Singapore Trip: Day 4 and 5

Day 4 – Clarke Quay, Singapore River, Singapore Flyer, Marina Bay, 31st Dec night fireworksEarly in the day, we decided to visit the Clarke Quay and take a stroll of Singapore River. Full Boating rides were closed due to New Year’s eve. Lazily, we walked around the river, reached Fullerton hotel and met Merlion. People were going crazy for pictures with the mythical creature,  as were we. Next we came across Esplanade theater and the heavy duty arrangements in the amphitheater for 31^stnight. Youngsters were already throinging the area in afternoon to reserve their seats for night show. Reached our destination Singapore Flyer.

Clarke Quay, Singapore river

Merlion, Esplanade

Singapore Flyer, the view from top

Statue of Sir Stamford Raffles, Balestier food market

Early evening headed back to hotel, had early dinner and all geared up to visit Marina Bay for New Year’s eve firework show. You have to visit the area yourself to see the crowd on 31^st night there, people were crawling everywhere, many of whom might have reached in evening to reserve space. We managed to have inches of space to sit and wait for 12 am. After the show it’s a complete stampede when whole crowd iss jostling to go back to their places.

Marina Bay

Next day we had our flight back home so visited the Dhoby Ghat area for shopping.Tips:

• Singapore weather is very humid and it might rain anytime, keep umbrella for those showers.
• Lots of walking, do not risk new shoes, wear comfortable pair and flats.
• Take light cotton clothing, as airy as possible.
• Get the Ezlink card at airport, will save travel money and Singapore watching would be a breeze.
• Choose a hotel near bus stop / metro station.
• For food, I found the Balestier local food market near our hotel on 2^nd day, it offered breakfast, lunch dinner, ranging from, Indian, Japanese, Chinese, Singaporean, veg and non veg. Go look for nearby hawker market, as surviving at KFC , McDonalds would be hard. For purely breakfast, Toast Box also has good options.
• For late night bites, KFC and McDonalds are open till wee hours on public holidays.
• Convenience stores like Cheers and 7 Eleven are open everywhere for 24 hours.
• Singapore is a very clean and mannered city, so everyone must mind their hygiene and be on best behavior. Sometimes locals may not oblige you with clicking your photos, do not be disheartened and try to find fellow tourist.
• There are more places to be covered like China Town, Little India, Haji Lane, Jurong Bird Park and so on. However, do not clutter your itinerary and enjoy your time there focussing on what you wish to see.