Desi Girl Traveler in Singapore
Desi Girl Traveler in Singapore – view from The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore

As you may have noticed from my Tweets and FB picture overload, I just spent the last 4 days in Singapore exploring everything luxurious to do in and around the super-charged Singapore Grand Prix taking place between September 21st -23rd 2012. In case you didn’t know already, it’s the worlds ONLY night race and Katy Perry, Maroon 5 & Noel Gallagher are all going to be there LIVE in concert! Now that’s my kinda race 🙂

So we sussed out a whole lot of awesomeness in 4 days and figured the best thing to do would be to give you my Top 10. The cool thing about the race weekend is that people start partying pretty much from 3pm onwards and you can sneak in to all the tourist attractions before the race while enjoying everything “dark & luxurious” once the sun goes down. So here we go; Ready. Set. Singapore!

1. Room with a View

If you’re open to splurging a little, I highly recommend getting a room at the Ritz. I mean for one, it’s the Ritz…

The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore
The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore

…and two, the view of the city through the octagon-shaped bathroom window means you’re not only in superb feng shui land but you can watch the city light up from the comfort of your bubble bath. #epicwin

The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore
The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore

The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore is conveniently located in the heart of Marina Centre, just about 20-minutes from the airport, and their luxury accommodations feature views of the Singapore skyline and Marina Bay and a 4,200 piece contemporary art collection including works by Frank Stella, Andy Warhol and Dale Chihuly, all just a short scenic stroll from the Singapore Flyer!

The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore
The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore

Facebook: ritzcarltonsingapore

2. Marina Bay Sands

One of the most breathtaking spots in Singapore is the grand Marina Bay Sands. Located along the Marina Bay waterfront with 3 cascading hotel towers, 2,560 rooms, an extraordinary Sands Sky Park, floating crystal pavilions, lotus-inspired ArtScience Museum, Luxury Shopping (including a Louis Vuitton Island!), Celebrity Chef Restaurants, Theaters AND Nightclubs.

MissMalini at Marina Bay Sands
MissMalini at Marina Bay Sands
Louis Vuitton Island
Louis Vuitton Island

Plus the the fact that their infinity pool is on the 57-story high rooftop means you can literally, swim on top of the world!

Marina Bay Sands, Sky Park
Marina Bay Sands, Sky Park

While you’re there don’t miss the Harry Potter Exhibit (they have a sorting hat and everything!) as well as an Andy Warhol: 15 Minutes Eternal exhibit with some exquisite artwork, both of which are at the ArtScience Museum.

Ooh and Shah Rukh Khan fans will love this! He stayed in one of their suites during a visit and said, “I think it’s fantastic! I was just on the phone to my wife saying it is one of the most fantastic hotels I’ve seen. Really wonderful. I want to go up and check the SkyPark, I’ll take my kids up there to swim…”

Paiza
Paiza

The suite btw, also has an automated function in the bathrooms that lifts the toilet seat when you open the bathroom door (!) I’m told SRK was super chuffed when he discovered that and told everyone in the hotel he thought so!
Facebook: marinabaysands

Loads more pix from Day 1 here.

3. Ultimate Drive

Ultimate Drive
Ultimate Drive

One of the coolest things we did by far was the Ultimate Drive. You get to actually experience the thrill of racing a super car on the official F1 circuit in a Ferrari F430 F1 Spider or Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder. Of course I chose the Lambo, it goes better with my skintone 🙂 stay tuned for more on our super car experience (with video!) in a blog coming soon.
Facebook: ultimatedrive

4. Grand Prix Action – Moves Like Schumacher!

F1 curcuit
F1 curcuit

Speaking of racing lets not forget why you’re really there! The 2012 Forumula 1 Singtel Singapore Grand Prix! (If you haven’t got your tickets yet, what are you waiting for?! Buy them right here, right now!)

The Paddocks
The Paddocks

The line up of activities across the four zones is pretty mind-blowing. Aside from a fully-loaded circuit park, expect live concerts by Maroon 5, Katy Perry, Jay Chou, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Bananarama (OMG I used to love them), The Proclaimers and Pretenders.

Plus this isn’t your burgers and chips sort of set up, restaurants across Singapore have been invited to set up gourmet food stalls while guests can enjoy a walkabout across the circuit zones and witness everything from face-painting to a giant ballerina puppet!
Facebook: SingaporeGP

5. Spa Out

I am a certified spa junkie. So imagine my excitement when I heard there is a spa that’s open till the wee hours of the morning?! Located at Guillemard Village, G.spa has a variety of services on offer as well as a detox menu.

g.spa
g.spa

I love that they’re open till 3am on weekends which means you can dance all you want to Maroon 5 and Bananarama and still get a foot rub in before bedtime!
Facebook: g.spaSingapore

The Grand Hyatt also has a fabulous luxury spa called Damia with treatments from around the world. Everything from Traditional Chinese Medicine and Malay Jamu Philosophy to Indian Ayurveda and European Spa Therapy. Go on, indulge!

Damia Spa, Grand Hyatt Singapore
Damia Spa, Grand Hyatt Singapore

Facebook: Hyatt

Having fun so far? I hope you’re making a checklist for the Singapore Grand Prix (and checking it twice.) We managed to pack in quite a bit and just wait till you seen the rest of my recce! Part II, releasing soon on a blog near you 🙂 xoxo

*Here’s Part II!