As a child, Singapore always held some sort of fascination to me.  My dad  would say Singapore and Bangalore are the same place with different names. All of 7 years, I believed him as there was no google at that time.

Flying over Singapore in the dark, over the lit-up landmarks, is like hovering over the stars. The place looks magical at night specially at the Gardens by the Bay. Singapore is not exactly a cheap place to visit. But with careful planning one can make the rupee stretch a little longer. I would not recommend the Night Safari at all as one cannot really see the animals well in the night. It is a totally hyped activity. The zoos at Mysore and Hyderabad are better.

The best time to see Singapore would be closer to the Christmas season, specially strolling the famous Orchard Street all dressed with Christmas lights. The high brand shops reside here and of course were out of my budget. Luckily a small chat with a local, led  to the discovery of the delightful store called Daiso, in the basement of Eon Mall. Based along the Dollar shop concept, it appeared to be a misfit for the high-end Orchard Street and hidden away from the view. But I managed to get gifts for everyone from there without breaking my budget and the tool box from there is still intact. The Bugis Street is a small covered local market, where one can buy clothes at a reasonable rate for retail therapy.

The Clark Quay at night is an absolute must do, for the lights and ambience and yes, the Singapore Sling. A local told me Singapore Sling is to be enjoyed at the Raffles, hmm…maybe next time, I will budget for that, for now the famous Jumbo eat out restaurant at Clark Quay did the trick.