Me at the Marina Bay Sands infinity pool - sadly, a cloudy day
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My Winter Trip to Asia and Hawaii: A Day in Singapore

ByThe Miles Professor

In December, I took a two week trip away from the cold! I started in New York and stopped in Hawaii for a week en route to Asia, breaking my time between two islands: Maui and Kauai. After Hawaii, it was off for a quick stop in Singapore, 5 days in Phuket and two days in Tokyo. This was my first ever trip to Asia and we had a great time! I flew Business Class most of the way, stayed at the top notch hotels Andaz Maui Wailea, Le Meridien Phuket Beach Resort and the Conrad Tokyo.

Trip Report Index

Singapore was our first stop in Asia, where we spent a full day before heading off to Phuket. Although our visit was quick, we managed to get a flavor for the city and had a few activities. Our day consisted of:

  • Walking around the city and the Marina Bay.
  • Lounging by the infinity pool at Marina Bay Sands.
  • Spending an evening at the night safari.

Once we woke up, we had a very full breakfast buffet at the Conrad Centennial Singapore and were free to proceed with the day’s mission: walking to the Marina Bay Sands and visiting the infinity pool. Prior to leaving, we booked our tickets for the night safari that evening and were off on our one-day Singapore adventure.

Teddy Bear Christmas tree as the Conrad Centennial Sinapore
Teddy Bear Christmas Tree at the Conrad Centennial Sinapore

Singapore is quite small and compact so you can easily walk anywhere. It’s right on the equator and enjoys a tropical year-round climate. With a population of only 5.4 million, Singapore has the world’s highest percentage of millionaires. In fact, one of every six households has at least one million US dollars in disposable wealth (excluding property, businesses, and luxury goods, which if included would further increase the number of millionaires, especially as property in Singapore is among the world’s most expensive) (information from Wikipedia). With that much wealth, everything is pristine, extravagant and even the taxis in Singapore are Mercedes.

Marina Bay Sands and The Tallest Infinity Pool in the World

The Marina Bay Sands is a newly constructed resort hotel and casino complex that opened in 2010. It is massive and can be spotted from anywhere in Singapore by looking over to the marina. The three towers are inspired by the appearance of card decks designed by Israeli-Canadian architect Moshe Safdie.

The three of us by the Marina Bay
The three of us by the marina
The Skywalk and infinity pool atop the Marina Bay Sands three towers
The Skywalk and infinity pool atop the Marina Bay Sands three towers

Perched atop the three tower structure is a Skywalk and infinity edge pool overlooking the city.

View from Marina Bay Sands
View from Marina Bay Sands Skywalk

The infinity pool is definitely impressive and a unique way to spend an afternoon. Unfortunately, entry to the pool is restricted only to hotel guests and hotel nights can run pretty high. It is possible to take a Skywalk tour for a fee that passes by the pool, but actually swimming in the pool is not part of the tour.

Marina Bay Sands infinity pool overlooking the city
Marina Bay Sands infinity pool overlooking the city
Me at the Marina Bay Sands infinity pool - sadly, a cloudy day
Me at the infinity pool – sadly, a cloudy day

Night Safari

In the evening, we went to the night safari. A bus picked us up at our hotel and brought us back afterwards and the journey to the safari took about 40 minutes to an hour from the city.

Night Safari in Singapore
Night Safari

The main attraction in the night safari is getting on a tram and riding through the wildlife park, being able to observe nocturnal animals in their natural state. The ride itself takes about 45 minutes. While it’s an interesting idea to do this at night, I wouldn’t say the experience is so completely different from a zoo. However, it is nice to try different things so we’re glad we had a chance to visit the night safari.

The next day was our flight to Phuket. Quick visit.

12 Comments

  1. Were you able to pay with points at the Marina Bay Sands hotel? How much was it if you had to pay in cash?

    1. I stayed at the Conrad Centennial Singapore with Hilton points, a walkable distance from the Marina Bay Sands. The Marina Bay Sands doesn’t take points, unfortunately. Their basic room rates this spring are $400-500 a night as I checked last night for interest, but it can be higher depending on season. There may be more places to get better deals on that hotel with more research!

      1. Wow, and so you guys paid for 1 night in cash in order to get access to the Infinity pool?

          1. Oh wow, and what would be not-normal circumstances? Just walking in and pretending to be a hotel guest? lol

  4. Very nice article. Would love to go there one day. By the way, took your advice and loved andaz Maui. Best trip I ever had. Liked GH kauai even after the ants.

  5. Heading to Singapore at the start of June. My girlfriend is a massive animal lover, but I think we’ll give the night safari a miss. Sounds pretty underwhelming.

    1. I really love animals too and I do have to agree with you. I loved whale watching in the Pacific Northwest where I saw orcas in their natural environments from a non-intrusive distance and I also enjoyed driving through Kenya looking for lions, giraffes, etc. However, I always feel slightly dissatisfied when it’s not “in the wild”.

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