Summer adventures to Singapore and Kuala Lumpur – Intercontinental Singapore (Bugis)

Off into Singapore and the Intercontinental Singapore (Bugis) – part of Summer adventures to Singapore and Kuala Lumpur

Contents

• Seriously – Take a holiday!
• Morning Manoeuvres in the dark, Terminal 5 and Galleries South
• BA776 London Heathrow to Stockholm Arlanda (Club Europe)
• Exploring Stockholm on the cheap (Travel Plus!) 
• Back to Arlanda, Stockholm Arlanda Lounge
• QR168 Stockholm Arlanda to Doha (Hamad International Airport) – (Business Class)
• Six Hours in at Al Mourjan Doha’s Lounge
• QR944 Doha – Singapore Changi International (Business Class)
• Intercontinental Singapore
• Exploring Singapore by boat
  
• From the Top of the Marina Sands
• Back to Changi T2, SATS Lounge 
• MH624 Singapore to Kuala Lumpur International Airport
• Into KL, Holiday Inn Express KLCC, Kuala Lumpur
• Adventures in KL
• KL Tower (or yes, Kevin is in yet another tall building)
• Back to KLIA
• MH611 Kuala Lumpur International Airport to Singapore Changi
• Exploring Singapore again with a tweep
• Back to Premium, dnata lounge, Singapore T3
• QR947 Singapore Changi to Doha (Business Class)
• A Dash through Doha…
• QR169 Doha – Stockholm Arlanda (Business Class)
• From Premium to Economy featuring the Aurora Lounge
• BA777 Stockholm Arlanda to London Heathrow
• To have flown, To Wait…
• I need another break…

With the plane at the gate, I headed off it, and into the luxury that is Singapore Changi Airport. After a comfort break, I headed off to one of the SkyTrain to the Arrivals and Transfers area.

This way?

That-a-way.

I didn’t particularly want to hang around after the long-haul fight, so I headed straight towards arrivals.

At arrivals, my passport was scanned, landing card collected, and my thumb prints collected. With that, my passport was stamped (for the first time for this little passport), and I was free to proceed.

Of course, what’s straight after passport control? Correct. More Duty Free.

Luggage was beginning to spit out of the belt, and eventually my bag spat out.

As our plane was a little late landing, I was in the mood to haul ass to the hotel. I could had done a taxi, but there’s a perfectly good Mass Rail Transit Solution. I therefore exited the secure area, and into the bright lights of Changi T3.

Into Singapore!

From there – it was a case of follow the signs. And yes, it easy to follow the signs….

Dear airports of the world. Please note – nice clear signs that are readable. *cough KLIA*.

I did ponder a cup of Heavenly Wang… instead, I ploughed on.

Yes, Heavenly Wang is a thing. Let’s just all accept it and move on.

After coming to some escalators, the backpacks went on, and I headed to the MRT.

Down to the MRT.

I paid for a NETS Flashpay smartcard (SG$12) and blipped my card through to the waiting train.

There’s a train in a minute.

Almost time to go!

With the train on the go, I got used to my environments. And yes, paid Pokemon Go. Because it is possible to use it as a tourism tool.

A change of train at Tanah Merah, and it was a direct ride to Bugis

Although I feel my bag needs more “Remove before flight” tags. In fact, I’ve got to make some sometime to give away.

Getting closer.

Although Singapore loves its public education on the MRT.

I guess Pan Am Bag would be relegated to the floor…

Also, the joy of localisation with adverts.

Umm. No thank you Siri.

Soon enough, the MRT dropped me off at Bugis station for the short walk to the Intercontinental Singapore.

Up we go!

And when I left the MRT and headed into the heat of Singapore – well, let’s say I don’t do heat well. Least of all heat with humidity. Thankfully, the Intercontinental is a short walk.

Bugis crosswalk.

Bugis Plus.

Thankfully, a walk down the road, a left turn and I was thinking I was waaaay out of my league when it comes to hotels.

At night…

During the day.

Intercontinental Singapore

Rate Paid: IHG Ambassador 2-4-1 – Upgraded from Deluxe to Heritage room

I was welcomed to the hotel, and check in was commenced. My room was upgraded (thanks to my Ambassador status – one of the few statuses 1) I’d pay for and 2) seems to be worth it with the consistent with its benefits).

Reception

Flowers

My 2-4-1 voucher was accepted for payment for the Saturday night, and my card was swiped for the bill. That all done, I was given a welcome gift.

Reception area

Reception

During the day.

 
Bar area

With the formalities completed, I headed upstairs to my room.

To the upstairs!

Up we go!

I found my room without too many problems, and headed in. And I found one heck of a large room.

Luggage sits here…

The room.

Facing towards the hallway and bathroom.

The bed itself was comfortable. In comfort terms – it was tough to pull me out of bed. That to me is a sign of a good bed.

I did a little exploring of the room. On the table was a welcome amenity… with an orchid.

Close up of the amenity

The sofa….

… also good during the day when typing… with scatter cushions… umm.. scattered.

In terms of connectivity – there’s plenty. Including sockets which could take any plug you could throw at it, and USB power.

Desk

Some considerate designs here –  again – I love the USB Sockets and power points. I might have even wrote about it.

Oh, there were multi-receptacle sockets and USB points by the bed too.

As well as a telephone and Sony alarm clock.

On the other side, there was a smartphone, loaded with tourist guides, premium information… and unlimited data. That’s a discussion for another day… but I found it useful.

We’ll catch up about this Infocus Smartphone Handy. It was… handy.

Outside, the views didn’t look too inspiring with the national library outside.

Looking down….

And the pool. Not that I visited it.

But if you looked to the left, Mariana Bay was in the distance.

There was also a mini bar – not that I paid attention to that.

This is far more interesting.

As well as the water and tea, proper ground coffee with a cafetiere was provided.

Two bottles of water per day were provided.

Let’s look at the bathroom. And again, a large space was found with all the amenities one could wish for

Toilet and sink

A proper bathtub.

The default Intercontinental soap

Line them up.

Two days here were very pleasurable – and more importantly for me – a useful base to explore Singapore.

My check-out was handled quickly and efficiently, and my baggage was stored by them willingly whilst I went off to do a little exploring during my time in Singapore.

Overall: Friendly, efficient and a lovely property. Combine that with a decent bed, good connectivity and little thoughts – it makes for a good hotel experience. Which if you’re travelling, and have limited time to hand make for a good combination.

It’s on my list if I ever return to Singapore.

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