Sizzling Singapore
Last year, Natasha and I were planning to travel during summer, however, when that was not materialized we thought we would take our vacation to places which are warmer during the winter. We consulted few of our friends to ask for their suggestions and the best one was from our friend Sway, a globetrotter who loves travelling. Sway travels across the world twice every year, and suggested that we should visit Singapore as it was one of his top ten favourite places in the world. He gave a decent idea about the weather which helped us to arrive at the decision that it would be “Destination Singapore”, leading us to work out a 5-day family break to Singapore.
Our visit to Singapore was a memorable experience in many ways, hence why we thought of writing about it in our travel blog. It will surely vivify your spirits and gratify your wanderlust.
DAY 1: We arrived at the famous, world-class Changi Airport of Singapore in the morning at around 9am. Apart from the up-to-date amenities and infrastructure, the usage of plants and greenery added a bit of character to the airport, making it truly special and an out-of- this-world experience. We hired a cab and went straight to our hotel, the V- Lavender, which was at the central part of the city, saving us a lot of local travel time. After a quick bite at one of the local restaurants close to hotel, we crashed into our bed for a quick nap before getting ourselves stretched and relaxed for the evening.
After some tea, it was time to head to our first sightseeing in Singapore, the iconic Marina Bay Sands, one of the most illustrious landmarks of Singapore. The world-famous infinity pool is popular for obvious reasons, and is thronged with people at all times with an underground maze, casino and one of the most expensive restaurants in the world. The Marina Bay Sands is undoubtedly one of the top destinations in Singapore and a must-see for every traveller.
We enjoyed a few cocktails at the rooftop bar and took some amazing evening shots of Singapore before heading towards the Merlion, the signature symbol of the country. The iconic landmark and National embodiment of Singapore is 8.6 m high and weighs about 70tons. Merlion simply means ‘sea lion’, with its head representing Singapore’s original name Singapura, or ‘lion city’ in Malay, whereas its body signifies Singapore’s past as a fishing village when it was hailed as Temasek, meaning ‘sea town’ in Old Javanese. After spending some at the Merlion and walking around we had a relaxing dinner next to the bay, after which we went back to our hotel.
DAY 2: We got up early and got ready for another day. After our morning buffet breakfast at the hotel, we set off on a visit to the famous Universal Studios.
It is the first Hollywood movie theme park in South East Asia, with something to please everyone, from seven different movie themed zones to many captivating attractions, rides, shows and entertainments. It is usually busy with families and adventure-seekers alike, from across the globe. We saw some of the best attractions of Universal Studios, however, it was difficult for us to see the entire studio because of the paucity of time. We would recommend the following few attractions that we found are not to be missed, and which will surely help in setting your priorities when on a strict time schedule.
- New York: Lights, Camera, Action! – Hosted by Steven Spielberg, it is a sound production which displays special effects to imitate a great hurricane about to hit the New York City. There is a high chance you will get wet if you stand at the first row in the middle!
- New York: Sesame Street Spaghetti Space Chase (for kids) – A special attraction for the little ones, where they sit in a carrier and go through a tunnel inspired by Sesame Street.
- Sci Fi: TRANSFORMERS The Ride: The Ultimate 3D Battle – It gives you a feeling as if you are in a transformer robot; which may lead to giddiness and queasiness.
- Sci Fi: Battlestar Galactica: HUMAN vs CYLON – Here, Human acts as the red roller coaster, whereas Cylon acts a blue one. Both have an intense high-speed, so they are worth trying. Items that are loose are not permitted on the ride.
- Ancient Egypt: Revenge of the Mummy – An indoor high speed roller coaster performed in total darkness.
- Ancient Egypt: Treasure Hunters (for kids) – The kids sit in a car and drive around a pool/lake.
- The Lost World: Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure – Here you can do river-rafting with a great current. You will definitely get drenched from this ride! You can keep your articles in the boat or you keep them in lockers, but the lockers at Rapids Adventure are not free, so if you intend to save your money, you can keep your articles at Mummy’s lockers.
The Lost World: Canopy Flyer– This is a medium to high speed overhanging flying vehicle, which is sure to titillate your senses.- The Lost World: Amber Rock Climb– Here you will experience wall-climbing, with a treasure if you reach the top!
- Far Far Away: Shrek 4-D Adventure– Here you will experience a 4D Show of Shrek’s adventure, where you not only see and hear the film but also feel it with “bumps, bounces, air blasts and water spray”.
- Far Far Away: Enchanted Airways– a High-speed rollercoaster, but much smaller in comparison to Human vs Cylon.
- Hollywood: Sesame Street Show– a great musical show by Sesame Street characters.
- Far Far Away: Donkey Live– an exciting show of Donkey’s live performance, it is a show encouraging audience participation where Donkey answers to the actual conversation with MC and the visitor.
- Madagascar: A Crate Adventure– Here you sit in a boat and pass through a tunnel showing scenes with the characters.
There are many other attractions; however, I would recommend these 14, which will offer a delightful and pleasurable experience.
DAY 3: Shopping Day
After having our breakfast we dropped over to the world famous shopping hub, called the Mustafa centre, which is OPEN 24 hours, and is a must-visit for all tourists. The Mustafa centre is situated on Syed Alwi Road in the famous little India area, and really is one of the greatest places for shopping, catering to everyone. It is full with scores of people at all times. Besides a major shopping hub, the Mustafa centre also caters for some other basic needs of the shoppers such as; money exchange, travel, visa services and a rooftop restaurant for the hungry shoppers. Our shopping included electronic items, branded perfumes, gold jewellery, mementoes like Merlion icons for our friends. We were so happy with our shopping that we forgot to eat lunch, and it was around 6pm when our stomachs started grumbling, so we went to a nearby restaurant to have some snacks. After our snacks we went directly to the Night Safari. It is not only the world’s first ever Nocturnal Wildlife Park in the world, but also is one of the most visited tourist crowd-pleasers in Singapore. It contains a great variety of animals, and the staff there were extremely friendly. They displayed an amazing show of different animals and explained their various habits and typical behaviours. We had a first-hand experience of touching a few animals. One of the trainers at the zoo was a linguist; he impressed one and all by his proficiency in many languages. He greeted people in their native languages and we all felt awesome and had a great time. We returned to our hotel, had our dinner and called it a day.
Day 4: We started our day with Chinese food for breakfast; Hakka Noodles, Manchurian Mushroom rice, Schezuan rice and soup, which was a bit unusual for us yet we thoroughly enjoyed it. After having our breakfast we headed towards the next most sought-after tourist destination, Sentosa. Sentosa is a small island lying in the south of Singapore, made famous worldwide for being hailed as Asia’s most sought after Playground. It is one of the most approachable and developed Islands. Sentosa is dotted with many places which have so much to offer for tourists of all ages across the globe, I would recommend the following places if you have limited time to explore the island city of Singapore:
- S.E.A. Aquarium: This is truly an amazing place that is for sure worth visiting. It has a rich collection of about 100,000 marine animals of different varieties, and over 800 species kept in about 49 habitats. They are so enthralling that you will feel as if you, yourself, are a marine creature in their presence.
- The Royal Albatross: This is the only luxury tall ship for cocktails cruises in and around Singapore’s coast and its southern islands. It is a rare 47m, four-masted, 22 sail super yacht, making it the perfect blend of the old conventional sailing and state-of-the-art technology. It has something for all ages, and you can have the best time of your life by dining, wining and cruising together under one roof.
- Singapore Cable Car Sky Network: Experience the best time of your life by boarding in the cable car sky network. It links the two famous destinations, Sentosa and Faber Peak by two cable car lines; Mount Faber Line and Sentosa line.
Mount Faber Line: Fly above the two spots on the most breath-taking highway for some exquisite views. Soar high above the hill from Faber Peak, down via a skyscraper and sweep across the harbour on the Mount Faber Line, before finally touching down in Sentosa Island.
Sentosa Line: Roving over the jungle, sand and sea on the Sentosa line will lead you towards many crowd-pleasers on the island itself. You can select your stop at the Merlion station, Imbiah look-out station and Siloso point-station to relish the sandy beaches, or take a stop at Madame Tussauds, Megazip Adventure Park, Skyline Luge Sentosa, Universal Studios Singapore, S.E.A. Aquarium and lots more.
- Skyline Luge Sentosa (Imbiah): This is one the best tourist spots which draw scores of travellers from across the globe. It was invented in New Zealand about 29 years ago, and it has organised almost 31 Million rides worldwide. It is the first of its kind Luge which is launched in Southeast Asia. It provides two rare kinds of experiences; the Luge and the Skyride.
Luge is a high-thrill ride full of joy and excitement for people of all ages. It is quite a safe means of entertainment. It is a comprisation of a remarkable braking and steering system. You have a lot of choices like, going for a leisurely cruise or racing down the 688 metre Dragon tailor 628 metre Jungle pathway, 1.4 kilometres of joy at all times. The riders can plunge into the two brand new Luge tracks that move in and out through the fascinating forest. They are specially made with hairpin corners, long, straight and breath-taking slopes. All the riders can experience a great time with their family and loved ones when they come down the four tracks (2.6kms in all). The most recently made tracks are the 658 metre long expedition and 638 metre long Kupu Kupu (it means Butterfly in Malay). This wonderful trail gets completed only once you board on the Skyride. The Skyride would give you delightful bird’s eye view of Sentosa Island, Singapore city Skyline and South China Sea.
Night Luge
As the night approaches, you will experience a completely gripping experience at the Luge. All the people who love adventure will experience a thrill and excitement while navigating down each track with wonderful lights. You will have a great time by having a scintillating view of Singapore as the city skyline and harbour are suddenly turned into a brilliant city of lights at night.
NOTE: All the people who are having heart problems, motion sickness, back problems and other physical abnormalities like vertigo, epilepsy and pregnant women are not permitted to take the luge and skyride.
- Wave House Sentosa: It is one of the most popular of all the wave house venues throughout the world. It is a great spot where you can feel the Californian beach lifestyle with high energy levels oozing out via the double flow rider and 10 foot flow barrel wave rides famous throughout the world.
Do enjoy every moment by chilling out to the tunes of the great live music at the wave house Sentosa. You will certainly savour the modern Californian–Asian food at the wave house Sentosa restaurant and bar. You can chill and cool off from the tropical warm atmosphere and have a great time with some of the most charming people on the island at the outdoor Barrel and Rider Beach Bars.
All these are present in the 70,000 square feet tropical beachfront location at Siloso beach, Sentosa.
You may also experience the best time of your life by riding the waves, relaxing with friends and family, savouring the yummy pizzas and cocktails at the outdoor beach, bars or party till the time you like.
Wave House Sentosa is famous for providing the great fusion of entertainment and flow boarding and is for people of all age groups..
Furthermore, I would like to specially mention about the public transport system of Singapore. We travelled to the different places via bus, MRT (Massive Rapid System) and Cabs. All of them provide an extremely fast and convenient means of transport from one place to the other. MRT (Mass Rapid System) is the fastest and the most convenient to travel all over Singapore. Its wide range ensures that most of the prime attractions of Singapore are at a stone’s throw distance from an MRT station.
DAY 5: It was the final day at Singapore when it was time to pack the bags and head back to our homes. It was a nice warm morning and our English breakfast consisted of poached eggs, toast, porridge, fruit juice and milk. This breakfast was special in its terms as we were reflecting on our time spent in Singapore and all the fun we had during our stay.
It was finally the time for us to check out form the hotel and head to the airport for our flight. Singapore is truly a place with a difference and a welcome break from the winters in UK.
Laxman Jhula and Ram Jhula: The Twin Swinging pivots of Rishikesh.
Triveni Ghat: It is one of the holiest river banks of Rishikesh. The word Triveni signifies the confluence of the three holy rivers namely the Ganges, Yamuna and Saraswati. It is usually crowded by scores of people owing to its sacred significance. Its holy ambience reaches a different level during the evening Ganga Aarti. It’s truly a divine sight to behold and tap its holy vibes during the ancient divine ritual of “Ganga Aarti”.The sacred aura and spiritual beauty of this place is truly awesome. It is said that taking a holy dip in it washes away all our sins and refines our heart and soul. A must visit place for sure.
Shivananda Ashram: The glory of Rishikesh is incomplete without mentioning the Divine Saint named Swami Sivananda. Swami Sivananda was instrumental in giving a timeless gift of spirituality to Rishikesh by his graceful presence and austerity. He was a Spiritual Giant who founded the Divine Life Society in 1936. It carries out various educational, cultural and spiritual activities for the Human advancement. Sivananda Ashram is dedicated to this great Saint and divine personality. The exterior view of the Ashram is known for its scenic beauty, verdant surroundings and ravishing view of the Ganges. Its interior is also famous for its riveting and holy ambience. It has many beautiful temples, meditation spots and small cottages which are worth visiting.
Beatles Cottage or Ashram: The Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Ashram shot to fame after the famous musical group of Beatles visited this quiescent place in 1968. It changed its name from Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Ashram to Beatles Cottage or Ashram. It is one of the symbolic attractions in Rishikesh. Its serene and calm ambience will soothe your senses for sure. It’s a divine spot with a magnetic aura to rivet your attention .It’s one of the most visited places owing to its divine vibes. A brief session of meditation at this place will surely rejuvenate your spirits. Its quaintness is too good to miss really.
Neelkantha Mahadeva Temple: Neelkantha Mahadeva Temple is the divine dwelling of Lord Shiva. The name Neelkantha draws its analogy from a legendary tale of Samudramanthan(Churning of ocean). Neelkantha signifies the blue throat of Lord Shiva when he drank the poison named “Halahal” during the Samudramanthan.(churning of Ocean).It is one of the holiest shrines and religious spot dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is situated at a distance of 32kms from Rishikesh at an altitude of 1675metres. It is known for its sacred vibes and divine aura. It is really famous for the legend of Samudramanthan which is illustrated in its inner side of Tomb. A freshwater Spring situated in the Temple is also a key attraction of this divine place. Lots of devotees take bath in it. It is one of the most visited places of Rishikesh. A must visit for all seekers of divinity.
Parmartha Niketan: It is one of the most famous Ashrams situated on the banks of the holy Ganges in Rishikesh. It was founded by Revered Swami Shukdevananda Ji. It is the largest Ashram in Rishikesh with a capacity of more than 1000 rooms. It is located in the lap of Himalayas and is well known for its calm, wholesome and divine ambience. It is one of the best places to stay for the tourists. It has all the basic amenities for every kind of visitor across the Globe. Lot of people visit this great Ashram throughout the year. It carries out a host of activities related to Vedic Education, Yoga and Spirituality. It’s renowned worldwide for its Hawan and Ganga Aarti performed on the banks of the Holy Ganges. The Ganga Aarti is performed twice a day in the morning and evening. It attracts lot of devotees and visitors because of its divine aura and holy vibes. Ganga Aarti confers its nearby surroundings with its holy Grace. Parmartha Niketan is world famous for its International Yoga Festival which is held every year.
Jumpin Heights: Rishikesh is truly a paradise for all Adventure lovers. There are a number of Adventure spots in Rishikesh which attract a large number of tourists throughout the year. Jumpin Heights is surely one of them. It has got a large number of choices for all Adventure seekers.You will surely experience an adrenaline rush at this marvelous adventure destination. There are a plenty of options available for you at Jumpin Heights like Bungee Jumping, Flying Fox, Giant Swings and lots more. The Team of Experts is always available at Jumpin Heights to assist you. A must visit adventure spot.
Swarga Ashram: Swarga Ashram is one of the oldest Yoga Ashrams in India well known for its divine vibes and serene ambience. It lies between the Twin swinging bridges of Ram Jhula and Laxman Jhula. It is one of the major tourist attractions for different people across the globe and is a perfect spot to soothe your senses. It is built in the loving memory of Swami Vishudhananda. Unlike the other Ashrams which are bubbling with activity this Ashram radiates a divine aura and is known for its tranquility. It offers you a respite from the hustle and bustle of daily life. It is a perfect place for Meditation and filling ourselves with Spirituality .You should also behold the charm of the Sunrise and Sunset of this divine spot and enjoy its Natural setting.
Kaudiyala : It is a small Village situated at a distance of about 40kms from Rishikesh. It’s a famous Rafting spot and a must visit place for all Adventure lovers. It’s a well-known White water Rafting spot in the entire world. All the White water Rafting in Rishikesh is centered in and around Kaudiyala and its banks. It is always teeming with lots of Adventure seekers throughout the year. Lots of tourists also come here for Boating and Camping by river. It is also famous as a Biodiversity spot and offers a perfect sight for Bird lovers too. Apart from Trekking and Rafting classes it is quite famous for Rock Climbing also. A must visit for complete Adventure and pleasure.
Bharat Mandir : It is one of the holiest and oldest Temples of Lord Hrishikesh Narayan in India. According to mythology it is as old as Rishikesh! Located in the heart of Rishikesh, it is also one of the most visited tourist spots in Rishikesh. The great Spiritual Master Jagadguru Adi Shankaracharya re-established the idol of its presiding deity on the eve of Basant Panchmi in 789 A.D. Every year on the eve of Basant Panchmi a figurative reinstallation is carried out. It is truly a divine temple known for its sacred ambience. Bharat temple is mentioned in many Hindu scripts and epics like Mahabharat, Vishnu Puran and Srimad Bhagwad. According to the legends it is believed that the one who perambulates 108 times around it on Akshya Tritya, and seek the blessings of Lord’s uncovered feet will be truly graced by Lord himself. All his wishes will be fulfilled. It has the same significance as that of the holy pilgrimage of Badrinath. There are many old trees in the premises of Bharat Mandir, the verdant surroundings of these old trees will surely calm your senses. The three main trees namely Vat (Banyan tree), Pipal (Bodhi tree) and Bel (Bengal Quince)represents the Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh. The Bharat Mandir Museum is a centre of attraction for many historians and archaeologists. It displays various sculptures, pottery and embellished bricks found during excavation. A must visit Temple.