Overnight Stop in Singapore

Our Singapore Airlines trip to Bangkok from New York had a 15-hour stopover in Singapore, so we decided to spend the night and enjoy the city, which we had previously visited many years ago when we started an Asian cruise from there.

We arrived at Changi Airport, one of the most beautiful airports in the world, just before 5:00 pm, and it took no time to go through security with our online visas that we filled in before our flight.

Singapore is quite small, so it took no time to travel by taxi to our hotel, the Ritz- Carlton Millenia. It’s a beautiful property. Our room was large with a direct view of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel, located just across the bay. The hotel houses one of the largest contemporary art collections in Southeast Asia, including works by David Hockney, Andy Warhol, Dale Chihuly, Frank Stella, and Zhu Wei.

We had dinner reservations at CÉ LA VI, the rooftop restaurant of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel. The venue is located next to their iconic infinity pool, but you do not have direct access to it as it is reserved for hotel guests. We had drinks at the CÉ LA VI bar and enjoyed the view while waiting for our dinner reservation (they let you book a month in advance). They serve modern Asian cuisine, which does not match the view. Everything was kind of bland. The place has a very touristy feel, but I guess you have to see it once when visiting Singapore. One more thing about the famous pool: people are not really standing at the edge of it. It’s an optical illusion (there is a wall behind the edge of the pool).

After dinner we decided to walk to Gardens by the Bay, one of the city’s main attractions. It has been named the 8th Best Attraction in the World by TripAdvisor in 2024. The Gardens are located next to the Marina Bay Sands, so it only took us a few minutes to get there.

As we were in Singapore during the Chinese New Year holiday (Year of the Snake), a lot of tourists were visiting the city. Chinese people have eight days off from work during that time. Admissions to the Gardens are free during the holiday, so it is a good time to visit if you are not afraid of crowds. The park is a horticultural attraction, but during Chinese New Year they have a special theme named River Hongbao, one of Singapore’s most iconic Chinese New Year celebrations. This is an annual event that features lantern displays, performances, amusement rides, and a lot of food trucks. When we visited, they were also commemorating Singapore’s 60th year of independence.

We were a little bit tired after our nineteen-hour direct flight from New York, but we were glad that we went out to discover the Marina Bay Sand and Gardens by the Bay. Next time we will spend more time relaxing and discovering at the Ritz-Carlton Millenia.