Asia Archives - Lucy Williams Global

lucywilliamsglobal May 3, 2018

The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide To Singapore

If you’re planning on travelling to Singapore for the first time, this guide will help you to navigate your way around and have the best time.

Whether you’re going for a couple of weeks as a vacation or you’re looking to stay there even longer to soak up the culture, learn the language, and make friends, many of the tips here will help you.

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Take a look and see what you can take away before you visit Singapore for the first time:

The Ultimate Beginner's Guide To Singapore

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Finding Your Way Around Singapore

Public transport is one of the best ways to make your way around Singapore. You’ll really be able to explore and find some awesome things you wouldn’t have found any other way, too!

The MTR is incredibly clean, so don’t worry about that – they are very strict when it comes to things like no spitting, eating or gum. Very strict!

The escalators and subways are incredibly fast and efficient. You can buy single tickets or get a card for multiple rides – purchase an Ez-link card from the ticket office at any major MRT station.

Alternatively, it’s a good idea to get an Uber for late nights. You even have the option to share the ride to reduce costs.

Then there are hop on hop off buses, which are a fantastic way to see the city and get to where you’re going.

Make sure you don’t go wondering off alone if you haven’t got your bearings yet.

Have numbers read for your Uber, a fully charged phone, and perhaps a map or an app to help you find your way.

The Price Of Alcohol Is Extortionate

Something almost everybody is surprised about when they visit Singapore is the sheer cost of alcohol.

With high import taxes (that are set to increase by a further 25%!) you’ll want to make sure you stock up on duty-free wine, beer and spirits when you come through Changi Airport.

It’s the smartest thing to do if you plan on having a drink when you’re in Singapore, (plus it’s one of the cheapest places to buy wine on the island).

Even if you plan on having a casual drink, it’ll be cheaper to buy it in the airport.

Diverse Neighborhoods

Something that is absolutely incredible about Singapore is the diverse neighborhoods.

From Little India to Chinatown, Labrador Park and Kampong Glam (which is a very pretty place to take pictures for your Instagram account).

Singapore is one of the most diverse and interesting places you will likely ever visit in your lifetime.

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Where to Stay

There’s no denying that Singapore is expensive when it comes to finding somewhere to stay – there’s a steep price tag that is easily compared to London, New York, and Shanghai.

Be aware of this when finding the right place to stay for your trip. You might find it cheaper and easier to find a room for rent rather than looking to stay in a hotel for the duration of your stay.

However, there are some cheaper hotels, they’re just not cheap compared to cheap hotels in other countries. Be prepared for this and have a big budget!

Things To Do In Singapore

Now that you know how to get around and where to stay, you’ll want to know a few of the great things that you can do here. Here are some suggestions:

Gardens by the Bay – beautiful botanical garden spot for couples. Great for families and nature fans too.

The Flower Dome hosts different exhibits of plants and flowers according to the season. The Cloud Forest, is opposite; a magnificent indoor rain forest.

Some of the domes are open for viewing until late at night, and this is when the trees light up! It’s a wonderful way to spend some time, and you’ll have an even better time if you stick around for the light show in the Supertree grove.

Whether you’re out with friends or on a date, this is a wonderful activity to try.

Photo Credit https://pixabay.com

Exploring the city and shopping – you may have heard how amazing the shopping in Singapore is.

Fancy Orchard Street is great for those who have the budget for shopping, or Boogies will allow you to find knick knacks and souvenirs.

For those who want to shop in boutiques, make sure you head to Kampong Glam.

If nothing else, you’ll take some great pictures. On Arab Street and Haji Lane, you can find art galleries, handmade perfumes, hipster eateries and great coffee.

Murals and backdrops all over the place make it another fantastic place to take pictures.

Taking the colonial tour – you might already know that English colonialism impacted massively on Singapore and because of this, it has become a big part of its history.

Many history nerds actually spend whole days taking this tour. Unbelievably, there are places to enjoy real English experiences in Singapore – like their version of afternoon tea.

Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve – this is the perfect place for greenery amongst the skyscrapers.

This place isn’t too far from the city, but it feels like a different world when you’re there.

When you visit, you can see bats, iguanas, crocodiles, an array of birds.

Going for walks through the mangrove forests. Is an experience you won’t forget in a hurry!

Some people are even lucky enough to spot pythons on their trip – if that sounds like something you want to do, then make sure you visit at night.

Hopefully, you enjoyed this beginner’s guide to Singapore and you now have a list of things you’re going to do and try while you’re in the area.

Singapore is a diverse place where you can experience many different cultures, activities, people, and food – it really is somewhere we should all visit at least once in our lifetime.

Let us know when you’re visiting Singapore and what you plan on doing on your trip – will you use any of the ideas here? Leave a comment below! Thanks for reading.

If you enjoyed reading this contributed blog post, please share on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest so your friends and family can read too. Sharing is caring!

Happy Travels

Love Lucy x

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lucywilliamsglobal March 7, 2018

Making Malaysia Count

Travelling around the world and seeing different places can give you a wanderlust like nothing else. It’s like a passport stamp for your feet; every now and then, you get the itch to get up and go and explore what the world has to offer.

We are very lucky to live in a time where world travel is not only a possibility, it’s a daily reality. Planes, trains, boats and cars all give us the opportunity to get out and see the parts of the world that are in the complete opposite direction.

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From Australia to Europe, there is so much to see and do that you can try and fit everything into one lifetime and still not manage to get it all done. If there’s one place in the world that is usually seriously overlooked, it’s Malaysia.

When people travel to the Asian parts of the globe, they tend to hit the popular places. The beaches of Koh Samui in Thailand, the city life in Singapore and the quiet beauty of Vietnam are all places that are a hit with tourists the world over.

But if there’s one place the needs a look, it’s Malaysia. You don’t get many people with Malaysia as their final destination, and this makes Malaysia a gem of a place to visit. Those who do end up checking out property for sale as a holiday home away from home, because it’s one of those countries that you cannot help but respect.

The lushness of the green tea plantations is a hugely stark contrast to the chance to go caving in Gunung National Park. There are so many different places to visit that you can find it hard to pack it all in over a couple of weeks.

We’ve put together for you some of the places that you should absolutely tick off when you decide to visit such a beautiful place. Trust us, you’ll never forget it.

Photo Credit: https://www.pexels.com

Before You Go…

Malaysia has a huge plus in that you don’t need to be a visa holder to visit and stay for the full 90 days. It’s also a country that has an excellent level of people who speak English.

However, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t learn a few choice phrases as a matter of manners. Malaysia is seen as a discount travel destination, especially by backpackers and those who trek through it.

Food and transport is rather inexpensive in comparison to other southeast Asian countries. The best bit here though is that you can budget for your trip without blowing too much cash!

The cuisine there is so diverse that you can choose between five-star establishments and the Malaysian street food vendors.

Don’t be fooled by the appearance of street food; it may look haphazardly thrown together, but it’s something to be marvelled. Don’t be afraid to try dishes from the street stalls: the food is fresh that day and delicious given that there is nowhere to store it and re-fire!

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Start In The Capital

Malaysia’s capital is Kuala Lumpur, and the inspiration that you will find here is just incredible. The intricately designed mosques, Chinese temples and the Indian quarter are all contrasted against the ultra-modern Petronas Towers.

You can really see the differences between old city and new city here, which makes it all the more intriguing to explore and expand your horizons in.

Two must-see places in the capital are the mosques (girls, get your headscarves and robes) and the old railway station.

The railway station was put there during the British Colonial era and it’s a sight to behold! When you get to the central market, head over to Brickfields.

The authentic Indian cuisine will knock your socks off, especially if you like fresh spices. The last thing that Kuala Lumpur has going for it is that, unlike other Asian capitals, it is full of greenery.

It’s not unusual to walk down the street under plant frame walkways and very high palm trees!

Photo Credit https://www.pexels.com

Head Out To Nature

When you’ve had your fill of the city, head out to the Cameron Highlands. The humidity of the city will roll off your back as you dive into the cooler air and as much nature as the eyes can hungrily take in.

Check out the bus to Tanah Rata, which takes four hours to get to the Cameron Highlands. The thing is, that bus journey will allow you to see much more of the country, so it’s definitely worth the journey.

You can book tours to get into the tea plantations and see up close the natural way that tea is grown here. You also get to experience fresh tea off the plants, and you can climb to dizzy heights to see right across the plantations. Tea enthusiasts will love it!

Photo Credit https://www.pexels.com

Penang Island

In the northwestern part of Malaysia lies Penang, a place that celebrates both art and food in total abundance. You can get Chinese pancakes and Assam Laksa at the drop of a hat, and you can pick up a map of the city from the local tourism office, just so you don’t get lost trying all the good food.

There is so much art dotted around that you can make it a game to get pictures of all of it. There are beautiful Chinese mansions to see as well as many temples to visit.

There’s just so much for you to take in and if you want to make Malaysia count, take them all in and you will!

Malaysia has so much to offer, that when you are choosing to book your next vacation you shouldn’t discount it. Thailand is beautiful, but you could discover so much more of southeast Asia by flying to Malaysia and giving your senses a complete education in something new.

The best bit? The Malays are the friendliest, most helpful people who are always willing to show you how proud they are of their country and culture. Head out to book it today and make it count.

If you enjoyed reading this contributed blog post, please share on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest so your friends and family can read too. Sharing is caring!

Happy Travels

Love Lucy x

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lucywilliamsglobal February 15, 2018

Stories that Make Travel Funny

We all have funny travel stories to tell after travelling. That is part of the fun of travelling to any part of the world.

Yesterday my husband got me thinking as I was getting ready to go out for our Valentines meal to a local restaurant and he said, ‘don’t do a Hong Kong’.

Only him and I know ‘what a Hong Kong’ is! But I thought it would be fun to share.

Our Funny Travel Story

We were travelling around Asia for a season (this was when I was still working onboard the cruise line too) and we were in Hong Kong for few days, so we went out for dinner.

My husband asked the port agent where the best place was to eat seafood. The guy gave us an address and organised transport to get us there.

So, in the meantime, I get dressed up to the nines in a beautiful black dress and high heels. I was ready for a lovely evening out and it was very near to Christmas.

I’m ready to go, our transport arrives and off we go. We are driving past all these very nice hotels and restaurants, but we keep going.

Where are we?

By this point, we have left the hustle and bustle of the city and end up at a market. It was a fish market!

We got out of the car and thought there must be a nice restaurant inside the market.

No!

It was a fish market where you pick your food and then choose one of the little restaurants within the market to cook it for you.

The food was fantastic and not cheap! But, I was just very overdressed for this type of night out!

Anyway, we had a good night and we always laugh about it now. I like to check the dress code now when I can.

In the end, I did get my night out in a fabulous restaurant in Hong Kong at the Renaissance Hotel and I got dressed up I felt great!

You may also enjoy reading about what to see in Hong Kong:

WHAT YOU MUST SEE IF YOU ONLY HAVE 48 HOURS IN HONG KONG

What are your funny travel stories?

I many more funny travel stories, that I will be sharing on the blog soon.

What are your funny travel stories? I would love to hear them.

I hope you have enjoyed reading my funny Hong Kong travel story, please share on Facebook and Pinterest so your friends and family can read too. Sharing is caring!

Happy Travels!

Love Lucy x

March 11, 2017

Three Places You Must See in Singapore in One Day

What can you do in one day in Singapore? A lot! You must visit these three places; the National Orchid Garden, Chinatown and the Jurong Bird Park.

Singapore is a beautiful, clean country, but hot and humid! Most people love where they live, but the common feature everyone talks about is the weather, hotter or cooler! Our tour guide was saying how she loved living in Singapore, but not the humidity!

I visited the Botanical Gardens to see the National Orchid Garden, Chinatown and the Jurong Bird Park.

National Orchid Garden

We first went to the Botanical Gardens to visit the National Orchid Garden. If you like flowers this is the place to go, it is beautiful from the moment you walk in. It has the world’s largest collection of orchids with over 1000 species and 2000 hybrids.

The greenery and the different colours of the orchids were amazing, I saw the traditional colours of white and pink, then there were yellow, orange, purple, red, peach, green, mixed colours and even black.

All the different species of tiny flowers to very large and different petal styles. I loved it! My husband thinks I took way too many photos of flowers though!

The garden was laid out very nicely with bird cages, water features, arches covered in plants, animal sculptures and it was wheelchair friendly.

The mist house displays the new orchids and the cool house has the mountain orchids (this was especially nice to cool down in!).

There was a VIP section with orchid hybrids named after Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Diana, Nelson Mandela, Michelle Obama, Margret Thatcher, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, William and Kate and much more.

The Botanical Gardens are on set on 52 hectares and to see it all you need to be there all day. Next time I’m going for the day.

After the seeing the orchid garden we drove to Clarke Quay for a traditional Chinese lunch. Clarke Quay is full of bars and restaurants that cater to all tastes.

Chinatown

Chinatown is old Singapore and is where the ethnic groups lived. It is full of old streets, low buildings, temples, street markets and food outlets. Surrounding Chinatown is skyscrapers.

We visited the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple which is a Buddhist Temple. In here you need to cover your shoulders and knees.

My tip for entering these temples is to bring a big scarf or sarong and tie it in a knot at the top then hang it over your clothes to cover your shoulders and knees. Then you can wear what want or just wear long loose clothing.

Inside the temple was beautiful bright colours of red, pink, yellow, gold and a big solid gold Buddha.

We continued walking down the streets to the Sri Mariamann Temple the oldest Hindu temple in Singapore that was built-in 1827. Outside of the temple was decorated beautifully with colourful people. It was the only temple where Hindu’s could get married in Singapore.

I only got a taste of Chinatown, but you could be there all day, there is so much history. The streets are divided into temples, food, shops and markets.

Jurong Bird Park

For the last part of my tour, we went to the Jurong Bird Park. There were 5000 birds with 400 species and it is the largest bird park in the world.

I saw Penguins, flamingos and lots of colourful birds. I’m not a big fan of birds, but I really enjoyed the park.

There were four large free-flight aviaries so the birds can fly freely around and there are shows that you can watch the birds and their trainers.

The park is large and is set on 20.2 hectares there is s a train you can take around the park and it is geared up for kids and adults.

The one thing I didn’t do very well this time was cover myself in insect repellent. I got bitten in every spot I missed! So, if you go to Singapore, cover yourself with it! It is very hot and humid, so I recommend wearing long loose clothing.

In Singapore their hobby is shopping so there are shops everywhere especially shopping malls for the air conditioning! We drove through Orchard Road that is 3km of shops and shopping malls that had all the big designers’ shops.

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Essential Info:

Weather: 22*C – 32*C Sunny/Showers/Very Humid
Currency: Singapore Dollar
Top Tip: Wear loose long clothing or bring cover ups for shoulders and knees and use lots of sun lotion and insect repellent and drink lots of water.

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I hope you have enjoyed reading about the Singapore, please share on Facebook and Pinterest so your friends and family can read too. Sharing is caring!

Have you been to the Singapore? What would you recommend doing?

Happy travels

Love Lucy x

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lucywilliamsglobal March 8, 2017

What You Cannot Miss in Sanya China

I didn’t know what to expect in Sanya, China. I have been to Shanghai, but Sanya was nothing like Shanghai. Sanya is in the south of China and is a holiday destination for the Chinese.

It is worlds apart from Hong Kong, as no one speaks English, very few signs are in English and there are no western toilets, just a hole in the ground!

Now if you like holidays that are more on the edge this is the place for you. I went on a tour and the tour guide spoke English, but he could not help the toilet situation!

You are probably reading this and thinking she really has toilet issues! If you are a man it’s easy, if you are a woman you need to take off your shorts/trousers off to go and be ready to squat. Anyway, I’ll stop talking about toilets now!

Sanya has a long sandy beach that goes on for miles and it reminded me of Hawaii with the manicured grass and palm trees. There were lots of big hotels on the seafront. It is warm all year round ranging from 26C to 32C.

I’m sure in a few years’ time Sanya Bay will be a tourist destination for Westerners as it is beautiful and has great weather.

Nanshan Cultural Resort

While I was there for the day I went to visit the Nanshan Cultural Resort. It was like a Buddhist theme park without the roller-coasters! It was fascinating to see and we were the only western people there.

It has the 4th tallest statue in the world the ‘Guanyin Statue of Hainan’ which is 354 feet tall (108 meters) which is taller than the Statue of Liberty.

It is a monument to the Buddhist goddess of mercy and it is three statues in one. One that faces inwards towards the city of Sanya and the other two looking outwards towards the South China Sea.

The three faces represent peace, wisdom and compassion. It took over six years to build and it is quite a new statue and was enshrined in 2005.

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After seeing the Big Buddha in Hong Kong and thinking that was big, the Guanyin Statue is 74 meters taller! It could be seen from such a distance and as you get closer it is amazing how tall it really is and it does not look like three statues in one.

You can only see one side when you look straight on, it is only when you go out further away and see it from an angle that you get to see the second statue.

The resort was very big and there were little trains that took you around and golf carts and as the trains or golf carts got close to people walking by they played ‘jingle bells’ music and said something in Chinese (probably move out-of-the-way), that was strange but I suppose jingle bells is not a Christmas song to them as they do not celebrate it. Very odd!

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The Nanshan Temple is the most famous Buddhist temple in the Hainan Province. There were many temples there with different Buddha’s.

One with a laughing Buddha and one had three Buddha’s representing past, present and future. To get to each of these temples there were lots of steps, so you get a workout in while at the Buddhist resort.

As you can see from the photo of the statue it is placed out to sea and the resort is located on a sandy beach with the mountains behind. There were elephant statues around the beach area of the resort in different poses.

It was very clean with beautiful flowers and manicured grass and there were shops & food outlets all around the resort.

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Lunch

We had lunch a vegetarian lunch while at the resort but it was the strangest lunch I have ever had. We had fake pork, beef, lamb and prawns!

I think they were made from gelatine as it was quite rubbery. We did get some real vegetables and soup and fruit, but not quite what I was expecting after the lovely vegetarian lunch we had in Hong Kong.

It was a very interesting day and if you are a Buddhist it somewhere very special to go to.

My next port of call will be Singapore, to see my photos first follow me on Facebook and Instagram.

ESSENTIAL INFO

Weather: 26*C – 32*C
Language: Chinese
Currency: Renminbi (RMB)/Chinese Yuan (CNY)

I hope you have enjoyed reading about Sanya in China. Please share on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest so your friends and family can read too. Sharing is caring!

Have you been to Sanya? What did you do?

Happy Travels

Love Lucy x

P.S. Sign up to the mailing list and never miss a blog post and receive my 15 top packing tips. Click here to subscribe