In September we went to Singapore for the Grand Prix weekend. Our friends from Leeds, Rob and Claire, came to visit us first in Hong Kong and then we headed off to Singapore together (to see the tour we provided them in Hong Kong visit the previous post - it does not change!) along with other friends from Hannah's work.
We arrived in Singapore on Friday and got to see the first set of practice sessions on the Friday night. We had seats in the biggest grandstand on a very short straight, the view of the track and the backdrop was pretty good.
On Friday evening we discovered our hotel. Our hotel was supposedly in the red light district in Singapore and had cost us the grand total of £33 a night. On a weekend when it was a struggle to find anywhere below £200 we were very pleased with this fact, and a with short walk and monorail ride and we were at the grand prix track. Anyway, think travelodge (i.e. it has a bed, what more do you want) and you will have the right idea.
On Saturday we first did a tour of Singapore (the racing only starts late in the afternoon as the main event is a night race). First stop was Raffles hotel. I told Hannah we would have stayed here if it had been a special occasion (she then pointed out it was our wedding anniversary...) but the £1000+ price tag was a slight issue!
We made a stop outside the Long Bar, poked our head inside, looked at the prices and left - cheap drinks are more our thing (more on that later)
We then walked to Little India in Singapore, through various markets and shopping centres. Lunch was on the cards once we got there and thankfully that took us to the cooked food market. We've been to indoor cooked food markets in Hong Kong, but this was something else. Row after row of Indian food stalls serving various types of snacks, drinks, curries - you name it you could find it. I settled for a Biriani that set me back a whole £3 and was very tasty, followed by samosa's and peanut butter pancake for desert. The joys of food this cheap is you can keep going back for more, so we spent the next hour (and more) trying various food and drinks. The frozen drinks supplied by cafe 328 were a particular favourite (after the beer) and you can see Hannah enjoying one here :-)
On Sunday we did some more walking round, mainly near the Marina Bay Sands. (At this point I have to admit as I type I think this walking may have been on Saturday, but this is challenge of blogging 4 months later - I guess I can have some poetic licence) The hotel looks amazing - we did not make it to the top to see the pool, but I guess the view is pretty good from there too! There is a big garden that has been built with a number of pods in the air behind the hotel as well.
We then headed back to the track to watch the race. There was a drivers parade first which allowed Hannah to try and take pictures of her hero Vettel (cue lots of booing from the crowd) I couldn't work out which picture was of him (am sure Hannah could tell you) so hopefully you can just pretend through the grate.
After that we watched the race which Vettel won (more booing!) The night was finished with a big firework display and a performance from Rihanna. We flew back on Monday after a great weekend seeing Singapore and the Grand Prix.
We arrived in Singapore on Friday and got to see the first set of practice sessions on the Friday night. We had seats in the biggest grandstand on a very short straight, the view of the track and the backdrop was pretty good.
As I think everyone says who has been to a Grand Prix - wow, it's loud! Thankfully having been prewarned of this we were carrying the obligatory ear plugs which meant you had silly yellow things poking out your ears all weekend but did at least mean you left with some of your hearing in tact.
What we also discovered was a little outdoor food market/bar just up the road from our hotel. Very cheap very cold beer, snacks including Satay sticks and live premiership football on the TV - perfect.
On Saturday we first did a tour of Singapore (the racing only starts late in the afternoon as the main event is a night race). First stop was Raffles hotel. I told Hannah we would have stayed here if it had been a special occasion (she then pointed out it was our wedding anniversary...) but the £1000+ price tag was a slight issue!
We made a stop outside the Long Bar, poked our head inside, looked at the prices and left - cheap drinks are more our thing (more on that later)
We then walked to Little India in Singapore, through various markets and shopping centres. Lunch was on the cards once we got there and thankfully that took us to the cooked food market. We've been to indoor cooked food markets in Hong Kong, but this was something else. Row after row of Indian food stalls serving various types of snacks, drinks, curries - you name it you could find it. I settled for a Biriani that set me back a whole £3 and was very tasty, followed by samosa's and peanut butter pancake for desert. The joys of food this cheap is you can keep going back for more, so we spent the next hour (and more) trying various food and drinks. The frozen drinks supplied by cafe 328 were a particular favourite (after the beer) and you can see Hannah enjoying one here :-)
Next it was back to the hotel. On the way past we found that we had been walking past the "live Clay Pot Frog" restaurant - for some reason we decided not to visit, but we can confirm that their description is correct (or at least the frogs in the tanks were alive, I doubt they were once they made it to the ClayPot.) Back at the hotel we collected the various drinks we had bought at duty free (tax on alcohol is high in Singapore) and made our way to the best patch of grass we could find - just underneath the monorail. Much more our style of drinks than Raffles.
On Saturday evening we headed back to the track to watch the GP qualifying. The atmosphere was great at night - amazing views of Singapore along with the track lit up through the park and along the waterfrong. Hannah tried to look like a GP driver and I tried to take pictures of the cars going past (you can decide which was more succesful....) After the qualifying the Killers then played on a stage in the middle of the track, after which we headed back to our local bar to catch the end of the Saturday football - good times all round!
On Sunday we did some more walking round, mainly near the Marina Bay Sands. (At this point I have to admit as I type I think this walking may have been on Saturday, but this is challenge of blogging 4 months later - I guess I can have some poetic licence) The hotel looks amazing - we did not make it to the top to see the pool, but I guess the view is pretty good from there too! There is a big garden that has been built with a number of pods in the air behind the hotel as well.
After that we watched the race which Vettel won (more booing!) The night was finished with a big firework display and a performance from Rihanna. We flew back on Monday after a great weekend seeing Singapore and the Grand Prix.
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