Singapore Experience and Travel Guide

We always had a desire to discover the world beyond India.After tremendous discussion and fights we converged to destination Singapore. We preclude Malaysia and Indonesia on basis of fulfill to know about Western World near by, Singapore we chose you.

We planned our 7 Days 6 Nights trip and wanted  to have a budget-trip. We compared various offering of Tours and Packages. The packages offered were quite costly and were not covering most of the destination we liked.

Hence we will travel on our own. We wanted to cover most of the places and experience Singapore like a true Singaporean .

We booked Malaysian Airlines as it was cheapest when compared to Air Asia as its offering were more like Indigo, Go, Spicejet :P. Airlines Travel included Food , AV provisioned and most importantly "Free Drinks:" ;)

Our task of booking a Hotel was a nightmare. 'n' hotel to choose from and that too in budget.
Hotels were from too good to too bad ; some with windows to no windows ; some in Little India to real Singapore (locations). After suggestions of Friends and fellow bloggers I opted that we will not stay in Little India as it has to be about Experiencing Singapore. I have been feeling India since birth :P. We booked in Holiday Inn in Singapore Katong, the best we got with Breakfast.

D-Day for Travel after all research and places to visit.

We reached Hyderabad Airport 3 hours before to tackle and unexpected delays. Level of excitement were quite high and butterflies were blooming in tummy.

Our Trip what we planned was completely randomized , but at last we covered all we wanted to have.

Terms and Condition of ourTrip.

1. Experience Singapore like some fellow Singaporean.
2. Mc Donalds have a Vegetarian Burger which will be our last resort.
3. Budget Trip ;)
4. Cover each and every corner of Singapore.

Loaded my mobile with Singapore Bus App, which tell where is current location and when it will reach destination.

Got a HDFC Mutli Currency card (Cheapest Rate of Conversion ) and carried S$ 300 in cash from India. Cash helped us a lot in many places as there our still many outlets which doesn't have swiping machine. Modi should join Singapore Government and bring cashless Economy there also.

Day 1 (Airport To Hotel Prerequisite)  : We landed at Changi airport at 9 AM local time. Our quest began for a SingTel Travel Sim which on our search from India was available at S$15 and Singapore Tourist Pass for S$20. After lot of search at airport we were able to locate the true store of SingTel which offered the above asked SIM. The sim had 99 GB of Data , 30 Mins International Call and 99 Min Local Calls for 7 Days. Facebook , WhatsApp , Line usage were free. Then we reached the MRT (Metro) station and got our self Singapore Tourist Pass for S$20 which gave us unlimited access to Singapore Metro (MRT) , Bus and LRT for 3 Days.

All this can be easily located at "Changi Recommands" Store and others but there they were double  the price. Hence we avoided them. We took a Metro and Bus to reach our Hotel in Katong.

After smooth checkin and relaxing for a while we decided to start our quest of Singapore.


Day 1 :  Marina Bay Sand. Gardens By The Bay  is next to it. We took bus to nearest MRT Station and  reached Marina Bay Station . There we explored the tall tree in the Garden by the after a long walk through the amazing gardens and small suspension bridge over lake. The Gardens by the Bay offers a free Light and Sound show. Pay attention to the songs played as there will be one song we all know ;). There in Garden By the Bay you can visit  Flower Dome and Cloud Forest.

We also wanted to visit Marina Bay Sands terrace but we missed it because of time running out and we wanted to explorer the mall across the road of Marina Bay Sand. There is a Casino in basement of the Marina Bay Sand which we will say is must visit.

Day 2 : Universal Studio Singapore For Universal Studio we took a bus to Harbor Front Station (Vivo City Mall) , one can also reach by MRT. But we preferred bus. So its a mall with station in Basement. To reach Universal Studio we need to get entry to Sentosa Islands. For Sentosa Island there are three ways to reach. By a Mono Rail , Bus and Cable Car. We took a Mono Rail. In the mall we also bought Universal Studio Ticket which was offered for S$65. The same quotation we were getting online. Hence we went for it there only. As a recommendation buy tickets before reaching Universal Studio as they will cheaper when compared to the entrance of studio. We had awesome fun at USS.

At the entrance of the USS u will find Maps available for Guidance. Do keep one handy and prioritize what to visit. My recommendation are the names of the attraction to visit.

Revenge of Mummy's is Inner Roller coaster which was scary but yes we did it. I will say Transformer, Shrek 4D,Lights camera Action , Jurassic Park Rapid Adventure, Canopy Flyer , Madagascar is what we enjoyed the most.We avoided the big roller coaster as they were scary and had long waiting time and completed all the other rides and experiences. I will suggest do go for Roller Coaster if you want to have thrilling experience. Plan to visit the USS on Weekday and try to cover each of them, with Transformer twice ;)

If there is a time crisis the following can be avoided without any second thought Donkey Live , Dance show in Hollywood, Treasure Hunters. Even if time permits try the u liked the most and avoid them (personal recommendation)

We walked back to Vivo City Mall i.e. Harbor Front Station had dinner and returned to hotel for a hectic day ahead.

Day 3 :  Singapore Zoo and Night Safari. Singapore Zoo , River Safari and Night Safari are located next to each other, which is quite far so we took a MRT to Ang Mo Kio (Red Line) from Dakota the nearest station to our hotel. There across the road there is a mall from where u can get direct bus to Singapore Zoo. We already had plans to visit above three and Jurong Bird Park so I got a ticket of S$88 which give access to all the four wildlife experience entry along with tram ride. Do plan when you are going to visit Night Safari as they will ask to know the date and time for Night Safari. Same tickets can be bought online from their website.

At the entry do remember to grab the map so you can have idea of what is to happen when and where.We roamed each and every corner of the zoo. We really enjoyed the tram ride.What made us really appreciate the Zoo were the Animal shows. I will recommend to reach early to the venue of the show so you can grab the good seats early.
Singapore Zoo was good. Being from Lucknow I will still say Lucknow Zoo is better.

After tiring day at Singapore Zoo we have to experience Night Safari. We relaxed and queue up for Night Safari.For Night Safari we do need to get the Map.  Night Safari is more like a ride in Zoo with Non harming animal in open. It was quite away from what we know as Safari but a definitely a place to visit. Do remember to Watch animal Show after the Night Safari.

After the Night Safari we stick to plan to travel back by BUS + MRT. We reached MRT Station to take back train to Dakota , but it was late hence the train ended Toa Payoh. We had awesome dinner at 24Hrs McDonalds , our favorite one option Veg Meal. Later we took cab from there to hotel. If its late take a cab directly from Zoo Area to Hotel.

Day 4 : Jurong bird Park

We took bus from hotel to nearest MRT station City Hall . There we visited there City Hall , old architectural wonder in mid of there High Rises. Next to City Hall we say and old age building which we came to know is Singapore Parliament.
City Hall connects to Boon Lay via MRT(green Line) . From there you can easily get Bus to Jurong Bird Park. No doubt its amazing, please do take maps from main gate which helps you to roam whole park as well as prioritize the ways and shows you want to watch.

We reissued our three day pass for uninterpreted travel at City Hall MRT

We roam whole park and yes please do visit all birds shows which are amazingly performed by them. Yes there are many good places to take pictures dont miss them :P. We have seen many new birds and experienced cages where we and birds are together, yes we can touch them and feel them . We took Tram Ride as well to enjoy the whole park .


After completing whole Jurong Bird Park we decided to reach Little India, a small Chennai in Singapore. We had fun and astonished to feel India there. The markets were loaded with gift items and gold items. You can browse and purchase Souvenirs from there for yourself and gifts for someone.

We visited shopping complex Named "Mustafa Shopping Centre" , the cheapest and biggest shopping center in Singapore, it appeared to be 10 X BigBazaar with all the item one requires.

We bought chocolates and dry fruits for our family and friends. There if you shop for any amount equal to or greater S$100 you may redeem tax benefit and get 7% back. You need to go to basement and claim your tax refund which will be given back to you at airport. Remember to keep your Passport handy to claim it. After shopping we were craving for food and had delightful Indian Dinner in a near buy restaurant.

Day 5:  River Safari and Shopping 

Being a Sunday we decided to go to River Safari traveled back to Singapore Zoo area as River Safari is right next to it. We had a delightful experience there when we saw Panda. The main attraction of the River Safari. We also visited Amazon River Quest which was a pleasant and new experience. Remember that our S$88 included all the expenses.

Its Sunday evening a time to shop and roam in the great markets of Singapore. We rushed our self to
BUGIS street , there you can buy a tone of things for just S$10. Bugis was followed by China Town, where we saw Street Food full of Non-Vegetarian Delicacy. Later we went to  Orchard Street a shoppers paradise for amazing experience. There we have many mall lined up one by one where one can satisfy there shopping buds.

Later we went to Clarke Quay for having a delightful evening followed by amazing night life. We were still craving for more and decided to go for Casino again and try our luck there. After Casino we went for Open Street Food Court Near Sun Tech City.

Day 6 : Sentosa Island Your craving for more lead us to Sentosa Island. Sentosa Island is the same place where we visited USS. We need to come Harbor Front Station (Vivo City mall). It consists of many attractions. On everyone recommendation we went to SEA ; personally which I didn't like much. We also went for Journey 2 The Mysterious Island, Extreme Log Ride , Madam Trussade, Sentosa Merlion , Wings of Time , Royal Albatros ,  Cable Car (Faber Park Line : Must visit - After 6 PM lower rates) try to take it in such a way that Onward Journey is in sunlight and return in darkness as it will give the pleasure of both views.

What we couldn't experience was Tiger Sky Tower ,Sentosa Island Bus Tour, Siloso Fort  and Sky Luge ( for adventurous reasons )

We also spend some time on Siloso Beach and visited the shacks near by.


Day 7 : Singapore Merlion  and Shopping at Little India 2.0
We woke up early morning and decided to cycle to East Coast Beach, a great experience. you will find many app based bicycle for Rent ( 1st ride free). Since we were living near to East Coast Beach we went to beach , but one as Indian should try the happiness of riding bicycle on footpath there. So give it a shot.

We decided to go for Singapore Iconic Symbol Singapore Merlion and clicked a lot pics with Marina Bay Sand in backdrop. Later we sipped the coffee while admiring the beauty of there downtown high rise. Later we went to Mustaffa Shopping Centre and other stores in Little India to quench our thirst of shopping. We picked what we liked and had lunch. Later in evening we started back to our hotel.

Later we booked an Uber to Changi Airport. Remember to buy Tax Free Liquor in Airport and En-cash the GST refund for which we shopped ;) 

Points to remember :

1. Pick up the Local SIM - SingTel cheap and best. Dont go for international roaming. Do enjoy Super High 4G speed (40 Mbps) 
2. Remember to carry loose clothing and stick to shorts. Singapore has quite warm and humid climate
3. Do travel with Cash else end up paying higher exchange rate.
4. People are helpful you can always ask them for directions.
5. There are many grocery stores most famous known as 711 stores. Do try local cuisine and there fast food. ( We loved Fanta Grape alot and there Egg-Cheese Sandwich)
6. Please follow the queue pattern at every place needed, you may end up loosing a lot of time.

Points to remember for People Using Public Transport

1. Download Singapore Bus App and Google Map. (Google Map for getting bus Number to your destination and Singapore Bus App to track it, google map info is little late we missed few buses)
2. Have Singapore MRT Map Handy.
3. We always mentioned Nearby station which changed every time as the nearby station is the station which give us no hop access to our destination MRT Station. Hence we took a direct bus to Station which has the same line connectivity to destination.
4. Go for Singapore Tourist Pass as per your requirement. S$10, S$15 and S$20 for One two and three days respectively.  You can also go for MRT card but that required S$10 as non refundable deposit. This will help you to skip line and reach destination early.

Points to remember for Vegetarian (Like Us)

1. Mc Donalds offer a Veg Meal but its Mayonnaise contains Egg.
2. While ordering do tell what u want. Be Sure to tell you are "Vegan". Since we eat egg it was fine else we need to search a lot.
3. Little India was our Vegetarian Paradise for our homely food.
4. You will always get some option for Veg else McDonalds Zindabad.

We have shared our experiences and feelings. We had fun and wish you a Planned Happy visit to Singapore. Please feel free to drop down any feedback/questions.