Trip to Singapore

The city of “Singapore” had been in my bucket list for a long time and after finally we managed to visit this wonderful city in the summer of 2012. Did quite a bit of research about the hotels, flights and the places to visit in Singapore and we quickly realized that a trip to Singapore is expensive 🙂

We were travelling in the month of April and I started the planning well in advance – to avoid the last minute increases in the flight tickets and hotels. I started the planning in the month of January and couple of things that you need to work out initially are:

a. Visa: Indian’s need a visa to visit Singapore and they did not have “Visa on arrival” facilities. We applied for the visa and it took around 5-6 working days for us to get the visa’s stamped.

b. Flight tickets: We were flying from Bangalore and “Jet airways” looked like a good option for us. The transit was through Chennai (the airport really needs a face lift, was not up to international standards) and the flight was scheduled to reach Singapore at around 8:00 AM

c. Hotel: There were many options when it comes to selecting a hotel in Singapore. From the high end luxury hotels in Marina bay to the budget hotels in the outskirts of the city, there is accommodation for all types of travellers. Be prepared to shell out few extra bucks as space comes at a premium in Singapore. We were running out of ideas when one of my friends suggested “Albert Court Village” hotel. They had stayed in this hotel and had positive reviews about the hotel. We went by their suggestion and booked the hotel

For a detailed review of “Albert Court Village” hotel, please read my blog.

d. Forex: It is always good to have some local currency in your pocket when you land :).

Following was the itinerary that I put together for my trip 

Day 1

Arrive at Singapore and check in to the hotel. Since the plan was to have an overnight flight with a change over at Chennai, kept this day pretty light. Would need around 3-4 hours of sleep which would ensure that we can plan out for the evening. The plan for the evening was to enjoy a Night Safari tour. Was very excited to visit the fascinating world of nocturnal creatures. The Zoo is one of its kind and is the world’s first wildlife park built specifically for night viewing. This night zoo houses over 900 animals of 135 exotic species in eight zones recreated to simulate various geographic zones. You can explore the zoo either by a tram or by foot.

For a detailed review of ” Night Safari Tour”, please read my blog

Day 2 

Morning: On Day 2 we had planned to take a Panoramic City Tour Of Singapore. The places that we intended to cover were, a drive past the Padang Cricket Club, Parliament House, Supreme Court and City Hall.  Post this we planned to head to the most significant monument in Singapore “Merlion” and enjoy panoramic views of Marina Bay. A trip to Singapore would be considered incomplete if one does not have a photo by this monument.

For a detailed review of ” Singapore City Tour”, please read my blog

 

The next stop for us would be the famous Thian Hock Keng Temple and a visit to Chinatown and a visit to a local handicraft centre which specialized in Gems. After that we planned to head towards the “National Orchid Garden” before heading back to our hotel for lunch. 

For a detailed review of “Thian Hock Keng” temple,  please read my blog.

 

For a detailed review of ” National Orchid Garden”, please read my blog

 

Post Lunch the plan was to visit the Sentosa Island. We had planed to take the scenic cable car ride from Mt. Faber to Sentosa, catching a bird’s eyeview of the spectacular skyline. Mt. Fabre also offers a splendid view of the Harbour.

Read my following blog for more information on the Cable car ride from Mount Faber to Sentosa

In Sentosa island the plan was to visit the “Underwater World” which is Asia’s largest tropical Oceanarium. Read my blog for more information on our visit to “Underwater World”.

Post that we planned to visit the “Images of Singapore and Surrender Chambers” – a very interactive session depicting the history of Singapore.

For a detailed review of “Images of Singapore and Surrender Chambers”, please read my blog.

After sunset our plan was to visit the ‘Songs of the Sea Show’, a sensational show of music, Lights and fireworks!

For a detailed review of “Songs of the Sea Show”, please read my blog.

Day 3

Morning: A trip to Singapore would be incomplete without heading to “Jurong Bird Park”. Jurong Bird Park is one of Asia Pacific’s most impressive parks showcasing the regions exotic and endangered species.The park houses over 9,000 feathered friends from 600 species. The park is over 20 hectares of landscaped grounds with the world’s largest Aviary. We also intended to visit the spectacular Penguin Exhibit and witness the Bird Show.

For a detailed review of “Jurong Bird Park”, please read my blog.

Afternoon: The afternoon was reserved by my wife for her shopping. A visit to the famous “Orchid road” was very high on her priority. For her this was the highlight of her trip and I would beg to differ 🙂 – for obvious reasons. Not sure how many shops the credit card was swiped on that day !! In the evening we visited “Little India” which was very close to our hotel. Could see the influence of Tamil culture all over “Little India”. Also managed to have an evening snack at famous “Ananda Bhavan” restaurant – one of the very famous chain of restaurants that you would find in South India.

Day 4

The entire day was blocked for a visit to “Universal Studios”. If you are heading to Singapore, ensure that you had a day blocked for a visit to this place. It is one of the best theme parks that you can visit in Asia.

For a detailed review of “Universal Studios – Sentosa Island”, please read my blog.

Day 5

Finally, it was time to say goodbye and take back home the memories of a great trip. We had an early morning flight and had to check out at around 5:00 AM.

 

Over the next few posts, I will detail out each of the places that we visited in Singapore and illustrate in detail what to expect. Hope this itinerary would help you planning your trip to Singapore.

 

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