Part 2 - Singapore!

Ok, so if you felt Malaysia was good, wait till you hear about Singapore!!! ;)

We took the train from KL to Singapore. I was told that the ride is very scenic. And we were not disappointed. The ride is about 6 hrs, through mountains, forests, rivers and towns. If you think the city is beautiful, wait till you see the countryside! We reached Singapore at around 3pm. Immigration formalities took about an hour. There was a friendly man named Lee holding a placard with 'Salem, Mr. and Mrs. Masood - Welcome to Singapore'. He gave us a kit with all vouchers (hotel, food, entry tickets etc), tour itinerary, emergency contact nos. etc. And we were on our way. The first evening was at our leisure. We were staying on Orchard road, which is the Mecca for shopping malls in Singapore. Think of any famous fashion designer or brand, and you could see their boutique/outlet there. We spent close to 2 hrs walking around...no, not to shop but hunting for an Indian restaurant!!! After 4 days of oriental & fast food, we were terribly Indian 'food-sick' (is that even a word?!). To our respite, we found one and, finally, ate to our heart's fill. Back on the street, our hunt now was for desserts! And, after 2 extra-large scoops of Ben & Jerry's ice cream, a thick strawberry cheesecake ice cream shake, it was time to hit the sack!

Our tour itinerary had the following mentioned for next day: "1.00 pm : Afternoon to Sunset tour of Sentosa Island". Who would have thought then that this was going to be the best damn afternoon of our tour!!! At 1pm sharp, as we got down to the hotel lobby, there was a large bus waiting for us outside. Sentosa is a small leisure island not too far from Singapore. We took the cable car (yes, lucky enough to, once again, get a chance!) to Sentosa.

Going towards Sentosa Island

This was on our left

First up, we had visit to the Singapore Museum. Now, this is not just any other museum, where you find weird stuff put on walls or on show. This place is a walk through history. Every event in Singaporean history is recreated in wax structures. Something like Madam Tussuad's wax statues - only difference is, this museum has not restricted itself just with human beings! Heck..they even recreated war torn Singapore! And with sound effects!!! It was amazing.

Singapore being 'signed'!

Hindu ritual of walking on burning coal

A typical market place in Singapore in 1920s

Next, trip to the underwater world. As the name suggests, it is a GIANT walk-through aquarium. With us in a narrow tube, water in all four directions, it was breathtaking!!

Underwater world

From the underwater world, our next stop was for the Dolphin show. Need I say more?!

After which, we stopped for the Musical fountain/fireworks/laser show. Again, need I say more!

It was 10pm by the time we were back to our hotel, after a wonderful and memorable day.

We had a half day Singapore city tour scheduled next morning from 8am!!! Instead, we went shopping to the most popular shopping center in Singapore called Mustafa market. And the evening was our trip for the Night Safari. Another adventurous experience hanging around the forest at night within close proximity of wild as well as domesticated animals. After dinner, we were back to the hotel and started with our packing! Our return flight was next morning at 11.15am.