Singapore,
the little island and one of the smallest countries in the world, had been
called by a variety of names over several centuries. It’s first name was
Temasek meaning ‘Sea town’ but by the
end of 14th century it came to be popularly known as Singapura, a
lion city. It was once an impoverished, colonial backwater without natural
resources but today it stands as one of the world’s biggest financial center and the busiest port. It is one of the three surviving city states in the
world, others being Monaco and the Vatican City.
Today,
Singapore is one of the most popular tourist destinations in South East Asia. The
city offers a whole spectrum of attractions ranging from fun filled adventure
parks to beautiful gardens, street shopping to spectacular malls. I recently stayed
in Singapore for 6 days and the city’s top-notch infrastructure, quality of living
and extreme helping nature of Singaporeans really fascinated me. For the most of
us, 6 days are usually counted as “overstay” in Singapore but if you are
looking to fully discover and explore the beautiful city here’s a 6-day itinerary
from “MyTravel”.
Shortcut
to access all the links and day by day itinerary, refer the attached.
Rest
of it in detail goes as follows:
We
arrived in Singapore on 20th Jan around noon and after checking in
to the hotel, headed to the Night Safari located at Mandai Road. The place is
easily accessible by taxi/Uber/Grab or a combination of public transport.
Singapore's
Night Safari is the world's first nocturnal safari park. It showcases more than
2,500 animals in their natural nighttime habitats. As you enter the
park, you will witness a thrilling performance by a troupe of tribal warriors
that will keep you excited for the next. The tram ride at Night Safari takes
you around the park where you can see nocturnal animals in their habitats. You
can also explore the walking trails to see even more animals not visible from
the tram journey.
If
you are travelling with kids or you are an animal lover or on a Safari
expedition, though I was neither, it is recommended to take a ParkHopper Ticket
that provides access to all the 4 Parks, namely Singapore Zoo, River Safari,
Jurong Bird Park and Night Safari for 7 days. For details and other options: https://store.wrs.com.sg/
Second
day, we started our day with the Merlion. The Merlion, a half-fish, half-lion
beast, is an iconic symbol of Singapore and resides at the waterfront Merlion
Park adjacent to the Fullerton hotel overlooking Marina Bay. The fish
represents Singapore's origin as a fishing village or 'sea
town', Temasek and the
lion head portrays Singapura which means 'lion city'. One can enjoy
breathtaking views of the Marina Bay during a walk in the Merlion park alongside
the Waterfront.
Our
next stop for the day was Marina Bay Sands, MBS, which is around a kilometer
walk along the bay. Standing as one of the most magnificent hotels with the
world's highest and largest rooftop pool, MBS exemplifies the rich
architectural qualities the city exhibits. The observation deck and the pool
area provides panoramic views across the bay. The Infinity pool is accessible only
to the guests staying in the hotel so if you wish to explore the views, you can
either go to the Observation deck or grab a drink in Spago, a fine dining
restaurant located on level 57 of Tower 2 overlooking the Infinity pool. We
went with the latter to have a reasonable time to enjoy the spectacular view of
the city skyline.
Connected
to the MBS via a bridge, known as the Lion’s Bridge, is the Gardens by the Bay.
The garden is a home to Supertrees, tall tree like structures, connected
through the elevated OCBC Skyway that provides an aerial view of the entire
garden. The garden also features the world's tallest indoor waterfall at the
Cloud Forest and the largest glass greenhouse at the Flower Dome. These two conservatories
are among the most striking features of the Garden and a must do for every visitor.
Another highlight of the garden is the Garden Rhapsody, the evening light and
sound show at the Supertree grove, where the lights and music transform the
iconic Supertrees that provide shade in the day into sparkling tower like
structures.
Post
the light and sound show at the Garden, we headed back to MBS to experience a
captivating Light and Water Show, the Spectra at the Event Plaza. The show can
be best viewed from the promenade to the left of the Louis Vuitton store, which
is outside the main exit of the MBS. The 15-minute show leaves the audience mesmerized
with its dancing water fountains and state of the art visual effects and
projections on water. What a beautiful end to a beautiful day!!
After
an astounding day, it was time to step into another world and explore the beautiful
island of Sentosa. Sentosa is derived from the Sanskrit word “Santosha” meaning
satisfaction or contentment. It is a popular island resort located south of
Singapore and is accessible by Cable car, MRT or taxi.
The
island is a home to multiple attractions, around 30+, ranging from adventure
parks and fun rides to beautiful beaches, marine life to world of illusions and
images. The attractions are spread across three stations on the island that are
2-3 minutes apart namely Waterfront, Imbiah and Beach station accessible by
Monorail. It is lucrative to take a Sentosa Fun pass that gives you access to
either 3, 5 or 20 attractions in a day or two and you have the option to
combine it with Universal Studios also.
For details refer, https://store.sentosa.com.sg/main/packages
We went with the 5-day
attraction pass and covered Trick Eye Museum, Sea Aquarium and Royal Albatross,
Luge/Skyride and Wings of Time. You can choose to go with other attractions,
the list of which is accessible through:
Trick
Eye Museum, an internationally renowned 3D art museum from Korea, has huge
exhibits that makes 2D art pop up into 3D using their own Mobile application. So,
before you enter, prepare yourself to trick and be tricked with their illusion
paintings and structures and don’t forget to download their app to take photos
or record videos as it triggers animations and sound when you are near an exhibit.
S.E.A.
Aquarium is a large aquarium featuring marine life in a variety of habitats. As
you move in the enclosure you will find myriads of colorful fish and sharks
around you.
Skyline
Luge is an adventure ride that allows the rider to speed down a hill in a self-steered
vehicle. The ride starts from Imbiah and ends at the beach station. It was one
of the most adventurous ride and their tagline “Once is not enough” truly fits
in. Once you are at the end of the hill, you can board the Skyride to get back
to where you started. You can choose to reverse the combo by going up the hill
first via Skyride and returning via Luge depending on where would you like to
end it. We took the Skyride later since we were to attend “Wings of time” show
that is opposite to the Skyride junction at the Beach Station.
Wings
of time is another laser and water show that runs twice every evening and features
dancing water fountains and laser light projections on water. It’s a good
relaxing show to watch in the evening after an exhausting day.
Next
in the list was the most awaited Universal Studios, a theme park located at the
Waterfront, Sentosa. If you have been to Los Angeles, this one looks a mini
version of the Universal, Hollywood but does no injustice to the thrill and
adventure experienced by the people here. It is a small theme park featuring
rides, attractions and 4D shows. The Waterworld show, the Mummy ride, the Cyclone
(roller coaster) and the Transformers ride are the must do attractions here.
This place turns out to be a paradise for kids and ride lovers.
So,
by the end of spending two days in Sentosa, both of which turned out to be
unique fun – filled experiences, we were really contented, in sync with the word
“Sentosa”.
Finally,
it was time to explore some markets so we headed to the most famous street
market @ Bugis. This must-to-do
market is a suitable place to buy cheap but decent quality souvenirs, clothes, shoes
and accessories. I read everywhere that this is a good place to bargain but seems
like now everything is fixed price and you can get a 3-5-dollar discount when you
spend around 40-50 dollars. So, before you head to a mall, don’t forget to
check out this place.
The
next best and unique shopping area of Singapore is the Orchard Road, the epicenter
of shopping with dozens of malls showcasing the world’s most expensive brands
and trendiest fashion. So if you are a brand freak or enjoy stargazing at the
big brand names then Orchard Road is a must.
The
other famous market, Chinatown, is stuffed with lots of colorful shops selling Chinese
clothes, crockery and some souvenirs. With Chinese New Year coming by, this
place looked more attractive with lights and decoration and lots of food shops selling
hawker food but from shopping perspective if you have been to Bugis, you would
prefer to just take a quick stroll.
Amidst
shopping, there is something the city offers to the F.R.I.E.N.D.S lovers. Yes,
this is the famous Central Perk café located in @Clarke Quay which is a kilometer
away from Chinatown. This is a theme based restaurant where you will find
Monica’s kitchen, Chandler’s fosse ball, Joey’s Hugsy and the famous sofa that recreates
the experience. The restaurant also features drinks and dishes after the name
of the TV characters. Though Vegetarian options are limited but we really
enjoyed Phoeby’s Veg Pizza and Ross Geller shake.
It
was our last day in Singapore and we were pretty align on what we wanted to do.
So, we decided to avail the Park Hopper ticket to explore the remaining parks
and headed straight to the River Safari (located next to Night Safari and
Singapore Zoo). It is a river themed zoo where you can take cruises and theme
park rides, the most amazing being the Amazon ride, to enjoy the nature as you
watch unique creatures in their habitats. One of the highlights of the park was
the Giant Panda Forest where you can witness two Giant Pandas in their man
made natural habitat.
Located
adjacent to River Safari is the Singapore Zoo which is a home to 250+ species
of mammals, birds and reptiles. As you take a walk or a tram ride, you will see
different animals displayed in open and spacious exhibits separated from the
visitors through some hidden barriers. The park also features shows which allow
visitors to meet and interact with some of the park animals.
Jurong
Bird Park is located (till date as there is some
construction going on at Mandai Road, perhaps to accommodate this park as well) in Jurong region which is 20-25 minutes by taxi
from Mandai. It is one of the largest free flying aviaries in the world and
home to 5000+ birds from 400 species. The tram ride takes you around the park
where you will witness vibrantly colored birds and multiple aviaries.
The
entire day spent around animals from multiple species was no less than a
wildlife expedition.
It
was time to now bid goodbye to a beautiful destination which had flavors of
adventure, amazing architecture, spectacular light shows, wildlife and what
not!!
