This is the concluding part of my write ups on our trip to Thailand and Singapore from 21st Sept., 2017 to 5th Oct., 2017. In the earlier four parts, I had written about our stay in Bangkok and Krabi Islands. This is about our stay in Singapore for four days.
Much as we wanted to stay some more days in Bangkok so that we could see some of the places we had missed out, we were also eager to get to Singapore.
We landed in Singapore early in the morning of 1st October. Singapore welcomed all those who landed with a huge Welcome Board at Terminal 1. But in our case, we four were fortunate to get a very warm welcome from a four member special reception team just as we stepped out – our close family/friends in Singapore. The fifth member of the reception team was our nephew’s cute, cuddly puppy, Chicku.
In Singapore, our son and daughter-in-law stayed with a close friend of ours, near Mount Faber. It was just walking distance from the “Caribbean at Keppel Bay” condominium where I and my husband stayed with our nephew. The Caribbean condominium is a beautiful place to be in, with all modern amenities/facilities.
Fortunately, the other two friends were also staying not very far and so it was very easy for us to meet often and coordinate with them all. We took turns in visiting all of them at their places, enjoying good company and food. Being an ardent fan of plants, I was quite impressed by the beautiful garden, mainly herbs, in the balcony of one of the houses.
In our earlier trips to Singapore, we had already visited the Sentosa island, the undersea aquarium, Jurong Bird Park, China Town, Little India etc. and had also experienced the night safari. This time we had a different perspective, enjoying the hustle bustle of Singapore during the Day, its beauty during the early morning hours and the fully lit up Singapore in the night.
We went to Sentosa again and saw the Aquarium there, the beautiful exciting Garden by the Bay and walked around in the surroundings in the night looking at the Marina Bay Hotel, Singapore Flyer etc., spent some time at the Mer Lion Park, the Singapore Museum, took a round of Little India and China Town, had a short visit to the Devi Temple and finally had an exciting time roaming around the beautiful Clarke Quay during the evening and night.
Initially, while booking tickets, we were planning to stay only for two days in Singapore, thinking that we had seen most of Singapore in our previous visit and being a small place we may need only that much time. But little did we know that Singapore has expanded so much and there are so many new places to visit. We found that even four full days were not enough if you really want to explore Singapore fully. We did not know how time flew, exploring Singapore – particularly with such companions, who despite being busy with their official responsibilities, took turns to entertain us and be with us maximum possible time.
On the very first day, all of us had a walk around Keppel Bay and the Keppel Bay bridge, from where walked over to the Vivo City Mall which was not very far. In Malayalam and Tamil, ship is called Kappal. We were told that this area had a lot of ship building industry and that may be how the place came to be known as Keppel Bay.
On our way to Vivo City, we could see the Cable cars going to the Sentosa islands – indeed a beautiful sight.
Vivo City is a huge Mall is near the HarbourFront Centre and has very good interiors – not only shops, food court, multiplex, etc. – but lots of green space, waterfront areas, etc., fully utilizing nature and open areas. It is very beautiful to see in the night.
It has very good food court and we had dinner at a Mexican restaurant where we could get delicious food – Stuffed Jalapenos, Mexican Corn, Vegetable Tortilla Wrap etc. The sauce there, however, was awfully hot.
Next day we decided to visit the Sentosa island. We took the cable car, (ticket @ Singapore Dollar 29 per person)ri from Faber Peak and enjoyed the beautiful ride in the Cable car.
This is one place we have gone on our earlier visits, but the whole place has changed completely. The Universal Studios, the Madame Tussauds, the Reese’s, Watsons, were all new for us. Though we had heard a lot about the Universal Studios we did not go there. There was also the lantern festival going on those days and we could see beautiful lanterns hung all over.
We visited the Aquarium for which the entry fee was 33 Singapore $ per person. This was a very exciting experience for us. It was too good to be so very near to the fishes and all of them looked so cute. One can never imagine there are so many different kinds of species – in sizes, colours, shapes – living underneath the seas. Some of them just do not look like living organisms – some looked like parachutes, mushrooms, reefs, spiders, ferns, rocks, balloons, jellies – don’t have words to describe them. It was an amazing experience altogether.
From Sentosa we decided to walk back. When we started walking back, I jokingly told that it would be good if there could be a moving walkway like in the airports. As soon as I uttered that, I could see a bit ahead of us the moving walkway which was connecting Sentosa Island to the mainland areas, including Vivo City Mall.
From there we started off to the Gardens by the Bay. Here I felt I could have spent a whole week savoring all those beautiful sights. The photos posted here would explain my sentiments. Right from the entrance there was flowers and flowers and flowers. The Super trees which are huge vertical concrete structures, covered with plants and flowers were very magnificent and during nights in particular it has a mesmeric impact with all these lighted up.
The Cloud Forest portion of the Garden is filled with different species of plants and flowers. One cannot imagine that there could be so many different varieties of flowers and plants existing on such a huge man made structure. Each step you take around the Cloud Forest area is like getting on to some other world – quite dreamlike. It is as if you get on to a high mountain, surrounded by diverse vegetation. Seeing the huge bunches of flowers, one would wonder how a plant can have so many flowers and all so beautiful. The temperature in that part is carefully controlled so that the plants and flowers thrive and also those who visit the place would have the feel of being there on a very cold mountain range.
“Flower Dome” is the other part of the Garden full of different varieties of flowers. This is also a temperature controlled area. A huge part of the garden has succulent variety of plants, with huge cactus, Adeniums etc. Another part is full of colourful flowers. Seeing some of them one will wonder if they are real. So in some places – a board is there saying “It is real”. There are no words to explain the scenes – may be the photos can speak and convey. That too – there is no end to the photos one can take. I regret that I had to be selective and choosing the ones to post here was a very difficult task.
Undoubtedly, the Garden by the Bay is a man made marvel. Hats off to those who had a vision to create such a beautiful and a magnificent place.
After that exciting world of flowers, plants and lights, we walked over to the Hotel Marina Bay Sands and then over to Makansutra Gluttons bay for our dinner. We would have walked for over one hour to reach there, enjoying the beautiful scenes all around – the Hotel Marina Bay Sands fully lit, the Singapore flyer, the stadium where the National day parade and other such important events are held, the Science and Art Centre etc.
Makansutra Gluttons bay is a huge open area restaurant where you can have a wide variety of food. The food we got here was quite good and we all enjoyed the dinner.
The next day we went around Singapore using the Metro, first to Outram Park where one of our close friends was staying. Being in the Central Business District, the view from the 11th floor house was really great.
Though we traveled in taxis the first two days, we found that the Metro was quite a cool way to travel – in terms of speed and economics. Like in Thailand, the discipline that people have in Singapore is also remarkable. We learned that on escalator we are expected to stand on the left side if we do not want to climb its steps, leaving the right side for those who wish to go faster taking the steps as well.
From Outram Park, we went to Singapore Museum which showcased the history of Singapore. The Museum was not as big as the ones in India. But we went through the halls where there were several sections, like – Voices of Singapore, Cultural Spaces, Television and Theater, a section about some rare plants, Modern colony, Education, Surviving Syonan etc. We could see posters of some Hindi movies also in one Section. Very close to the museum was a huge park – the Fort Canning Park which we saw. This Park was at a height and even here there was a huge escalator to take you up. But unfortunately that was not working that day.
In the Museum ticket was 15 dollar per person and there was a rebate of 5 dollars for senior citizens. We both were not carrying our passports since in Singapore we do not required passport for changing money. When the lady at the counter said about the rebate for senior citizens, we told we two are, but are not carrying our passports to prove that. But surprisingly, she took our word and allowed us the rebate.
Our next stop was Mustafa which is one place where any visiting Indian goes. In old times, that was the only one place which one used to go where you will get everything under one roof. It, of course, continues to be the same. We also went to the Diaso where one gets so many small utility items like – kitchenware, stationery, gifts, and products for gardening, etc. for just two Singapore dollars.
Next day, which was our last day of stay in Singapore, we started early morning, visiting the Merlion Park which is one of the tourist attractions in Singapore. Merlion is a mythical beast, which has the body of a fish and the head of a lion. It is always seen discharging a jet of water from its mouth. But during morning time, one can see the Merlion without water streaming out of its mouth. It is just near the Fullerton Hotel. From this place one can have a beautiful view of Marina Bay Sands across the water. We were told that the Marina Bay Sands and the surroundings looks quite beautiful in the far, across the river, during the sunrise time and therefore we chose to go there early in the morning to get that view. That proved to be a very wise decision.
That day, there were clouds in the sky and the scenery though beautiful, was quite different. Another beautiful photograph of the sunrise scene which a close friend of ours shot a few days back is also posted here.
The same day evening we had a round in China Town and also had a good darshan at the Mariamman temple there. Fortunately for us, it was just the time for Aarti to begin and we stood in the line and could partake the Aarti, which I felt was very auspicious.
Clarke Quay was our next destination. This is a happening place in Singapore where we could see everybody rejoicing in open areas full of restaurants, with drinks, loud music and merry making. The lighting all around gave a very different impression about Singapore – much different than what it is during the day. There is river cruise for those who wish to. Here again, we walked around, enjoying the surroundings and the beautiful scenes.
At one place, we were amused see a fence which had locks with tags on it, tied by many. People tie the locks here to lock their Love for ever!!! We can get the lock from a machine by putting the specified amount into that or one can bring one’s own lock and key. After locking, the key is through into the river.
As we walked around, we passed through several subway tunnels. They were so neat and clean and their walls were painted beautifully.
Over here, we could also see some sculptures, which were interesting and seemed almost real.
Singapore really looked beautiful in the night. Visiting Clarke Quay was of course, a unique experience for us – the whole surroundings seemed so vibrant and energetic. We were very happy about our decision to visit this place and thanked our friend who insisted that we go there – otherwise we would have missed out such a nice experience.
We were in Singapore for four days. We had a great time here – sightseeing, roaming around as well as enjoying good food. More than all these, we enjoyed to the fullest the company of our near and dear ones, who we felt were vying with each other to make us comfortable and feel at home. To top it, there were homemade delicacies like Brownies, Pakoras and Porottas. When we were all together, though we were in Singapore, we felt as though we were having a get together in Kozhikode since all of them had close connection with Kozhikode. We wished we had stayed for few days more to enjoy and spend more time with them and also visit other places which we missed out.
Let me conclude my this write up here with photos of some flowers I saw in Singapore and loved – as we walked around on the roads, some places we visited and also at the Departure terminal of the airport.
After a 15 days holiday, we reached back our “Home Sweet Home” in Kozhikode via Chennai – back to our routine life. We did enjoy our this holiday that too with our children – but it was nice to be back at home where all our dear plants and flowers were waiting for us eagerly.
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