We were up shortly after 7.00 a.m. so that we could make the most of our final day in Singapore. Breakfast in the hotel’s Crystal Cafe had been good all week and it ended on a high with my favourite roti prata and bread and butter pudding both being included in the morning’s selection. Reluctantly we then returned to our room to finish our packing, leaving our luggage with the concierge to collect later in the day.
As regular readers of my blog will know, I love visiting toy museums and discovering that there was one in Singapore, I was keen to add it to my every growing list. I had contacted MINT – The Singapore Museum of Toys prior to leaving home and was delighted to be offered a personal guided tour with the museum’s curator. The nearest MRT station was City Hall just a five minute walk away from the museum.
The museum’s displays are spread over six levels, each with its own theme containing around 8,000 items from its vast collection of over 50,000 toys, games and memorabilia. On arrival we were greeted in the entrance lobby and taken by lift to the top floor which doesn’t focus on toys but instead is home to the museum’s enamel sign gallery and roof top bar. Adorning the walls are enamel advertising signs which were common between the 1880’s and 1950’s featuring well known brands such as Campbell’s soup and Lipton’s tea. Glancing through the windows of the bar, there were some good views over the district’s rooftops.
Continuing downstairs, over the next 75 minutes we were introduced to the toy museum’s private collection most of which is on display in glass cabinets. Many of the toys are in mint condition, hence the museum’s name, and these items are displayed alongside their original boxes and packaging.
Each floor is dedicated to a theme starting with outer space where exhibits ranged from Japanese produced robots to early Star Wars figures. I particularly liked the gallery dedicated to well loved characters which are still popular today and where we came across Tintin and his adorable dog, Snowy. It was like taking a wander down memory lane viewing so many toys, dolls, teddy bears and Disney characters and having the benefit of a guided tour meant we were able to learn about the history and cultural significance of the museum’s highlights.
Our tour ended in the basement which contains the other half of the enamel sign gallery we had viewed on the top floor. A further 70 antique signs line the walls creating a retro theme in the museum’s cosy restaurant.
As we were leaving the toy museum the curator suggested we might like to take a look in the National Library of Singapore which was just across the road and where an exhibition was taking place on its ground floor. This was featuring university students’ work in planning and design and we enjoyed viewing some of their scale models and designs.
As the Raffles Hotel was just around the corner we couldn’t resist the temptation of taking a look inside its famous Long Bar. The hotel itself was closed for major refurbishments but the bar had recently re-opened enabling visitors to enjoy an iconic Singapore Sling cocktail. This refreshing gin based long drink was created in Raffles Long Bar back in early 1900 colonial Singapore and continues to be popular today.
Moving on, we treated ourselves to ice cream cones and enjoyed one final walk through the historic civic district passing the National Gallery we had visited earlier in the week. Just across the road from there stands the Parliament of Singapore and the Ancient Civilisations Museum both of which are beautiful, colonial buildings.
From there our walk continued along to the Singapore Flyer, a giant Ferris wheel located near Promenade MRT station. We didn’t take a ride on board but instead wandered along the winding paths beneath the giant structure where we found a shady mini tropical rainforest complete with lush vegetation and small waterfalls.
Our time in Singapore was drawing to a close but we still had a couple of hours to devote to some last minute shopping. We took the MRT over to Orchard and looked in the Robinson’s department store and Ion Mall before making our way back to our hotel a little further down the road near to the Somerset MRT station.
Back at the hotel we retrieved our luggage and relaxed by the pool awhile before it was time to head back to Changi airport. As with our arrival, it was very easy manoeuvring our luggage on the MRT with step free access at interchange stations.
On arrival at the airport a lengthy queue had already formed for our Qatar Airways flight to Doha but as we had already checked in on-line we only had to wait for the passengers already at the bag drop desk to leave before we were attended to. It’s useful to be aware that at Changi Airport all adult passengers can use the e-gates if they had flown in to the airport and supplied finger prints at the immigration desk on arrival. This was a speedy procedure with both our passports working first time. Security scanning is carried out at gates thus allowing passengers to take bottles of water airside with them to drink before reaching the departure gate.
Qatar Airways flights now depart from Terminal 1, but this was just as nice as Terminal 3, with gorgeous orchid displays along its central concourse. Feeling hungry, we enjoyed the Singapore favourite of chicken rice followed by refreshing glasses of freshly squeezed pineapple juice.
We then stretched our legs and settled down on seats at the gate to read our copy of The Straits Times newspaper. We’d received a complimentary copy delivered to our room each morning and I’d enjoyed its format and interesting articles.
Finally it was time to board our A350-1000 aircraft bound for Doha. The flight boarded on time and our chosen seats of 21A and 21B had ample legroom and felt comfortable. Dinner was served approximately 90 minutes after take off and was quite substantial. It was just our luck that it became slightly turbulent just as the flight attendant was serving hot drinks to the row in front of us and she had to stop for what seemed like ages for safety reasons. Instead, we had glasses of pineapple juice whilst watching a film.
I’d heard of ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ but didn’t know anything about it. I watched the film and thought it was excellent, especially as most of it was filmed in Singapore at locations we had just visited. Exhaustion then got the better of me so I settled down for a sleep and didn’t wake until the snack meal was being served. For a change I selected the vegetarian pastry option which tasted quite good accompanied by a glass of juice. There was then just enough time before landing in Doha to fit in another film so I watched ‘The Greatest Showman’ which somehow I’d never got around to watching previously.
Doha airport was running at full capacity as we came into land necessitating us circling around for 25 minutes. After finally parking on a remote stand on the perimeter of the airport we needed to be shuttled to the terminal by bus. This delay, combined with our minimum connection time meant that the departures board was showing our onward flight to London Heathrow as ‘final call’ and we had yet to pass through the airport’s security screening.
We dashed along to the gate which was quite a distance away but there was no need for us to panic as it was still open with numerous other passengers arriving after us. Our final flight of the holiday was on board an Airbus A380 aircraft where we were seated in the front cabin of the lower deck.
After all our rushing we were then delayed 45 minutes as a passenger needed to be off loaded and it took awhile to find the person’s luggage. We finally got underway at half past midnight (Qatar time) and I felt extremely drowsy but stayed awake long enough to eat the chicken and coconut lattice slice which was served shortly after take off.
I then slept soundly for several hours and on waking watched two more films, ‘Victoria and Abdul’ and ‘Mr. Darcy’s Wedding’ which were both good. My final airline meal of the trip was an early morning (UK) time breakfast and reminding me of my lovely holiday I selected the Asian option.
Back in Heathrow, we collected our luggage and then needed to open our cases to retrieve our coats as it felt exceedingly chilly back in the U.K. after the hot weather we’d experienced on our travels. It was then onto the Piccadilly Line of the London Underground to take us back to the mainline station for our journey home.
I hope you have enjoyed this account of my latest travels to Qatar, Malaysia and Singapore. I always enjoy visiting Asia and can’t wait to return. Hopefully my enthusiasm for Asia might encourage some of you to visit there too!
If you have enjoyed reading this series of posts you may also be interested in the following:
The Fullerton Heritage Tour, Singapore
The start of our South Korean adventure
Love Travelling Blog 
Pingback: Day 5. The Singapore Flyer – Love Travelling Blog
Pingback: Day 13. Mt. Faber and Sentosa Island, Singapore – Love Travelling Blog
Pingback: Day 15. The WeeGee Exhibition Centre, Tapiola, Espoo – Love Travelling Blog
Pingback: Day 8. The Gardens by the Bay Light Show, Singapore – Love Travelling Blog
Fun, I really enjoyed Singapore! So pristine. Weirdly (or maybe not weirdly for people who have been there) I want to spend more time at the airport!! Hahahaha.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, I love spending time at Changi airport too !
LikeLike
I will have to visit Singapore 😍
LikeLiked by 1 person
Definitely! I’m certain you will enjoy this beautiful island city! Thank you for your much appreciated thoughts.
LikeLike
A great write up! You did Singapore justice. It’s such a wonderful place to explore & you are spot on with Crazy Rich Asians. Its exciting to recognise all the places that one has visited. I flew Qatar for the first time this year & was really impressed with their overall service. Would def fly with them again. One of the best airlines we have flown with.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for your kind words, it’s so nice to read that you enjoyed this series of poss on Singapore and that you share my enthusiasm for Qatar Airlines.
LikeLike
Thanks for sharing your trip to Singapore. We were in Singapore just for a day in April when our cruise ship docked for a day. Singapore is a nice country to visit and explore. Its safe too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for taking the time to comment, it’s much appreciated. I’m pleased that you were able to spend a day in lovely Singapore as part of your cruise.
LikeLiked by 1 person
How lovely you had a personal tour Marion. I have read all three books about Crazy Rich Asians…I saw the movie but liked the books better. The movie is based on the first book of the same name. And I recently watched ‘Abdul and Victoria’ whilst I was in Melbourne – I enjoyed that movie too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’l try and read the three Crazy Rich Asians books too, I didn’t know about them until now so thank you. I rarely go to the cinema so long haul travel gives me an opportunity to catch up,on some viewing!
LikeLiked by 1 person
They are really enjoyable Marion. Great for the bus/train/plane during your many travels.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Have already downloaded the first one and read about 30 pages so thank you for the suggestion. They should keep me occupied quite a while Sue!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh excellent Marion. Hope you enjoy. Just a bit of light hearted fun.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve already finished the first Sue and I loved it! Will read the others as soon as I have time. It would be great if you go let me know when you come across other good, light reads but of course these will keep me going quite awhile. Marion
LikeLiked by 1 person
Of course Marion will do. I usually read Chinese history books (books authored by Chinese who have gone through Cultural Revolution etc) but sometimes feel like a fun light read.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Sue!
LikeLiked by 1 person
As usual , loved your Singapore and Malaysia posts. Can’t wait to see where you’re going to go next. I saw Crazy Rich Asians and Bohemian Rhapsody on a Jet Blue flight in February from Las Vegas to JFK . Both movies I had been dying to see . Loved Crazy Rich Asians . It exposed me to a side of Singapore that I didn’t really know existed when I went there . That Qatar airways flight looked wonderful .
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for your kind words. I’ve travelled with Qatar Airways several times now and found them to be both good on value and service. Your continued support of my travel writing is much appreciated.
LikeLike
Thank you for supporting my little blog as well.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Raffles would be a must. 🙂 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Definitely Jo, not forgetting the Singapore Sling!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Glad you had a nice time! It sounds like the perfect idea to watch Crazy Rich Asians after visiting some of the locations. Singapore is one of my fav places in Southeast Asia ❤
LikeLiked by 3 people
Thank you Ayunda, I just love Singapore and look forward to returning before too long.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes someplace to consider
LikeLiked by 3 people
Thank you for your welcome thoughts Alice. I hope you get an opportunity t visit Singapore sometime!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for jogging my memory of the Raffles Hotel in Singapore and having a Singapore sling their Way Way Back! It was fun to follow you on this trip through your posts.
LikeLiked by 3 people
It’s my pleasure Amanda. Thanks for taking the time to read this series of posts and for your welcome thoughts. Hope you have a good weekend! Are your household addicted to watching The Ashes cricket as much as mine are?
LikeLike
No not at all Marion. We used to watch it years ago but am far too busy now!! It is always on in the Dr’s waiting room. He is a big fan.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Gosh! You’re brave getting the Underground after coming off a long haul flight… Where are you off to next? I enjoy these exotic trips by proxy but also your less exotic journeys.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Thanks Stella for taking an avid interest in my posts, it’s so nice to receive your welcome thoughts. Singapore was wonderful and I loved every minute of my trip. It’s back to the U.K. next time! Hope you enjoy that too! Marion
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Little Miss, Singapore sounded fascinating. I’d have loved the Toy Museum and so much else. Afraid our long distance travelling days are over. At least we made the US and Canada: https://joylennick.wordpress.com/, plus The Bahamas and many other countries. You’ll have plenty to mull over in your old age, plus fab.photos to ignite memories, which is just great. Keep those feet walking….Best wishes. x
LikeLiked by 3 people
Singapore is really interesting and beautiful Joy and I hope to return again before too long. Thank you for taking the time to read and comment on this series of posts, it’s much appreciated and of course lovely to hear from you. Marion. PS. Will take a look at your link later today!
LikeLike
Thank you, I’ve much appreciated holidaying with you in Singapore!
LikeLiked by 2 people
It’s my pleasure Sheree, it’s so good to read that you have enjoyed reading about my visit to lovely Singapore. Thank you for your much appreciated thoughts.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so much for allowing me to revisit beautiful Singapore and the high quality pictures you used as illustrations of where you’d visited 🙂
LikeLiked by 3 people
It’s my pleasure Ian. Thank you also for all your welcome thoughts along the way. I hope it won’t be too long before I have an opportunity to return to beautiful Singapore.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for sharing ! I’d love to visit Asia one day !
LikeLiked by 3 people
It’s my pleasure Mizou, I do so hope you have an opportunity to visit Asia sometime as it such an interesting and vibrant part of the world. Thank you for your welcome thoughts, they are much appreciated.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You make even the queues at the Gate sound adventuresome! I am especially impressed, though, with the museums of Singapore, which surely must be on my itinerary in 2022.
LikeLiked by 3 people
It’s wonderful to read that you will be visiting Singapore in 2022 and I hope some of these posts have inspired you to visit the country’s museum’s and other highlights. Thank you for your much appreciated thoughts.
LikeLiked by 1 person