Singapore (November 2022 and September 2023)

Singapore has to be one of my favourite places in the world.  It is clean, efficient, has great shopping, restaurants and hotels and plenty of interesting places to visit.  It is also somewhere where we feel completely comfortable, having previously lived in Singapore for a year.   It is easy to understand why Singapore was recently voted one of the safest cities in the world. The only downside to Singapore is that it is quite expensive but it is still possible to find great, reasonably priced, places to eat and drink.

The highlight of our trips to Singapore is always Gardens by the Bay.  The Marina Bay Sands Hotel is quite spectacular, the Supertrees look as if they belong on another planet and the Cloud Forrest and Flower Dome are always lovely to visit.  Since our last trip, the MRT (underground) has expanded extensively making a visit to the Gardens by the Bay much easier.

We were also lucky enough to go back to Singapore in September 2023 and attended the Formula 1 Grand Prix which was a fantastic event.  Robbie Williams was the star performer at the completion of the event which I was thrilled about as I have always wanted to see Robbie live. 

The Supertrees and the Flower Dome

The Skywalk at the Supertrees

The Supertrees and Marina Bay Sands Hotel

The Jewel, Changi Airport.  The largest indoor waterfall in the world.

Beautiful flower display in the Flower Dome

Macau, (September 2023)

We were excited to be returning to Macau as it has been approximately 8 years since we last visited.  We flew into Hong Kong as we were keen to travel to Macau on the new 55km Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge.   The journey takes 40 minutes and is the longest bridge/tunnel sea crossing in the world.  

We stayed in the Crowne Plaza hotel which was lovely with great rooms, service and excellent buffet breakfast. Crowne Plaza Macau

Macau is known as the Vegas of the East as there are just over 50 casinos, the largest being The Venetian.   The Venetian offers a resort, casino and the Grand Canal shopping centre (complete with gondolas and serenading gondoliers!).  We spent most evenings visiting the various casino/resorts as all have good restaurants, entertainment and shops.  We also had a lovely day and evening touring the old Portuguese area which collectively have been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site.  

The Zhuhai bridge in the background, taken from the hotel in Macau

The Grand Canal Shopping Centre in the Venetian Resort/Casino

The ruins of St Paul’s (17th century Catholic religious complex)

The new Londoner Resort, complete with replica Houses of Parliament and Big Ben