The Many Adventures of an Aussie Disney Honeymooner

[zanzibar138]

Sorry to hear that. How's he doing now?

Sadly he is still struggling with it. Seems to be improving but then causes issues again if he tries to do too much (dancing has been a problem, which isn't great!). He has been to the doctor about it, but they pretty much just said there's some inflammation and didn't really tell him what he could do about it, how to fix it or how to prevent it from happening again. I've asked him to get a second opinion, and I will go with him so I can ask ALL the questions

I won't quote every photo... but... Wow! I love this place, just from the photos and your descriptions!

I love it too! Such a unique and beautiful place.

Recognize that building. So unique!

It's definitely a key landmark in Singapore. On our last trip, Ben and I visited the viewing deck at the top. Super disappointing - was so expensive to get up there, long queue to get in, and then there was nothing to do up there. There were a few sparsely placed benches, but they were snapped up immediately. I knew we wouldn't be able to access the famous pool, but there's so much separation from the hotel part, you can't even see it. 5 minutes of oohing and aahing at the view and we were pretty much done lol!

Instead, I would highly recommend the Singapore Flyer. It's way cheaper, also includes entry to a fun historical display on the way in (we probably spent about half an hour exploring) and has never been busy when I've been. We've always had a whole pod to ourselves, where we can sit in comfort for the half hour as the view unfolds around us. Much more worthwhile!

Another nice option for views is the Supertree Grove - there's either the elevated walkway or the treetop viewing deck, and they're both very reasonably priced.

 

[pkondz]

Sadly he is still struggling with it. Seems to be improving but then causes issues again if he tries to do too much (dancing has been a problem, which isn't great!). He has been to the doctor about it, but they pretty much just said there's some inflammation and didn't really tell him what he could do about it, how to fix it or how to prevent it from happening again. I've asked him to get a second opinion, and I will go with him so I can ask ALL the questions

Sorry to hear that. And… you’d think it’d be healing by now. I agree… time for a second opinion!

On our last trip, Ben and I visited the viewing deck at the top. Super disappointing - was so expensive to get up there, long queue to get in, and then there was nothing to do up there.

Well… dang.

Instead, I would highly recommend the Singapore Flyer. It's way cheaper, also includes entry to a fun historical display on the way in (we probably spent about half an hour exploring) and has never been busy when I've been. We've always had a whole pod to ourselves, where we can sit in comfort for the half hour as the view unfolds around us. Much more worthwhile!

I’ll keep that in mind.

Another nice option for views is the Supertree Grove - there's either the elevated walkway or the treetop viewing deck, and they're both very reasonably priced.

I’ve seen pictures of that many times.

Thinking I need to visit!

 

[zanzibar138]

Chapter 8: In which zanzibar leads an expotition to find home

8.3. All the pretty flowers​

Floral Fantasy was just around the corner from where I last left you. We were cheerily greeted by a floral Steamboat Willie.



The floral displays speak for themselves really, so I’ll just do a bit of a photo dump here. There were other people around, but they were spread out enough not to be a problem.









There was a small tropical garden type section before we headed to an inside area.



The displays inside were super cute, representing quintessential Singapore scenes with classic Disney characters.





We exited into the gift shop (of course). I surprisingly didn’t get any other photos, but it was full to the brim with super cute merch. There was a free postcard souvenir with a layered stamped image. The stamps were located throughout the shop, so of course you had to check out all the merch in order to finish the postcard. There was also a free bookmark souvenir, which was kind of like crocs in bookmark form, and you could buy charms to add to it. There were some super cute t-shirt designs, but of course only in generic crew neck styles, and mostly in black or white heavy cotton. I could have quite happily bought just about one of everything, but with limited budget and space in our house, I managed to convince myself to leave empty-handed (apart from the freebies of course!).



All in all, I was pleased we’d made the effort to check it out.

Continued in next post…

 

[zanzibar138]

Since we were over that side of the gardens, we decided to head into the shopping centre at Marina Bay Sands to try to find somewhere for coffee and cake. It’s quite the fancy shopping centre, even has a small canal boat ride inside!



It was surprisingly difficult for us to find somewhere appealing. We could only find fancy looking places or the food court which didn’t really have what we were looking for. We eventually found a Starbucks. Starbucks is still very much a novelty to us in Perth, and I’ve always thoroughly enjoyed their cakes and disgustingly sweet chilled beverages. There was very limited seating available, but we decided to order anyway hoping that something would open up for us. We didn’t have any luck, so we sat at one of the outer tables at the nearby food court. Even though the food court was only half full, we were promptly approached by a security guard telling us that we could only eat there if we bought something from the food court. So we bought a bottle of water from the nearby stall and that seemed to do lol!

Feeling satiated, we headed for the train station (there’s one at Marina Bay Sands, so we didn’t have to go all the way back to the Gardens by the Bay station). On the way, I stopped by a chemist to get some supplies for Ben. It was a different train line to the one we’d taken in the morning, and we got off at one of the stations in the middle of Chinatown. On the short walk back to the hotel, we enjoyed strolling through the market, past the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple, and along rows of shophouses framed by modern skyscrapers.









Back at the hotel, we stopped for a photo opportunity with the massive sculpture out the front.



We organised to meet up a little later for dinner and went our separate ways as we came out of the lift. As I was walking back to my room, I took in the views over the shop houses and the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple from the end of the hallway. I think this is considered the premium view.



I’d just got back to the room and was catching up with Ben when there was a knock at the door. It was a surprise delivery for our honeymoon! And it was delicious



Continued in next post…

 

[zanzibar138]

Unfortunately poor Ben was still feeling pretty sore and sorry for himself, and decided to stay put and snack in the room rather than try to come out for dinner. I freshened up and headed downstairs to meet up with Mum and Dad. Our hotel deal came with free daily drinks, so we met at the restaurant to redeem our vouchers before dinner. There was a choice of beer, wine or the daily cocktail (or soft drinks of course). Mum and I chose the daily cocktail, which was a mochatini.



We all agreed that the hotel restaurant was a little too fancy and expensive for what we were after, so we hit the streets in search of something light and casual.



Unfortunately we seemed to be in the Korean BBQ part of town. Which is of course always delicious! But also expensive and A LOT of food. After probably 10 minutes of wandering, we found a little Thai place that looked appealing, and ended up ordering a platter of appetisers and a fried rice between us. It was the perfect amount.





With dinner done, we headed back to the hotel to call it a night.