UK - Rediscovering Our Roots

This wasn't the original plan, but a trip back to London is in order.

So after months of incredible, life changing experiences travelling around the world, we have hit a slight bump in the road. 

But not to worry! A new plan is on the horizon so Suze and the Beard are still going strong! 

       

Our original plan was to travel Asia until wet season, then moving on to Australia. 

We would continue our blog whilst working in Australia to allow ourselves to travel with an income and then head back to Asia early next year to chase the sun once again.

However due to medicals being needed for our 'working holiday visas' (don't worry, we are fine, it's just due to where our previous travels have taken us), this has resulted in us heading back to London as it's cheaper to get looked over by a doctor. 

Unlike the dent in our pockets it would have caused if we had had them done in Singapore.

Medical: $150

X-ray    : $65

All prices excluding 7% GST 

We are seeing this little hiccup as a positive thing. 

It gives us a great opportunity to gain and share experiences of legal documents which are needed for our next journey.

Plus we get to see friends, family also our little bundle of fluff Figaro for a couple of weeks.

       

We love our blog, even though we won't be on the travelling scene for a short while, we plan to continue with our weekly posts. 

We intend to share with you some of our favourite destinations in and around London, including places to see, eat and drink. 

Also as we knew we were heading back for the UK Summer, we have lined up a couple of festivals! YAY!

     

              

    

We will announce nearer the time which ones we are heading to, which won't be long as festival season is upon us, on our Instagram accounts @suzeandthebeard & @beardyandsuze 

So go give us a follow. 

We intend to work during our time here, again to gain some extra funds and hopefully give some great Top Tips to anyone stuck at home and dreaming of taking on the world. 

Then we will be off again avoiding the British winter once again.

       

We hope you guys will stick with us during our time away from travelling and enjoy this new part of our adventure. 

And trust us, we Love London and have loads of exciting places to share with you. 

Much Love 

Suze and the Beard 

Xxx

Singapore - The Gardens by the Bay

We decided to jump ship from Thailand due to some seriously crazy wet weather.

So Singapore was the next port of call and we couldn't wait to visit The Gardens By The Bay. 

Beautiful pavilions, breathtaking displays and the unforgettable sites of the 'Supertrees'!

       

Flower Dome

Now this dome is the latest attraction at GBTB and in all honesty it's incredible. This feature is the world's largest columness greenhouse and is home to 30,000 plants. This enormous pavilion is home to the largest collection of cacti in South East Asia. 

      

Walking around you see some wonderful creations of nature from places such as Madagascar, Mexico, Brazil and many more. 

      

                        (This picture was reposted on the Instagram account @visit_singapore )

                                              Singapores official tourist IG account

There are also some outstanding art carvings featured here.

      

Now these wonders need to be in a seriously sunny environment, so the creators of this latest attraction have made the perfect dry habitat so all these beautiful prickly chaps can flourish.

If you have a cheeky sense of humour like we do keep an eye out in the "succulent garden", ummm, how to put this....well here is a picture. 

     

See what we mean? We had a right giggle.

Cloud Forest

The Cloud Forest, is a complete contrast to the Flower dome. As soon as we walked through we were instantly transported into a mysterious world filled with mist and tropical flowers, 60,000 of them in fact.

                                     

Standing proud in the middle of this dome is a 35metre tall mountain covered in vines and flowers that surround the world’s tallest indoor waterfall!

As you walk around this incredible waterfall, be sure to keep an eye out for the Lego display, from a distance we were questioning ourselves whether they were real plants or not.

       

                                                         (That's right, that's Lego) 

There is a lift that provides access to the the cloud and treetop walks. These are great areas to get some incredible pictures and to get up close to the vegetation growing up the mountain. 

       

We had arrived around sunset which gave us our first real incredible view of the Supertrees. Unfortunately due to humidity we couldn't get a photo.

This Dome is ideal for you GoProHero's out there as the waterfall goes everywhere so get snapping guys (obviously with those waterproof cases on). 

     

Supertree Grove

Now these are the reason we wanted to come to Singapore, we have seen a few photos and always looked at them in disbelief.

They look incredible and futuristic, but honestly, hand on heart, the photos don't even come close to how spectacular they are in person!

These unique trees that stand up to 16 storeys tall are dotted all around the Gardens. 

      

      

The largest of the trees within the Supertree grove is also a restaurant and a sky viewbar. 

We had to take a trip to the top! The entry fee also guarantees you a free alcoholic or soft beverage once you have reached the bar. 

      

      

We only stayed for the free drink, however the views did not disappoint! 

A 360 degree view of Singapore, which looks beautiful at night, however views of the trees from here are restricted as you are above them. 

      

On route down after not eating all day, we thought we would treat ourselves to this once in a lifetime opportunity to eat within this structure. 

The restaurant by Indochine is an Asian and Western fusion restaurant which allowed us to order our meal on a iPad which got sent straight into the kitchen....You know, just to add to the futuristic vibe. 

      

     

We had a delicious meal overlooking Singapore and the tops of the trees.

We would suggest if you want to get a better view of the Supertrees head up to the Skyway. This will give you the opportunity to take in a different view of the Gardens.

       

As impressive as these structures are during the day, it's truly breathtaking when darkness falls. We felt they came to life at night.

They light up these alien like structures in such a way that you can't help but be mesmerised. 

At 7:45 PM and 8:45 PM they also do a musical light show brightening up the whole area in neon lights to the sounds of rock ballads, classical and (to make Suze cry even more) Disney's The Lion King.

      

       

       

What an incredible experience.

Top Tips

▪️Arrive mid/late afternoon. If you time it right we get to see the all the gardens and the Supertrees at night. 

▪️️Entry $28 (Singapore dollars) for two conservatories and $5 for the Supertree skywalk. 

▪️They stop selling tickets for the Skywalk at 8pm and last admission is 8.30pm, don't do what we did and forget to change your watches. Thinking it was only 7.30pm to find out it was 8.30pm and realising we were too late. 

▪️For more pictures and to know where we are follow both our Instagrams @suzeandthebeard and @beardyandsuze

Singapore - The Botanic Gardens

It was a beautiful day in Singapore, the sun was shining and we thought to ourselves, today will be the day we will adventure around the Botanic Gardens.

The taxi ride is a short distance from Orchard road and cost less than 10 Singapore dollars.

At the entrance we were able to grab a free map to navigate ourselves around as this place is huge! 

We took a short minute to work out where we were going but the gardens are laid out very well and easy to navigate around.

      

Walking into the park, we crossed over a small pond which was home to some very beautiful koi carp.

Along the designated pathway there are many information signs on the nature you are passing by, so make sure you take your time and have a little read.

        

After we familiarised ourselves with where we were, we decided to head to Swan Lake. 

Now this place is beautiful, so calm and tranquil along with an elegant statue upon the lake of swans in flight. Hence the name...or so we thought...but as we wandered around two graceful swans swam past us. Having wandered a little further we saw another just relaxing on the bank. 

       

       

Also you can see a variety of fish which all seem to follow, sorry, stalk you in this lake! This is due to it being such a popular tourist attraction and food dispensers have been dotted around the perimeter, so don't be surprised if you make some new fish friends on your visit. 

       

Now our highlight of this park was the National Orchid Garden. 

The entry for this part of the park is only 5SGD per person and it is well worth it. 

Orchids are one of Suze's favourite flowers (lilies being number one on her list) so it was kind of a given that we would take a little trip into this flowery wonderland. 

     

The Orchid Garden is laid out like a big, slightly wonky circle, so it's pretty easy to navigate round. 

Along route you will be blown away by the beauty, and in some cases the weirdness, of some of this spectacular flowers. 

                       

The bright vibrant colours makes this place a photographers paradise. And for all you 'selfie' takers out there, there are designated 'photo spots' to ensure you get the best pictures possible. These can also double up as a great place to rehydrate and avoid the sun for a bit.

       

       

To make this place even better there is a 'Cool House'. Now this is obviously used for those delicate little flowers that prefer a colder temperature, however when the weather is very hot in Singapore this area is ideal for two over heated travellers. 

      

     

As always you end up in a gift shop, but if nothing catches your eye it's easy to wander through to the exit. 

As we are still learning all about our new camera (The Nikon D5300) we saw this as the perfect opportunity to grab some great shots.

     

      

      

      

The whole area is just beautiful. 

Whether you want to just take a book and chill, go for a run or even pack a picnic, find the perfect spot and do a bit of people watching, it's just a really calm relaxing environment to spend a sunny Singapore day. 

     

Top Tips

▪️This Park is HUGE! For two people who love to explore, even we found it difficult to see everything in one day, so maybe break it up and do it over a couple to really enjoy your surroundings. 

▪️Take water. Keep hydrated guys. Like we said this place his huge and especially in the Orchid Garden it can get quite humid. 

▪️Have a little bit of cash with you. Its 5SDG for the Orchid Garden, but they also have little drinks and ice cream shops dotted around. And who doesn't love an Cornetto in the sun! 

▪️For more pictures go follow us on Instagram @suzeandthebeard and @beardyandsuze

Singapore - The Unexpected Destination

We didn't think we would ever get the opportunity to come here, however due to the seasons changing in Thailand and the majority of South East Asia we cut our losses to escape the rain and headed to Singapore.

The best times to arrive here is during off peak hours, early/mid afternoon, by doing this you avoid the inflated taxi costs.

Rates go up between 8-10am and 6-9pm. 

If you're backpacking like us then we can guarantee you will be stopped at security. 

Being a backpacker you are known as a 'High Risk' traveller. 

We are hardly suspicious looking people, you know, we weren't creeping about with 'Swag' bags or anything, however we were scouted out across the airport by security and had our bags security checked yet again! 

We were obviously fine and after having our bags scanned we were able to walk on through but in all seriousness NO funny business. 

We aren't ones to judge, however laws here are extremely strict! 

We would advise reading up on them before your arrival. We are talking penalties such as fines, prison and even DEATH! So don't even risk it! 

Anyway...

Singapore isn't the cheapest of places and after being in Thailand for so long the prices were a bit of a shock to the system. 

Saying that though, it didn't matter, we instantly loved this place! 

It's beautiful, clean and safe!! 

        

For our time here we have stayed on Orchard Road. 

Which for us seemed to be the perfect location. 

Easy to walk around with all the 'must haves' to help us blog...aka a lot of coffee shops! 

        

We have very much missed the hustle and bustle of city life as we were based in London before our trip, so being here has been like a home away from home. 

We are also surrounded by so many shopping malls, so far we have counted five, each containing some seriously high end brands. 

We are talking Mulberry, Gucci, Chanel, Prada, Abercrombie & Fitch...you get the jist. 

        

Now, we went to the worlds biggest mall back when we were in Dubai, however being in Singapore is truly jaw dropping. 

Every mall has had something different to offer, from fashion to electrics to homeware, whatever you need, Singapore has it covered! 

        

We honestly spent a whole day wandering around literally going from mall to mall. Window shopping of course. 

There were many events going on including day festivals with live music and incredible car boot sales.

Having these right on our doorstep was brilliant. It allowed us to sit in a coffee shop, blog and watch some aspiring artists perform. 

       

Then to be able to walk around the market to see some extremely talented handmade items including clothes, jewellery and condiments at quite reasonable prices, which were displayed on a variety of classic Volkswagens which was awesome. Beardy was loving it as he's always wanted a VW Split Screen Camper or a Beetle he's not fussy.

       

       

Also for all you skaters out there, they have some amazing designated parks full of ramps and bars! Now Suze wasn't overly keen on hopping on a board, but the fact the 'Youth Park' was covered in some of the coolest graffiti we have ever seen she didn't mind having a look around. 

       

       

       

Being in such a pricey location we have tried to make the most of our time here, but on a budget. 

Which from experience is easier said than done. 

 

We have been staying up into the late hours of the night, as the malls/attractions stay open until around 11pm. 

In other areas we have visited we would normally book a taxi or leave earlier to feel as safe as possible when getting back to our accommodation, however here, we have never felt so safe. 

Walking around and getting back to our hotel has been a breeze. 

Due to laws being so strict here no one seems to dare break them. 

Obviously crime happens everywhere, so we aren't suggesting go flashing your cash, or get yourself in a dangerous situation, but it is a lot safer than most of the places we have been! 

We honestly love it here.

Singapore has not only been one of those locations that has made us miss Home, due to being back in a City, but also has made us wish our budget was an awful lot bigger. 

Top Tips

▪️Bring Money! Being in what we would call a 'shoppers paradise' you need some serious money behind you. If your main reason to visit to Singapore is to shop, we would recommend you check out sales dates. It may not save on flights or accommodation but it defiantly will on the wardrobe front. 

▪️Accommodation. You are looking at around £70-£100 a NIGHT! You can do it more on a budget if you head to the hostels, however we have found that just rocking up (like you do at most hostels) here, that they had been booked way in advance! So Book Book Book! A

▪️Sounds silly but take deodorant! We found it almost impossible to hunt down even with so many malls. All we could find was Whitening ones! Not good! 

▪️Go to the Ben & Jerry's Shop! Yes that's right SHOP!! They have all the classics, Cookie Dough, Half Baked, Fish Food, but they also have brand new flavours that we could only have dreamt of! Honestly GO! 

       

▪️For more pictures and updates on where we are follow both our Instagrams @suzeandthebeard and @beardyandsuze

Don't forget to follow and subscribe. If you have any questions please comment below or email us at suzeandthebeard@gmail.com 

▪️Holiday Inn Exress www.agoda.com/holiday-inn-express-singapore-orchard-road/hotel/singapore-sg.html?is_new=1

▪️Mulberry www.mulberry.com

▪️Abercrombie & Fitch www.abercrombie.sg/en_SG/home

▪️ Ben & Jerry's www.benjerry.co.uk