October
31, 2010: I was happy to leave Vellore (at last-after 3 and a half months!).
Departed from Katpadi (Vellore’s railway station) by 2609 Bangalore Express at
15:55. Reached Bangalore City at 20:06. My parents had reached safely from
Ahmedabad with my grandmother. I was glad to meet them after ages. We discussed
about the forthcoming trip to Singapore! Stayed at home for two nights-October
31 and November 1.
November
2, 2010: D-Day! Passports and visas were ready! My parents and I were all set
to leave!
We left
home at 06:45 pm in a Maruti Suzuki Swift. Reached Bangalore’s Devanahalli
International Airport at 08:35 pm. After immigration and security check, we
were free (at 09:45 pm).
Boarded a
Singapore Airlines aircraft at 10:45 pm. It took off at 11:10 pm.
Had
dinner-an Asian vegetarian meal was served. It comprised rotis, paneer curry,
pulao and yogurt. Also had fruit punch. Pity I couldn’t consume an alcoholic
beverage (Cocktails like Bloody Mary and Screwdriver, apart from J.B’s Black
Label and Smirnoff’s Vodka were available onboard.)
My window
seat (Economy class) was comfortable, but I didn’t sleep well. I didn’t watch
any of the movies on board, which included Inception, Salt, Avatar, 3 Idiots, I
Hate Luv Stories, My Name is Khan, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, Sex and the City
2, Toy Story 3, Knight and Day, The Dark Knight, Terminator Salvation apart
from some Chinese, Japanese, Korean, French and Tamil flicks. TV Shows onboard
included an episode each of F.R.I.E.N.D.S, The Big Bang Theory, The Simpsons,
Gossip Girl and Doctor Who. Instead of watching them, I chose to keep myself
occupied with the flight path. I was updated with geographical information, as
the aircraft flew over Tamil Nadu, The Bay of Bengal, The Nicobar Islands, The
Straits of Malacca, and the Malayan peninsula before ultimately landing in
Singapore.
November
3, 2010: Reached Singapore at 6 am. Cleared immigration and retrieved baggage. Singapore’s Changi Airport gave an excellent
first impression of the city-it was well maintained compared to many airports
in India. We left at 08:30 am. A person called Guna had come to receive us. We
left in an air-conditioned Toyota van.
The
streets of Singapore were spotlessly clean. It felt like Paradise being
there-so Utopian that you couldn’t imagine in any Indian city. The tarmac or
asphalt roads were smooth, devoid of potholes and sand (typical of Bangalore
and Ahmedabad.)
We zipped
past at a good speed, not exceeding the speed limit though!
Another
difference between Singapore and India (in terms of transportation) was the
absence of noisy three-wheelers and annoying tractors on streets. Moreover,
just a few two-wheelers were seen. Most of the cars were of Oriental origin
(most of them Japanese Toyotas, Hondas and Suzukis, apart from Korean Hyundais and
Kias.) Most of the taxis were either Hyundai Sonatas (new) or Toyota Crowns
(old). A few, presumably the affluent, owned European models like the Bentley
Arnage, the Audi A4 and the occasional Lamborghini Gallardo. No Fords or Cadillacs
and certainly no Maruti 800s, Omni vans, Gypsys or Ambassadors (Indian cars) were
seen. A few motorbikes were seen-2-stroke Yamaha RX-series bikes, along with Hondas
and Suzukis. A few Bajaj Pulsars were spotted as well! Scooters were few in
number, mostly Vespas of Italian origin. There were no Kinetic Hondas, Activas
or Bajaj Chetaks, but mopeds were in plenty.
We
reached Little India and checked into the Grand Chancellor. It was recently
built and the rooms were comfortable. After
refreshing ourselves, we visited Singapore Zoo and went for the Night Safari.
It was nice to see a well maintained zoo which was more like a national park,
instead.
November
4, 2010: Went for the city tour in the morning. Saw Raffles Hotel from outside,
but the building was not impressive compared to many skyscrapers in the city
centre. We saw the Singapore Flyer, but did not go for a ride.
We went
to the riverfront where the Merlion and the statue of Raffles were located. We
also went to a Chinese temple and prayed for good luck. In the afternoon, we
visited Sentosa Island. This was the most enjoyable part of the trip. The Underwater
World was more than just an aquarium-the experience was as good as scuba
diving! It was worth viewing many exotic aquatic species there. We went up the Singapore Tower and had a bird’s
eye view of the city. Later, there was a dolphin show, where acrobatic feats
were performed by a porpoise. Just after sunset, we went for an entertaining
show- “The Songs of the Sea”, with spectacular audio-visual effects, held on
the shore of Siloso beach.
November
5, 2010: Visited Jurong Bird Park in the morning. A mind-boggling variety of
avian species could be seen. There were bird shows too. Came back to the hotel
room and relaxed for a while. We went for shopping in Little India in the
evening. Mustafa Centre was just awesome-there were more goods for sale than in
any Indian supermarket. The stores on Serangoon Street were really
well-decorated for the festive occasion of Deepavali. We went to purchase
souvenirs at ‘3 for $10’ shops.
November
6, 2010: Visited Veerakaliamman temple, Little India in the morning. It was
like any temple in Tamil Nadu, with a gopuram and red stripes on walls. In the
afternoon, we got ready for the journey back home. We returned to Bangalore at
night by a Singapore Airlines flight.
It was an unforgettable trip. I feel like
visiting the city again, probably for work in the near future. I was very
impressed with the city’s infrastructure and the perfect amalgamation of
tradition and modernity. It was a perfect pot-pourri of the West (industrialization
and efficiency in implementation of laws) and the East (the Orient-for culture
and family values.) Rudyard Kipling would have sung a different tune if he had
visited Singapore (His quote “OH, East is East, and West is West, and never
the twain shall meet”
is not applicable!). It is evident
that Singapore is a fine city, because there are fines for everything (this is
a T-shirt quote)!
