular Western restaurant chains like KFC, Pizza Hut, etcetera to see if there are any differences from the menus in your home country.

At a McDonald’s in Singapore, ads for a Durian McFlurry were plastered all over the walls and windows. 

I’d only recently heard of this fruit via signs in the metro forbidding their carriage on public transportation. I found this rule funny, but did not yet understand its reasoning. 

I ordered a small. The smell was almost putrid, but we each bravely tried a bite… It was DISGUSTING.

I’m not picky, and I hate food waste, but I truly could not get this down. The best description I can give of durian’s taste is like a hybrid between a dirty dish towel and stinky feet (yum!).

A nasty aftertaste lingered for hours, and we had to eat a lot of trail mix to stifle it.

The next foodie adventure was much more successful.

My expat aunt suggested we try “kaya toast,” so we went in search of this treat.

Essentially a sandwich made with sweet pieces of bread slathered in coconut jam and a slab of butter, of course it was great.

Ready for a magical evening, Wyatt and I found ourselves back at Gardens by the Bay.

But this time, we wanted to see the show from a different perspective.

Up, up, up we went, to the top of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel (which is a spectacle in and of itself).

It seemed sort of sneaky to be using the hotel’s elevator when we weren’t staying there. However, there were no key access points, so we figured we were fine.

The goal was to grab a nightcap at the rooftop bar Cé La Vi. From there, we’d enjoy not only the Gardens by the Bay show, but also the hotel’s excellent showcase that had moved us to tears a couple days earlier.

Unfortunately, there was a strict dress code. Our tank tops, shorts, and flip flops didn’t cut it.

We were directed to a small, glassed-in courtyard next to the pool, where several other rejects already loitered.

If you want to go out in Singapore, make sure you’re dressed to impress!

Being turned away was probably for the best anyway, as drinks in this country are outrageously expensive. 

I was finally feeling good enough to get drunk (which, let’s admit it, is the true marker of when you’re all better), but even beers at the convenience store were too spendy. 

Alas, we spent the last night of an outstanding trip stone-cold sober.

Gazing out of the small observation window, it was impossible to be upset.

We enjoyed a brilliant sunset, then saw the Gardens by the Bay light show in all its glory.

The mystical glowing trees of the Gardens were dwarfed by the rest of the city stretching out around them.

Singapore surprised me. I feel like three days was just enough to get a taste of the city.

The excellent food, peaceful temples, and glorious laser shows will keep this country in my memories forever.