SINGAPORE - A short weekend getaway...
One of the most developed and green city in Asia. This city is tourist friendly with welcoming people and enough to do over a weekend without burning a hole through your pocket. How to get there Singapore is a major hub with many international flights operating. Changi Airport is approximately 20 mins from the city center. Taking a taxi to & fro the airport is convenient option and not pricey. Flew in by Tiger Airways (low cost-low expectation), for 3 nights holiday. Hotel : Park Regis Situated in Clarke Quay district, this hotel is a nice couples hotel with nice amenities & small size rooms. The bathroom is an open bathroom looking into the room, hence is very inconvenient if a quarreling couple or friends are travelling ! Swimming pool is nice with a refreshing tiny waterfall. Breakfast is basic. Front desk and service is prompt and effective. In all , its a total value for money. Even if you do not like this hotel , still choose a hotel in Clarke Quay area just because to enjoy the nightlife. Its the party district with dozens of restaurants, a nice colorful place. We ended up having dinner over here every night. Things we did : 1. Little India Wifey heard from other India residing friends about the wonders of Little India and one of the Wonders of the Shopping World : Mustafa Market. Stepping out of the subway station onto the road, we just felt to be in the most rural part of India. One of the dirtiest places to see in Singapore, so that you can appreciate the rest of the city. Nevertheless, to kill the time, we went to Mustafa market, went inside the revolving door, and walked outside withing 30 seconds. Huge quantity and variety , but prices not big difference from Hong Kong and even from India for that matter, but my main concern was about their genuineness. Still people are flocking to buy there , so go only if are into cheap and low quality shopping. If in Little India, one can try one of the many South Indian fast food restaurants, which are self served and decent food, similar to street food back home. Singapore is a big tourist destination for Indians, and you will see a lot of people from all parts of India. But I pity those who do not want to go out of their comfort zone to try out different vegetarian cuisines and just having similar food what they back home. For some aged people I understand their helplessness but for some, pure vegetarian restaurants is an excuse to hide their inability to experience novelty. 2. Night Safari As soon as the sun set down, we hailed a cab and rushed off to the Night Safari. Atleast a 30 mins drive from Little India. Lots of shows to see from, too many souvenir shops, nice ambiance, quite small open-spaces to handle huge load of public. Had to stand in a 45 mins line to get into our car for the Night Safari. Its just a 30 mins tour in which you see Wildlife from an enclosed space minus the bars in artificial moonlight. A total disappointing affair. Not even great for kids. On paper, seeing wildlife in night sounds exciting but trust me the actual experience is not worth it. Tickets are on a higher side and also the taxi costs around 50 SGD one way to the city. Avoid if you can. 3. Universal Studio This is it ! I would not mind going back to Singapore just to visit Universal Studios for 1 day ! Started off early in the morning , took the efficient subway system, lined up for our tickets and got it in 15 mins , got in and it started raining :( Luckily they have raincoats on sale, and it would not stop your excitement. You get into the mood of the theme park right from the entrance and it carries throughout the day. The size of the park is decent and you can easily finish off all the rides in 1 complete day even on a crowded day. We did Universal Studio and part of Sentosa island in 1 day. Transformers and Red&Blue Dragon rides are the most prime attraction which you should surely not miss out at any cost.
4. Sentosa Universal Studio is located on the Sentosa island , so after finishing off the Universal Studio around 3 pm, we used the remaining day in Sentosa itself. One can easily spend 1 full day in Sentosa during various activities. There are many 3D shows, performances, view points, Merlion, holding pythons, etc to do in Sentosa. But the best is Luge, but its a bit poorly managed in terms of crowd management. The line was quite huge and it took us an 45 mins to get into the luge and it finished off in 4 mins !! Despite wanting to do one more rounds, we did not have the energy to stand again in a serpentine queue. There is also a very very expensive & not so worth it - Free fall experience in a tunnel. After dusk, we experienced the open air musical show on the beach in Sentosa. Its an enchanting show with the use of water sprays, lasers right on the beach and the ocean. Its a very unique show and a recommended one. Garden by the Bay Last day we just relaxed in the hotel, and went to see the Marina Bay Sands and the nearby Garden by the Bay. Marina Bay Sands is huge and if you can spend the room rates, than I think it should be worth it. But for budget travelers, if you are going to spend most of your time out, then stay somewhere in Clarke Quay. Garden by the Bay is a huge and beautiful landscaped area. Its a nice and tranquil place to be if you are a nature lover. Its a place with lots of nature photography options. But you need to have atleast 3-4 hrs to go around that also not a complete tour.