Singapore Diaries

A View of Marina Bay Sands from the Singapore Flyer

A FINE CITY

Anand @Food Republic,Shaw House

Every holiday has that one person who makes it special. Well, our guardian angel was Anand Khandelwal who took on the mantle of our friend-philosopher-tour adviser, much before we even stepped on board our flight. So at the outset a big thankyou to Anand Khandelwal. Take a bow Sir.

These days, before every holiday (which are infrequent) and journeys (which are very frequent), to any new wonder-or-otherwise land, I always end up in a tizzy, with the logistics. There is so much information on the net and then there are friends and foes ever ready to chip in with a "friendly bit of advice". So I am beholden to add to the mele. Here's my tuppenny, a Singapore travelogue. Follow HyperLinks to access more websites. Click on Photos to enlarge

Legend 

🆒         :  Section Separator . (Scroll down to find the 🆒 one which suits you)

✋ 🚩   :  Stop Read this

🔥        :  Hot Tips

👉      :  Important Tips

👪     :  What Katy Did What we did

A break from the Navy and a 16th birthday called for a special holiday. Now my idea of a special holiday may have meant hours on the road to some remote corner of the country(albeit the end of the road had an AC room with cable, WiFi, a comfortable bed and chilled beer). My wife's would have been, to any exotic place in India, better still a village, in the lap of nature with animals and hours of DSLR moments (serious photography stuff - not my pouting/smouldering selfie type). My daughter's idea would be a trip to a Mall? Books? Dystopian/Extended Univ movies? Dunno? Chilling?(I still haven't figured out a teenagers ideal holiday package or what chilling actually entails). So we choose Singapore. Go figure.

Singapore evokes images of a fine city. Ok! That jokes been literally - umm -  flogged - to an inch of it's life. Anyway we had a fine experience in the fine city and did not get fined (or caned) in the process. Nope, that's flatter. Sigh! I guess, I have no future as a stand up. Better stay off humour for the time being and cut to the chase.

A Govt Building enroute Chinatown Pt

Singapore is one of the most tourist friendly destinations that I have been to. Even if you're Indian. Yes, Thailand was great, people were extremely welcoming,  very tourist friendly, awesome street food, relatively cheap, all great till, well - till you took a trip into a shopping mall especially any of the bargain basement shops.  See what I mean? At Singapore,  people are friendly, ya even fellow naturalised kith n kin. Infact, my experience, they go the extra mile. A camera store sold my wife a $50 filter for her camera and we almost ended up with  an expensive lens. All over a 15 minutes of a - Hi! Hello! - to a walk through (window shopping?!?!) customer.  The myriad Bakkawa shops from Chinatown Pt to pagoda street don't mind if you sample and taste their wares. Clear signboards to tell you where you are and what lies ahead. Even the local buses and bus stops carry a name and a reference number. If you loose your way in this ordered world someone will surely help you on your way. Yes, there's a sense of order. Sanitised and sometimes a bit too orderly at times. Like say, its so so so so green, but you'll never see an overgrown disorderly  bush. Even wild flowers have a sense of, trimmed and tended to, symmetry. ✋But beware 💲🔥Singapore is expensive🔥💲. Very expensive. So please don't walk around with a calculator multiplying S$ X 48.9 = ?? Rupees. It will cost, a bit - Ok a lot?

💲🔥 My guardian angels best tip - The City mapper app saved us lots in commuting. This amazing and Brilliant app is available for both Apple  and Android. It takes off from where Google maps left. Point to point, multi modal transportation. Bus MRT walking Cab. All the  combinations/options dumbed down for guys like me. It goes to the extent of telling you which section of the MRT train (Front, center or rear) to occupy. 🔥💲 

Freefalling @Trickeye 

I tell you why the 'Fine' city joke doesn't fly anymore. It is still a phenomenally clean city and I saw more janitors/house keeping personnel than Cops. But there are signs of change. Yes you do see occasional signs of littering and jaywalkers aplenty, and that's not limited to Little India. But beware, it is by no means cool to saunter across the road distributing popcorn graffiti. 

Post a trip to Ladakh, a couple of years back, I was convinced that there were only two types of tourists. Those who fell in love with Ladakh and those who wondered what's the big deal about the crumbling rocks. I must admit that I was getting ahead of myself. I was probably so overwhelmed by the breathtaking vistas and the arid beauty of a land seemingly crafted by God's own hands, that I forgot that it takes all kinds. The Bikers, the hikers and the Campers. The luxury getaway guys. The lonely solitude seeking guys. The family gang. The groupie gang.  The eat only the local food expeditionary. The eat only the familiar (home type) food conservatives.  The carry your  own meals guys. And finally the touch and go P gang (P = Present Sir - like students attending roll call. Yeah XYZ! Been there. Done that. Big deal! What do you mean, how many days?  Liked the place? Does that count!!) Oh, and so many dozen permutations there on. Each one right in anothers wrongs. Perspective. One man's meat -  another man's poison.

If you have the molah, and are nice enough to leave, Singapore caters for all palates. Almost.

Meat or vegetarian! Food, Yup! That's inevitably the centerpiece of my travels.  The point here is that like tourists, travelogues or blogs, come in just as many flavours. So here's the menu card for this one. Read through or scroll thru to the section of your choice(Stop and follow the embedded links):-

🆒    1.  Blah bblah bbla - that's just me rambling, in the beginning and throughout .....

🆒    2.  Planning the trip to Singapore - the research

Arab Street

🆒    3.  Travel Agent / Online Travel Portal / Plan it yourself ??? - the Budget

🆒    4.  How to apply for a Singapore Visa

🆒    5.  Choosing the Hotel / Room Type

🆒    6.  Things to Do

🆒    7.  Places to eat - vegetarians can breathe easy too  

🆒    8.  Tips and Trivia  - Time n Travel 

🆒    9.  Places to shop 

🆒   10. My Place of Stay - Hotel Village, Bugis 

🆒  11.  My Itinerary 

🆒  12.  Getting to Singapore - The Chennai - layover

So the meat, my meat, my perspective,  is here. I admit that a few days does not do justice to any place. But then a tourist has, but, a few days. So this is what we did, in our quota of a few days. And what a blast we had. So Will I return as a tourist? Most definitely yes, but not before I have covered more ground, at home in India and across the yonder.

Maxwells Food Centre

The options for travel, stay and entertainment are many. Your best friend is the internet. Whatever you choose, I suggest you spend a while on researching the place you want to experience. Say a zoo may have many shows, but there may be a show you may want to see or miss, so plan the visit around the show timing. Other than the attraction opening time, it may be ideal to visit the place at a particular time - say, I would recommend the Singapore Flyer in the evening. 

Now I get to the nuts and Bolts part. Refer to the sections below if you want to travel to Singapore or are just plain curious and / or bored. Otherwise Cheerio till my next Blog  

2. Planning the trip to Singapore.

OK so you have chosen the destination. Thats bigger than the"what to cook" dilemma! Good going! Now chose the means to organise your holiday. The local travel agent or an online resource.  Do net in with previous travelers and friends in Singapore and sites like Trip Advisor. The number of things to do in Singapore is mind boggling and all activities may not be to your taste. For example, everybody likes to visit Sentosa. However, to save time, we preferred to do Universal Studios,  SEA Aquarium and Trickeye museum on one day and left out the rest of the Sentosa attractions.

✋ 🚩 Also please remember to 🔥cater for days lost in transit🔥.
👉 A 6 day 5 night trip is actually 5 days/nights  (the travel agents  count Day 1 as the first day  and not each completed 24 Hrs) and it  finally amounts to only 4 full days. The first day is lost in reaching the hotel and checking in and making yourself comfortable. The last day is lost to checking out and transit to the airport. So 6 days = actually 4 days.

Batik clothes at @Arab street

👉 If you add KL to your package, one day (6 hours or so to be precise) is spent in transit between the two cities.

👉 But Day 1 can be gainfully utilized. For example I would recommend an evening/ night activity on the first day. Like the Night safari or Singapore Flyer or Gardens by the Bay.

👉 If you choose a cruise, then drop a similar activity. Say night views off the Marina.

      ✋🔥 I suggest that you keep at least one/two days spare to make up for last minute shopping or for some repeat/missed attraction.
✋ 🚩 Early Check in : Remember Check In Time is usually 2:00pm and Check out 1200pm
✋ 🚩  Late night/Early morning Flights:  If you are saving a bundle by using a late night flight. You may end up paying for a Day extra if you reach your Hotel early. Talk to them directly before hand-they may accommodate you at a nominal charge. Don't land up early at the Hotel and expect a free/discounted early check-in

👉 Plan to do your minor purchases like SIM card on day 1 (ID Proof : passport)

(If you see a jump break at this point : CLICK BELOW ON THE READ MORE>> FOR THE COMPREHENSIVE STEP BY STEP GUIDE TO PLAN YOUR TRIP)

3. Travel Agent / Online Travel Portal / Plan it yourself ???

If you are travelling from India, the best place to start would be a trip to your trusted local BnM (Brick and Mortar) travel agent or, if you’re a lazy bloke like me, do it  from the comfort of your couch – online. There are many Travel portals for travelers from India like MakeMyTrip or Goomo or Yatra (Yatra offers its own packages and is also an aggregator of sorts and allows other operators to list on its “Holiday Platform”). 

👉   Budget. A cursory search online would give you an idea of how much a package would cost. Thereafter negotiate with your BnM agent or build your own package.

      ✋🔥 Budget Breakup : Hotel, Meals, Entry Tickets, Travel - Shopping 

👉   An online search also gives you an idea of the budget for the Hotel (with or without B/Fast), Tickets, Visa. On the lower/safe side add Sing $10-$15 per head per meal (Lunch/Dinner). The cost of tickets for each tourist attraction  and travel (more on this later). For the initial budget for a 5 day trip add - about $250/person on tickets. Add $20/person for travel (If you use mostly local trains/buses and Taxi's occasionally for short hauls)

👉   Most Indian travel sites offer Hotel+Flights. But what you need to look for is  a Portal that offers you a comprehensive package that includes Hotel+Flight+Visa+AirportHotelTransfers (+local tour/attractions+transfers if needed).

✋ 🚩  Singapore does not have a Visa on arrival for Indians (as of writing this blog). So you have to get an e-Visa through a Singapore Govt authorised Visa agent

A. Plan it Yourself 

Chocolates for all occasions
@Candylycious, Sentosa /USS gate

If you have time, do explore the travel/stay options online. You will be spending a big amount on commuting (particularly Taxis or Cabs as you please) and eating. So  a little research online will save quite a bundle. If you have the time and patience then you can build your own itinerary.
👉   Air Tickets Anyway once you have an idea of the packages available online you can check prices of air tickets from various sites online to get the best deal. 

           ✋ 🚩  Remember some LCC list “no baggage” or “hand baggage only” fares.

           ✋ 🚩  Cater additional time required for Check/immigration ex-India 

👉   Hotels :  Once you've homed onto the Hotel(s) where you'd like to saty compare the deals on hotel prices on sites like Trivago, booking.com and also from the website of the Hotel. It is quite possible that the best deal is offered by the Hotel itself. 

👉   Do give sites like Air bnb a look see. 

👉   A homestay may be a cheaper option for a larger group. 

👉   For 2-3 pax, I suggest you stick to the family room of a hotel.

✋ 🚩 For your visits to local tourist attractions, things to do and places to visit, I strongly suggest the Plan-it-yourself approach. Let the Visa, Hotel and Air Tickets be done by your BnM/Online travel agent. 

👪  I chose the easy path, an online portal - MakeMyTrip. The advantage being, someone else plans your trip and also bundles in customised local attraction(s). That MMT is an authorised Visa Agent and the fact that the Travel Executive (or Holiday Expert as they are called) assigned to us, Ms Dharika Suri, was very proactive, helpful and patient, swung the deal. But see what works best for you.  I chose the Visa+Air+Hotel+AirportTransfers+OneActivity (Night Safari + Dinner) 👪

👪  For the other activities our guardian angel was kind enough to get super discounted tickets and bundled discount vouchers from Cebu Travels  👪

4. How to apply for a Singapore Visa

For documentation and photo size etc please see this website for Travelling to Singapore .  As per their website: With effect from 1st April 2009, the Singapore High Commission  🔥does not accept individual walk-in applications 🔥. Applications must be submitted in person to any of their authorised visa agents. Applicants whose application has been approved can have their e-Visa printed by the authorised visa agents. As of  11 Nov 17, among others, these include, Thomas Cook, Cox and Kings and MakeMyTrip.

✋ 🚩  Visa issued only through authorised visa agents
👉   eVisa are issued to tourists.Passports are not stamped but passports are required for submission.

👉   Singapore has consulates in Delhi, Chennai and Mumbai. Depending on where you reside, the travel agent will need to apply for your visa in one of the consulates online. 

Waterworld @Universal Studios

👉   Every travel agent, BnM or Online,  will need to go through one of these authorised Visa Agents, however this will not cause any  problems, maybe add a day or so to the process.

👉   Do remember that the processing time depends on the number of working days at hand. So take care of Sundays and local/embassy holidays.  

👉   Please check the cost of Visa from your Travel agent beforehand. The Singapore authorities charge $50 as on 05 Nov 2017.

✋ 🚩  I strongly recommend that you use the special secure service, that each courier offers, to send the Passports to your Travel Agent. 👪 I use Blue Dart. 👪

👉For the Plan-it-yourself travellers - there are visa portals who do the job for you like VAssist and Musafir . Also Please see this blog on "how to apply for a Singapore tourist visa" 

👪  I sent my documents to MMT. Post receipt  of all the documents my  VISA was issued in a day. Another couple to get the passports back👪

5. Choosing the Hotel / Room Type

Location Location Location. That's the key. Check the location and then the cost of the Hotels. Chose a Hotel which is centrally located (vis-à-vis the places you want to visit) and has good reviews. And most importantly near a LRT/MRT station (Mass Rapid Transit rail system or the Subway) and a Bus Station. 
Another point to remember is the room type. If you are travelling as a family in  odd numbers, choose the family room, or adjoining rooms. A family room can have up to 03 beds without being too cramped and may make more sense.

👉 If you're familiar with Singapore check hotels as per location and then budget, otherwise G Map

👉 Ensure that the hotel is centrally located w.r.t. the places you want to visit

Dumplings and Beer- awesome combo

👉 Check distances of Hotel from MRT/LRT station

👉 Don't forget the budget

👉 Most Hotels serve Indian Food - but if thats a criteria cross check

👉 Amenities like WiFi are a must, but a Gym or Swimming pool are hardly of any use. Unless you have lots of time to kill at the Hotel

👪  A family room - 03 pax makes total sense 

👪  We choose The Village Hotel, Bugis  👪

6. Things to Do

Din Tai Fung
@Sentosa

As a tourist destination, Singapore is a paradise for "Family travellers". There are theme parks, animal parks,  rides and entertainment options galore. The alternatives are a mix of plan-it-yourself, or a single/bundled tour package(s) from your BnM or online agent or even from a local tour agent in Singapore. The list of popular places are endless Sentosa  (see this  or see Sentosa PDF Map  here), Universal Studios, SEA Aquarium, Jurong Bird Park,  Singapore Zoo, Night Safari, River Safari, Singapore Flyer, Gardens By the Bay. Then there are museums (Art and Science Museum) and shopping centers. Places for a window shopping look see from Orchard street to Bugis market to Chinatown to Little India. There are scores of things to do and see. Get some TIME TO Golf or Bike in the garden trails or go sky diving. But remember distances are considerable in certain cases, so factor in cost of travel and food with every ride/attraction.

👉 A  Good Place to start is here or do a google search for things to do in Singapore. And tourist attractions in singapore.

✋ 🚩 The advantage of plan-it-yourself is that you can plan to see a place at your own pace and are not herded together in a time bound manner from place to place

✋ 🚩The advantage of a package tour, designed by the tour operator,  is that there is no worry, or cost, for transportation to-from the various locations. You are bussed in a group.

👉 Either way remember that the travel agent BnM/online in India will outsource your package or ticket to a local Travel agent in Singapore. We took one such ride and it was a good experience. They are very well organised, efficient and polite.

Universal Studios

👉  Please do use Google maps to plan for distances. For example these may be bundled (Singapore Zoo, Night Safari, River Safari  and Jurong Bird Park ) However the  🔥first three are next to each other while Jurong is 20 Km away  🔥.

👉 🔥  You may like to check the website of the individual tourist attraction for offers or the local travel agents in Singapore. Like 

👉 🔥  Each ride/tour can set you back by Sing$ 45 or more. So a $15 discount as part of a bundle is big savings

Night Safari

👪 We did the Night Safari+Dinner at Ulu Ulu restaurant as part of the MMT package

         ✋ 🚩  Cater for travel time : 45 min by MiniVan from Hotel

         ✋ 🚩  Ii is not the Singapore zoo, only the nocturnal animals are housed

         ✋ 🚩  The Night safari Includes a 40 min Tram ride (make sure yout ticket includes it)

         ✋ 🚩  Beware of the rains, two of our shows got washed out - Carry Umbrellas always

         ✋ 🚩  To make most of time and to miss the crowd – during Creatures of the night show

                   - when the Otters pick up  rubbish like Bottles/Cans, move out 

👪  The transfers and the trip above was handled by Luxury Tours Pte Ltd

👪  The Ulu Ulu buffet offers only Indian cuisine after 8:30pm and Asian before that, choose carefully

👪  Night safari – make sure you opt for the tram ride and watch the animal shows particularly the Creatures of the Night. Our downer was that the rain washed out both the shows.

👪  For the rest of the tour, my guardian angel got us a massive discounts and bundled meal and merchandise vouchers from  Cebu Travels  

Feeding the Lory's @Jurong Bird Park

Jurong Bird Park

👪  Jurong is about 1Hr 15 minutes from Bugis,  using (City Mapper and) Train and Bus

👪  Please take the tickets inclusive of the Tram ride at Jurong. Drop and pickup at Pt 2 and Pt 3

👪  Ditto "Tram/Boat ride" at the Zoo, River and Night Safari.

👪  Tram ride - Drop and pickup at Pt 2 and Pt 3

👪 Pt 2 Do not miss the Lory Loft aviary. Awesome experience (if you like aggressively  playful birds swarming all over you and eating (powder gram nectar) from your hand. 
👪  Pt 3 - Stop here to see the largest aviary waterfall. It is about  100 feet over the natural cliff face of Jurong Hill.

👪 The Bird shows at Jurong are worth a watch  Check show timings before you plan your visit. We caught - High flyers show  at @3pm, Penguin show @3.30 King of skies @ 4pm 

👪 We missed the Singapore Zoo and The River safari. Going by our experience at Jurong and Night Safari - you must add these to your itinerary 

Gardens by the Bay - An ethereal experience

Supregrove @Gardens By the Bay

👪  The Gardens involve a lot of walking. But there are golf cart rides available for a fee

👪  Consist sof numerous garden swith a central theme, like the India Garden with a Banyan tree

👪  I would strongly recommend the Flower dome, the Cloud forest and the Garden Rhapsody 

       (the mesmerising sound-and-light show at Supertree  Grove). The first two shut at 9pm.

👪  Flower dome : Filled with exotic plants and flowers is a must for the green brigade 

👪  Cloud forest  : Misty mountain dome with a waterfall  and with amazing plants

👪  Garden Rhapsody is mesmerising and must not be missed

👪 The Garden Rhapsody starts at (7:45pm and) 8:45pm daily hrs so if you reach Gardens by the Bay by 5 pm, see the Flower Dome and the Cloud Forest and then you catch this show. Entry is free

👪  Similarly the Singapore Flyer (Singapores anwser to the London eye) is worth catching in the evening as it gives panoramic views of the Marina Sands and the Garden Rhapsody at Gardens by the Bay. I suggest you board it by about 8:30 pm.

👉  You can club a visit to the Marina Sands and Art and Science Museum with the Flyer

Universal Studios Singapore (USS) - SEA Aquarium - Trickeye Museum

👪 Fantastic rides. Must do.Especially the roller coaster, Transformers, Lost World and Jurassic P

           ✋ 🚩  Catch the popular Rides early - Jurassic, Transformers and the Roller Coaster

👪 Would advise that you reach at the time USS opens, so that you have enough time at the rides

👪 Take a Cab to the Universal. You have enough walking ahead of you. Save on the return leg

           ✋ 🚩   DO NOT visit the place on a Weekend or a Holiday. 

👪 Some rides have huge waiting lines. On a weekday 30min to 1 hour. Weekends - don't ask. But the current wait time is usually indicated on a digital display.

👪  Express line pass (Yeah! you can pay and jump the line) costs upto $40 for a ride or $70 for all rides. Not worth it. Just go early

👪 Some rides require your phone/bags/loose items to be put in locker. It costs extra about $2

👪 Some rides offer Poncho - avoid, a little water will not melt you

👪  Waterworld is recreation of the movie. Be in time to sit in the center of amphitheatre (has three zones : soak zone - blue seats, wet - green seats and  brown seats - dry)

👪 Two Roller coasters Battlestar Galactica - Human is easier and Cylon is tougher  on the stomach.

👪  The Transformers is an awesome 4D ride that will thrill any fan - Do Not Miss

👪  We missed the indoor roller coaster the Revenge of the mummy as it had technical glitch. Yes rides do break down

👪   The kiddie rides (like Madagascar) are also available and then for the not-roller coaster variety gang (like me) simpler rides like the Canopy ride.

👪   The Food is reasonable compared to the super expensive Merchandise - Parents beware, use your discount vouchers judiciously

SEA Aquarium

SEA Aquarium - Trickeye Museum

👪  I recommend that you spend most of yout time at USS keep 2 hours for the SEA Aquarium and an hour and a half for Trickeye

👪  The Trickeye Museum is a Virtual AR experiencec

👪💗   CHOCOLATE & CANDY LOVERS check out Hershey's store and Candylicious near the gate of USS

7. Places to eat

Maxwells Food Centre

Singapore has fabulous places to eat. Every tourist attraction, shopping/business  centre or Mall has a plethora of places to gorge at. From fine dining to QSR chains all the familiar culprits are at hand. My thing about food in a city is the street Food. Yeah its cheap and really gets you the local flavour.  Singapore does not not have (at least I did not see) street carts like we see in India or Thailand etc, but has clusters called Hawker centers. A must visit for any foodie.

👉 I would recommend that you try the local cuisine. Again Vegetarians pls exercise caution.
👉 Local food is cheapest at the various Hawker Centers in Singapore. These are a cluster of food kiosks (neat, orderly, and well laid out in neat rows and squares! LOL! ) and serve some of the best food. Prices can start as low as $3

Food Republic@Shaw House

👉 Malls have been the death of food and flavours, especially due to the QSR model. But the  "Food Republic" beats this myth(?). This franchise offers the experience of good food that doesn't blow the wallet and yet is in AC comfort. Check it out if you want local / SE Asian  food that is a notch above the hawker center, with the ambience of a Mall. They claim - "Food Republic is a gathering of food concepts greater than before all under one roof" and yes the one we sampled had it all - Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese and ........ Indian.

Most Indian travellers (particularly if they are vegetarian and/or are averse to fish sauce and shrimp paste) are ill-disposed to travelling in SE Asia, .  Though personally, I love the local cuisine, I understand thats its a nice feeling to know that there is a backup plan, especially if you are a vegetarian. I admit that for the Indian palate, there is a problem with the local Chinese Food. For those who know, Indian Chinese is, well, different. So if you're from India looking for Ginger Chicken or Veg Manchurian and Hakka noodles ( or typically the Vizag type Veg Fried Rice with Raita) you're going to be very very disappointed. No one, makes Indian Chinese, like Indians. By that standard only, the Noodles here suck. 😁. 

👉    Nasi Lemak is malaysian rice cooked in coconut milk is an excellent and safe bet, though vegetarians would be advised to check the contents (Nasi means rice).
👉    Mee is noodles.
👉    Goreng is fried.
👉    Tea - ask for Teh
👉    Coffee ask for Kopi - try the cold black coffee
👉    Indian Flat bread Paratha - ask for Prata

Tandoori & Vadai Anyone

Indian influence in the food is perceptible. So if you come across Nasi Mamak, it  may just be your good old Biryani. And Mamak is addressed to the south Indians who are running the stalls. (hey this is what I figured out- pls check veracity). Mamak food is not actually a specific type of cuisine. Rather, it refers to the food often sold by Tamil Muslims in Malaysia. Some of the common, popular dishes are: Roti Canai (Parotta), Roti telur, nasi kandar, nasi briyani, nasi lemak, maggi goreng, mee goreng, and satay. This is across all the places I visited. In Fact in chinatown I came across a stall, selling, Tandori, Bakkwa and Vadai. Supermarkets stock Indian MRE by MTR/Haldiram including bhel.  So at any stage you get dire cravings for Indian food... (But why???)
The

✋ 🚩  Those with strong Indian taste buds, stay away from Noodles
✋ 🚩   Nasi Lemak (coconut based rice  preparation) is a good bet for the Indian palate
✋ 🚩  Vegetarians beware, some guys don't consider dried shrimp or fish to be non-vegetarian

👉      All Hotels especially those featuring in Indian travel sites will most probably cater for Indian and Vegetarian food. Mine did
👉    All places that are generally part of a tour package+dinner/lunch will most probably have an Indian buffet. Check with your tour operator
👉    Little India and the area around Mustafa shopping Centre has a plethora of Indian restaurants.

What we ate? 
Just tasted the tip of this giant iceberg of food!

Murtabak and Mee Goreng 
@Zam Zam

👪  Buffet Breakfast at our Hotel
👪 I'm not going to recommend any particular dish except that you must try Bakkawa (especially in and around Chinatown) and Murtabak (Umm sorry veggie friends)
   ✋ 🚩   Bakkawa is a chinese salty-sweet dried meat product similar to jerky.
      It is made with a meat preservation and preparation technique originating from China.
      So you can pack and go.

   ✋🚩   Murtabak is like Baida Roti - a pan-fried stuffed (typically with some meat) bread/pancake  

👪  Maxwells Food (Hawker) center - good food, neat clean but shuts by around 10:00 PM. A Sample - Crispy carrot cake, Fried oyster with egg, Crispy fried Wontonn, Singapore Laksa
👪  Food Republic @ Shaw center, Orchard Road - excellent food
👪  Din tai Fung, Sentosa - Excellent dumplings
   ✋🚩   Serving size are ok and each dish can be had by itself. (No Indian chinese mix and match - Noodles+Rice+Gravy, so order with care and... share).
👪   Zam Zam restaurant - At the corner of North Bridge road and Arab street . A hop and jump from out Hotel. Cheap. Biryani (lamb/Beef) would cost about $6 unless you ask for Deer (Rusa) Biryani. Try the food to discover the fusion or lets just say maybe the evolution of Indian food in SE Asia. Recommend the Murtabak, Roti prata   and  Nasi Briyani ( Nasi  is rice, so literally Rice Biryani - Is there any other kind ?!? Well actually, yes there is... but not in this blog) 
👪   Mel's Drive-In @  Universal studios - Decent Burgers and fries. The meal vouchers with the tickets can be combined, as long as the minimum order value is attained, and its a pretty decent discount. (Not so for the merchandise discounts)
👪   Ulu Ulu restaurant @ Night Safari - we had the buffet, wanted the Asian fare but by the time we reached they had switched over to Indian. Good vegetarian food especially the Aloo (potato) curry and the salad. For the non-veg - the Lamb Curry was excellent .
👪  Any7/11 store - Veg food too.  I know that this sounds weird, but 7/11s stores are good for grab-and-go, sandwiches etc in emergency. Pretty decent  and cheap.  Eg for $8.4 - a Ham cheese Sandwich, Nasi lemak rice stuffed with something something wrapped up in nori Seaweed and a Chicken burger. (Pretty nifty too. Each food item has a number, pop it into the store Microwave and press the number key. No fiddling with time/heat settings- Idiot proof -Poka-yoke? Well almost)
👪  Gardens by the Bay - near the Super Tree Grove (Supertree-dining) The Peach garden noodle house
👪  Jurong Bird park has a Pizza Hut and a few other eating places which are pretty decent
👪  Boon Lay Bus Interchange / MRT - we had to route via this place and tried a cheap Singapore Chicken , rice and noodles combo/takeaway. Verdict - the noodles really sucked and the rice was great. The chicken was tasty but the pieces were was chopped into little chunks - with skin, bones and all. Again Indian travellers beware.
👪  Bakery - The few bakery shops we walked into, for a snack and look see, had a plethora of fresh soft and light sweet buns and breads of various types - worth a try, Vegetarians beware. Meat Items slip in here too as teeny weeny sprinklings. But I'm not complaining.
👪  Chinatown : Chinatown Seafood Restaurant. Good ambience good food. Check this

8. Tips and Trivia

💲🔥 At the cost of repetition . You MUST DOWNLOAD the City mapper app.  

💲🔥 You need a local SIM with a data pack   (ID Proof : Passport required) or  International roaming+4Gdata on your Indian SIM.

🔥   Obtain the local contact numbers a-priori (tour operator, helpline numbers, hotel)

👉    There are no "G" or ground floor in malls or Hotels #1 is the Ground  Floor

👉    Time : GMT +8 . Did you know that Singapore is in the wrong time zone? 😃 Check out 

Identity Proof : carrying of Passport
👉    ID Proof : Passport is required for purchase of SIM card and at Duty free shops. For other places check with ticket vendor . So leave the passports in the Hotel Safe.
👪      We were asked for ID proof at Singapore Flyer ticket counter only and we used a Driving Licence.

Changi Airport

Orchids @Changi

👉   Arrival at Singapore - Immigration is a breeze. They scan your Visa and your greasy thumbs. Wipe up! Help is at hand  lost baggage or immigration.

👉   Departure  is a breeze too. Scan out. (pls see the shopping section for more details)

👉  For transfers between terminals check out  Sky train 

👉 Transfer to Hotel : On arrival the regular pickup point for onward transfer to yout hotel is near the McDonalds. With a big sign indicating - Stopover. For MMT. This is the pickup point. To locate your driver, speak to the person at the desk there.

👉  Shuttle : There are bus shuttle services from Changi which should get you to most Hotels. Cost around Sing $9.

👉  Train   :To reach the MRT train station you can walk down from Terminal 2 or Terminal 3

Things to carry

👉    Carry tissues or pickup from a 7/11

👉    Carry umbrellas

👪  It rains pretty frequently. So you must carry Umbrellas or a poncho (these can be used at some of the rides at Universal). Carry those small ultra portable ones

👉    Carry own bottles- drinking water abundantly available.Tap water is potable.  Bottled water is expensive

👉    Don't convert into rupees at each buy (or you’ll feel miserably poor) but do the count for discount vouchers.

Transport

👉 Metro/Subway/Rail : Singapore has an exceptional rapid mass transport system. The MRT(Mass rapid transit) / LRT (Light Rail Transit) provides an extensive network that covers the entire city/state. The MRT caters to the main routes and supported by easy interchanges with the LRT consisting of localised rail systems acting as feeder services

👉    Bus : the  bus services are frequent and cover most places.  Each bus Station clearly indicates its number, name and Bus route numbers

         ✋ 🚩 Taxi's are expensive vis-a-vis MRT/LRT/BUS 

         ✋ 🚩 Its here that the City mapper app is so handy to plan your MRT+LRT+BUS ride

         ✋ 🚩 For eg A trip from Fairfield Methodist Church (Maxwell food centre) to Stamford 

                     Primary (My Hotel at Bugis) was $1.87/head by Bus vs Taxi 16-21$

Waterfall @Jurong

👉   You can buy Smart Cards at the airport Itself or at an MRT station. 
👉   Use these cards to avoid queues at the MRT stations and to avoid handling small change (especially in the buses).
👉   The ez-link card costs S$12, $5 is the non-refundable card cost with $7 travel value

👉   But each recharge is minimum $10

👉   You can use cash to buy Bus/MRT tickets too.

👪   My guardian angel loaned me 3 cards with a $10 charge each which was sufficient as we used Cabs  and Grab too

👉   If you have huge distances to travel then you can buy the Singapore Tourist Pass which comes with unlimited travel on Bus and/or MRT/LRT ($10 for 1-Day pass, $16 for 2-Days & $20 for 3-Days +$10 refundable deposit).

👉  Cabs are a plenty and the easiest way to commute in Singapore, but are steeper than MRT/Bus . They are AC, spacious,  comfortable and manned by friendly drivers and doorstep service. Flag fall is about $3.5 for the first Km.  But, watch out for the Premium expensive ones (ask  when in doubt).

👉 Ride hailing services may be better. Minor price differential on Grab/Uber vs Cabs. At times, especially short distances or late nights, Uber/Grab may not accept your ride.

👉  For a group of 2-4, a taxi makes sense especially for a short, say $5, hop. Check prices on Grab/Uber

✋ 🚩 During rush hours ERP charges (electronic road pricing) are levied on cars so tariff  increases

👉  Most Cabs accept Credit/Forex/Debit Visa/Master Cards - But please ask beforehand

👉  This is an interesting blog on Cabs.

👉  Cycles On Hire They are actively encouraging you to walk or cycle, though I would advise this only if you are not on a short schedule timeline. Anyway cycles are available on hire

SIM Card / Data 

👪   A local tourist SIM costs 15$ with 100GB data and talk time worth 20 min international 500 min local and has a of validity 5 days (ID proof : passport required)

👪   The ride hailing apps that I used was Grab and Uber. My experience with Grab was better. I suggest that you have both on your phone.

👪   I suggest that you get International roaming pack on at least one of your phones. My cell provider  in India had a pack for Rs 1200/- with some local and international calls bundled. But more importantly with free incoming and 3 GB data

Insurance

👪   I would advisee that you pick up travel insurance. It hardly costs anything , takes 5 minutes and most probably, your bank offers one. Mine cost about Rs1800 for 3 persons for 6 days. The medical cover is worth it.

Money

👪  Money : A Forex card costs just as much or lesser than the cash you will get from the official Money Changer. 

✋🚩   Credit cards are handy but they usually have a markup of about 3.5%+18% GST. 

✋🚩   ATM withdrawals at foreign locations also carry a markup and/or withdrawal charge.

✋🚩   So a Forex Card works out to be the cheapest. And you can top up on the go, online.

✋🚩   I suggest carry at least 60% to 70% of your planned expenditure on the FOREX card and the balance as cash.

✋🚩   I suggest you fix a budget and limit expenditure to the amount you load on your Forex card + Cash that you are carrying.

✋🚩   Use credit cards as an emergency backup

Medical

💊 Pharmacies like Watson are available nearby and even the 7/11 may stock the regular OTC, aches and pains pills. But for something stronger you need a prescription

💊  Carry your prescription if you are on any medication

9. Places to Shop

Changi - another Shopper's paradise

This should be the shortest section of this post. My suggestion don't shop. 😃 But then the friends, foes and relatives back home expect the chocolates, the key chains, the fridge magnets the T shirts and the baubles. Among other things the Duty free Liquor hollers out to you. This notwithstanding the fact that all these (maybe except the local curios and trinkets) are available aplenty at home. So shop if you must.

Again Singapore is a shoppers paradise. Top of the line brands to relatively cheap stuff. Further each tourist attraction will have its own Merchandise Shop. These will range from super expensive (day light robbery kind of rates) to reasonably priced. Cost is all relative to the distance of your heart to your wallet. 

👪   Mustafa - the place where all of us congregate, for almost everything under the sun

   ✋🚩   Beware TVs and drones are on the "not welcome in the green channel" items

   ✋🚩   Check before leaving India for other such items

👉    Mustafa is open 24Hrs

👪   Mustafa - Decent Singapore curios / mementoes / T shirts / souvenirs/key chains/magnets.

👉    Mustafa - Good deals on chocolates

👉    Mustafa - Good deals (1+1 free + discounts etc) on colognes/perfumes - especially the not so hot or older lines from reputed brands

👉    Mustafa - Good deals on sports items like squash racquets. 

👉    Can check the Decathlon store near Mustafa for more deals on sports items equipment 

👪    Lucky Plaza, Orchard Road - Best deals for  Chocolates Magnets etc

👪    Bugis Market - A vibrant beehivee of little shops that sell anything from T shirts to trinkets to glares to hair colour.

👪    Chinatown - Must visit for the ambience and while at china town must visit the TINTIN SHOP

👪    Arab street, small quaint shops with lots of clothes with batik work

👉   GST refund : If you do shopping for more than $100 you can claim a GST refund while leaving Singapore. Please make sure you obtain eTRS (E Tourist refund scheme) refund of GST eToken beforehand from the point of purchase. Check this for details of the scheme.

   ✋🚩   The GST can be claimed as refund at Changi airport when leaving Singapore

   ✋🚩   Keep 1 hr extra at Changi airport if you intend to do this

👉   Duty Free-Singapore - Changi Airport is a world in its own. You can spend hours here shopping or just having fun. Do see the website and then you may even decide to reach there early for departure  

👉   You have to finish your shopping before the security checks:

   ✋🚩   As you enter you first complete your check in with the Airlines

   ✋🚩   Then you have the immigration checks.

   ✋🚩   Its a 2 min - biometric(thumb) scan and pass procedure

   ✋🚩   The security checks at Changi happen just before the boarding gate

   ✋🚩   After you enter this secure zone, you can't step back out to shop

   ✋🚩   Rule of thumb, reach your gate at least 40 min before departure time for Security checks

   ✋🚩   No rush because security checks at each gate

   ✋🚩   Water in  bottles are not allowed in but ut u can fill up after security 

   ✋🚩   Duty Free bottles in sealed covers with bill, are allowed in check in baggage

👉   Duty Free-India - Indian (Chennai in our case) Airport - Liquor and Chocolates

Bugis Market

👪  My advise, don't waste your time over 2 bottles. Grab a beer and enjoy the sights at Changi. But if you must :

   ✋🚩   Duty Free Liquor may be cheaper at Singapore airport than back home in India

   ✋🚩   Locate a Duty free shop closest to your gate. Check for deals & promos

   ✋🚩   Like some credit cards offer upto 15% discount at India Duty Free on pre orders

   ✋🚩   Compare with Duty free prices of Liquor at India (online) before you buy 

   ✋🚩   When I was at Singapore, Grey goose cost US$56 at Chennai vs SG$60 at Singapore 

Excess Baggage - Transfer from International to Domestic 

All LCC charge heavily for excess baggage. So either don't go berserk with your shopping or be prepared to fly in the comfort of a Full service airline or shell out excess baggage fee. But there is a way around. Pre book excess baggage:-

👉 The baggage allowance of Indian low cost airlines on International routes is usually 30Kg

👉 The baggage allowance of Indian low cost airlines on domestic routes is usually 15Kg

  ✋🚩   Some LCC fares are Zero baggage or Handbag only  fares

👉 I travelled by Indigo airlines, check rates of other airlines. For Indigo Airlines the excess baggage rates and special excess baggage rates accessed online as of 05 Nov 17 were (Please re-check beforehand):-

  ✋🚩   Special Baggage rates for International Connections booked 24 hrs prior.

  ✋🚩   The rate as seen on 05 Nov 17  was Rs 500/- for 8 Kg .

  ✋🚩   The normal excess baggage rate was Rs 300/Kg for Indigo

  ✋🚩   For normal domestic flights, 6 hrs prior Indigo rates for excess baggage

👉 Also the Liquor, you may have picked up at the Duty Free shop, will need to be put in the checked in baggage.

Food on Low Cost Airlines 

If you can fly in a full service airline. The Singapore airlines flight is supposed to be an experience in itself. In International sectors even the Indian airlines usually charge in US$. Swipe the credit card

10. My place of Stay - Village Hotel

👪  We chose The Village Hotel, Bugis  
👉  Amenities : Swimming Pool, Gym. A 7/11 opposite the hotel
👉  The Hotel is located in the “Kampong Glam” area which traditionally hosted a large portion of the Malay and Muslim population. Even the Malay royalty resided here. The entire Arab street is full of quaint shops selling Batik and hand printed dresses. And some interersting places to eat.
👉   Location : On Arab Street. Between Victoria Street (an arterial road) and North Bridge Road.
👉   Landmarks : The mosque “Masjid Sultan” on North Bridge Road, 

View from our room - Sultan Masjid

👉   Old name Golden Landmark. The co-located shopping mall still bears that name and this is the name many Cab drivers still refer to. 
👉  Restaurants : Breakfast Buffet : Indian (veg and eggs) Food at the  5th  floor restaurant and Asian at the 3rd floor restaurant..
👉   Driving time by a mini-Bus from Changi Airport : 15-20 min
👉   Very conveniently and centrally located
👉   Nearest Bus Stn:  opp Stamford Primary School on Victoria Street, 2 min walking distance
👉   Nearest MRT : Bugis. 5-7 min walking distance
👉   Shopping Centers close by: Mustafa, Little India,Decathlon Store - 5min by Cab, 10-15 min walk. Bugis Market  5-10 min walking distance

👉   For the adventurous there is the “City palace karaoke” on the, Victoria Street side, of the Golden Landmark.

11. My Itinerary

Breakfast

Day -1 : Depart Vizag for Chennai, Indigo. Stay overnight at Air Port retiring room

Day 1  : 0545 Depart for Singapore, Indigo. Transfer to Hotel by Tour Operators Bus

Day 1  :  Acquire  local SIM, travel cards and Map. Lunch grab and go from 7/11.  

Day 1  : Night Safari + Dinner Buffet at Ulu Ulu restaurant. Transfers by Travel Operator Minibus

Day 2 : Jurong Bird Park. MRT. Bus. Bus. Lunch Boon Lay Bus Interchange. Bus. MRT. 

Day 2  : Evening Gardens by the bay. Dinner at Supertree dining,  Peach garden noodle house. Cab to Hotel

Day 3 : Mustafa by Cab. Cab for Lunch Food Republic, Shaw Center. Lucky Plaza, Orchard road by Cab. Chinatown by Bus. Dinner Chinatown. Bus to Hotel

Day 4 : Cab to Universal studios Singapore (USS). Lunch Mel's-Drive-In. USS. SEA Aquarium. Trickeye Museum. Dinner Dim Tai Fung. Waterfront-Vivo city Monorail, MRT to Clarkes Quay, Bus to Hotel.

Day  5 :  Cab to Decathalon. Mustafa. Cab to Arab Street.  Lunch Zam Zam. Walk to Bugis Market. Bus to Tintin shop, Chinatown. Cab to Singapore Flyer. Cab for Dinner @Maxwell's Food center. Bus to Hotel

Day 6 : Transfer by Tour op to Changi. Shop/Eat Changi. Eat on flight,  Indigo.

Day 6 : Chennai.  Overnight Stay at a local Hotel.

Day +1 : depart for Vizag, 

12. Getting to Singapore - The Chennai Layover

A short note about Chennai. We changed planes at Chennai airport and had to spend a night there. On the way out we were lucky to get a retiring room at the Airport. However on the return leg we got a wet and rainy reception. There we no rooms available. Even the dormitories we full over . Chennai was flooded under and Hotel rooms were scarce. We had to spend the night in an absolute dump nearby. The saving grace was a Transfer (pickup and drop at the Airport) and the Hotel, Rathnavel Towers, Pallavaram, (at Rs2000/- was a steal and ) was 5 minutes from the Airport. Had to badger them even for clean bedsheets. But Beggars can't be choosers and a roof over the head is better than a night on the pavement. 

Overnight Stay at Chennai
👉  Pls check this link 

👉  Retiring rooms at Chennai Airport . No advance booking. First come first serve
👉  Double room AC with attached loo and Cable TV. Drive in with your Luggage trolley.
👉  Rs 1500/- for 24 hours
👉  Retiring rooms dormitory 1 - next to these rooms. 4 pax/room Rs 700/- a bed
👉  Retiring rooms dormitory 2 - 20 pax/room
👉  Location : Walk towards International arrival from Domestic arrival . 100 m Staff canteen, another 50m find the booking counter and entry.
👉  Cater for 15min walk and wait for entry time, from here till you reacg the immigration, especially if you have an early morning flight
👉  Staff canteen open for passengers too. Cheap decent food. Rs 350/- for 3 pax
✋🚩  In case the retiring room/dormitory is  full, ask at booking counter, they may have numbers of Hotels close by or travel agents

Immigration at Chennai Airport
👉  Please be prepared for long lines for International (and domestic flights) especially early morning flights

Lounges at Chennai
👉  The Lounge Access Chennai is free/nominal for certain Card holders Visa Signature Mastercard world card and certain premium cards. Otherwise access costs  about Rs 1025/-

I guess that's as comprehensive as I can get. Please do comment and mail me in case you like this Blog, have suggestions or notice any bloopers or any incorrect information. 

Food Republic

Zam Zam 

Din tai Fung

Candylicious

Hershey's Store Sentosa / Universal

Chinatown Pagoda Street

Cloud Forest Dome

Chinatown Sea food