Hindu temples are amazing by definition. Every carved stone has so many details in it.
We visited Uluwatu Temple the first day, is located on top of the cliffs, and the views are amazing. The second day we visited the Elephant cave, and none of us actually saw the form of an elephant in it, but the temple was really worth visiting, as we also had a woman blessing us by pulling holy water on us and then a type of rice in our head.
We went to Gunung Kawi Temple, a 11th century temple that had SO many stairs, that was literally about to kill me going up after visiting (obviously the heat and humidity didn’t help). Finally, chasing the sunset like every tourist in Bali tries to do, we went to Tanah Lot.
The monkey Forest
In the Bali area of Ubud there’s the monkey forest. Let me tell you monkeys are not cute. They are quick little animals that steal sunnies and everything that gets their attention, and they would bite you for no reason. I experienced that myself, and I had to go to the first AID to get antiseptic.
Moreover, those little animals would run over you and try to get your pants off if they think they’re nice (also experienced that) and do not ever buy bananas if you don’t want to panic and throw them all when you see one big monkey running towards you to get them. The best you can do is find one of the monkey forest guardians. They have little cookies that can allow you to have a photo with these animals without being killed or panicking.
Rice Terraces
Bali is known for its enormous rice fields. When driving on the island you can find them on both sides of the road and it is the most common view. Balinese people also eat rice with every meal. While we were driving we saw a lot of different rice terraces but we stopped at one of the most known ones, named Tegallalang.
With only two and a half days to enjoy Singapore, we made sure to hit the most important and beautiful landmarks.
Although I am definitely not cut for humid weather (heat is ok, I’m from Barcelona anyway, but humid is another story), we galivanted around the city and loved this cosmopolitan asian hub. So many stunning buildings and my favourite metro system in the world thus far!
Here’s the full list of everything I would visit with 2.5 days in Singapore.
What to do in Singapore with 2.5 days
1- Clarque Quay
This trendy neighbourhood near the river has tiny streets with food stands, live and played on speakers. It has so much energy and it’s ideal for a night outing so you can enjoy all the shining lights.
They have a phrase “beer by the bridge” and everyone we saw was following it. The bridge to cross the river has fairy lights that change colours.
The food stalls have traditional food and you can get a meal for 5 USD.
2- Singapore Botanical Gardens
Take the incredible public transport (have I raved yet about it? no?) to go to the botanical gardens.
We walked around two kilometres, and we didn’t even see half of it. They are big and have a variety of plants and trees that are very nice for a stroll.
From lily pads lakes to flowers with vibrant colours, it is an ideal destination to see some of the flaura the country has to offer.
3. Little India Neighbourhood
The most incredible neighbourhood, Little India is a neighbourhood dominated by Indian families. visit the house of Tan Teng Niah, pictured below. Such a colourful building!
Try walking around the area, you will see so many beautiful houses, it provides many perfect photo spots.
4- The Esplanade
Head to the Esplanade, the area adjoining the river and in front of the famous Marina Bay Sands Hotel. Here you’ll be able to walk the Esplanade park, Merlion Park (where the Lion fountain is).
The views from the Esplanade of the skyscrapers of Singapore are stunning and one of my favourites. From day to night a walk around the esplanade changes exponentially with all the lights around.
5- Marina Bay Sands Hotel
Arguably one of the most famous hotel terraces and pool in the world, Marina Bay Sands Hotel is a luxury hotel overlooking the Esplanade.
In order to use the pool you need to have a room booked, but you can take the lift to the 11th floor and have a beer at the bar. Ibiza prices are still topping my 16€ beer there, but it is definitely expensive. The views from the top are worth it in my opinion as it gives you a completely different 360 degree of the city below.
6- Gardens by the Bay
Explore these gardens with trees seemingly taken out of the Avatar movie. It is next to Marina Bay Sands hotel but very quiet in comparison.
7- Chinatown
Chinatown is a bustling neighbourhood and where our hostel was. There are many street markets and stalls and make sure to visit Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Sri Mariamman Temple Hindu.
Where to sleep in Chinatown Singapore: We stayed at a lovely hostel 5footwayin in Chinatown, with airy rooms and in a central location.
Have you visited all the attractions listed above in Singapore?
Last weekend I went on an over night horse ride. It was amazing!! I took the train form Melbourne to Geelong and one of the staff from the equestrian school picked me up. We were an 8 people group, two staff and the rest costumers. The people were fun and we were joking all day long. It was my first over night ride and I enjoyed all the hours riding my horse for the weekend.
We were walking and trotting through different types of paths. My favourites where the forests because it was not hot. We stopped for lunch in a lovely grass area with a little pond next to our path. We ate picnic lunches and stretched a little bit to continue the journey.
By 5pm, when we got to the camp we were supposed to sleep in, I couldn’t feel my legs anymore. I was thinking “If I’m feeling that sore, and I’m used to be sore because I do ride horses normally, how are the others feeling?”.
The camp was too pretty to be true, it had two squared-fenced areas. One was for the horses and the other one with the tents, kitchen and bathroom. The paddocks we were surrounded with were huge. When we were settled, we did a camp fire and cooked hamburgers there. The sunset there was even better than the one in Santa Maria (my village) I have to admit it.
On the following day, we used the same route the other way around, but we changed the last bit. Instead of doing our last part on forest paths or fields paths we went to the beach. We stayed there for about half an hour. Australia’s beaches are usually long, you could not see the end of it. We then cantered and galloped, and it was the best feeling in the world. The freedom of cantering by the beach, hearing the waves and with a view. It was another thing that I get to cross off my bucket list.
The whole over night ride was definitely worth doing!!!! Yes, even though I was sore and stiff the next three days, and sitting down was a lot of effort.
Phillip Island is more of a peninsula than an island, to start with. With a group of Mexican and Colombian friends we rented cars, and they didn’t have a minivan where the seven of us could fit (because, of course, we decided to go on a road trip the day before) so we had to take two cars.
Maru Park
After an hour or so on the road I was astonished when I realised no one would speed over the 100km/h. The Maru Koala & Animal Park was a little zoo with wallabies, kangaroos, rabbits, lamas, wombats and a horse. Obviously, the first think I did was go to pet the horse. Most of the zoo’s I knew of in Australia made you pay an extra 25 bucks to feed animals. In Maru Park we had included with the entrance fee the option to feed kangaroos and wallabies. We had to pay for the food.
Phillip Island
After visiting Maru Park we kept driving up to the “end” of the peninsula. We walked every beach and stoped at every lookout. It was lunch time by the time we got there, so we had fish and chips in the restaurant.
After walking around the “end” of the peninsula, we drove back to a small lake, where we saw 4 wallabies in the wild. I guess Australians are used to see them, but for us foreigners was a highlight.
When the sun was setting we sat down with a couple hundreds of people to watch the little penguins. They get out of the water and walk about 300 hundred meters to sleep in little wood houses. There are the smallest penguins of the world (about 15cm tall). It is completely dark when the penguins are walking. It is absolutely forbidden to take pictures with or without the flash on.
The Great Ocean Road is a scenic coastal drive. It has stunning sceneries and it is one of the most photographed places in Australia together with the Sydney Opera and Uluru.
We did a day trip and luckily we had a sunny day and it only started raining when we were at our last stop. During our two hour trip back to Melbourne we went from light rain to heavy rain to hail. It is true what they say, 4 seasons in a day!
Great Ocean Road
The road starts quite impressive from the beginning. The views to the sea from different perspectives and the constant flora change. One of our stops was a walk through wooden bridges in a rainforest. The weather change from inside the rainforest and outside is so big, humidity takes over.
After the rainforest walk we made it to the Twelve Apostles. The Twelve Apostles are 12 rock formations emerging from the water. At the moment due to natural causes like tidal there are fewer remaining apostles. We got to go down to the beach and chill there before the rain caught us.
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Visiting temples
Visiting temples
2- Singapore Botanical Gardens
