Singapore Day 2: Waterfront Luxury & Iconic Raffles Hotel

Singapore Travel - Day 2

---

Thanks to the hotel's late checkout, I woke up feeling relaxed and unhurried.

---

---

So, all the clothes I packed my suitcase full of for this Singapore trip,

I tried on every single outfit, putting on a little fashion show.

And matched each one with a bag.

---

But after going to a rather 'no-fun' club (Marquee?) with my travel buddy the day before, and only having beer,

just three or four glasses,

my head felt like it was going to split open.

---

Oh dear!

Guess I'm just getting old, huh?!

But the view was amazing.

The hotel certainly lived up to its name.

I'm not sure which river it was in Singapore, but it was certainly beautiful.

A waterfront with a view of the Singapore River!!!

---

Anyway, with a terrible hangover,

I refilled and drank endless amounts of water from the in-room water dispenser

(one of the biggest pros – and a slight con – of the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Singapore Hotel).

The good thing is that you can drink as much water as you want.

The downside is that only ambient temperature water comes out, not cold water,

which is a bit... you know!

So I poured water into a glass, put it straight into the fridge, and then drank it.

Even so, it felt very 'Singaporean' and I liked it.

Below, at the hotel's tennis court,

I could see people playing tennis.

They're so diligent, playing first thing in the morning!

I should learn tennis too,

so even when I get older and become a grandma,

I can play tennis in Singapore and meet a stylish old gentleman!

I vowed. (Though, in reality, there were only young folks there.)

I also received a voucher for a meal at the hotel,

but since I missed all the morning hours,

and it was only valid from 12 PM,

I just ended up buying a chicken pie from the hotel bakery.

That was the moment I first truly felt Singapore's cost of living.

Ah, it was practically a chicken-less pie...

a pumpkin pie mislabeled as a chicken pie, sold for almost ~$7.

After that,

and after checking into my next accommodation,

it was time to head to the Singapore Sentosa Adventure Cove Waterpark

for the stingray feeding experience!!!

Let's go, Sentosa Island, Singapore!

There's a toll to enter Sentosa Island.

I was running late,

and it said it would take 40 minutes by public transport,

(even though I'd resolved to save money in Singapore...) so I just took a taxi.

Everything is pretty close in Singapore, so taxi fares aren't too bad, but

there's a time crunch!

Even though it was a Sunday, I took a taxi around lunchtime,

and even though it was less than a 20-minute ride,

the taxi fare came out to about ~$22.

Singapore taxi fares are generally better than in Korea, so...

I bet it would have been cheaper at a different time ㅠㅠ

---

What I originally planned to do at the Singapore water park:

1. Feeding stingrays

2. Snorkeling with tropical fish in an indoor aquarium-like area

But I ended up doing number 2 first,

and there were so, so many tropical fish inside,

not some lame tropical fish, but proper, giant tropical fish, just like what you'd imagine in a tropical ocean.

But the snorkeling spot was deeper than I expected!

Since it's not the ocean but an indoor activity,

I went in thinking it would be shallow, but it was a bit scary.

Still, even the little kids visiting the water park were doing just fine.

But

at Singapore Adventure Waterpark,

they also lend out all the snorkeling gear here,

🥽🐠🐠🐠💦💦

The goggles were too tight.

My nose was squished, and my whole face felt crammed ㅠ

ㅠㅠㅠㅠ I just needed to adjust the size before wearing them, but

I panicked and just put them on,

and then I remembered I had gotten forehead fillers 2 weeks ago...

From that moment on,

I couldn't concentrate at all, constantly worrying about my forehead being pressed, and I became so

anxious that

I kept taking off my goggles in the middle,

a Singapore water park staff member came over,

grabbed me, threw something for me to hold onto to get out,

I grabbed it, climbed onto a rock-like spot, thought about it for a bit,

and just gave up halfway and came out.

(It's a bit slippery here, so be careful not to fall.)

But even besides that,

you can see fish everywhere within the Singapore water park, just like an aquarium.

Even when you're floating along the lazy river, you see fish like this?

This isn't the Singapore Oceanarium; it's a water park, but

fish are everywhere!

And as you float along the lazy river,

there's a section where you actually pass through a giant aquarium!

Seriously, Singapore's on another level!

Is this a place overflowing with marine life?

Stingrays pass by,

and there are even fish that look like ancient species.

Honestly, just by seeing all these fish while having fun at the water park,

it felt like I didn't even need to visit the Singapore Oceanarium aquarium.

And there's also a small wave pool,

and precisely because it's smaller, it seemed even better for little ones and families.

There were so many Western families,

but I barely saw any Korean families here.

The beach chairs in front of the wave pool...

I immediately understood why other reviews said you had to reserve them starting at 10 AM.

You can sit anywhere there's an empty spot, but

there were only spots left directly in the scorching sun.

Tanning is nice, but my face can't age prematurely!!!

Loud, exciting music kept playing at the wave pool,

waves would come, then there'd be a break,

then it would be wave time again.

Honestly, it can't really compare to Caribbean Bay's wave pool,

but it was still fun.

A peaceful wave pool, you could say.

And the fact that they can operate an outdoor wave pool like this all year round...

The fact that the weather is consistently warm made me so envious.

Some people say Singapore is too hot and challenging,

but I truly believe the tropical weather is a huge plus (a real game-changer!), especially for me.

because I love summer.

And now, for one of the main reasons (..?) I came to Singapore:

I went to feed the stingrays.

I thought it was a good idea to book for 3 PM.

Any earlier time would have been too much for me.

Since I was the only one with a reservation,

I got to feed an entire box of stingray food (fish) all by myself!

Stingrays are just like puppies! And the way they suck in the food... at first,

It was scary at first, but then it became cute,,

The tips of the stingrays' fins were a bit chubby and looked a bit like shark dorsal fins.

The stingrays somehow knew it was feeding time, and they all just started

swarming in.

Someone next to me told us we should wear gloves and hold the fish upright on the bottom,

to feed them.

The staff at Singapore's Adventure Cove Waterpark

told us everything in English and kept guiding us,

so even though I was a bit nervous at first,

I ended up just having a blast.

Because I was genuinely just feeding them,

they said I could gently touch the stingrays as they passed by.

But I felt like I might scratch or hurt them with my fingernails,

so I hesitated to do it.

In reality, though, the stingrays were flapping their fins wildly,

rushing forward and making 'chop, chop, chop' sounds with their mouths,

trying to suck up the fish.

They were flapping their fins a lot and kept bumping into that metal barrier? The enclosure?

They were definitely bumping into it.

Still, what can you do when you're worried?

It was my first time seeing stingrays in real life, so it was incredibly fascinating.

They were bigger than I expected,

but gentle (?)

soft, and as cute as dolphins!

---

After seeing me, a bunch of people gathered around,

and even though the experience was originally supposed to end at 3 PM,

they extended it for another session.

I think everyone ended up sharing the stingray food I originally had for myself, so they probably didn't get to feed many.

Hehe, I felt a little happy seeing that…

---

Of course, on the other side,

there was also a dolphin encounter, which is part 2 of Singapore Waterpark's animal interaction series.

But I wasn't jealous at all, really,,

I didn't even know there was a program with dolphins when I came,

but Adventure Cove Waterpark in Singapore

does have programs where you can interact with dolphins!!!

However, it was more expensive.

When you finish and come out,

the Singapore Oceanarium (Aquarium) souvenir shop

has so many awesome souvenirs.

There were these kinds of…

T-shirts that named the Singapore Aquarium stingrays and

were being sold…

I almost bought one,

but the price stopped me,.

Useless but cute.

In the Singapore Oceanarium Aquarium souvenir shop,

the most useful-looking souvenir available was

an umbrella.

Since it's said to rain frequently in Singapore,

I wondered if I should buy an umbrella. The price for umbrellas was surprisingly reasonable.

I think it was around ~$15.

But I didn't buy one,

and it never rained once during my trip to Singapore.

It was sunny and bright the whole time.

I also didn't have much time,

and I hadn't brought shampoo,

so I just roughly air-dried my hair,

changed clothes,

and took the Singapore Sentosa Express back to my accommodation.

---

Oh, midway through, I felt like I had low blood sugar? Or was it dehydration?

So I bought water to drink,

and even got a Dubai cake to eat.

The Sentosa Express, which takes you from Sentosa back to Singapore city,

is free!

You have to pay to enter, but not to leave~~

---

I got off at the station in Singapore, I think it was HarbourFront.

It's a huge shopping mall,

and I got so confused.

Our proud Paik Dabang... no, Paik's Bibimbap is in Singapore!!!

I had to take photos for my next schedule,

and I was short on time,

so I bought KFC.

In any other country, I would've just eaten it while waiting for the subway to save time,

but in Singapore, you get fined if you eat anything on the subway.

So, with a heavy heart,

I just carried it in my hand.

Singapore's subway system

is incredibly convenient because all credit cards just work.

Why, oh why, is Korea

so inconvenient that

foreigners can't enter the subway with Visa or Mastercard?

Mr. Mayor of Seoul, Seoul Tourism Organization

Oh, please!

Korea's payment system felt so far removed.

While it's not as analog as Japan to the point of making me angry,

Korea's payment system is just too conservative,

and it's a huge barrier for anyone who isn't local.

Please change it!~~~

---

After a super quick makeup session

and a quick change of clothes,

I headed out for a Singapore 'snap' photoshoot (or so I called it?).

Since so many people seemed to be taking photos at the Raffles Hotel Singapore, I thought, 'Why not?'

And because the photos looked so beautiful, off I went to the Raffles Hotel!

It's such a wonderful place,

but the Raffles Hotel Singapore feels almost too luxurious to stay in by myself…

Next time, maybe I'll come back and stay with my boyfriend…? Or a friend? T_T

When it comes to photos, I still think Chinese photographers do it best,

so I contacted a Chinese photographer through Xiaohongshu.

Even considering Singapore's typical prices,

the photos were taken at a really affordable price.

They only do color correction for edits,

but they give you all the original files and seriously take an incredible number of raw photos!

It felt like they took at least 200 shots.

They even said that if I did my own edits and sent them back, they'd handle the color correction.

They really worked hard and captured some amazing shots.

How much was it? It was less than ~$73.

Considering Singapore's prices,

and comparing it to the sloppy foreign photographers you find on platforms like Klook*

whose terrible portrait shots start from ~$109,

if you think about it,

it was an absolute steal!

For me, the portrait itself is what matters most, you see.

All those stunning photos of Chinese women in Singapore

are all photos taken exactly like this, by contacting a photographer and shooting for about an hour.

They turned out super well, right?

I intentionally scheduled it for 7 PM because the colors are so beautiful just as the sun is setting,

but at 7 PM, that inner area of the Raffles Hotel starts operating like a bar,

so I was only able to take that one photo before they told me I couldn't shoot there anymore.

Waaah!

But like the Singapore travel photos I see on Xiaohongshu,

I really wanted to strike those bold, confident poses that pop up,

but I could only manage timid ones.

The Chinese woman who took my photos seemed to be a Singaporean international student (or so I guessed?).

She seemed like an ordinary person, perhaps taking photos for a little extra pocket money…

That was the vibe I got (can't say for sure, though!).

She kept telling me I was 'so pretty, so pretty' while she shot.

And honestly, they really did turn out well!

I regretted not booking the photographer for a second session.

At Changi Airport, I only managed to get terrible photos by myself, so I was full of regret.

For my second night in Singapore, this was my accommodation,

and it was incredibly close to the Raffles Hotel Singapore,

plus it was conveniently located near all the major Singapore landmarks and tourist spots, which was fantastic.

As a solo traveler, one simply must save on hotel expenses!

You gotta spend a night in a hostel to justify a 5-star splurge the next day, right?

But seriously, the facilities were super clean, the location was excellent, it offered great value for money, and it was female-only,

all for around ~$51, which was an amazing deal!

Of course,

while I was walking around, I saw this place

and I definitely wanted to go there too!

Walking down the street, I spotted something that looked like a club?? An Indian club???

Even if it says 'club,' you really shouldn't go in.

I'm not entirely sure, but I had a feeling it was more like a 'cabaret' in Korean terms??

Everyone was going wild, cheering for something – maybe the World Cup or another big event –

but this alley suddenly gave off a strong Bollywood vibe,

so I went into this alley and then quickly turned right back around….

It's generally safe, being Singapore after all,

but I was still a little scared.

I was so hungry,

so I popped into a Chinese-style restaurant and finally got some meat.

This was my first proper meat dish since arriving in Singapore,

and I was absolutely thrilled!

To be honest, I was actually planning to get some noodles or something before this,

but it seemed like the owner deliberately told me noodles weren't available ㅠ.

Oh well, let's just eat!

Especially for 15 Singapore Dollars, it was a whole plate piled high with meat!

Food in Singapore is quite expensive,

and honestly, I hadn't found anything super delicious yet. I'd been eating too many carbs and bread,

so it wasn't really hitting the spot, and I was still hungry….

And a common phenomenon in hot countries is that

people don't really have much appetite.

A glimpse of the shoe rack at our pristine Singapore hostel…. All the other girls were so neat and tidy, unlike me!

Singaporean architecture and buildings often feature crisp, white interiors,

and it all looked incredibly cohesive and beautiful.

Actually, I even visited a bar that day,

but I'm absolutely exhausted, so I'll wrap things up here.

Oh, that's right!

When I got back to the accommodation,

my feet hurt so much that I looked at them,

and saw that the skin on the soles of my feet had completely peeled off!

Goodness gracious, I'm really living life to the fullest, aren't I?

Well, actually, that's not quite it.

I think it was because I went barefoot on the scorching hot ground at the water park,

which caused my skin to peel right off!

Still, I wasn't exactly limping,

and I managed to get by, walking a bit slowly.

Because my feet were so sore and tired from all this,

my taxi fares ended up being a bit higher during this Singapore trip,

????

was certainly... a factor, perhaps?

So, everyone, please don't walk around barefoot in Singapore!

The End.

See you in Day 3 of my Singapore travel blog!

Also check out these related posts:

#SingaporeTravel #SingaporeWeather #SingaporeHotels #SingaporeAccommodationRecommendations #SingaporeWaterpark #SingaporeOceanarium #SingaporeRays #SingaporeWaterparkDolphins #SingaporeWaterparkRays #SoloFemaleTravelSingapore #SingaporeSnapshots #SingaporeRafflesHotel #SingaporeHotels #SingaporeSentosaIsland

#SingaporeFoodie (Turns out, it's not a thing!)