Years ago, when I was a child, I had decided to visit Singapore. I have the idea of places I want to visit in my lifetime etched in my mind and Singapore was one of the first. Everyone, including my family and travel agents told me that there are many places which are better than that and that I might not like the artificiality there. but I was adamant. And there we go.
We planned the trip alongwith our vacation to India. The trip from Cochin to Singapore was booked in SilkAir. The ground staff and the air-hostess were nice and friendly, polite in manners. The trip-time from Cochin to Singapore is 4 and a half hours and with the change in timezone, the entire trip will cost you 6 hours.
After the regular kind of airplane meal, and a short nap, we reached the Singapore Changi airport early morning at around 6am. The airport itself is worth another review, so clean, entertaining and welcoming.
After the checkout, we went to the taxi pool where we were systematically put in a queue and catered to without much wait. Right from the airport to the hotel we were booked in, we could drink in the atmosphere of Singapore. This country has an efficient and commendable public transport system and an excellent infrastructure. And the greenery. All along the country, its an orchard. Though planted in a methodical manner which affects the naturality, the plants just thrive in the tropical climate of the country, imparting to it, an all natural look. The taxi driver was a Chinese and he gave us a quick and brief overview of the country.
After checking in the hotel, we had some rest (afterall, you are supposed to be relaxed during your holidays!). And we woke up to the smooth sound of the rain falling on the window sills. We love rain. But not during a tour! What a spoiler.....these were our initial reactions. Apparently, by Murphy's Law, we had chosen to be there at the wrong time of the year, in December and the weather predicted early afternoon showers on most days. And as you have to depend on public transport for your travel, it is not comfortable getting around in the rain. We got dressed, jumped into a taxi outside the hotel, and asked him to take us to Little India. Being an Indian at heart, I knew that this place would have the solution to most our dilemmas. And true to the word, the place Little India was a little India. Name anything Indian, you would get it there. Along the streets, there are numerous small shops that gives you the feeling that you have somehow landed in India. We saw all the God's pictures, jasmine garlands, agarbathi and even the old rip away calendar with God's photo that we used to see in the buses in India!!! Some of the foreigners were seen gazing at this ethnic corner of the country and one American was trying on a heavily embroidered salwar! This was destined to be our favourite haunt for food, most of the following days.
That was our first day, we just got used to the place and hunted out some basic necessities, which of course included umbrellas and raincoats. That night was the Christmas eve. Our hotel was on the Orchard Road and it is the most happening place and a hangout for the Singaporeans. And specially so on the X'mas eve. The entire country was lit with fibre optic decorations and there was a contest going on for the best decorated building. And numerous people, dressed up in their party wears, were just roaming around the street, singing carols and merry making. The shops on the street were all making discount sales/last minute slaes but no one really had any time to shop. Altogether, the atmosphere was very jovial and lively. Around 3 in the morning, we finally retired to bed; the street was still widely awake.
We started the second day around noon, after sleeping in late. Couldn’t decide what to do, the hotel pamphlets suggested many, but it was very hard to decide. We finally chose to go for a trip to the Sentosa Islands with an operated tour. The Sentosa Island, was once a military base which holds the history of some of the major wars the country has faced. Now, it has been developed into a tourist attraction, and a hoilday getaway for the Singaporeans. I see a different topic here for Sentosa islands, so will be writing a separate review on it soon.
The next day, we took a trip to the Singapore Zoological Gardens. We just took a taxi to the Zoo. The rain delayed our entrance into the zoo for quite sometime. Later, we went into the zoo in a tram and we alighted at some point (it is an open zoo) with a map of the zoo in our hand. Adhering to the open zoo cncept, the animals are kept in habitats that suit each kind the best and resembling their natural habitat. They are seperated from the visitors using dry or wet moats, which are concealed with vegetation or dropped below the line of vision. In the case of dangerous animals such as leopards and jaguars which can climb very well, spacious glass enclosures are used. The geography of the park is categorised into definite markers like the
Fragile Forest, Treetops Trail, Wild Africa, Underwater, Primates, Hamadryas Baboons, Cats, Reptiles and Free Ranging. Some other attractions in the zoo include Night Safari, Animal rides, Animal feeding, Breakfast & Tea with animals etc. I took us one whole day to cover a part of the zoo. That night we went around Little India and Orchard Road (we just couldn’t have enough of these two streets).
The fourth day, we again ventured out ourselves on a trip to Sentosa to explore the island on our own. And on the night we didn’t have any idea of what to do, so we again caught up a conducted tour service. The trip we chose included a cruise around the Singapore River where we caught sight of some interesting landmarks of the city including the Merlion staute, a visit to the Clarke Quay - a place developed into a leisure spot with numerous riverside restaurants and bars, and a dinner in a chinese restaurant with a group. We had ours with a Japanese and an European family. On the way back, the group stopped for some time in a shopping street where we can get anything under the sun (well, almost) for bargain prices. And the last spot was the Raffles Hotel, a 5 Star hotel named after Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, a British East India Company officer, who is the founder of the modern Singapore.
Then came the final day, and we were in a confusion about what to do. Finally, we went around the different heritage Streets of the city including China Town, Arab Street and the Malay Village. Then we hit the SlimLim Square which is a 6 floored complex dedicated to electronics equipments. It is a great place to do some shopping if you are planning to do any.
Some interesting facts about Singapore:
~ The Changi airport is one of the most famous attractions of Singapore. Don’t miss roaming around the airport and do some shopping too, if you please.
~ Above 4 million people of different races reside in this country of barely 610 sq km, this forms the history behind the planned nature of the city, thanks to the visionaries of the country.
~ Tourism is the main industry of Singapore and almost every attractions out there, is well developed into a tourist spot.
~ The quote from ''Forbes Magazine'' has claimed that Singapore is the world's second best business city, while the United States is at the top of the chart.
~ ''McDonalds'' has announced that Singapore is the world's greatest producer of Big Macs in quantity.
I would end this review with a quote from one of our taxi drivers;
Singapore is a very nice place for tourists, but a pretty hard place to live in.
