Vessel Tour - Singapore Diary.

Modern city state, shoppers paradise, food capital of Asia , clean , prosperous, lots of Indians and of course the Merlion at the Sea front … these were some of the images that I had associated with Singapore prior to leaving to the city state for my vessel tour. And after 3 days, the above images did get reinforced as also did I add many many more to the Singapore compartment in my mind.

Ones first experience of a city is always the airport and that is of not much help, since all the modern airports look the same. Scores of passengers criss- crossing , duty free shops and restaurants by the dozen, queing up for immigration, getting that quizzical look from the immigration officer ,waiting for baggage and the like. Since my colleague Sara’s flight in from Karachi was an hour after mine, I had some time to look around. I could have been in Frankfurt, Paris or Copenhagen. Airports all look the same. Of course, do not include Chennai or Mumbai. Ours retain their shabby identity even now.

Armed with every possible visitors brochure/ guide – metro, restaurants, shopping, Sentosa, electronics, beaches and what not – Sara and me set out to our hostel. Sleepy Sams was located on Arab Street, a famous shopping street where the main commodities hawked are oriental, Indian and Middle Eastern fabrics. Sleepy Sams was a typical hostel. Laid back, relaxed, shared bathrooms, lots of guests and incredibly small rooms.

First stop was Little India, not because I was dying to show off my patriotism - especially to a Pakistani and make a symbolic gesture, but because the district was walking distance from my hostel and also because the famous shopping Mall – Mustafa, was located there. Little India could be called Little South India – Amman temples, flower sellers, vegetable vendors and idly- dosa joints lined up the streets. Took Sara to a South Indian temple, but soon I had to lead her out as she was asking enough and more questions about Hindu mythology and symbols , for most of which I didn’t have the answer. Shopping complexes are one place girls keep quiet and do their thing and so Mustafa was the place to go. Mustafa is a sea of electronics, clothes, bags, chocolates etc, between which humans walk through having the barest space possible. Working 24 hours, Mustafa is manned entirely by Indians, or rather entirely by Tamilians. After the trip around Little India, Mustafa, the Tamil restaurants, I was feeling like being in Chennai rather than in Singapore. No surprise, after all Tamil is an official language here.

We went to the Clarke quay side in the evening. Situated along the Singapore River, the quay side is a dazzling array of riverside restaurants, pubs, shopping complexes. One could also go for a cruise along the river. The river cruise is awesome as it gives you a clear view of many of Singapore’s landmarks. With a pre recorded commentary giving guidance one could glimpse and also get the history about the Parliament house, the theaters by the bay, the Raffles landing site, Robertson quay, the Fullerton hotel, the cluster of skyscrapers along the Marina bay and of course the most endearing symbol of Singapore – The half fish, Half Lion Merlion.

Any trip to Singapore would be incomplete without a trip to Sentosa – the island getaway. Sentosa is a tiny island situated across the bay and is perhaps Singapore’s premier tourist attraction. It claims and it indeed does have all around and fun filled entertainment for people of every age. Sun kissed beaches, one of Asia s biggest aquariums, a jungle trail, a 4D movie theatre, a plant kingdom and much more. Singapore s tallest viewing platform – the rotating Carlsberg sky tower gives a panaromic view of the island as well as gives you a glimpse of Malaysia and the Indonesian islands. The ‘Images of Singapore’ tour takes you through Singapore’s history and developments till present date. The Cable car and Sentosa Luge are attractions giving you a thrill of adventure. The most popular event in Sentosa is the evening musical fountain and laser show. 30 minutes of hi-tech wizardry, left us completely in awe. The sharp laser lights emanating out of the Merlion’s eyes and seemingly stretching out forever is a sight to behold.

Singapore much like most other modern cities has an efficient metro system. Our trips criss crossing the city were made easy by these clean, fast and on time metros. With sufficient signs, maps and routes at display, a tourist could fend for himself easily and not end up confused or lost. We spent time walking through Bugis village, Singapore’s biggest street shopping complex and also spent time checking out a few malls in Bugis.Well, while traveling with a girl and that too one with a weakness for shopping , frequent mall visits are common.

Come night and it was time to check out the Night Safari. The world’s first and perhaps only Night safari, this was one unforgettable experience. Situated at the Singapore zoo, the safari takes you on a battery operated tram through a designed route where you view animals in their natural habitat. Compared to other normal safari rides, here the thrill factor is much more magnified by the silence and the darkness through which the ride takes you. Viewing Tigers, Lions, hyenas etc in the night, in extremely close distances, in an almost eerie atmosphere is quite an experience, scary almost. On the way back we passed through the famous shopping district of orchard road. High rise malls, food courts and 5 star hotels, Orchard road is dazzling to say the least.

Singapore is a good tourist place, but perhaps only as a one time visit. It may not pull you back again and again, as i would imagine a Paris or a Switzerland would. But still Singapore was a pretty good experience. Soon it was time to pack off to the port and get into the good vessel AP Moller. We were scheduled to spend 7 and half days on the vessel and were worried as to how boring it may turn out to be compared to the razzle and dazzle of Singapore