The fabulous Infinity Pool at Marina Bay Sands

We were rudely awoken by a selfish Frenchman in our sweaty hostel who insisted on having the light on when everyone was trying to sleep. I made my feelings quite clear to him; at least there were no more sweaty nights – it was Marina Bay Sands day, baby!

We had breakfast and chilled for a bit until 11 when we walked to Little India which was alright but not that great (good for food I’m told but we weren’t hungry!) We wandered back and stopped at Burgis village away from the what, realising why locals ‘hide’ in air conditioned shopping malls so much! We grabbed lunch and walked to Suntec City mall. At 2:15 we grabbed our bags from the hostel and took the MRT train to Bayfront, checking in at 3pm. Our room was on floor 20 (we could have had a lower floor but we got 20 as it was a twin room – not that we cared, we just pushed the beds together).

Now that’s a view

Wow! What a view. A gorgeous from and bathroom, too – just the best hotel. We relaxed in the room before heading up to the 57th floor and the rooftop pool with mind-blowing views across Singapore. The infinity pool was just as stunning as in the pictures if not better. The edgeless effect was breathtaking and the illusion continued right up close to the edge. The majestic city skyline was truly incredible – I had never seen anything like it. I could see everything: the CBD, both ends of the F1 track, our grandstand, and looked down on the Singapore Flyer wheel. Palm trees and sun loungers made the luxurious Nha Trang Brewhouse in Vietnam seem like our sweaty hostel downtown. We swam in the perfect warm waters before getting our cameras for sunset, which was as beautiful as it gets.

The illusion of the Infinity Pool continues right until you get to the edge

Our Hoi An suits and dresses which had sat in our suitcases since Vietnam were taken out and donned. We took photos in our room which looked brilliant in front of our window view. The mall downstairs was so big that we got lost checking out places for dinner! A lovely French bistro called Au Chocolat was where we settled, it had a toy train running around the top of the walls! We had delicious crab sliders, mushroom linguini and four NYC mini cheesecakes, and enjoyed wine for the first time in a long time. It was a lovely atmosphere. Back on level 57, we checked out the observation deck on the rooftop, which had more stunning views. It closed at 10pm so we went back to the pool to take nighttime shots, running back to our room on level 20 to change so we could swim in the infinity pool at night before it shut at 11. After that we enjoyed our room and the comfiest bed I’ve ever known.

Wearing our Hoi An glad rags!

We awoke at 7 in the morning after not a long sleep but an incredibly comfy one. Wanting to get up and enjoy the day and the facilities, we went for a swim just after the sun had risen – it was gorgeous and not too busy. When we booked the room months earlier, we had paid for breakfast too so we got changed and ate at Sky 57. Oh my days, it was the best breakfast ever. The buffet alone would be enough with fruit, yoghurt, croissants, danishes, even smoked salmon, cheeses and crackers. But we got two hot dishes each to choose as well! It took an hour and a half for us to manage eating it all – so good but so filling! We chilled in our room and checked out just after 10, then spent the whole day back at the pool. We sunbathed, swam, ran out of sunscreen and wrapped ourselves in towels to keep the sun off. For lunch we got the waiters who were wandering around to bring us fries and prawn cocktails, before moving into the shade and chilling until 5:30.

Marina Bay Sands is a romantic location

The city was covered in a blueish smoggy heat haze when we checked out the observation deck and looked, as Jo put it, ‘strangely wonderful’. Our last Singapore dollars were used up on Marina Bay Sands Hotel t-shirts (2 for $50) and a Singapore shot glass, then we collected our bags. We used the shower facilities then got the MRT to the airport, taking the Sky Train to T1 and grabbing some dinner and magazines with our last money. It was all a bit overwhelming flying home after 50 weeks away. This was the end of Singapore, Asia, our post Australia-trip and our gap year. What a ride it had been.

Sunset from the pool is spectacular