Hey friends ! I was supposed to write this post last week but traveling to my native place didn’t leave me with much time . So here it is now ! [Check out Part 1 posted previously 🙂 ]
DAY 5 – The last 3 days at SG had been quite hectic, so we decided to keep this day a bit relaxed (comparatively ! 😀 ). We left late morning to explore the Singapore Botanic Gardens. The weather was quite humid as we walked towards the MRT, so we decided to window shop at ION Orchard Mall for a while. By the time we reached the Botanic Gardens the air was so thick one could cut it with a knife. Even though there was so much open space around us we felt suffocated & although we very much wanted to explore the Gardens we realized that walking all those miles would be extremely difficult due to the weather conditions. So we rushed back to the air conditioned environment of the MRT with a sigh of relief.TIP – Keep a copy of the MRT map with you for convenience .
We soon made our way to Chinatown. It was evening by the time we reached there. No longer had we started browsing the souvenir shops it started raining. Soon the weather improved and we started exploring Chinatown. TIP – Chinatown is a great place for souvenir shopping.
>>>Read About Chinatown Shopping Here !<<<
We then moved on to find the Chinatown Food Complex is a great place to try authentic dishes. It was a lot further than we expected it to be. Passing the market place again we came across the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple, a stunning sight indeed.
Unfortunately it was late and the temple was closed, finally we spotted the Chinatown Food Complex situated opposite the temple.
TIP – Food complexes do not stay open till very late. Half of the stalls were already shut by the time we reached there. My sister was very keen to try the Singaporean Crab Chilly dish , one of SG’s specialities. We managed to find a stall specializing in this dish with the help of some friendly food stall owners.
And before long my sister sat with gloves on her hand ready to tackle the dish. Gloves were provided to avoid hand contact with the spicy gravy. Intimidating as it seemed, my sister got right to it. So after a satisfying authentic SG style dinner we caught the train back to our hotel.
DAY 6 – With only 2 & ½ day left in SG we wanted to make the best of it. As we had already visited the Jurong Bird Park & Singapore Zoo on our previous trip to SG we wanted to explore other places.
TIP – Shops open up only by afternoon in Arab Street.
>>>Read About Shopping in Arab Street Here !<<<
After resting in our room for a while we left for the ‘Gardens By The Bay’. Collecting our entry tickets we proceeded towards the 2 large man made domes – Cloud Forest & Flower Dome.
We first entered the Cloud Forest Dome, my personal favourite of the two. One gets a feeling of having entered a rainforest in this dome. After spending almost an hour walking around inside, admiring all the work put into creating this unique structure we finally exited the dome.
Next was the Flower Dome , where there was a never-ending varieties of plants flowering & non-flowering species. There was a wedding taking place in the glass house present within the Dome. We soon left to witness the Garden Rhapsody show which was to take place in the Super Tree Grove area.
When we reached the Super Tree area we felt like we were Alice in Wonderland, the huge tree like structures were lit up making the place look so magical ! We could see people walking along the skywalk which seemed quite fun . Although there was a long waiting for entry to the skywalk people waited patiently to experience it. As it would soon be time for the show we decided to sit on the ground with others waiting for the show to begin. Soon with music ringing in our ears and the lights on the Super Trees twinkling, the show began. . It was a fascinating experience, watching the change of lights on those humongous trees to the beat of the music.
The show went on for 15 minutes after which we headed towards Marina Bay Sands to get a 360 degree aerial view of SG.
TIP – The Light & Sound show called OCBC Garden Rhapsody takes place daily twice in the evenings at the SuperTree Grove area. Must check out ! 🙂
After waiting in a long line to reach the top, we finally reached the observatory deck. The sun had set and the darkness had filled the sky by this time. We could clearly spot all the well lit attractions of SG from here ! The SG Flyer, F1 track, Helix Bridge , Art Science Museum , the Domes & Super Tree Groves @ Gardens By The Bay, and others !
TIP – Try to view SG from the observatory deck at sunset or after for a well lit & colourful sight.
After enjoying the view from the top we headed down and came across a very attractive bakery on the ground floor of Marina Bay Sands tempting us to try their sumptuous desserts. After tasting some of the lip smacking pastries we went looking for the Helix Bridge.
Passing though The Shoppes stores we finally found the Helix Bridge. Much to our delight the laser Light & Sound Show had started and the images were being projected onto the walls of the Art Science Museum. We watched this magical sight for a while mesmerised by the play of colours on the lotus like structure of the museum and the music playing all around us.
We spent a couple of hours mall hopping on Orchard Rd. [ Read about Shopping in Singapore here!] Browsing brands familiar & ones we hadn’t heard of yet we whiled our time away. As we had enjoyed at Bugis Street so much we decided to go back to Bugis.
Getting down at Bugis MRT we walked through the subway and came across a small stall selling colourful and yummm looking cheese puffs & cupcakes called Chewy Junior . They were the best we’ve had so far! The most chewiest puffs & the most gooey cupcakes we’ve tasted !TIP – When in SG do try cheese puffs & cupcakes from Chewy Junior ! 🙂
We then headed towards Bugis Junction Mall. There were independent stalls placed right outside the mall, a flea market like setup with stalls selling clothing, accessories, eateries & all so checked those out too! Soon we were too tired to walk and left for our hotel.
In the evening we reached the Clarke Quay station and found our way to the riverside. What an awesome sight it was! Couldn’t think of a more happening place to spend our last night in SG at! There were people sitting by the river side watching the play of colours on the other side of the river, restaurants lined by the river on the opposite side all lit up with music playing there.
So passing the mall along the river we moved towards the bridge leading to the other side. As we reached the other side we realized that there were a lot more pubs & restaurants on the inside here. It felt like we were teleported to Las Vegas! There were bright colourful pubs & restaurants everywhere, belly dancers dancing in front of a Mediterranean restaurant, bollywood themed pubs, sports pubs, people everywhere enjoying the night life, tall umbrella-like structures covering the skyline to provide respite from the erratic rains. The extremely humid & stuffy climate played a real spoiler for us though.
And That’s how we spent our last night in SG ! ❤
DAY 8 – Our flight back to Bangalore was at night so we had enough time to visit the Merlion Park, one last attraction left on our list! So after an early breakfast and completing our last minute shopping at Bras Basah, we headed to the MRT.
Getting town at Raffle’s Palace station we started walking towards the Merlion Park. The Park was not located very close to the station and after receiving directions from friendly Singaporeans we soon reached the Park.
We first came across an adorable cub version of the Merlion ! The large Merlion Statue stood tall facing the water with gallons and gallons of water pouring out from its mouth all day long. The original merlion structure measures around 9 meters tall, whilst the Merlion cub located near the original statue measures 2 metres tall.
One can view the Marina Bay Sands & Art Science Museum across the waterfront from here. After enjoying the view for a while, we left to pick our luggage from the hotel and head towards the airport. Although our flight was late at night, we wanted to spend a couple of hours at the SG airport as it is one of the best in the world !
Enjoying the free foot massage machines at the airport, tasting new dishes at the numerous food stalls, shopping for cosmetics and perfumes we spent our remaining time at Singapore ! 🙂