Singapore!
My first touch base at SG was back in 2018 when I had a connection flight to Down under from India via SG. This also happened to be my first International trip back then. As luck has it, I missed my connection flight due to a massive delay on the first flight from India. I ended up staying overnight at the transit and explored the airport. 8 years later- I finally found myself landing at SG- this time as a proper tourist traveler with my husband and daughter. We generally avoid the year end travel chaos and always prefer long trips during any time other than the year end. It so happened that we landed at SG just a week before the Chinese New Year. Here is our 4 days, 3 nights trips and what we enjoyed the most.
We did our initial checks and were clear on covering only kids friendly places so that our daughter gets to enjoy the most. Also, we generally like to go slow and not do a tick in the box and rush through places when on vacation. We took a 11 pm flight from India and landed at 6.15 am SG time. First lesson learnt- never book late night flights with a little one. Though the flight was for 4.5 hours (SG airlines without a doubt I will prefer any day and time), we could hardly sleep. Half asleep and half awake, we reached the hotel. Unfortunately, by the time I decided that we will need a place to sleep-in than explore the city- the family room we booked was no longer available. Hence we had to check in to another room. Catch 24- we had to check out by 12. So with a bit of rest which was thankfully refreshing enough, we checked out of the room and checked in to our family room which was available for early check in thankfully. Point to note, SG hotel rooms are generally not as big as what we find in India. Hence we preferred the family room. We had an Indian meal at the hotel restaurant and set out by foot to explore the city. We roamed in and around Little India, did a bit of shopping and then went off to "Gardens by the Bay"- The cloud forest and flower dome. My husband and I grew up watching Jurassic Park movies by the mighty Spielberg and being terrified of Dinosaurs. I still remember keeping an eye on the glass of water next to me while eating back then. So when we ventured to the cloud forest, the child in us kicked in and we were so excited. We were welcomed by Brachiosaraus at the entrance- those harmless, mighty creatures as we had seen in the movies.
We eventually started feeling hungry and had a quick bite at the Shake shack right outside the place. We then headed to the Flower dome and it was such a beauty in itself. The 3 of us as a family enjoy nature, greenery and flowers, and hence we didn't mind the walking next and yet again spent a good 60 min here.
Day two- we were off to Mandai- we went to the Birds Paradise first. As we entered, we saw that there was a live show available and we quickly headed to the show. It was informative, inspiring and was a wonderful experience. We explored the birds around- none of them being caged! We spent a good half a day here. We generally carry our own bottles and try and refill them wherever we go. SG was truly the best place of the lot to do this. We found an Indian restaurant- Copper Chimney and after a grand lunch, we headed to the zoo. All animals were in their natural habitat and not caged. We enjoyed the Splash show of the sea lion Simba which was super fun. This show is highly recommended. The Penguins here are much better kept than the ones we saw at Scotland. Later in the evening, we attended a show and then went on a night safari. This was a very different experience for all 3 of us and we thoroughly enjoyed. We were hosted by a friends family for dinner and had a great time.
The next day we were off to Universal Studios. We opted for Express pass when we booked the tickets itself which was a huge blessing. We enjoyed all the rides and the experience here was out of the world. Highly recommend the 'Revenge of the mummy' and the roller coaster. We spent the whole day here and my little one made memories for life. She took all daring rides without fear and kept asking for more! Glad to see her taking after her parents. Both me and my husband became kids again taking pony rides and kids rides. Minions Gru and the team was a laugh riot before we headed for the ride making us wish we indeed became minions after the ride. Shrek was amazing, we had the chance to meet Gru and family, Shrek and Fiona and also the pharos. Transformers was an out of the world experience, overall- we enjoyed the day with a ton of adrenaline rush through the day.
The last day our flights were at 8 pm SG and we visited the Museum of Ice cream first. My little one enjoyed this the most (probably after Universal still). We spent a good 2 hours here, trying different ice creams and jumping into sprinkle pools that I didn't get to do as a kid. Right after this, we had a light lunch at Sentosa near the Universal after which we headed to the Oceanarium. This was mind blowing, and required a good 2 hours for us. We were in a bit of a hurry to go back to the hotel to collect our baggage and head to the airport towards the end. However, we made sure not to miss anything and took our time to take in the beauty at the place.
Some tips for SG travel:
- It is better to avoid the night flights- you will not save a day and it is better to keep the first day light
- Always take up the Express pass at Universal Studios. We were amongst a group of tourist who were out there to celebrate Chinese new year and the express pass was our biggest blessing
- Carry enough sunscreen, always carry your own bottles. These came in very handy. Also, the live juice counters at every other corner at SG was a blessing and do not hesitate to use them.
- You may not need local currency if you have a good travel card. Almost all the places accept card payments
- Find a place closer to your local cuisine if traveling with kids since you never know what they ask. My little one is still a Dosa fan and hence the choice of stay made it easier to grab one for her when needed.
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