Way back in late March when I saw a great offer from Tiger Air for BLR-SGP@INR 9.5K, despite having been to Singapore few times, still it was too tempting not to buy the tickets. Since Viji had not been to SGP, she was totally game for it! First time ever, for a July 15-21st travel bought tickets in March… so much in advance! Decided to take just a carry-on each and pay 20$ extra for one check-in bag only during the return flt (just in case we shop till we drop :-)). Around mid May started hunting for Hotel deals around Orchard area and was shocked to see hotel rates in the ones I used to stay on during my business trips; it was from 250SGD to 500SGD/night. I finally found an Hotel deal on Agoda for Hotel Supreme which is off of Orchard Rd for 98 USD/night inclusive of bfast - Reviews said it is a budget hotel but clean & good service in an excellent location. After booking here, did some homework on what we want to see (definitely no Sentosa or Universal studio types, done with these kinds of places), shop and about getting around. With Indian currency in a nose dive mode, exchange rate was 100 INR =0.22 SGD:-(
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| Orchard Road |
Off we went
on July 15th by 1:10AM flight, a 4:15hrs ride to Singapore. Journey was not bad at all for a no frill
airline, just be prepared for a very limited leg room. Reached Singapore at 8:00AM their time and
was shocked at what we saw at the immigration… a) it was such a long winding
line and b) line was moving so…slow with very few officers/booths open. Later, I found out why it was so crowded. Apparently
in Singapore even transit passengers need to go thru immigration with
visa. Almost 2hrs later we came out!
After exchanging some money we headed to the basement to take a bus to the
town. Checked for the nearest bus stop
to the Hotel and got in. It was just SGD 2/-per person for the ride as opposed
to SGD 25/ by taxi and with only carry-on luggage it was very convenient to
take the bus.
It was an hr
ride to Orchard Rd area/Winsland stop. From there it was 5min walk to hotel at 15
Kramat Rd. On the way, watched nice
clean immaculate streets, buildings and landscape all the way thro’! By now it was 11:00AM and check-in time was
2:00pm, as usual tried to put my best polite hat-on to request early check-in.
Well! They too politely told me guests are still in that room and best they can
do is 1:00 PM :-(, we left our luggage there & off we went to have some much
needed coffee as we had nothing to drink or eat since we reached & added to
this, total lack of sleep.
We had coffee
(not so good) around the corner from the Hotel at a Hawker place and then
walked on Orchard Rd towards Singapore Plaza/Dhobi Ghat MRT. With huge
sidewalks, what a pleasure it was to walk!
Right on the Orchard Rd is this beautiful small manicured garden with an
Art Café (An interesting Café where artists come together for various
activities). We decided to visit this place sometime & went to Singapore Plaza & were energized to see US familiar
stores as soon as we entered the mall having SALE :-) . We checked out the restaurants in that
mall as we were so hungry but could not believe
the rush and the long waiting line for most of the restaurants, we decided to eat at
the food court and were very happy to get some good Pasta at the Pasta
Mania. Right next to it was Gelateria
Italia with very appetizing gelatos and had yummy mixed berry gelato. It was
1:00PM by now and we headed towards the hotel and like they promised had our
room ready… Room was exactly as per the
review - basic (free Wifi & a TV) and clean.
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| Takashimaya |
After couple
of hrs of good sleep and freshening-up, we walked & walked on Orchard Road.
I guess this is one street that has not really changed in these years, other
than few new malls that has sprung up. Saw an appetizing French Café Paris Baguette
&, of course, had to checkout… had good coffee & delicious pastry
(price was steep though, cup of coffee itself was SGD 6/). Incidentally, this
week
was food festival week here and true to that, our
our trip started to be one!
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| Classic soup & salad@CPK |
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| P&B Cafe -Yummy! |
We enjoyed our walk & window shopping, admiring some of the newer
building's architecture and the landscape. The green leaves were shining everywhere
without any dust… I remembered SM Krishna (Karnataka state ex-CM) making a statement way back in 2002 that he
will convert Bengaluru into next Singapore but as we all know our politicians
& land grabbers have converted Bengaluru into a Mangapore (Manga = Monkey
in Kannada) instead of a Singapore :-). It
was nice to see California Pizza Kitchen & had dinner there. (Although it is now in Bengaluru, the taste is not same in Bengaluru outlet as they are stingy on cheese & veggies). We called it a
day little early after deciding on next day’s agenda – to visit Chinatown, Clarke quay, Merlion Park & financial district area.
Day-2:
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| MRT station |
Got up
leisurely & went for our bfast, it was as basic as our room, toast+ juice+
coffee. Got ready & went to Dhoby ghat Metro/MRT station. Ride fare is by
the distance. Pretty straight forward on
what lines go where etc. The MRT stations are impressive & very
clean! One thing I noticed in Singapore
is you are watched everywhere, hardly saw any uniformed policemen anywhere; it
is camera everywhere doing this job. It made me wonder on its efficiency here -
In India it is very common for us to hear whenever there is any unruly incident
where a camera is installed including places like stadiums and star pubs/hotels, police
say – unfortunately that camera was not working. Ya right!
I am sure it is different here in Singapore, but questions do arise as
to how this city folks would behave if there were no cameras/CCTV? would they still behave so well?
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| Mariamman temple |
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| Chinatown |
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| Heritage Center |
Chinatown has
very unique architecture compared to rest of Singapore and one can see how this country looked years ago; we walked towards Mariamman Temple using the GPS
system/Garmin that I had carried with me.
Built in 1827, this oldest Hindu Temple in Singapore built in Dravidian
style is a national monument. We were
there at the time of maha mangalarathi & Prasada -curd/yogurt rice, Annam Brahma :-). We ate and sat for a while and walked behind the temple to Chinatown Heritage Center. Sort of a cute area full of tiny shops that sell souvenirs & cloths. After seeing couple of shops realized we have totally outgrown these things! (Thank god!) A Km away was Clark Quay and decided to have
lunch there and started to walk towards that.
If you ask locals they insist you take MRT or Taxi and say it is far :-) not sure if it is because of hot
humid weather (about 31 C) or they don’t walk other than in the malls or
shopping streets. On our way we came
across Crocs shoes shop which had a big sale sign. We went in as we wanted to buy those
comfortable ugly looking Crocs. We both
found what we wanted but not the colors of our choice but the price seemed
better than in India so we bought them anyway and wore it as well as they were
so comfortable to walk and proceeded to our destination.
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| Thai lunch |
By the time we reached Clarke Quay it was
almost 2:30PM and many restaurants were about to close after lunch. We decided
on a Thai restaurant (Rena Thai) and had delicious lunch. Clarke Quay is such a
fantastic place and I’ve always loved & enjoyed coming at least for couple of
dinners every time I have visited Singapore. True to what they say "Clarke
Quay, Singapore’s choice dining and entertainment destination, surrounded by
water is a colorful kaleidoscope of buildings housing antiques, restaurants,
hip cafes, jazz clubs and more. At night, the entire zone is a sight to behold
with all five blocks of restored warehouses lit up and beamed with an array of
quirky alternative to mainstream clubs. With an international presence in terms
of partying options, this is a convergence point for people around the world to
celebrate".
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| Boat ride - Colonial area |
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| Viji@Merlion park |
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| Financial district |
We took a boat taxi
from here to Merlion park, a well known Singapore landmark & a typical
tourist destination. Boat taxi ride was very enjoyable… nice view of the
Colonial district. After walking around
this park, we sat for a while in a coffee shop as the sun was blazing & was
very humid, looks like we felt the hot weather & the tiredness only after
eating a good lunch :-). We proceeded towards financial district & saw few men in
a typical Wall Street Blue shirts (nice sight after many years :-)) and off to MRT there to head back
for an afternoon break.
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| Art School |
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| Mexican delight |
Later that
night, we walked towards Bugis junction area via the Art school on Orchard. This area has lot of eateries, malls and art galleries. If you have been to Singapore you will agree with me that Singaporeans love to eat & shop, this is evident when you see any mall food court or a hawker place or a café or a restaurant or a bar at any time. We strolled around and had dinner at a Mexican restaurant “Baja Fresh”. Seemed like we were still in-line with the current theme: food festival :-)
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| Little India |
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| Little India |
Day 3: After our basic b’fast we decided to go to Little India area in the morning & Garden by the bay in the evening. Took the MRT to Little India. Although I had my opinion about this area based on my previous visits,
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| Idiom-sweep under the carpet? |
I was hoping at least this time it will be different, in other words kept better from its look & feel perspective. But, boy! Was I wrong!! I could be anywhere in Bengaluru area with shops encroaching sidewalks & some places with open gutter. Saw a shop owner brooming his shop and pushing the dirt near the pillar on the sidewalk…like we say in Bengaluru…Super Maga!! Forgot to mention, there was an Ad of MTR
Singapore outlet in our E-ticket & it was near Mutsafa and so we started
looking for it. We wanted to try food
here just to check how close the taste is to Bengaluru MTR. It is an unassuming
place with simple décor. When I saw the
menu, I got greedy and ordered both Dosa & Idly… although not exactly same
taste as in Bengaluru, it was good & inexpensive. Coffee was very good and
cheap, it was only SGD 2/-. Thumbs up
for taste & cost! Next we went to Mustafa – The famous shopping place,
especially among desis. I had told Viji
earlier that she can imagine this place to be like a wholesale wing within Wal-Mart
(if such a thing exists:-)) and so was it! This
place has good deals and you get anything & everything. This is the only shop that is open 24x7. We shopped lots of chocolates as we were
completely out of stock @home. I bought
a big & very light American Tourister suitcase which I found to be of great
price compared to India. But, let me
tell you, nothing beats US when it comes to shopping for the variety &
price. Only thing here in Singapore is getting your 7% GST back if you shop for
SGD 100 or more in a single day in one shop (cannot combine diff shops or diff
day receipts, has lot of catch for this refund but worth it if you are the type
who plans and shops in a single shop & in the same day).
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| Flower Dome |
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| Garden by the Bay |
After dropping off our shoppin in our room and a small break, we went to Garden by the bay! We wanted to visit Cloud forest, Flower Dome & do the skywalk. We got 8$
discount with each TigerAir boarding pass (Tip: remember to keep your boarding pass & always ask if they have discount for your boarding pass at tourist sites, you will be surprised). At the Garden by the bay, outdoor Gardens are free; they show case heritage Gardens & are beautiful. Flower
Dome (Replicates the cool and dry Mediterranean climate featuring 9
different gardens such as Baobabs and Bottle Trees, Succulent Garden,
Australian Garden, South African Garden, South American Garden, California
Garden, Mediterranean Garden, Olive Grove and the Changing Flower Field Display
from 5 continents namely Africa, America, Asia, Europe and Oceania) & Cloud Forest (Highlands amidst orchids, pitcher
plants and ferns from the cool-moist Tropical Montane region. Be amazed as you
come face to face with the World’s tallest indoor waterfalls at 35 metres
and descend through the surreal mist-filled Cloud Walk and explore the rest of
the 7 discovery zones for an interactive educational adventure) are amazing.
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| Cloud Forest |
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| Cloud Forest |
These are truly an awe-inspiring green space in Singapore. We got totally bowled by this place & it is a must see. My cut & paste of the description from their web page describes the garden, but the fragrance of the flowers, sight of these lush green plants & soothing sound of the waterfall fills your senses and takes you out of this world. Just be prepared for a walkathon though.
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| Cloud Forest |
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| skywalk area |
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| Light Show |
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| Night View |
The skywalk area is awesome, we watched the light show at night and it was like a magi kingdom! We waited for the light show to end to go up the skywalk and missed the 8pm closing time. Thought we will come back again another night to do the skywalk & watch the fireworks and light show from the top. Had dinner in one of the fast food Pasta places and had a nice Gelato again and headed back.
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| Shopping :-) |
Day 4: Viji & I went our separate ways and met
up post lunch back at the room. She went near the art school and art shop area
to see if she can get some of her painting items that are unavailable in
India. I went to Singapore visitor
center to check if they have any good theater and/or concerts happening. Lucky
for us, they were having Jazz festival at Esplanade on Saturday for free. I
then went to few Malls on Orchard and got myself nice Keen trekking sandals
for
a great price. Went to my new fav French café P&B for tasty lunch: coffee
& sandwich. Viji had shopped few
things but she was saying, nothing beats US for Art materials. Later that evening we just spent our time on
Orchard area. Viji too got Keen sandals… Did not do anything much, had a great
pizza for dinner & ice cream at Trattoria Cucina Italiana.
My thoughts
& experience on Singapore remains the same after all my visits; it is an
example of what can be done & achieved! With no natural resources and hardly anything native, they have created & maintained a beautiful place & best
part is they keep updating it! It is very clean with manicured landscapes, pretty buildings, etc., though, there seems to
be a void here, in other words something missing and a feeling of “too done up”. Coming to think of it, it felt like we spent 6
days in a Disney land.
Right on the Orchard Rd is this beautiful small manicured garden with an
Art Café (An interesting Café where artists come together for various
activities). We decided to visit this place sometime & went to Singapore Plaza & were energized to see US familiar
stores as soon as we entered the mall having SALE :-) . We checked out the restaurants in that
mall as we were so hungry but could not believe
the rush and the long waiting line for most of the restaurants, we decided to eat at
the food court and were very happy to get some good Pasta at the Pasta
Mania. Right next to it was Gelateria
Italia with very appetizing gelatos and had yummy mixed berry gelato. It was
1:00PM by now and we headed towards the hotel and like they promised had our
room ready… Room was exactly as per the
review - basic (free Wifi & a TV) and clean. 
Changi airport is lot of fun, it has everything from entertainment to
shopping… what wowed us was the Orchid garden & the terrace Sunflower garden at
the terminal. 