This was the second time that we had crossed the causeway that links Johor Bahru in Malaysia with the Woodlands Checkpoint in Singapore by rail. The E&O Express pulled in on time to Woodlands on the Tuesday morning after the 1,246 mile trip from Bangkok.

The railway used to run right into Singapore itself to a station close to the harbour at Tanjong Pagar but this was closed in 2011 and the railway tracks subsequently lifted. It's a real shame as Woodlands Checkpoint is not really that convenient a location to reach the city centre, it's either a taxi, or a bus to the nearest MRT (Metro) station to get you there. We chose latter option.

After the opulence of the E&O Express we were staying at the rather more functional IBIS hotel located on Bencoolen Street, just a 15 minute walk from Raffles Hotel. The room was plenty big enough for us and was larger than the Mercure Hotel we stayed at in Jakarta. Having paid in advance for the accomodation the cost was only £70 per night, which is good value for Singapore.

Location wise the IBIS was ideal, an easy walk to at least four MRT stations, and plenty of opportunities for bus transportation too with a stop right outside so we could make use of our ez-link stored value travel card. There were also a large number of eating establishments nearby and being away from the popular locations such as Marina Bay, or Clarke Quay meant that prices were far more reasonable.

Our first call was for lunch and the Fortune Centre, close by the hotel that had some fried rice and noodle shops. For lunch these places within shopping centres are fabulous value, with our two dishes and drinks coming in at less than £10.00. Once refreshed we headed across the city towards Sentosa, which is effectively the holiday island for Singapore. There are theme parks, bars, restaurants and beach hotels on Sentosa that can be reached by cable car, MRT and then either walk across the short causeway or take the Sentosa Express monorail. If you walk onto Sentosa it is free of charge to do so, but the monorail is free of charge for the return journey . . . . . the cable car is chargeable in both directions and I think we used that option the last time we went to Sentosa around 15 years ago.

Following our first sleep in four nights in a non moving bed/room we were ready to make the most of our first full day in Singapore on the Wednesday morning. We had an early start as this was the 1st May, or Labour Day in Singapore, and it's one of only five days a year that The Istana is open to the public. The Istana is the official residence of the Singaporean President, but was previously the Governor's House prior to independence from the British. The gardens and house opened at 08.30 and we were pleased to have got there early as by the time we were leaving (at around 10.30) the queues were massive and it made our half an hour wait seem quite reasonable. We had to pay SGD $2.00 to enter the grounds and another SGD $2.00 to visit house itself, but this small price was well worth it.

After the Istana we wandered across Singapore to the Marina Bay area, via the famous Raffles Hotel and the newly renovated Long Bar (for a Singapore Sling), and then walked part of the Formula 1 circuit including part of the pit straight. This part of the circuit is purpose built and the pit building complex is only used for the race weekend, with the remainder of the circuit on public roads that are closed for the race. The views across to the Marina Bay Sands Hotel and city skyline are fabulous from this part of Singapore and having previously been to see the F1 race that takes place at night in the city the skyline makes for a great backdrop.

Our afternoon and evening were spent at Gardens by the Bay, a massive complex of gardens, bio-domes and the man-made Supertree Grove. To wander around the gardens themselves is free of charge, you just pay to visit the two bio-domes (SGD $28.00 or £15.50 per person for both domes) which showcase a cloud forest and flowers of the world respectively. Supertree Grove also boasts a sound and light show each night night at 19.45/20.45 which was well worth waiting for as these towering metal structures, complete with vertical gardens, just seem of another world. It was a very late dinner at the Ruixiang Restaurant close to the hotel, as we ended up staying for both sound and light shows. It was a fairly basic street kitchen sort of place with outdoor seating, but was great value and friendly service too.

Singapore is often seen as a bit of a man-made jungle, with lots of high-rise buildings, but you can easily escape this as there are lots of green spaces and areas that are set aside where development is not allowed. One of those is Pulau Ubin, an island located off the east coast of Singapore reached by what are called 'bum boats' from Changi Village Pier. These boats cost you just SGD $3.00 each way and travel to no timetable, but cross to/from Pulau Ubin when 12 people have turned up at either pier. Visiting this island was a different way to start our Thursday in Singapore.

Pulau Ubin itself is fairly basic, there are very few residents, a couple of small restaurants and a number of cycle hire vendors. We chose to walk the seven mile round trip to the mangrove and sea boardwalks through the forest on what were well signed and well maintained paths. If you did hire a bike then it would be easy to visit more of the island on a day trip.

Singapore never gets cold, it's just gets less hot, the daytime temperature is generally around 32°c but with the humidity factored in this feels much closer to 40°c. It was a fairly tough walk, but the sounds of the forest made it worth it as did the views of the planes arriving into Changi Airport from the jetty/sea boardwalks. With the rumble of thunder and lightning clearly visible as we crossed back to the mainland we just got undercover at the Little Island Brewing Company before the rain came down - and it really did belt it down. There are worse places to be stuck than a self-serve brewery as the storm passed through!

The following day we had another day of getting close to nature by catching the MTR and then a bus to get us to the MacRitchie Reservoir. The reservoir is part of a wider natural park area set around one of the main water storage areas for Singapore. The walk again was well maintained, well signed and was a world away from the hustle and bustle of the city area. Part way along the walk we came across the Jutalong Tower, which allowed you to climb above the trees for great views. After around two and half miles we came to the Ranger Station from where we could join the Tree Top Walk, a 250 metre long suspension bridge, that takes you 25 metres (80 feet) above a valley through the tree canopy. To complete the walk, which was on a large one way loop, we had to walk a total of seven miles to get to the car park on Venus Drive, from where we could catch a bus to our next port of call. It was a great walk, but a very hot one - it's Singapore after all.

After grabbing lunch at the Railway Mall, located on the old trackbed of the railway into Singapore at Bukit Timah, we visited the Old Ford Factory. This was the location where the British surrendered Singapore to the Japanese on 15th February 1942 during World War Two. It was an interesting place to visit that provided an insight into part of the war that we both knew very little about.

The remainder of the day was spent wandering around parts of Little India before actually having dinner at an Indian restaurant - it seemed rather appropriate!

Our final full day in Singapore started with a visit to The Battlebox located at Fort Canning. This underground complex was were the British army had retreated to when the Japanese were attacking Singapore in 1942. It was from here that Lt General Percival made the decision to surrender and then made the journey to the Ford Factory where we were the day before. It was quite good to link the two parts of the story together. The Battlebox was well worth the visit although sadly you could not take any photographs when inside.

With our time drawing to a close we had enough time to walk through part of Chinatown before visiting the Baba House, which was an old Chinese Peranakan three story terrace house style dwelling. Normally the place is only available to visit by guided tour, but we managed to get space on one of the Saturday 'open house' visits where you could just wander and talk to the volunteer staff in some of the rooms.

Sadly our final evening in Singapore did not really go as planned. We had booked a table for evening drinks at 'Smoke and Mirrors' located on the top floor of the National Gallery from where we should have enjoyed cocktails at sunset overlooking the city. That was not to be, we arrived to find that the city views across The Padang were obstructed by the ongoing construction of a massive temporary stadium that was being prepared for Singapore's National Day in early August. It was not quite what we wanted on our final evening in Singapore so ended up walking to the waterfront area through The Fullerton Hotel and hoped to find somewhere to eat with views over to Marina Bay Sands, but nothing quite hit the mark. We finally ended up almost back opposite our hotel eating at a Thai restaurant, which was OK, but not really the ending to the trip we had envisaged.

With the alarm set early on the Sunday morning, we had checked out of the hotel and were walking down the street by 05.30 in order to catch the first bus departure of the day to the airport. Our flight was due to leave Singapore at 09.00 and the bus journey allowed us to use the final few Singapore Dollars remaining on the ez-link card before checking in for SQ308 for our 13 hour flight back to the UK. With the time zone changes we would be on the ground by 16.00 (UK Time) and back home the same evening so we could have the Bank Holiday Monday at home preparing for work on the Tuesday.

**If you can not see the photographs associated with our visit to Singapore within this blog entry, visit the separate photo section of the travel blog**