Singapore: 4-day family Holiday in the island country

Background

Every year we go on annual family holiday, just after celebrating Christmas at home, except for last year, what with the entry of a new baby in our lives [my little niece, Mi]. The planning began a good 4 months ago when options like Greece and Egypt were being evaluated. As always, we never go to the place that we start out doing the research for. S’pore & Malaysia was decided on. Flights booked online, accommodation reserved in the Mariner’s Club in S’pore & a package tour booked for Malaysia. We were good to go and eagerly waited for the red letter day - 26^th Dec - to board our early morning flight.

25^th December

Still sleepy from the midnight celebrations of Christmas Eve, still lost in the festive spirit, we received our first shocker when my brother called S’pore Airlines [SIA] to casually enquire about bulk air seats. Apparently, the 26^th morning flight was cancelled and instead we’d have to travel by the 25^th night flight. A blame game ensued between SIA and cleartrip.com [the website where we booked our tickets]. Being a holiday, officials of both organisations were difficult to trace but somehow we managed to get our confirmed tickets for the following night. Amidst all this chaos, we rushed through our Christmas lunch, gulping down our traditional chicken biryani bake lunch, before turning to frantic packing.

Somehow we were ready by 6 pm and took a taxi to the airport for our SIA flight at 11 pm. The flight was pleasant - I managed to watch a cool movie [Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants – 3] and by the time I decided to catch 40 winks, we’d landed in S’pore. The on-flight service was decidedly better than other airlines. Yet it didn’t offset the pre-flight horrific experience. So much for being an award winning airline!

26^th December

We reached S’pore at 5.30 am local time and armed with various activity literature and maps that were conveniently available at the kiosks at Changi airport, we proceeded to Maritime House. This was a vacation we were completely planning on our own. Arriving half a day earlier than planned, we were initially allotted one triple suite at 6.30 am. Luxurious beyond what we expected, considering we had booked a double room, we sketched our plan for the day and soon we crashed to bed in various corners of the suite until 1 pm. We were then allotted our other room, this time also another triple suite. Luxury doubled!

Soon, we were ready to hit the streets. Totally looking the part, with our maps in hand, we played tourists and navigated our way to Tanjong Pagar, the closest MRT station - a 5 min walk away from the club. Paying homage to world brands especially one like Burger King by eating our first meal there is now a standard practice on our international holidays and this time was no different. After a yummy heavy lunch at Burger King in one of the malls, the highlight being double cheese burgers and onion rings, we took the MRT to City Hall.

The plan was to book Duck Tours – an authentic city tour of S’pore on land and on water by an amphibious vehicle. We walked from City Hall MRT station to Suntec city Galleria, soaking in the sights along the way – War Memorial, S’pore Flier, etc. At the Galleria, we found that the tour was sold out for the day. We’d have to return another day. After doing some window-shopping, gazing at the wondrous towering Christmas trees and festive decorations, and grabbing a bit to eat along the way, we took a train to Ang Mo Kio to head towards the Night Safari Park. After a 45 min ride on a bus from the MRT, we finally reached the famed site of the Night Safari at 8 pm – a terribly over-crowded place, literally bursting at its seams with people, tourists and locals alike.

Well, we did see the tribal dance performance and the Creatures of the Night show, did the curio shops walk and after braving the terribly long queues, went on the interesting tram ride around the entire park. But all in all, given the long winding waiting lines for the various attractions, the stifling heat and the occasional splatter of rain, it was a big disappointment. We literally ran all the way off the tram to the exit gate at a quarter past 11 (no time to even have dinner!), just in time to catch the last bus to the MRT station. But in vain! We had already missed the last train back. So much for being tourist friendly! We cabbed it back to Tanjong Pagar, again too late to catch dinner anywhere other than a seafood roadside cafe near the Club. No other place was open.

Feeling adventurous, I decided to sample some of the sea food. As if the trend of the day wasn’t indicative enough, I landed up eating more from the chicken and rice dishes that the others had ordered, before completing abandoning what I had ordered. Resigned, we crashed to bed almost instantly upon reaching our rooms, anything to obliterate the disasters of the day.

27^th December

The day dawned nice and sunny and was brimming with hope. It was going to be a glorious day! The crowd of the previous day notwithstanding, the plan was to leave early to Sentosa – the entertainment island of S’pore. We took a cab to Mount Faber – specifically to the Jewel Box centre for tickets – the entry point for the cable car ride to the island. We bought the glass bottomed ride, marginally more expensive, but infinitely better, what with the awesome views as we crossed the sea to Sentosa...the incredible carpet of blue ocean shimmering in the sunlight was beautiful to say the least! Add to that, the triumphant thrill of by-passing the staggering long (regular cable) waiting lines due to the premium status of the ticket and we were positively beaming!

Shopaholics that we were, we began shopping almost instantly at the Jewel Box and the Sentosa souvenir shops. After a quick breakfast at the Tea Leaf and the Coffee bean cafe, we were ready to start the action packed day - enjoyed the various rides on the Sky Tower, the Luge & the Sky ride – braved the huge lines for the simply superb 4D Magix Show – visited the famous Merlion [known as Papa Merlion..:), as we would subsequently learn], Underwater World, Dolphin Lagoon [crazy crowds again] – viewed the fantastic performance of the Songs of the Sea. All along, we kept sipping the incredible F&N fruit juices available in the most amazing flavours that we discovered since landing in S’pore and eating a lot along the way [yummy hot dogs, ice creams, etc] – clearly, the foodie in each of us was fully satisfied.

The name of the game was to catch all the offerings on the island by using the transit buses and managing lead times between waiting times and actual show times. In between all this hopping on and off buses across the island to, we landed up trading off the Cine Blast show [45 mins waiting time!] to catch the last fish reflexology session. We had to sell our pre-bought Cine Blast tickets & we did it in typical Indian style - approaching everyone like it is done back in India with the gusto of someone selling tickets in black. Ofcourse nothing black about this but we did raise doubts about the authenticity of the tickets [one of our customers even went to the counter to verify the ticket]. Tickets finally sold, we rushed to Siloso Beach but were too late for the fishy foot exfoliation session.

We ended the island visit by relaxing in a restaurant by the sea on Siloso Beach, enjoying the feel of soft sand beneath our feet. Returning by the glass bottomed cable car, this time a twinkling bed of lights beneath us, and another cab to the Tanjong Pagar mall [our ilaka or area by now], we needed to pick up dinner. We had learnt our lesson well the previous day – that all eateries and malls closed early – so Burger King it was, and along with it, loads of goodies and a cake – to celebrate my brother’s birthday at midnight.

We headed home [by then, we had begun to think of Maritime House as home] and after a lot of cheering and cake cutting, decided to call it a day around 1 am.

28^th December

After confirming the assent of the birthday boy [who like all guys, detests shopping], the plan was to do Duck Tours and go shopping on the most fashionable and chic street, Orchard Road. Taking the MRT to City Hall and walking through the sub-way to Suntec Galleria, we booked the 1 pm afternoon slot of the tour. We sat awhile outside the Mall, on the benches, eating breakfast and taking a moment to relax. Next stop was Carrefour for a quickie round of shopping. As usual, we exceeded the budgeted shopping time, rushed to change some money and got back in time for the unique Duck Tours. It was a delightful tour of the city; with many a splash along the way as the boat with wheels took us around on both sea and water. We also saw the city Merlion and a miniature one [aptly named Mama Merlion and Baby Merlion respectively to complete the S’pore family!]

S’pore was celebrating the theme of Sweet Christmas, so a free city Lights tour was organized for tourists on Orchard Road to view the many decorations that adorned the key streets and main malls, each one distinctive and more resplendent than the other. We went back to the Club to pick up our passports and then headed to Orchard Road, feasting our eyes on the unbelievable shopping extravaganza in the form of innumerable malls with all famous brands of the world, all nestled on that one street. Almost all the stores had their Christmas sales on and amidst the sparkling lights, we started with Paragon Mall, our eyes gleaming very much like those of children in a candy store.

We finally landed at Lucky Plaza – a mix of top brands as well as local merchandise –we ate a late lunch and did some [read lots!] of shopping. We then decided to walk in search of the City Lights tour bus. We walked for 2km trailing the fairy lights on Orchard road, admiring the many sights and wonders of the street decorations. We reached Tanglin Mall on Tanglin Road to witness the wildest Christmas party happening. An annual event, extremely popular with expatriates and locals alike, it is complete with a gigantic Tree, made out of recycled bottles and with a ferocious fake snow spray [made with soap], enveloping the entire area with its white snow fall like carpet and kids and families all getting completely soaked and playing in the snow. An unforgettable experience, we enjoyed the ambience, sitting at the Starbucks where the action was unfolding. I was so tempted to join in the fun and games. But I was low on clothes and my clothes shopping hadn’t yet begun!

Time being a scarce resource, we decided to forego the tour [we still hadn’t found the starting point] and got back to the Club. We headed out again - this time to Little India for an Indian dinner and shopping at Mustafa. Mustafa is the Indian super discount mall, where everything is usually on discount and is one of the rare 24-hours open stores in S’pore. Add to that, the New Year and Christmas deals! But it was quite crammed and a far cry from the usual glitzy mall shopping that one is accustomed to. We did discover some good deals meandering across the various sections and floors but at some point, we realized that my brother and niece [in her stroller] were not with us. Frantic searching followed, with us extensively searching the store multiple times. His phone wasn’t reachable. The store was too huge and had multiple exits. An excruciating hour and a $5 public announcement later, we all found one another [he too had been searching for us]. Much shouting and bawling later, we noisily cabbed it back to Maritime House and later settled in to view and appreciate each one’s shopping. We finally crashed to bed at about 3.30 am.

29^th December

Our last day in Singapura [the traditional name] and we wondered what disaster the day would unfold, as it had been since we started on 25^th]. Only time would tell!

As planned, we started the day late – took the MRT to Boon Lay and then a bus to Jurong Bird Park, doing some shopping en-route [the deals on bags were just too good to miss!]. The entire journey was almost seamless – well organised and well researched by my brother. Once there, we went around the park at a leisurely pace. Saw the various bird shows, learnt a Singapura folk song [sung by one of the colourful Mohawks], experimented with some interesting food, enjoyed a delicious lunch, relished some Ben & Jerry icecream, took a tram around the park, fed some Lorries in the Lory Loft, witnessed the tallest man-made waterfall in the Rainforest section, took loads of photos, visiting some of the world’s most renowned aviaries, ...etc - all in all, a wonderful day spent in bird land, learning a lot about the various species of birds and glimpsing some rare ones as well.

Post Jurong Bird Park, we had initially planned to go back to Orchard Road for a fish reflexology session but as it was too late, we decided to go to Tanjong Pagar Mall instead as it was closer home. Each of us had an awesome foot massage at a Chinese massage centre and then had dinner at Burger King – all in a very relaxed manner, after all our train by KTMB to Kuala Lumpur was at 11 pm and the station was very close to the Club. When we returned to our rooms, we realized that the train was not at 11, but at 10 pm. Disaster had struck again!

Frenzied packing followed and we struggled to get taxis to reach the oh-so-close station - with luggage, walking there was out of the question. Once at the station [as usual, we landed on the wrong side and to trudge to the right side, wasting precious moments], there were immigration formalities to be completed [the web site doesn’t mention this at all!]. Someone told us that the train wouldn’t leave without all the passengers. But given our disaster attracting magnetic force that accompanied us on this trip, we sure didn’t take a chance and suffered all the normal panic attacks. We managed to board the train when it was already well past 10 pm. Amidst all this customary chaos, what stood out was the attitude of the officials [very friendly and saving so much time by not insisting on individual processing of our papers], a very clean station and a complete lack of crowds that typically throng our Indian stations. Only travellers are allowed on the platforms.

The KTMB train finally left S’pore around 10.35 pm and we were just thankful to be on it. We were on our way to Malaysia. Our Standard Deluxe coach was comfortable but I do feel that our Indian 2A berths are much better. We stopped at the Malaysian city of Johar Bahru for immigration formalities again, where we all had to get off the train and get our passports stamped at one of the counters, before getting back on the train and settling in for the night. Bye – bye Singapura, we’ll be back soon!