A beginners guide to Singapore

My Singapore Sling 

So what's good in Singapore I hear you ask

Hey again groovers, nice to see you, and thanks for stopping by. 

So If you are thinking of your next trip or already planning a visit to this colorful and diverse city, I would suggest taking a few days to ensure you can see it all.  

There are so many unique corners to this modern city. it truly is a place that has been built with culture and ethnic intermingling in mind. whether it be high-end shopping that revs your engine, quality Asian food, or just to be entertained... here are some of my favorite things to do in 

Beautiful Singapore 

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-marina bay and supertree grove-

This is the spot I would suggest starting off from, In this attraction-packed area there is so much to see and do.  This is a huge garden area with these 25-50 meter tall "supertree" structures you can walk between on bridges which are covered in plants and which come alive at night in a spectacular lighting display. There is a huge indoor glasshouse with waterfalls, and in the adjacent river, you can also see local seals doing their thing.

  I would suggest going there in the afternoon and then heading up to the top of the nearby marina bay sands hotel which is a short walk from there. Its a huge high rise with a boat looking structure on the top. Up there you will find a pretty impressive infinity pool and cocktail bar, with a more impressive view of the city and light display below with a drink in hand.

Marina bay sands hotel bar

view of the supertree grove from the top

of marina bay sands.

-Art Science Museum-

This was an interesting place for kids of all ages....including me. The museum is housed in the notable giant lotus looking building down on the waterfront.

  I was lucky enough to visit right after a school group left. This was an interactive art and light installation called future world, I really loved. Here you can walk through a hall of fairy lights (as above) which changes with music, it was so whimsical and relaxing. there were also a few other displays but this was the coolest. the entrance fee was $18 SGD

After the museum, you can continue a walk along the waterfront and visit the famed lion fountain which always makes for a fun photo opportunity for your token Singapore gram shot with the city skyline in the background.

-Chinatown and Little India-

There are so many "little" districts in this amazing city. and they are so full of culture, shopping, and delicious food 

Chinatown has a great main street market with many authentic Chinese food shops. Both Chinatown and little India have beautiful cultural temples and colorful areas to explore. you can get to both easy enough on the metro which is very user-friendly in the city, and everything is in English which makes getting around easy. 

main street china town

street art in china town

-Clarke Quay and old  Hill St police station-

Clarke Quay is an area I happened to stumble across by accident, on one of my 'get off the train somewhere and start walking' adventures. (these can often go either way) but this day I was pleasantly surprised. This cool and colorful riverside area has an abundance of dining and bar areas.

There is something for everyone down there food-wise, and the area had a big stage area set up in the middle for bands and evening performances, grab a local Tiger beer or margarita and party the night away, after exploring the nearby area like the old hill st police station, which was the most vibrant police station iv ever seen. Just one of the many amazing colorful structures in this city.

This was easy to get to on the main train line, getting off at the City Hall train station, and a 5-10 min walk.

Colors of the old Hill St police station

-colorful buildings and street art-

Peranakan houses, Koon Seng Rd 

As you may have realized by now, and you have seen my instagram feed... you will know that I love color!! And one of my favorite places I found in Singapore was the Peranakan houses.

 Its a gorgeous street of pastel panted, doll like houses in a surburban area. This does take a bus ride from the metro station for about 15min, but it's so worth it if you love cutsie things to photograph. 

Haji Lane street art

A funky area to see and wander through to find coffee is Haji lane, this street has some interesting cafes and street art, and always good for an afternoon chill spot after a day of exploring the big city.

-shopping-

Singapore is full to the brim with shops and malls, It feels like everywhere you turn there is a new mall to throw your money at. so it's a shoppers haven. There are many high-end shops as well as middle of the road western style shops, ie Sephora and forever 21. 

My favorite mall, and most central to access by train lines is the ION Orchard mall, on the famous Orchard Road. This place has everything you would want in one place, and then a quick stroll outside has many of the High-end designer places if you are feeling extra fancy.

On the main street, you can find some great local food places, Try some amazing Hainanese chicken rice which is a local favorite, or yummy laksa. whatever you have a hankering for you should find it here.

So there you have it....a very brief idea of how to start out in the city. Of course, it's not entirely comprehensive, but it's not meant to be, its a beginners guide!

 However, the main fun of traveling is getting yourself lost and finding your own new favorites and interesting places to recommend to others. 

I hope you enjoyed this read and found it helpful and informative. please, let me know if you ever do plan a visit. 

See ya in the next one groovers, gotta fly :)

IG  @nats_travelgram

beginners guide- one week in bali

My top 5 things to see and do in Bali Indonesia

Hello groovers!!! Thanks so much for joining me on my first blogging attempt! It is really nice to have you along for the ride. 

I'm Natalie, an international flight attendant and world explorer, I am currently sharing all my travel journeys on my Instagram and I thought I could share a bit more with you by writing, so here we are.

I have been visiting Bali seasonally over the last few years and I am here to write about my experiences and what I really enjoyed about the beautiful island.

As writing is something new to me I do apologize in advance if I don't follow a bloggy type format or I go off on a tangent, I also can't help any puns or bad dad jokes that may occur!  but thanks for hanging in there :) ...kinda like I am in the nest above.

and what is that interesting nest thing you ask? well, lets jump right into it...

1-   Tegallalang rice fields 

These beautiful lush rice terraces are such a cool place to explore, they are situated in Ubud which is right in the middle of the island.

The terraces have lots of little paths to walk along and a fair few wobbly stairs so it may not be little one or elderly friendly.

A tip is to get there as early as possible!! I know early wakeups should be banned on holiday but its totally worth it!! if you get there at the perfect time, I'd say around 7am, then you could witness the sunbeams coming through the fields for that perfect gram shot and without the crowds which show up around 10.30am, this also makes navigating the paths easier without climbing around others..although its a great way to get to know people intimately ..lol. There are a lot of locals there working the fields who are all very friendly, one even let me wear his hat and do some work. My attire was really appropriate as you can see. 

Tegalang Rice Field

Just up from there is terrace river swing and the cat poo coffee place. no..seriously!!, So there are local cat like animals called Luwaks, and what they do is eat coffee beans mixed with fruit, then when they poop them out they are cleaned (thank gawd) and then used as some of the most expensive coffee beans in the world.  Here you can sample all the teas and coffees they have in a cute tasting tray while relaxing on the glass floor balcony overlooking the fields.

Luwak coffee tasting

This place has a bunch of swings that you can sail out over the valley if you are feeling brave and also the pretty nests with a view that makes for a pretty sweet pic.

I did one of the swings here but I was wearing a little dress which was perfect in the Balinese heat but not so appropriate for the cannoning type harness that you have to wear through your legs, however, I'm sure the Indonesian man who was strapping me up enjoyed his free show. It cost the equivalent of $20NZD to do the swing and have coffee here, but this is not the famous 'Bali swing' which I have heard is a lot better, but I will see when I head back in a few weeks.

2-  Food and sunsets in Seminyak 

Seminyak is kind of a popular spot in Bali, it feels slightly more upmarket and has a lot of beautiful boutiques and amazing food places. We stayed in Ubud for this trip for the relaxing vibes there, (it is very popular with yogis and vegans)  but this would have been my second option for an area to stay.

If I can recommend a lovely cafe to find, is called  coffee cartel https://www.coffeecartelbali.net/ 

they have beautiful tasty food and if you want they can print cool patterns in your coffee..

Coffee Cartel

As you may have heard smoothie bowls are all the rage (oh lord that something my mum would say) and are found everywhere in Bali, they are ridiculously tasty and inventively presented and oh so ready for their gram shoot, in fact, I'm sure half the cafes there all have beautifully set tables and flower props for the likes of me who love taking photos of pretty food!! its a pretty good marketing ploy if you ask me.

Check out the markets, and treat yo-self to some shopping in the areas many stores and boutiques. 

The sunsets from the west coast of bail are absolutely beautiful. A very popular spot is a place called Potato head, its a group of bars and restaurants on a big lawn area. Here you can lounge in a day bed with a drink in hand next to the pool and watch the magic happen, and also watch many people on the beach getting that perfect picture to end their day. 

We actually went down the road a bit, next door to the swanky W hotel (where I swear I saw the actor that played the funny Asian guy in the Hangover movies)...To these quiet bars with outdoor picnic tables overlooking the beach, It was actually a lot better than trying to deal with the crowds. It was the perfect spot to enjoy our very reasonably priced Bintang (local beer) and calamari while the sun went down 

Warung Cantina sunsets

3-  Padang Padang beach and Uluwatu

Down on the lower bottom west side of the island, you will experience the beachy surfy chilled out areas of Padang Padang and popular Uluwatu. This area is a surfing haven and has some spectacular cliff top bars and accommodations with awesome views. some of the places to stay here can be a bit pricey depending where it is situated, I do know there is an epic $3K a night villa with giant pool on a cliff there, but yeah, let me know if you are wanting to look into that because I would really like to come with you as a personal assistant.

Spend the day at the beach then grab a drink at Single Finns bar and watch the surfers below and the sunset with great popular music. Be sure to get there early though as the good tables can fill up quickly.  It's a great social spot.

Blue Haven resort pool

4-  Tirta Gangga water temple and Lempuyang Luhur

OK so this place is a bit of a hike, It's about 2.5 hours from Seminyak area depending on Bali traffic, and is somewhere you would want to get to early before the crowds and the heat of the day creep in, but it's totally worth It.  I got here as it was opening around 8:30am and it was perfect.

It is located on the far eastern side of the island.

These beautiful water gardens were designed by the local king Anuk in 1948, he was admired by the locals for not only designing but helping build them alongside his lower-class laborers. the water is considered holy and many religious ceremonies are held there. 

There is a pool to swim in if you wish and there are awesome statues and Koi fish to see as you step over many stones around the water garden. 

This is a very popular spot to get some nice photos, especially if it's a sunny day and you can see the fish. it costs a few dollars to get in and there is a cafe there to get lunch.  I would hire a driver for the day and see some other places as I did along the way to maximize your time.

Tirta Gangga

About 30 minutes drive of the Tirta Gangga is the temple of Lempuyang Luhur. It's a very famous spot to watch the sunrise. Here you can get a beautiful view of mount Agung through the temple arches.

Side note I have not yet been there but I thought I would give it an honorable mention as its so close and would be totally worth a look. Unfortunately, when I went to go the same day as the water temple, the clouds were a bit too low for it to be worth the drive but it is on my list.

sadly not my photo, but look how good it looks

5-  Tibumana and Tegenungan Waterfalls 

Bali is full of amazing hidden gems and stunning waterfalls, both of these ones are beautiful and easily accessible, and also within just 1/2 of each other so it would make a good sightseeing day trip to see both of them. I love waterfalls and both of these have their own charm.

Tegenungan is super popular and a fairly easy walk to get to. Depending on the time of day you go it can get quite crowded, so once again, get that alarm set and be there as it opens so you can swim and also climb around on the many photo spot structures they have put in place without too many others getting their selfie sticks all up in your grill.

My favorite thing about this waterfall was the fun swing that's next to it. A small market is next to the car park as you enter and this will cost the equivalent of $1 to get an in...cheap day out right :) 

Tegenungan falls

Getting into the swing of things 

Tibumana falls is a lot quieter and the lesser known of the two, some call it the twin falls. 

On the day I went there had been some heavy rain so it was not as serene as it normally looked in the polished pics I had seen on Instagram, It was more like a scene out of the land before time, but I really loved it, it seemed really powerful, like nature once again reminding us who is boss. This is a slightly steeper walk but its a really pretty one, with some wooden bridges to cross and other smaller falls. you can swim here and there are way fewer people which was quite nice. This cost about 80 cents to enter, and my amazing driver Ketut came down for a walk with me, as I was Travelling alone the time I visited this beauty.

Tibumana waterfall

So lovely peeps there you have it,  a rough idea of a few things I would recommend seeing while you are in Bali. Of course, there are so many more amazing places, like the Gili islands, and stunning Nusa Penida. but this is a starter guide for those just staying on the mainland. I would try and stay at least 10 days so you can not only see everything but also have the time to unwind and relax taking advantage of all the massage places and pamper spots on every street, FYI  a 1-hour full body massage will set you back about $7-8nz ....sooooo good!!!! 

The Balinese people are very welcoming and hospitable, and tourism is a huge factor in what keeps their small country running. 

I hope this was helpful if you are thinking of heading to the beautiful island.

Please let me know your thoughts and experiences. 

Have a great day and thank you so much for taking the time to read my first blog post.

Big love, gotta fly

Nat :)

IG  @nats_travelgram