Travel to Picture-Perfect Singapore

As a single girl traveller looking for a short, affordable and memorable trip abroad, Singapore was my most obvious choice. Not only was it known for its safety, it was not too expensive to travel to and its short distance from India gave my parents some sort of comfort which helped me convince them to loosen the reins on me a little. There are many other budget trips you can take in Asia. 

As luck would have it, the day after I decided to make my trip to Singapore, my best friend Steffi told me she was planning to visit her brother Neville and his wife in Singapore as well, this was music to my ears! Within a week, our tickets were bought, the visas were ready and our way-too-many bags were packed and ready to go! We arrived at Neville and Natasha’s beautifully cosy studio apartment and decided to rest (carrying around all those bags was exhausting!). We were woken up the next morning to a breakfast of delicious instant noodles. Noodles for breakfast?? I could get used to this!  

Relaxing Singapore

We decided to take a walk around the neighbourhood as it was a beautiful day and we also needed to buy ourselves an EZ-Link card which would serve as our pass while travelling on all public transportation in the city. The first thing that you notice about Singapore is just how organized it is. The silence and lack of chaos took some getting used to but in the week that followed, we slowly fell in love with the city. The quick and reliable public transport, the people that were quiet yet welcoming, the food that looked ordinary but tasted exceptional and the clean and fresh air that kept us energized in the constant humidity.

A friend of ours, Urvashi, very generously offered to take us girls out for a few drinks and we gladly obliged.  We began with a drink at the Marina Bay Sands bar right next to its famous infinity pool, we then hopped over to the rooftop bar at 1-Altitude where we had a free ladies-night cocktail with a breathtaking view of the city and we finished the night off at Clarke Quay where we sat by the river while we sipped our third and final drink- Milo with Kahlua (my personal favorite). Though it was way past midnight and it was just us three girls, we felt completely safe in the bustling streets- such a refreshing feeling! It was time to head back home and rest up for the day we were most looking forward to.

A Postcard Come To Life

We woke up the next morning tired but excited we were about to spend the whole day at Universal Studios at Sentosa Islands. It was absolutely magical! The weather was perfect with all sun and no rain (a rarity in Singapore) and we spent a good 7-8 hours there. We made sure we went on every.single.ride to make full use of our tickets (A hefty 74$). Then, we watched a street hip-hop performance, posed for pictures with Cleopatra, ate lunch outside the Far Far Away palace(we just missed meeting Shrek) and walked down the replica streets of old New York. We’d made our day worth every penny and we had plenty of pictures to prove it!

On the few days we had left, we ogled at the serene Gardens by the Bay and watched a postcard come to life at the Merlion Park and spent what money we had left at Bugis Street (for all you shopaholics out this, this place is paradise. Do carry extra bags because you’ll need it!).

Before we knew it, our trip was coming to an end! Little did we realize that five days in Singapore is not nearly enough time to see even half of what the city has to offer and we had to, unfortunately, miss out on a lot of sightseeing! I have begun planning my next trip back and this time I hope I don’t return with any regrets!