Singapore

The first country I visited and it gave me a great impression when it comes to safety, cleanliness, transportation and discipline of the locals. For first time travelers I will recommend this city because of the easy and convenient transportation, lots of places to visit and things you can do. Upon arrival grab a map on the airport(it's free) and purchase an MRT card on the MRT station, they will be your best friend for the rest of your trip. The map is very easy to understand and I guarantee you if you know how to read you will not have a hard time because every sign has an English translation. Plan your trip ahead of time so you will not waste your time figuring out where to go, I suggest you visit tourist places that are near to other tourist spots like , Singapore Flyer and Marina Bay Sands Hotel

The Merlion Park
A landmark of Singapore, a major tourist attraction at One Fullerton near the Central Business District. Best to visit this spots when it's not yet sunny. There are two Merlion Statue the big one and the Merlion cub. This attraction is right in front of the Fullerton Hotel and near the Singapore Museum and Esplanade Theater so you have options which to visit first.

The Esplanade Theater
The giant durian or the eye of a fly as they describe. Esplanade houses world-class performing spaces, supported by a comprehensive range of professional support facilities and services. This makes Esplanade the perfect choice for the performing arts and ideal venue for functions. Esplanade held an arts performance or an executive meeting.

Youth Olympic Park

Just for the sake of taking picture heheh! The park offers cool and shady corners for rest and a good vantage point for photography. A boardwalk connects the park to Marina Promenade and the Helix Bridge connects the park to Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort.

The Singapore Flyer
A 32 minutes ride, one time rotation only so I suggest you take pictures inside while the cabin is on its way up because you only reach the top once so enjoy the view. The flyer is rotating smoothly, you can barely feel the rotation of the wheel so people who have fear of heights enjoy the views.

The Marina Bay Sands

You can climb the top of the Marina Bay Sands hotel for around 23SGD to be able to enjoy the view but I suggest you do it around 5 pm when it's not too sunny anymore and also you can still enjoy the view with sunlight and at night when the lights of the city are already on, but if you are on a limited time you can chose from daylight or night time. Just don't go up at lunch time or you will be toasted by the sunlight for sure.

View at the top of Marina Bay Sands Hotel

Views from the top of Marina Bay Sands (daylight)

Views from the top of Marina Bay Sands (at night)

All of these destinations are walking distance to each other, not unless you are too lazy to walk around, but you can grab a cab if you like. Always bring extra shirt or towels with you because the weather is either humid or raining. If you still have plenty of time after visiting these places you can head to Gardens by the Bay just below the Marina Bay Sands Hotel.

Singapore Zoo
You can use your next morning for shopping or sight seeing near your hotel area. I suggest you give the Singapore Zoo a whole afternoon to be able to see everything, Then head straight to the Night Safari at 7 pm, these places are just beside each other so no need to worry about transportation.Check the schedules of the shows inside the Zoo and grab the most convenient time for your itinerary, I will not recommend any because I have not seen all of their show. I suggest you base it on your time.

Elephant Show (inside Singapore Zoo)

A show that showcase the abilities of the elephants and their powerful trunk. Don't sit in front though you might get wet when these elephants blow some water on the audience.

Splash Safari Show (inside Singapore Zoo)

Just like the elephant show, this showcase the talents and playfulness of this smart seal.

Night Safari
The world's first nocturnal zoo, flash photography is not allowed during the tour inside the park so instead of taking pictures since I can't get a good photo because of the dark environment I suggest you just enjoy the educational tour inside just like I did. Also check the schedule of the show inside the Safari and go to the amphitheater right after you took the tram tour and grab a good siting spot before the show.

Creatures of the Night Show (inside Night Safari)

Sentosa Day

My third day is Sentosa day, make sure you are well rested because you have a whole day of walking around Sentosa island. I suggest you give this place 1 or 2 days if you are visiting Universal Studios, 1 Day for Universal Studios and 1 day for Sentosa Island enjoy all the attractions. Take the MRT and hop off to Vivo City, buy your monorail ticket to this station.

After getting your ticket ride the monorail to Sentosa and enjoy the park attractions!

Merlion Tower

You can climb this tower to get a good view of the park

To have a bird's eye view of the park or Tiger Sky Tower for 15 SGD or if you are not afraid of heights like me you can also try the Jewel Cable Car for 39 SGD.

Universal Studios

If you are still kid at heart, you will definitely enjoy this attraction but make sure it is not weekends or holidays to avoid long lines and too much crowd. Unluckily for me my favorite thing in theme park which is the roller coaster is under maintenance and not operational on the day I went there so yeah it broke my heart.

For underwater creatures you can visit Underwater World full of amazing creatures, do not forget to turn off the flash of your cameras when taking pictures of the sea creatures.

Sentosa Beach
If you feel like swimming and sun bathing Sentosa Beach is free for you to enjoy. Just wait for the tram that will take you to the beach.

After visiting Sentosa, if you can still walk after a day of walking and sight seeing I suggest you drop by at China town which came to life at night where stores open for some souvenirs and food.

For souvenirs best to visit the China Town first before buying stuff on malls or parks. In my case I only buy ref magnets on every park I visit for my collection some are also available here in China Town.

Your visit to Singapore is not complete without experiencing the Hainanese Chicken, best with the thick black sweet sauce so ask for it if it's not served with it.

After a whole day of walking and park hopping, our last day was shopping for cheap perfumes. We usually buy at Lucky Plaza at Orchard Road but since I have not seen Little India we went to Mustafa.

Little India

Mustafa

If you want to purchase some perfumes, bag of nuts and chocolates of any kind, clothes, shoes and pretty much everything you are looking for this is the place I will recommend or Lucky Plaza for perfumes if you are already a regular you can always bargain for prices.

Clark Quay
After shopping at Mustafa, you can drop by at Clark Quay for some drink and live bands or sight seeing in my case because I don't want hang over on my travel so I prefer the sight seeing option and picture taking.

After visiting Clark Quay better to get some rest for you trip to Jurong Bird Park on the following day, best to separate this itinerary because it is far from every parks and attractions. Best to visit in the morning, always remember to watch their show inside the park which is included in your ticket.

Jurong Bird Park

Home to a wide variety of amazing and colorful birds and like any other attraction best to visit on weekdays to avoid long lines and too much crowd.

As soon as you get your ticket you can now enter and enjoy the creatures inside. 

Like in any other park they offer a tram ride if you don't like to walk around the park, just wait for every station and hop in then hop off on your desired station.

Lory Loft is an aviary inside the bird park where in you can enter and mingle with the birds, you can also feed the birds with bird feeds.

Do not panic when birds chase you they are a little playful so enjoy them :)

Watch the bird show grab the opportunity to sit and rest and enjoy!

After exploring Jurong Bird Park you have plenty of time to go sight seeing in Orchard Road which is the shopping district for high end products and my last destination before I rest and prepare for our flight the following morning.

This trip is an experience, an adventure, a blessing and a story that needs to be told and shared.You can customize your own itinerary that will best suit your personality, budget and agenda. I hope this blog will help you in some way planning your next Singapore trip!

See you on my next boarding pass!