Well, having read how busy the rooftop pool gets during the day we though we'd try before breakfast to get the "selfie shot". It was already crazy busy but we got in anyway really quickly because it wasn't very warm! The views are amazing so I did it.

As we have lunch organised early, we didn't see the value in a buffet breakfast here that would cost over $100 . So, we went to the food court at the mall (part of the hotel complex). It's very high end shopping in there but worth seeing.

we then went to look at Gardens By the Bay which is next to the hotel and has opened since I was last in Singapore with Rach and Lee. It was pretty cool. We didn't have long allocated to see the gardens so we chose only 1 of the 2 conservatories (huge air conditioned domes). This was absolutely enough garden and flower gazing for me anyway amongst selfie-mania.

Tim had then arranged to have lunch with a friend from his teenage days (and her husband) who have lived here in Singapore for 13 years. They booked a place in Dempsey Hill for lunch. This whole area used to be an old deserted army camp only a few years ago but is now a trendy collection of restaurants and shops. There are many choices of cuisine in this area - about a 5 minute drive from Orchard Road. We had excellent fusion Chinese food there with a nice green leafy outlook . It was also very interesting hearing about their life in Singapore.

And then to Raffles. An iconic Singapore location where Tim and I had a Singapore Sling each which cost $75. He thinks 2 cartons of beer on special at Dan's is much better value. This stop did not impress him too much - iconic or not.

A quick return to the hotel to shower and change for dinner. The traffic is starting to pick up with road closures. Whilst next weekend is the official weekend to celebrate 50 years of independence, the practice run is today with parades, fireworks etc. The whole city is lit up with Singapore 50 lights and banners and many taxis have also been sign written. Before traffic worsened we hurried to Clarke Quay for drinks and dinner and enjoyed some tapas. The airforce put on a show over Singapore whilst we were there. Whilst our view was not the best, the sounds were very loud and there was considerable excitement in the air . Tim was then keen to return to the Marina Bay Sands vantage positions to enjoy the fireworks (apparently not visible from Clarke Quay). We missed the first part of show due to traffic, and had intended on getting into the rooftop pool with quite possibly a thousand others to see the rest. Granted, we are probably taller than most others who would be in the pool, but knew it would probably not be a pleasant experience really being crammed in that pool like sardines (and not entirely certain that people would be getting out to use the toilet). So, we remembered that there was a glass wall on our floor at the hotel which would provide a cracking view - we hoped that we wouldn't have to share it with others. Thankfully, we were the only ones who had thought of this, so we had amazing views from the 15th floor and we were on our own! The firework show was pretty amazing, that's for sure!

In terms of an overall wrap up of the Marina Bay Sands hotel, it was as I expected . We only had a limited time in Singapore and it was conveniently located for the things that Tim wanted to see (including the hotel itself and the infinity pool. You can only access the pool if you are a hotel guest. The room was very nice.

It is incredibly crowded on the foyer with tourists everywhere, and with 2500 guest rooms there are plenty of guests too. With a casino, mall, 60 restaurants, a theatre, the gardens by the bay etc - you could spend days here without leaving the site. it was perfect for our stay. However, if you are looking for some peace and quiet, and to sit by a pool for a few hours in relative tranquility -don't stay here! Whilst amazing there is nothing tranquil about that pool! 

The other quite strange thing is the lift situation. You often need to change lifts to get to the top (only some lifts go to some floors). There is the added complexity of there being 3 towers. This is fine in itself...but it does seem to be very common to put on your bath robe to go to the pool and then to get back to your room end up in the foyer to change lifts . Hence...in a very busy 5 star hotel foyer with fancy dining...there are lots of bedraggled wet people wandering around in bath robes. Quite amusing. 

As I just cannot sleep successfully on planes, and usually have to endure night flights from south east asia to get home (and feel horrid the next day) I had booked a day flight home. This meant an early rise to get to the airport for a 7am departure. However, this was quite a pleasant flight of only 7 hours duration, and the best part was that the girl in front of me took a tablet which knocked her out and she totally forgot to recline her seat for the whole flight and there were NO screaming and badly behaved children. It was pretty good. 

We then arrived in Sydney and with no other flights having arrived, we walked straight through customs without having to line up at all.

We had a quick 90 minutes at the qantas club in sydney before our flight to Port Macquarie.