Singapore

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After hectic days at work, I decided to take a day or two day off. Now the problem was where to go. A thought stuck me, why no try a new place altogether, a different country, different culture. So straight away I sought help of my new friend – Real Travel. I had only 2-3 days in hand so didn’t have many options. After exploring few places, I decided to visit Singapore. I had heard lot about this beautiful country.

My travel agent eagerly told me that it only takes 3-4 days to get tourist visa. So without wasting precious time I applied for visa. Good so far. Next herculean task was to find good but cheap accommodation. After surfing net for days, I decided to take my chance with Lloyd’s Inn and started eagerly waiting for the D-Day. In the meantime I tried to gather as much information I could from various sources. I even prepared a fine itinerary for my 3 days exploit.

Uniquely Singapore

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18^th May 2006 - D-Day

My flight was from Mumbai (Bombay), a good 3 hours drive from Pune so without further ado I left my office & hired a cab to start my first leg of journey. After typical & boring immigration routine @airport, the only task left was to wait for the giant bird to fly me across to new land. And lo, the announcer, in her very sweet voice, declared that the flight had been delayed by 25-30 min. All was there to wait & wait & wait.

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19^th May 2006

After 5 hours of flying, & thanks to my flight captain & other staff, I landed safely in Singapore. Though I had not slept properly for last 24 hours, being my first trip abroad, I was excited like a child. I had decided to take MRT to reach my hotel (wanted to save money from day 1 but after few minutes of exploration, I decided better to hire cab to save time (which is more precious, right).

I had planned not to waste single hour of my trip, so after depositing my bag in hotel, I called up my friend, Harry, announcing that I was ready to explore the city.

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Our first destination was a food joint. There are various eateries offering wide range of cuisines from Thai to Chinese to Italian to… Not sure about the taste I simply ordered a lime juice (it tasted different though). Then we explored nearby places like Orchard Road which boasts of large number of shopping malls where you can buy stuff from clothes to electronic gadgets n that too very cheap. Only thing is you should be able to bargain hard.

My next destination was Sentosa Island and the best way to reach there is via cable car. There are two points from where you can catch cable car – Mt.Faber or Harbor Front. My suggestion is Mt.Faber. Reason – longer ride, panoramic view so more enjoyable.

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After reaching Sentosa cable car station, first thing you’ll notice is Carlsberg Sky Tower, offering scenic and breathtaking view of island and that of Singapore. If you feel hungry, there is a restaurant, and a subway. Another interesting feature this place has to offer is Luge & Skyride - fun-filled gravity ride which I bet you definitely would enjoy. Also this is the best way to touch the base of island.

On island there are many things one can enjoy – Underwater world, Insect kingdom, Dolphin lagoon, beaches, wine n dine J etc. etc. You shouldn’t miss any of these. In my opinion you’ll need at least 2 days to explore it. My favorite was Underwater world. Actually this was the only attraction I was able to enjoy as I reached there late afternoon. So heed to my suggestion and venture out early in the morning when it’s not too hot.

Entrance
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Next stop obviously was the beach. We sat and had lot of beer n remembered our college days when life was more adventurous and more fun-filled. The beach offered beautiful sunset view and it was so calm n quite.

20^th May 2006

Today’s itinerary was the most hectic one. It included visit to Jurong Bird Park, Singapore Zoo, and if possible Night Wildlife Safari.

Jurong Bird Park offers different varieties of birds from parrots to flamingos to few other I couldn’t remember the names. Anyway it was a wonderful experience. Never in my life have I come across or seen so many beautiful birds in one place. It was a remarkable experience. The coolest part was feeding parrots. There were so many of them, making lot of noise. Wow what an experience. By the end I was dead tired so only thing on my mind was to relax sitting beside the lake, enjoying delightful flock of pink flamingos, having chilled beer and enjoying a yummy sandwich.

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After relaxing I visited zoo. It was another wonderful experience. A beautiful place to enjoy but it can hectic also. Tried for nightl ife safari also but I was tired that thought better to skip it.

21^st May 2006

Last day of my journey. There wasn’t much on my calendar so went to my friend’s place, relaxed a bit, saw a movie. It was now time to fly back. Now doubt it is rightly called Uniquely Singapore. It’s so beautiful, organized, and exquisite. Would like to visit again n again.