Travel Diary: Day 1 – Our first overseas journey – 25 June 2016

After a long 8 hour flight we arrived in Doha at 12am. Our next flight to Singapore was at 7:30am so we spent hours looking through the shops, sharing a meal at Burger King (the cheapest option available) and messing around the air port as over tired, hungry people would. I recommend paying a little extra and booking a lounge if your lay over is as long as ours. I looked into booking a lounge but was convinced not to spend the holiday money on unnecessary things – spend a little, its worth the comfort and rest. Qatar Airways only offers complimentary hotel stays for 8 hour lay overs and longer, I would hope that in future they would offer a lounge voucher for lay overs of 5-7 hours. The air port is absolutely beautiful and has some great installations and rest areas (all pretty full) – we ended up finding a bench and taking turns in sleeping until 6am when our flight began boarding.

Travel tips I learned on this day:

• pack a toothbrush in your backpack to freshen up during lay overs
• invest in a travel pillow (I managed to buy one at the SA Air Port before leaving)
• drink lots of water

---

Travel Diary day 2: Singapore

We woke up early and took a walk to Lower Pierce Reservoir. It is a beautiful, lush boardwalk through the trees which opens up onto the large reservoir where one can walk along the wooden walkway which is raised above the waters edge.

We then visited the iconic Marina Sands Hotel, known for its design and gorgeous views. One can see the whole of Singapore at 360 degrees. I aim to visit this attraction at night next time I visit as there are water shows below as well as beautifully lit buildings and gardens that must look spectacular at night. The entrance to the Sands Skypark is 23 Singaporean Dollars – well worth it. Visiting at dusk and enjoying a dinner at the SkyPark restaurant would be a great idea for those on a bigger budget as you would be able to see the view in the day time and night time.

We then made our way through downtown and towards the fashionable street known as Orchard Road. I loved this buzzing, trendy street lined with cute restaurants and bars on the one side and high end retail opposite. This is a great place to enjoy a good vibe and awesome fashion!

Orchard Road is filled with awesome, colourful art installations amongst the fashion. I grabbed a S$2 ice cream and enjoyed a walk down the road…

Day 1 ended in a much needed air conditioned room as we adjusted to the hot, humid weather. We had an early night as we were about to catch a 7am flight to Thailand the following day…

Things I learnt in Singapore:

• Always carry a bottle of water and stay hydrated
• Keep to the left on Escalators, pass on the right
• Walk as much as you can, you see and learn so much more when on foot
• Cars will ALWAYS stop for you, don’t jay-walk ; it is a serious offense
• Singapore is the only country that washes its money
• It is cheaper to eat out than buy groceries as all groceries are imported
• If you love sports cars, you need to sit on a side walk for 5 minutes and watch the cars go by — Bentleys, Rolls Royce, Ferrari’s, Porsches and Audi R8’s are a common site
• If you love architecture you need to visit!
• A plane lands or takes off in Singapore every 2 minutes

Thailand updates coming soon!