Flipping through the pages of my history textbook in Cambodia: Day ONE

Siem Reap province is located in the northwest of the Kingdom of Cambodia. It translates literally to "Defeat of Siam"; Siam refers to Thailand.
 It boasts of the Angkor Wat ,the largest religious structure in the world and attracts about 3 million tourists a year, one of the most visited places in South East Asia.
Here's my account of the visit to Siem Reap.

20th September,2014
Siem Reap

Stepping into the humid sticky heat of Siem Reap on a Saturday morning, our vacation began. The airport is small and you can't get lost even if you try. The Visa On Arrival (VOA) counter was to our left as soon as we walked into the airport. The process was simple and fast involving filling up  of the visa application,one passport size photo and visa fees of 20$. Once submitted, a page is attached to your passport with a validity of 1 month. Took a 5$ tuk-tuk ride to the hostel we were staying at, Jasmine Family Hostel. The room wasn't cleaned out yet,so we left our bags at the reception albeit the passport and important things. Over a quick breakfast ,we drew circles on the map of the Angkor planning the day ahead.

        We had emailed Sam Pho(http://www.angkordriver-sam.com/), a tour guide about our arrival and possible itineraries before coming to Angkor. Very impressed with his promptness in replies and detailed suggested itinerary ,we decided to go ahead with him. Greeted by Mr. Pol and tuk-tuk driver Mr.Hoy at 10:30am, we began our temple visits!
 

ANGKOR WAT :
   You must posses a temple pass to visit the temples in the Angkor Archeaological Park. You can purchase the passes for a day,three days or seven days. We bought the one day pass that cost 20$. The passes are checked for at the entrance of every major temple, so make sure to keep them somewhere safe.My romancing with the breeze and tall trees that lined the road was cut short by the sight of a huge lake, the broad man-made moat around the mighty Angkor Wat. The reflection of the Angkor outer wall on the rather clean moat water was stunning. Stone lions with missing tails (because the plunderers stole the iron rod used in the tail) and Nagas(mythological Snake) flank the causeway across the moat.   Angkor literally means "city" and wat means "temple". King Suryavarman II and is men  took over 37 years to complete the temple structure as we see it today and work started on it in the 11th century. Angkor was the capital then and temple is dedicated to Hindu God, Lord Vishnu. We saw the three beautiful domes of the main temple as we entered in through the outer gate. There is a long causeway connecting the outer enclosure to the main temple. One doesn't realize the vastness of area until you enter past the outer gate. HUGE! 400 sq km and well maintained.  Manicured gardens and lush green on either side. Libraries are pressent on either side, one for the women and other for the men or one for higher sect of people and the other for the lower sect (Hindus had a prevalent caste system). A lotus pond on the left, in the garden gives the best photographic opportunity to capture the reflection of the main temple. The temple is stunning, every meticulous carving, the planned architecture, the stories on the walls. One wide wall has the entire epic "Mahabharatha" carved on it precisely. Another wide wall with epic "Ramayana". Another with churning of the cosmic ocean where Lord Vishnu is in the Koorma Avatar (Tortoise holding the mountain on his back to prevent it from dissolving while the churning happens). One with King Suryavarman II ,the monarch himself and the life in those times. The heart of the temple is the central tower with steep stairs leading to an idol of Lord Buddha ,although I read the history that says an idol of Lord Vishnu was here.  The temple was converted into a Buddhist one (and still remains so) in the 14th century by the Kings ruling at that time.
The temple lives up to the hype and more than that. Unbelievable architecture and precision and to think of the timeline when it was built.

View from the library

The King Suryavarman II

                                                         

One of the libraries

The Buddhist influence.

     

The library for the Brahmins.

After a tiring 90 minutes around the Angkor Wat and it's many towers, we headed to Ta Prohm in the tuk-tuk. Hoy was kind enough to provide us with chilled water and a wet tissue. We passed by  Bantaey Kdei on the way to Ta Prohm and glanced at it. Bantaey Kdei was built by Jayavarman VII  dedicated to his teacher. The route also showed us Srah Srang reservoir, or a "royal bathing pool", vast! Quite a swimming the king wanted!

TA PROHM:
       We exited Angkor Thom through the "Victory gate"  to reach the famous "Tomb Raider" temple. Was originally called "RajaVihara", came to be known as Ta Prohm, and now as the Tomb Raider temple. Was constructed by Jayavarman VII and is dedicated to his mother. The beauty of this temple lies in its relationship with nature. The big silk-cotton trees grown on the ruins and beautifully so. The big towering trees look like they own the ruins. Not much remains of this structure and a few scenic pictures, we headed out to get some lunch.

The famous tree structure that holds uncanny resemblance to that of a buttock!

                                                               Spot the dinosaur!                                                        

We stopped for lunch at a place a little off Ta Prohm and in an attempt to try local cuisine, we ordered for the vegetarian version of "Amok" along with some rice and a soup , if my memory recalls correctly "Khmer soup". DELICIOUS!

TERRACE OF THE LEPER KING AND TERRACE OF ELEPHANTS:
     We then explored the terrace of the leper king and the terrace of the elephants. Both the terraces are alongside each other. Opposite the terrace are two broken down structures and a field where the King would be entertained. The terrace was a podium for the King Jayavarman VII to view his victorious army returning. The terrace of the Leper King is called thus because of the statue of the king, the original is kept safe at the National Museum at Phnom Penh, and the one here is the copy. The statue with no fists and a shorter structure. Some historians also believed that Jayavarman VII was a leper,although there is no evidence supporting it.
     The bas-reliefs are mostly elephants and apsaras. But most of all,the one I was impressed by was that of an angry guard.

The Angry Guard

BAYON TEMPLE:
    Our next stop was Bayon Temple. By far the temple I enjoyed most because of the symmetrical carved smiling Buddha faces.It is believed that King Jayavarman VII built this temple for himself and to signify the 54 provinces he ruled. It is geographically placed at the center of Angkor city but built many years after Angkor Wat. The four faces in each signify different traits including those of sympathy and compassion. The uniqueness yet perfect symmetric of the faces intrigued me,impressive.The boddisattva looks at peace. The stories of a common man's life at Angkor crafted on the walls were interesting and not far from life as we know it today.
    We took the quintessential picture of the nose touching that of a smiling buddha face! the cheap camera trick with hilarious outcome.

With a choice of watching sunset at the hill Phnom Bakheng and the other temple of Preah Khan, we chose the latter. Watching the sunset from Bakheng Hill is mostly on every tourist's itinerary,we saved it for the following day.

We exited Angkor Thom through the North gate.

PREAH KHAN:
    The king Jayavarman VII dedicated this temple to his father. This temple I noticed had many shiv lingams and also structures with buddha in hermit pose.One of the walls had Lord Vishnu in the sleeping pose as well. The temple is spread over a wide area and most of it in ruins. Nonetheless, this temple had lesser crowd and a huge relief to be able to explore it in peace.
Having some time to spare before heading back, we relaxed our tired legs on top of the building next to the library with a view of the ruins. I sat there in that peace contemplating on how life would have been during Jayavarman's reign. The King and his royal family lived a grand life.

The headless guards.

For some strange reason,they only cut off the heads.

Hermit Pose

We exited the walled city through the south gate, with demons gods on one side and devas on the other, holding the naga or the snake and churning the cosmic ocean(Hindu Mythology). Of all the gates we went by today,the South gate is the best preserved.

South gate with the devas and asuras on either side.

The guide told us about Koulen Restaurant which has Apsara dance shows every night and a buffet dinner of local cuisine. We decided to try it out. The buffet was extensive but the vegetarian that I am, my options were limited. The places were booked,but we managed to get decent seats where we could view the dance. The talented pretty ladies swayed gracefully to the music, there is a striking similarity to Bharathanatyam, although the movements in the dance are subtle and slow.

The tuk tuk ride of 15$ along with the guide fees 35$ seemed well worth it. Back at the hostel, we checked with Sam Pho on our itinerary for the following day ; Watch Sunrise over the Angkor, Bantaey Srei, Beng Melea, Bakong, Preah Ko and spend the night at Pub Street. He suggested we hire a taxi as these temples are farther off from Angkor Thom.

Retired for the night anticipating a great view of sunrise in the morning.






 

Cameron Highlands

Cameron highlands is a pleasant hill station at 1500 mt above sea level in the state of Pahang,Mayalsia . Situated in the northwestern tip of Pahang, it's a small hill station with vast green sceneries and rolling tea estates.
Desperately in need of respite from the Penang heat and monotony,four of my friends and I decided to go to Cameron Highlands for the weekend.

April 11th,2014
Friday: 2pm

           The bus from Sungai Nibong to Cameron highlands was empty except for the five of us! The bus cost us 38RM and in my opinion,the seats should available till even  the day before your travel. The bus service run is Uniti Express(the name mentioned on the bus,but various travel agents will give you tickets),that's the only bus from Penang. Started half past two and the driver stopped at Butterworth for twenty minutes. The bus route has a stop at Ipoh, therefore quite a number of people got on the bus from Butterworth. The bus cruised on the highway with vast open lands on either side. We reached Ipoh at 4pm and stopped for about 20 minutes to freshen up. Ipoh is a quaint place, with agreeable weather and mountains in the hindsight. Seemed to me like a quiet little town where one would want to retire. The next two hours was one of the best drives I've ever been on(how I wish I was driving this stretch though). The drizzle on the windows, the curvy roads, the man-made outlets for the water on these mountains which formed gorgeous small waterfalls. So calming ,the sight of green topped mountains in the far distance. The only thing missing was being unable to eat the fresh air! Stuck in the Air-conditioned bus, I could hear the gushing winds taunt me. As our destination approached, there was some amount of a traffic clog. I rephrase, a lot of traffic!! It's a popular tourist spot for the Malaysians and foreigners alike.
      We reached the chilly hills at 7pm. Chilly is a relative term here. Living and working in Penang for the last few months lets you appreciate temperatures below even 20 degree Celsius!  Cameron comprises of a series of townships of Tanah Rata,Brinchang, Tringkap , Kuala Terla and Kampung Raja. We had a hotel booking at Tanah Rata, but one can alight at Brinchang as well that comes first while entering the highlands. I would suggest that one stays at either Tanah Rata or Brinchang (apart by approximately five kilometers). We made a cheaper accommodation booking at "Kisabel Hotel"  which is located in Tanah Rata, in the same building structure where the bus drops us off. The hotel is suitable only for single travellers or a quiet bunch of friends, a budget hotel with just the basics and a drab view as well!. We were greeted by two Malaysian Indians who run the place. A modest reception with a giant TV, a sitting area, a fish pond. The number of rooms is limited and we took the double bedroom with attached bathroom and a triple bed room with an attached bathroom. No complaints of the place, you get what you pay for..and this place brims with tourists!
         With the night left at our disposal, we hired a taxi (only mode of transport around here and slightly expensive) that cost us 12RM to Brinchang for the night market (Pasar Malam). The market was good! My favourite and must do in this market -
 (1) Eat the strawberry coated with chocolate sauce available for 2RM. Delicious!! The fresh sourness of the strawberry makes your taste buds twitch and the sweetness of the chocolate gushes in to compensate. Ah!
 (2) Sample some of the local fruits and vegetables. I didn't find them very fresh although the the taste was thoroughly enjoyable. I sampled a green fruit(Jeruk Jambu) that I've never tasted previously, it was mouthwatering sweet!
 (3) The cactus pots. Tiny pots of cactus are sold for 3RM and above and well worth it. Many varieties of cacti.
  After dinner at a Chinese restaurant and a pot of Chinese tea, we waited a while for a taxi back to Tanah Rata. It was 10:30pm in the night and the hill station was asleep, after waiting by the taxi stand for twenty minutes with no luck,we decided to ask someone. Opposite the taxi stand at Brinchang, is a hotel by the name "Jasmine", we asked the Chinese lady there if she knew any taxi driver whom we could phone up and call. She luckily had one and called on the taxi for us. The fare back to Tanah Rata was 20RM. Retired for the night




























April 12th,2014
Saturday
 Cameron has many jungle trails ,small hikes to offer. We decided to go for a hike that morning. We left for Robinson Falls (Trail 9/9A) at 8am in the morning. After some repetitive cycles of getting lost and looking around, we finally got the way to Robinson. The directions are simple, Follow the road from Tanah Rata towards Brinchang till you reach the "Terminal Fressia" bus stand  junction, take a right there (follow the board with directions towards MARDI). Walk down that road to see MARDI(an agro technology park) on your left and continue ahead, till you read the signboard to Robinson Falls.
       The falls isn't remotely "spectacular". It's a waterfall of muddy rainwater, was disappointed at the sight of it. Due to the rains every afternoon the rocks were slippery. A caution on that. After a quick stop for a photo, we continued along the jungle trail. The path has many signboard of the jungle trail paths. We decided to follow the signboard of 9/9A, that leads one to the BOH tea estate. Do a little research on the jungle trails and pick according to your fitness level. Hiking always excites me and this trail was nothing less than exciting. The smell of the rain-drenched soil,the contrasting lush green against the brown wet tree barks was a magical sight. We spotted many exotic flowers(unfortunately don't known the common or botanical names), wild mushrooms and small pretty birds. The jungle trails here are fortunately not very commercial and unspoilt by human littering. We reached towards some part of a tea estate(which we later found out to be BOH). Unknowing whether there's a path ahead,we re-traced our way back towards Robinson Falls and caught the road from where we entered. It was "stroll", a very easy path we hiked today. Nonetheless, a morning well spent!
        Hungry, we found a place called "Kumar" , similar to a Nasi Kandar and ate comfort Indian food. The rain came and how! About 2 pm and the it was pouring! We tried our options with many tours and travels about half-day tours we could do for that day. Unfortunately, no one had anything that pleased our needs and suggested that we do any of the tours the following morning as the rains wouldn't subside in sometime. We finalized a half-day tour with "T.J Nur Travel & tours" in Tanah Rata for the following morning and had the rest of the day to our leisure. In the evening,we took a stroll around Tanah Rata, the weather was delightful!  We ambled about admiring bungalows, a Chinese temple and nurseries with stunningly fresh and colourful flowers. We went down to the main park near the "Terminal Freesia", took the road behind it, that lead to us to a winding sloping road from where we could get a pretty view of a part of Cameron Highlands. We sipped our steaming cup of tea at "Lord's cafe" and tasted some of the best apple scones! Highly recommended to visit this place and taste some of the delicious apple scones.
     Tucking myself into bed that night,I got thinking how unfortunate it is that the natural beauty is gradually being destroyed for more "resorts" and tourist purposes. The lopsided balance of urbanisation versus preserving the existing beauty. It's left to us to bring that balance.

     

April 13th,2014
Sunday
    We were at T.J at 9am in the morning. We hopped onto a jeep and started for our tour. We were in to cover the rolling views of the BOH tea estates, the mossy forest at Gunung Brinchang and the peak itself, a factory visit to BOH tea estates again, ending with the butterfly farm and  strawberry farm. A half day tour from 9am to 1pm and cost us 50RM each. Our bus back to Penang was at 2:30pm , so this worked out fine. The roads up to the tea estate and Gunung Brinchang are sloping upwards and a rather tough drive without a jeep or 4-wheel drive. The view of the rolling tea estates can easily qualify for a perfect postcard picture.  The tour guide did a good job of explaining about the estates and its establishment, the process of tea processing. After spending around half an hour walking through the tea plantations we hopped onto the jeep towards Gunung Brinchang. The peak is the second highest mountain in Cameron highlands at 2000mt above sea level.There is a watchtower where you can get a panoramic view of the place, the hills and valleys, tiny villages and towns and Ipoh as well. The number of tourists here were enormous and everyone waited their chance to climb up the watchtower and squeezed to get good pictures. I found it rather dull, not a great view. We went down to the mossy forest next. This forest is claimed to be one of the oldest forests in Malaysia. It was genuinely beautiful. The natural environment of moss,ferns, lichens,orchids and pitcher plants.We got an up close view of the pitcher plants, which was a new experience for me. This plants look so tiny, to think they actually blow up to carry 3 litre of water in them. Amazing! Wild orchids was another exciting sight for me, gorgeous is an understatement! The atmosphere in this forest was cool, chilly, in the guider's words "natural air condition". We explored this area for about 30 minutes before starting back. It's not a hike,trek really, just a walk inside to explore the flora.Our next stop was the BOH tea estate, where we sipped a cup of fresh tea(don't take the tea bags, just buy and drink them at home!) and watched a plethora of tourists swarm the place.The tea factory has a small tour you can take to see the tea processing(nothing impressive).We bought a few tea bags and tea for home.Next the butterfly farm. A small enclosure with butterflies, pretty butterflies fluttering around oblivious to us humans prying. Even though it was a small area, the butterflies sure were beautiful. Stopped at a strawberry farm afterwards, it was just to purchase some fresh strawberries. The rain gods blessed us with a heavy downpour by then and we were soaked to our bones. The half day trip was not entirely worth the money in my opinion, but "pitcher plant" and the "orchids" in the mossy forest was the highlight. So much delight  to have seen it in its natural environment,something I can't see back in India.
       We made it time for our bus back to Penang,packing lunch before boarding the bus at 2pm.Slept for most of the way down to Ipoh and the Penang. Back home by 8pm in the night. *the traffic descending the hill was a pileup, weekend traffic from Cameron is heavy*

The trip to Cameron Highlands was a refreshing break from the monotony of life. The quaint little towns in Cameron is unfortunately becoming highly urbanised, I hope the government controls the growing development before it destroys the charm of the place.
                                   
Tips -
 -- It's a romantic place but take a resort a little away form the bustling towns to thoroughly enjoy the weather and sceneries.
 -- Own transport is the best, the sceneries along the journey are charming.
 -- With not much to do,a weekend or three days getaway is the enough to cover the place.Not many family activities, but your thirst for hiking,trekking can be satiated with many trails Cameron has.Wear your shoes!
-- Most of the common half day tours of only the different farm visit is useless in my opinion. I would recommend the Mossy forest to  be covered in your agenda and a small hike in one of the Jungle trails.
-- Food is not an issue, lots of choices to eat from in Tanah Rata and Brinchang. Many Indian,Chinese, western cuisine restaurants and no problem form vegetarians as well.
-- Shopping didn't appeal much to me. But do try some local fruits in the Pasar Malam at Brinchang and apple scones at "Lord's Cafe" . But some fresh strawberries, the one sold in the markets instead of plucking the strawberries in the farms by yourself (it's expensive).
-- Don't be overwhelmed to buy tea bags from the BOH tea plantation, you can get the same tea bags in the local supermarket, and back in Penang as well. We bought tea dust and "Seri Songket" (package was eye-catchy) from the store in the BOH tea plantation which we couldn't spot outside in the local supermarkets there or in Penang.

           Go cool your heels in Cameron Highlands.

New beginnings....

I found an oar for my raft,
Renewed strength to row again.
Towards the guiding light,I gently drift,
Calmly hit the sandy shores....then,
the land trembles and unwraps the present of HOPE.

Crimson hue with the hint of pink,
Like a tiny heart squeezed to bleed,I squeeze the sponge.
to paint on the white canvas,forcing it to drink,
the color and the soulless white to be expunged.
Staring at the canvas,waiting for its heart to beat with HOPE.

The man with an unusual surname walks in unannounced,
Unsure of his intentions,I hid and waited.
I find it difficult to read you Mr.Hope,
but I trust you to revive my heart with the love beating,
   .....I Await for new beginnings.

Dis-organised

Squeezing the eraser,
I try removing the grids,the numbers, the red and black,
but the black lines keep reappearing ,
the grids form  and the numbers slowly attack.

After that month,that sheet is flipped or torn,
hidden till it resurrects after another three sixty five days.
That date and month will haunt you mercilessly till you are reborn,
the days of the month shift silently like a pack of wolves and preys,

Why can't there be infinite months, infinite dates,
not one single combination to repeat.
make new memories unassociated with numbers ,as a new sun awaits.
let it remain loose ended ,continuous and incomplete.

Merlion Memories : Visit to Singapore : Days 5&6

Day 5 : Universal Studios Singapore and Chinatown

There was a sense of calm in the morning as we has already booked the tickets to USS the day before/ After a very quick breakfast (not much to expect after having stayed at the same hotel for the last three days of course),we took the MRT to Harbor Front and the Sentosa Express from the fourth floor of the VivoCity Mall. USS opens at 10 am ,and we were there by eleven am. A mandatory picture by the rotating globe (logo) of Universal Studios and a map in hand , we were ready and excited to explore what Hollywood had to offer! The Theme park is divided by themes : Hollywood, Sci-Fi City, Ancient Eygpt,The lost world, Far Far Away land and Madagascar (as my memory recalls). Hollywood had characters from Seaseme street and we went on a Spaghetti chase with them (well, I'm too grown up for the Big Bird) , There was a ride in a one-room movie set ,it was bought to life when they simulated a tornado destruction(narrated by Steven Spielberg) Good !.We watched live shows of Monster Rock and some dancers who did some kick ass B-Boying and Hip-Hop. The Sci-Fi City was next ,and the transformers fan in me could wait to take the ride. The Transformer ride was brilliant. Very well done and just a joy ! We fought Megatron and the decepticons. Wohoo! This ride is the best pick of all the rides! Must not miss under any circumstances. The battlestar Galactica Roller coasters looked like a thrilling ride, but it was closed for maintenance that day. Bad luck. To avoid any more rush, we moved back to Madagascar right after quick lunch. The Madagascar characters are my favorite and the merchandise was very adorable, was too tempted to buy them all ! The crate ride was good. We entered Far Far Away land with the Shrek and his folks. The mini roller coaster ride was fun. The 4-D adventure of Shrek would have been much more enjoyable if not for our stupidity of picking the wrong seats ! We sat in seats in the middle portion, only to realize in the end that it has restricted movement designed intentionally for young kids who'd get scared otherwise! A little disappointed. We entered ancient Egypt, and the ride was mind-blowing. It was thrilling and scary as it plunges you into darkness! Another ride one shouldn't miss. The lost world had a ride where you get completely drenched in water. Lucky that we were carrying rain coats(it was a gloomy day in SG) , thus they came handy. Ponchos were provided for 10SGD as well. Was a good ride ! Some more photos with good merchandise! Exhausted but very content. Thank you Universal Studios Singapore !

We really did “Ride the Movies” .

Late evening already and one place that was checked off in our list. Chinatown. Took the metro to Chinatown and started with the intention of window shopping,but ended up buying quite a bit. The oriental Chinese work was new to us and very interesting. Dragged our tired feet home. A day well-spent.

Day 6 : Mustafa Center and departure from SG

Last day at Singapore and it felt good. I loved the place,don't get me wrong , this is to say I was more than content with what Singapore had to offer. Our flight was at 4pm,giving us some time in the morning. Having heard a LOT about the Mustafa Center at Little India,we decided to visit it. Mustafa Center is a shopping Mall that roofs everything from hardware to clothes for a discounted price and is open 24 hours. Huge warning on very bad facilities management here . I did find some reasonably priced phones and other electronics ,might be worth picking up . We were back in time for lunch and took the cab to the airport. Hadn't mentioned previously in my post (Day 1) , but Changi Airport is huge and very well-maintained ! Explore the vast airport before boarding the flight.

Reviews :

-- Plan a visit to Universal Studios on a weekday to avoid long queues for rides.

-- Carry a Rain Coat/poncho to save on further expenses of buying a poncho for the rides that would drench you.

-- Carry lunch if possible ,eating at USS might be slightly expensive.

--Lockers to keep baggage for some of the rides(namely at ancient Egypt) are free for the initial 45 minutes and cost 10SGD for the following hour. Plan well to avoid excess expenditure.

-- Souvenir shopping on streets of Chinatown and Bugis appealed more to me than in Mustafa Shopping Center.

     Thank you Singapore for a wonderful time !

Merlion Memories : Visit to singapore : Day 4

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Day 4 : MacRitchie Reservoir, S.E.A aquarium and Songs of the Sea.

   This was by far the best day in the travelogue. We set out earlier than usual to get to MacRitchie Reservoir for a hike. Took a bus , but got off the wrong stop and asked around for our way . Although traveling by bus is straightforward , the metros are more convenient. We started our hike from the reservoir. A vast dam reservoir were activities like still water kayaking and canoeing  can be done as well (well,of course you need to be one star certified to rent a kayak). A board of the many well-marked hiking routes caught our attention but we choose the hike to the treetop walk. The hike was a slight climb and the tall trees kept the shade. Quite a number of people were hiking , running the incline and even practicing some tai chi. It is a good 5km walk (seemed like more somehow) to the tree top walk. Hikes always make me happy,this was happy till we saw the sign . We hiked a good five km to reach the tree top walk only to find out that it is closed on Mondays .very bad planning on our part. The tree top walk looked beautiful nonetheless and I heard from a couple of localities there that they have a guided tours on the last Saturday of every month where one can spot the feathered visitors . As compared to have trekked only in India,this is my first to notice well marked routes and even a ranger station , the facilities at the rangers station was very kept , I couldn't help but draw the comparison with bad facilities even in a city bus stop in India . Generally the hike ends at Bukit Timah national park , on the other side of the treetop walk. Unable to complete the hike at Bukit Timah, we traced our way back and but instead walked on tar roads alongside the Singapore Island Country Club . Took a bus back to Little India and gobbled up some good food and masala tea.

        The next destination was S.E.A aquarium ,Sentosa resorts and Universal Studios . We went around in little India asking for good prices for the tickets . It's rather expensive otherwise ,75SGD for USS. One of the travel agents gave us a good deal of all these three inclusive for 99SGD. Happy with the reduced rates ,we took the MRT to Harbor front and took the Sentosa express to the island . First up South East Asian aquarium,the world's largest aquarium. The marine life at its finest,this place is a must visit and the fishes look happy as well. My favorites were the eels and the baby sharks . It was very touristy as well though with a lot of flash photography and videos being taken. After spending close to 2 hours at the aquarium, we took the metro which runs within Sentosa to the beach station and joined the long queue to catch seats for the songs of the sea show. It is a light and sound show on the beach. Was enjoyable,but kids would enjoy it a lot more and this is when the song of "Singapooora Singapooora" caught on.

Reviews -

-- MacRitchie- start off early to hike,can avoid the hot sun as well. Make sure to check when the treetop walk is open. They claim that many migratory birds can be spotted,carry along a binoculars.

-- Find travel operators in Little India or Chinatown  to get discounted rates for Universal studios and activities at sentosa island. 

Hiking Routes at MacRitchie  :

Glimpse of marine life at S.E.A Aquarium :

 Eels :

Sharks :

Merlion Memories : Visit to Singapore: Day 3

Day 3 : Botanical Gardens, Singapore Zoo and Night Safari

   Woke up to rain pattering on the windows. After a heavy breakfast, we set off to Singapore Botanical Gardens. We decided to use the buses today. The bus stop names are posted at the bus stop,so you'll know where exactly to get off. We counted the number the stops to get off at the right one. But we seemed to have counted wrong and went two stops ahead, took the bus in the opposite direction and found our way to the gardens. It's a leisure garden which celebrated its 150 years recently. It's always calming to enter a park and to be surrounded by green. The park was alive more so because of the morning rains. There's a small swan lake which had a handsome sculpture of swans. This place felt really good and absolutely non-touristy. The orchids on display at the national Orchid garden were beautiful ! Very well documented,there were information boards about the orchids. It was pleasant weather thankfully,so we weren't too tired yet. The National Orchid Garden is definitely worth a visit. Thumbs up! We had a lunch picnic on one of the benches. The place was blissful in a way, lots of children playing,families on lunch picnics, dogs running about wagging their happy tails. Just a wonderful morning !
   We took the MRT to Ang Mo Kio. At Ang Mo Kio , once again no problems finding the bus interchange to go to the Singapore Zoo. After a 15 minutes ,we got the bus no 138 to the zoo. It was a little after 2 pm when we got there. The park hopper pass got us right in,without having to wait. We waited a while for the tram. We made it a point not to get off on all the stops in the tram as getting a seat on the tram again is rather difficult. The animals were interesting ! The chimpanzees and orangutans were my favorite ! The polar bear was huge ! and so adorable and scary. We managed to catch the feeding show of the Polar bear. Among other lovely animals we saw the tiger, zebras, rhinos, giraffes, cheetah (wow!!). We watched the elephant show (a lot of people!) and the sea lion show. A part of me felt horrible to see these dangerous and beautiful animals domesticated and kept in a zoo,but from what we read, looks like they are more in danger in the wild. If  there's one thing I learnt after the zoo visit,its about wildlife conservation. Lets please do our part to conserve the wildlife.
    The Night safari opens at 7:30 pm. Completely underestimating the crowds , we lazily went there only at 7pm. The crowd was absolutely mad! The length of the queues there reminded me of temple visits in India ! The Sunday evening saw humongous crowds ! In the mad rush, we couldn't get in on time to watch the creatures of the dark show at 7:30pm (and the next was at 9:30pm). In utter confusion , we ended up waiting at the queue for the Japanese tram ,only to realize it after a while and had a hearty laugh. The waiting time was an  hour. We saw the rhinos, deers, hyenas among many other animals. There were no dearth of the number of animals at the singapore zoo , but it didn't appeal to me much. Maybe I went in with a lot of expectation about a safari in the WILD or so. It felt very artificially placed there under a neon bulb. At the end of it, I definitely didn't think it was worth it. Although i did notice a lot of young children enjoyed it ! We retraced our way to Little India and out our tired feet to rest .

Review :
 -- Botanical gardens is a MUST visit ! Go as early as possible .
 -- Please avoid weekends for the zoo and safaris If unavoidable, please get in line 40 minutes before.
 -- In two minds whether to suggest to skip the night safari. Kids would really enjoy it though.  

At the National Orchid Garden,Singapore Botanical Garden :

Swan Lake , Singapore Botanical Garden :

   Elephants at Play, Show at Singapore Zoo :