Singapore 2K17 | Travelogue

 Family fun & more - welcome to Singapore! 
Chapter one - Kurious Kannya goes International

It was the month of Jan’17 when my family and I were planning to throw a surprise party In order to celebrate my grandparent’s 50^th wedding anniversary and in due course of time it accelerated to a luxurious family holiday. We consulted an extremely well known travel agency – Just orbit and started to formulate the itinerary. I must say it was quite a task for our travel agent to find a common window for the 20 of us residing in different parts of the world to meet up at a common point from scratch. Finally we buckled down to Singapore, Star cruise, Bali and Jakarta and so began our trip.

The first destination being Singapore.

31^st of May –I started my journey along with my younger brother. (Due to the leave issues my parents were joining us for the trip 4 days after).

It was a very mixed feeling, I was travelling internationally without my parents for the very first time. I was nervous and excited both at the same time. All the processes like immigration and security went smoothly and we boarded our Malindo airway. 

1^st of June- Arrival at Changi airport, Gardens by the Bay

We arrived on time and manged to get to our cab without any trouble. Admiring the skyscrapers and the lush sceneries all around us, we were buzzing through the roads of Singapore. A literal concrete jungle! The green and clean city manged to keep intact its nature along with the high rise buildings.

Our stay was planned in Little India, The Pinnacle hotel. Unlike India the room check-in time is 2pm there, which gave us enough time to explore our surroundings as we reached the hotel around 12pm. Quite a mimicry, the aroma of Indian spices, ethnic wear shops, Religious temples made it feel as if we were strolling the lanes of Delhi.

The first spot of our itinerary was Gardens by the bay a huge nature park spread over 101 hectares. Its main concept of existence was to convert Singapore into a ‘City in a Garden”. We visited the 2 main conservatories of the Garden namely the Flower Dome and the Cloud Forest.

Flower Dome- World’s largest sustainable conservatory! A column-less glasshouse which served as a home to a large variety of tropical and Mediterranean plants. The colourful surroundings having beds of flowers, a pleasing and refreshing environment.

Gardens by the Bay

Cloud Forest- Slightly higher compared to the flower dome, it had a huge mountain cladded with all sort of tropical vegetation like ferns, orchids, wild plants etc. A waterfall originated from the tip of the fountain creating heavy mist at the entrance of the dome.  I was feeling a bit cold inside as the temperature maintained inside was pretty low. After the much awaited photo session we went to the top of the mountain via an elevator and viewed the entire garden from the highest point. Fortunately we were lucky enough to be present at the time of the mist release in the dome and walked through the mist on the suspended bridges. It was very rejuvenating as we were all tired after a night long journey.

Suspension bridge in the dome

Mist release in the cloud dome

Cherishing the garden and the nearby unique flora, we walked our way upto the Marina Bay Sands. An amalgamation of a resort and a skypark, the gravity defying stand alone structure is indeed an architectural marvel. Being an architecture student I could relate to the amount of technicalities required to construct this huge troposphere reaching structure. Your Singapore trip is incomplete if you haven’t experienced the panoramic view of the city from the observatory deck in the clouds.

Day one came to an end with a short leisure walk on the Orchard road.

Panoramic view from the Skypark

Backpacks filled with dry snacks, water bottles, caps and shades we were off to the Sentosa Island. On our way to the Hollywood movie theme park me and my cousins were making the sequential list as to which rides to cover when so that we didn’t lose much time inside. In addition we chose Friday as our day at the Universal studios just to get rid of those extra-long waiting ques, which actually was a very wise decision. This was my first universal studios and I was going head over heels to ride on the roller coasters.

On our arrival our cab driver instructed us to be at the pickup location at 6p.m sharp, which we thought was quite early though. It was 9:30 and we were standing in the que to enter the glamourous world of theatre. The entire built up was driving me crazy, there was a different type of energy in the atmosphere and the excitement was getting to the nerve. Thousands of people waiting for the clock to strike 10.

Then the wait came to an end. With synchronised hooting there was a rhythm pulling everyone. The gates to the dream park had finally opened. Was I actually in it? Is this true? Am I actually living my dream? I stood there still in the middle of the crowd observing the huge posters laid in Film city, it was more fun than a barrel of monkeys! People hustling by my side but I retained my calm. Much overwhelmed I was!

Map of the Universal Studio

We moved in very organised and pre-planned manner

• 1.      Sci-Fi city -Transformers ride, Battlestar Gallectica- Cylon, Human
• 2.      Ancient Egypt-  Revenge of the mummy
• 3.      The Lost World-Jurassic park rapid adventure, waterworld
• 4.      Far-Far Away- Puss in boots’Giant journey,Shrek 4-D movie
• 5.      Madagascar- Madagascar- A crate adventure.
• 6.      New-York- Sesame street spaghetti, Lights-Camera- Action
• 7.      Hollywood- Sesame street show- When I grow up

Such a pre-planned approach helped us a lot, we could re-do our favourite rides 2-3 times besides to covering all the famous and must- do rides. I am always going to cherish this experience.

We ended our day with a dinner at the busiest and the most happening Clark Quey.

3^rd of June: Sentosa Island

There was no time boundation today, but still we were in a hurry to make the most out of the Sentosa day fun pass as correctly chosen by our tour planner.

Listing the things covered by us under the pass.

• 1.      Skyline Luge – A chill- pill thrill! Must do if you love adventure.
• 2.      Tiger Sky tower – Reach out to the city’s skyline at Singapore’s tallest observatory, presenting a bird eye view of the beautiful city.
• 3.      Segway- A fun filled ride for all those who don’t like to walk much. I am sure you will want to buy one
• 4.      4-d adventure land
• 5.      Sentosa merlion Statue- The mythical figure calls for a stop.
• 6.      Trick of the eye- For all the photography freaks #deception #illusion 
• 7.      Madame Tussauds- Definitely get your cliché glittery poses clicked here.
• 8.      The Aquarium- Drown into the aquatic heritage with a total of 800 species residing in.
• 9.      Butterfly Park & Insect Kingdom- A must see for the nature lover living in you.
• 10.   Wings of time – Highlight of Sentosa, I recommend to end your Sentosa day trip with this treat to eye show, along the sea. A complimenting blend of technology and nature.

Segway

Animal Kingdom

View from the Tiger sky tower

View of the Merlion from the Tiger sky tower

@Madame Tussaids

Trick of the eye museum

Wings of time

Butterfly Park

With three action packed days coming to an end, we all adjusted to the shine and brilliance of this  wonderful city, with heavy eyes i slept, waiting for the next day to bring new adventures..