SINGAPORE : THE LITTLE PARADISE OF EVERYTHING!

Four years ago, 01st November 2017 at 00:10 IST, me and my closest school friends took our first trip together to Singapore. We started off by being at the airport on 31st October night itself since it is required to be at the airport 3 hours prior to departure. I myself being in the aviation industry for some time now, I was the last one to show up while my friends were waiting for me. As I already did my online check-in, I let my friends to proceed until I get there. Once I reached out to the airport and dropped our luggages [ Lucky us the check-in counters were quite empty that night, so a colleague of mine let us check-in at the business check-in counter itself ] we headed off to immigration/emigration section right away and off to have something to drink or grab a small bite. 

Our idea of taking a red-eye flight was to have the entire day for us to roam around the city once we land in our destination. Just like that, we found a really good option with Singapore Airlines, which departed at 00:10 IST from Colombo reaching Singapore at 07:00 SGT on the same day with a 4 hours flying duration.

FLIGHT EXPERIENCE :

As per my personal experiences, this was the best shirt haul flight I ever had in my life. The aircraft type we flew is a A330-300 with 2 - 4 - 2 configuration and of course I sat on a window seat. Departure was on time and after 30 - 45 minutes, we were served with our dinner. We had a choice of beverage with our dinner and of course I went ahead with a red wine. Meal was alright, I just made a wrong choice to pre-book a vegetarian meal, just to try it out which was not so tasty. 

After our meal, the cabin itself settled down to sleeping mode. My friends of course started to doze off right after and I ended up browsing TV series and movies. The selection of Singapore Airline was really good with latest movies and TV series. But as a loyal fan of FRIENDS, ended up watching the same until I snoozed off for a quick nap.

Next thing we woke up to was a slight rays of sunlight remerging through a window. After a quick coffee [ you have a choice of tea or coffee ] and kicking off your morning adrenaline, we slowly started to descend. The approach to the airport brings a beautiful view of the harbor where major ships are waiting in line or approaching their port with early morning sunrise, is the best morning view I ever had from above. 

We landed exactly at 07:00 SGT at Singapore Changi Airport. Soon after we landed, we all went to washroom to freshen up [ first thing first ].

Then finding our way towards immigration/emigration, we got our visa sealed & approved for 30 days in Singapore. [ To many citizens, the visa to Singapore is provided on arrival :https://visaguide.world/visa-free-countries/singapore-passport/ ] The process was pretty fast and it was easy for us to find our way within the terminal being the first time visitors in Singapore.

HOTEL EXPERIENCE :

By the time we checked in to the hotel it was around 08:30 SGT the lobby was so crowded with guests of the hotel, some to check-in, some to check-out, waiting for their tour guides to pick them up and became part of the check-in group the moment we entered. We stayed at the Hotel Boss, located in Jalan Sultan which is just 15 minutes away from the Changi Airport. 

Soon after we entered, we tried to check-in, we only needed to drop our bags to our rooms freshen up and go out but when we gave our passports to a lady at the counter, we were just straightaway said ' There is no booking under your name'. This just made our head spin; we literally had our confirmations in our hand and just like that, nothing. However, the lady who looked into this was not giving any attention and didn't bother to look further and assist us anymore. We understood the fact that it has been a very busy morning for the team and she did look exhausted, so we didn't go to complaint. As our first approach, we called our Travel agent, who booked our whole package. Despite of the time difference and being 2 hours and 30 minutes behind from Singapore time, our agent was so helpful that he called the hotel and confirmed back to us that everything is in order. 

After that confirmation, we reached out to a different agent at the counter, this time we approached a gentleman who looked alive and fresh :D and after he took our passports, he straightaway said our rooms are available and we can check-in without any extra charge as it was considered as early check-in. 

We stayed in a Standard Queen room, two per room. The hotel is more of a city hotel where majority of them are business travelers; hence no specific luxuriousness in it but it was comfortable enough to stay plus we mostly spent our stay outdoors, hence the necessity of a luxurious was not intended in our case. We were booked with  breakfast which I wouldn't say it was the best, it was not tasty, most of the time it was cold. So, after our first try at the breakfast, we ate from outside. 

However, to kick off our morning there was an in house coffee shop... Lucky us.

When you exit from the back door of the hotel [ Basically the entrance to the coffee shop apart from the hotel entrance ] on to your left, you could find money exchange boutiques. So we exchanged our cash to SGD and off to explore our the city.

EXPLORING CITY :

1] Shopping :

Once we exited our hotel and turn to right and walking for about 850 m through Syed Alwi Road, after 10 minutes of walk we reach the well known Mustafa Shopping Centre. 

This places has literally EVERYTHING and all that for really a good price; from food to cosmetics, to toiletries and I cannot say this enough but EVERYTHING you can find it right here.

 

However, if you want to do some shopping for any luxurious branded materials, head on to Orchard Street :

                                

This place is more beautiful during night time with all the bright, colourful lights along the street and glamourous open windows from luxury brands shops. 

There are plenty of outdoor food areas and street food to enjoy or even enjoy the busy Orchard Road by sitting on the long front steps. 

As much as there are many global brand boutiques, there are plenty of street vendors with a better price but of course not the exclusive luxury brands; yet you can bargain in these places. 

2] Adventures & Theme Parks :

During our stay Universal Studio was the only Theme Park we visited and it was so thrilling. It's a place for everyone, for kids to enjoy kids rides and live entertainment with Sesame Street characters,  and adrenaline rushed rides such as Battlestar Galactica or even 3D rides; if you are a big fan of Transformers movie series, you will definitely enjoy "Transformers the ride"; I of course did and it was so thrilling. And how can we forget, the famous Jurassic Park thrilling river raft ride; another fun filled ride to enjoy.

Each event leads to their own gift shop when you exit and if you wish to buy a souvenir of your favourite ride, you can buy a small key tag or a magnet or anything else they sell, they pretty have everything. But, in my personal experience, don't expect to buy in every gift shop since it is not that cheap; even a pen could cost at least SGD 10 - 15 which I would say not worth it. I bought two open files and three aluminium bookmarks from Transformers Gift shop, it was worth it and I can use it for a longer period plus it was my favourite ride and of course a big fan of Transformers; I mean who isn't? Oh, one more tip, Optimus Prime will be there to take couple of pictures with you all

 

While you will be enjoying and going around all these rides for the whole day, no surprise you wouldn't get tired and hungry; there is a common large dining area with so many varieties to enjoy. 

Despite of many gift shops around each and every corner at Universal Studio, there is one shop on to your right side once you enter facing Universal Studio. It's the Candylicious shop with so many varieties of chocolates, candies and many more. What it fancies me is the fact so many colorful candies are hanging upside down from the roof at the entrance; it's so hard not to notice. 

3] Attractions :

S.E.A. Aquarium was one of the most peaceful places I have visited in Singapore. So many variations of species that I literally had no idea yet so beautiful, creative, dancing around in their own rhythm it was so peaceful to watch. One moment that made me stop, sit down and watch was this large, spacious  area with a wide view where you can see various sea species swimming around and divers too who occasionally appears to wave their hand while swimming around. Majority sits in every available space to watch quietly like a meditation and the atmosphere of this area is built in such a way even the nature sounds playing over speakers. It is so calming. I will never forget that peaceful moment I had in my life.

Merlion Park, is another famous landmark of Singapore and one of the images comes to your mind when think of Singapore. It is one of those places that you cannot leave behind without visiting. There is a meaning behind this mythical creature which consists of a head of a lion and a body of a fish; is the lion head signifies three national values of Singapore : courage, excellence and strength. And Singapore name itself derives from 'Singa Pura' means, "Lion City"

Singapore Flyer is another tourist attraction located at the Downtown Core district of Singapore. This is an observation wheel where you can enjoy view of Singapore from above and every corner possible. It takes approximately 30 - 35 minutes to complete one rotation in this Flyer which however felt it was more than that because of the slow speed. 

    

We didn't had much time to visit Marina Bay except that we got a glimpse out of window from our moving vehicle. Since we travelled with a customized package for a 4 nights and 5 Days, we had to squeeze in everything in between these days. Because of that we didn't couldn't get much experience in any public transport either. For every other places we visited on our own, we walked, one reason was because we were in the centre of the city, so pretty much everything was just walking distance. Except the Orchard street, where we had to taxi's, one thing we learned is they accommodate only four in a car. Basically they do not accept beyond the respective vehicle capacity and apparently it's against the law. And if you think you could bribe the drivers, don't even think about it; Singaporeans respect their law and they would never consider to do anything beyond that. 

FOOD EXPERIENCE : 

If you are an Indian foodie, there is the Indian Street with so many varieties of food, street food to enjoy or you could visit China street to enjoy more varieties of street food. If you are neither, you always have the chance to enjoy your usual flavours, KFC, McDonalds, Pizza hut... you name it. 

There was this one Pub behind our hotel where we gathered on our last night in Singapore to enjoy couple of beers and some italian flavours over some music and light conversations.

Our return flight to Colombo was another well treated experience once again with Singapore Airlines and definitely I will visit this marvellous gem again and explore even more, now that I am familiar with certain areas, what to do and what not to do.

Until next time.....