Singapore Diaries 2018

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 14^th 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.

See PDF

Rest of it in detail goes as follows:

We arrived in Singapore on 20^th 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.

https://www.wrs.com.sg/en/night-safari/before-you-visit/getting-to-night-safari.html

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.

http://www.chasingplaces.com/how-to-get-to-sentosa-island-via-public-transport/

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:

https://www.sentosa.com.sg/en-us/Explore/Attractions

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!!