Hi guys,
I want to share with you my experience on my first trip in Singapore. It was a nice experience, although I may say that it was not excellent, I still enjoyed it (since it is my first pleasure trip and it was with my family).
As soon as the plane landed off, and checked out, we rode a taxi going to our hotel. It cost us around 18 Singaporean Dollars, which I think was a little expensive (considering the cost of taxi fare in Abu Dhabi). The weather was hot and they are driving at the right hand side, so I was a bit confused at first (been used to left hand driving).
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| Suntec City |
After we unpacked some of our stuff, we went to Suntec City. We rode the bus and it cost 1.10 Singaporean Dollars each. One fellow Filipino was kind enough to change our money to coins as they are only accepting exact bill (we have bigger bill). I suggest that when you go there, be sure to have coins with you.
The Suntec City is a major multi-use development located in Marina Centre, a subzone of the Downtown Core Planning Area in Singapore. It was designed with emphasis on Chinese geomancy (feng shui). The five buildings and the convention center are arranged so that they look like a left hand when viewed aerially. In the center lies the Fountain of Wealth which appears like a golden ring in the palm of the hand. As the fountain is made of bronze, it is believed that the balance of metal and water paves the way for success.
After arriving at Suntec City we went directly to Singapore Hippo & Duck Tours. This is an active and innovative player in the tourism industry in Singapore, being a 100% Singaporean. They are Singapore’s original DUCKtours and topless bus operator.
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| Singapore Ducktours Booth at Suntec City |
At the counter, we asked one of our “Kabayan” (fellow Filipina) the best deals in order to explore and experience the best of Singapore for 2 days. She recommended their All-in-1 touring pass. For 2 full days at the price of 69 Singaporean Dollars, this pass offers 14 attractions and tours close to the price of just the 2 most popular themed tours i.e. Singapore Flyer and the unique Singapore DUCKtours. The Singapore Pass also gives you access to the unique HiPPO multi-modal touring system. You also get free admission to 4 other ticketed museums, including Chinatown Heritage Centre, Asian Civilization Museum, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore Philatelic Museum. Unfortunately, we were unable to see any of the Museums because of lack of time.
After availing the All-in-1 pass, we decided to start with the Hippo River Cruise. We rode the topless tour bus going to the Marina Bay.Marina Bayis a bay near Central Area in the southern part of Singapore, and lies to the east of the Downtown Core. Marina Bay is set to be a 24/7 destination with endless opportunities for people to “explore new living and lifestyle options, exchange new ideas and information for business, and be entertained by rich leisure and cultural experiences”. It is here where the most innovative facilities and infrastructure such as the underground “common services tunnel” are built and where mega activities take place.
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| Clark Quay |
At the Hippo River Cruise, we explored areas in Marina Bay. With live commentaries on board, cruising the Singapore River couldn't be any more informative and entertaining. Some of the popular places we saw were the Clarke Quay, Boat Quay, Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, Singapore Flyer and Merlion Park. The Clarke Quay is one of the city's trendiest nightspots with a variety of restaurants, wine bars, entertainment spots and retail outlets. The Boat Quay which is situated along the Singapore River and distinguished by conserved shop houses, Boat Quay is the place to visit for entertainment & dining. We also witness the magnificence of the “durian-inspired” architectural icon, Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay with its distinctive twin shells, which houses world-class performance spaces. And the Merlion Park home to Singapore's tourism icon, the Merlion.
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| Marina Bay |
When the ride was completed, we decided to go the Merlion Park, to see it up close and of course to take memorable pictures. We walked from Clarke Quay going to the Merlion Park. It was hot and we almost lost our way, but we managed to get to the location, exhausted! We were able to see the popular tourism icon of Singapore, the Merlion. The Merlion(Malay:Singa-Laut) is a mythical creature with the head of a lion and the body of a fish, used as a mascot and national personification of Singapore. Its name combines "mer" meaning the sea and "lion". The fish body represents Singapore's origin as a fishing village when it was called Temasek, which means "sea town" in Javanese. The lion head represents Singapore's original name — Singapura— meaning "lion city" or "kota singa”. There were a lot of tourists in that area which was expected; we had to take every chance we have to have a solo picture. It was a pleasant experience seeing it up close.
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| Merlion - Singapore's tourism icon |
At around evening, we walked (again!) going to the Singapore Flyer. We passed the Marina Bay were we noticed the skyline of the Bay at night. It was wonderful. You can see the scenic view of the lighted buildings reflected in the water. I felt nostalgic.
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| Scale Model of Singapore Flyer |
When we came to the Singapore Flyer area, we exchanged our passes to the counter of the Singapore HiPPO & Ducktours for Singapore Flyer ticket. The Singapore Flyer is a giant observation wheel situated on the southeast tip of the Marina Centre reclaimed land. It reaches 42 stories high, with a total height of 165 m (541 ft), making it the tallest Ferris wheel in the world. It comprises a 150 m (492 ft) diameter wheel, built over a three-story terminal building which houses shops, bars and restaurants, and offers broad views of the city centre and beyond to about 45 km (28 mi), including the Indonesian islands of Batamand Bintan, as well as Johor, Malaysia. Each of the 28 air-conditioned capsules is capable of holding 28 passengers, and a complete rotation of the wheel takes about 30 minutes.
As it is already night time, we could only see the city lights. We were unable to see a sight of Indonesia or Malaysia. Honestly, I felt bored during the ride; there was no background music or commentaries being played during the ride. So I suggest that if you want to see the magnificent cityscape from a height of 165m of Singapore, try to ride during daytime. But it was a nice experience, having ridden the world’s largest observation wheel.
After the half an hour ride of the Singapore flyer, we were starving from all the adventures we had for the day. At the ground floor of the flyer, there were a lot of shops/ restaurants to dine in. We tried the sweet and sour crabs plus what it looks like a “halo-halo” dessert (I forgot the name of the dessert, but it is a popular sweet there). We were full after eating all of it, (burp!). Having taken enough “rest”, we decided to head back to the hotel to get ready for another set of adventure tomorrow.
Follow our second day adventure… Until next time!
God bless us more.
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