Salsiccia: Honeymoon: Singapore

We left Heathrow at 18:30 on Sunday evening and flew 13 hours overnight to Singapore, arriving at 14:30 on Monday afternoon. We had half-hoped that we might get an upgrade on the flight, but Singapore apparently don't do free upgrades, and it cost £1,900 per person, so we decided not to. £1,900? That's crazy! Turned out we made the right choice because we got exit row seats, plus the guy sitting next to us in the group of 3 moved seats, so we had 3 seats to the 2 of us.

When we got to Singapore, neither of us was particularly tired so we decided to get the train rather than a taxi to the hotel. It was about a half-hour journey and cost S$2.60 each (about £1.20) - plus if you handed your ticket back in at the end of your journey they gave you a S$1 refund, AND the trains were clean, air-conditioned and comfortable. Compare that to the London Underground: £4 for a one-way ticket, filthy, over-crowded and sweltering hot in summer.

Our hotel was gorgeous, and we had a great view of the marina from our balcony. We crammed quite a lot into our two days in Singapore: we went on a city tour, which was a whistle-stop tour of the most famous landmarks, designed to give you a taste of the city and allow you to choose which areas to visit in more detail. The tour took in Merlion Park, Thian Hock Keng Temple, a gem factory, the Orchid Garden at the Singapore Botanic Gardens and a quick stop at Little India.

We went on an evening tour of Chinatown, which included a look round the night market, a trishaw ride to Clarke Quay then a boat trip along the Singapore River to the marina and back. We also went on a night safari at the Singapore Zoo, which was great fun, and we went on the Singapore Flyer, the largest ferris wheel in the world.

Pictures are here, but some of my favourites are below.