I interrupt my current Singapore series to bring attention to a place I never knew even existed in India!
Me and my friends haven’t gone on a road trip in quite some time. So when we spoke about driving somewhere we all had never gone before, it was hard. We were sick of Mysore Road and have seen pretty much every attraction that stretch of Karnataka has to offer. This was going to be a proper weekend drive – leave early Saturday morning and be back by Sunday night, so given the time frame, the choice of destinations were quite limited to begin with.
As luck would have it, a friend of mine uploaded a few photos he had taken from his visit to a place called Gandikota in Andhra Pradesh. I had never heard of the place before but when I saw his photos, I just couldn’t believe I had never even known about its existence! Upon asking him for more information about Gandikota and doing some research on my own, I suggested a drive to Gandikota to my friends.
Some of them were apprehensive, saying it looked like “just a canal,” some couldn’t make it, but I was still hell-bent on going there. Charting a route map using Google Maps, the drive from Devanahalli to Gandikota was going to take approximately 5 hours (250kms). I also found that we can drive to another attraction, Belum Caves, from Gandikota itself and that would take over an hour to cover the 60km distance. From Belum Caves, we could then drive to the town of Anantapur and connect back to NH7 to drive back all the way to Bangalore city (280 kms).
After much convincing and last minute tussles, we (myself and friends Anand and Ramesh) were ready to venture into a territory hardly many from Bangalore have gone before.
Date: December 17th, 2011
The plan was for Anand to first pick me up and then Ramesh by 6am, but as is usually the case on our drives, we were slightly delayed and only picked up Ramesh as it neared 7am.
We started from Sarjapur-Outer Ring Road… which was rather foggy at 7amWe drove on Airport Road and past Devanahalli
We stopped at a Kamat restaurant adjoining a Bharat Petroleum bunk to our left for breakfast. After puris and tea, we set off again towards Chikballapur.
We got off the main highway at a major intersection from where you need to take a right (Image: Google Maps)We did get a bit of rough road…… but got back on to smooth tarmac soon afterBut we had to slow down when we saw thisBangalore’s mutton supply discovered!There was a LOT of them!We waited until the herd passed byPapa goat?We came straight down that road and passed this statue of the late YSR. When we stopped to confirm if we were going the right way, a passer by told us we need to take a right instead to head towards KadiriWe were now in the state of Andhra Pradesh
The road got narrow for a bitBy 11am, we were in the town of KadiriRaja looks pleased
Kadapa is the nearest major town to Gandikota, but we decided to drive through an alternate route that would take us straight to GandikotaWe came down that road and took a right towards JammalamaduguWe stopped for a tea break at a dhaba along the wayGopi was the name of one of our ex-bosses… but that’s not why we stopped here, I swear 😉The landscape in these parts is completely different. Lots of rocks…… and the rocks just stay (Taken by Ramesh)We had our Rs. 5 chai
It was 11:45am, and we still had a long way to goWe hit the road againThis was pretty coolThis temple under that huge rock
For most our journey, we traversed through sparsely populated villages and barren landscapes — and hardly any vehicles with a ‘KA’ registration(Photograph by Ramesh)There were SO many sunflower fields on either side(Mind you, just about all the shots above were taken from behind the car window)Even though Ramesh had copies of the map routes on his Nook tablet, we relied heavily on the Google Latitude mobile app to check if we were on the right pathMore ‘mutton’ crossings
We eventually reached a small village where we had to stop at a railway crossing. Something that took an ungodly long time!
We had plenty of time to take photos of ourselves in the car
Nearly half-an-hour later, the train finally shows up — and how…
We had lost quite a bit of time and it was already lunch time. Fortunately as we arrived in the town of Jammalamadugu (yeah, try saying that fast) we saw a sign of hope.
Finally, we were getting nearer!The roads for the most part were good… and there were *hardly* anybody else driving through these roadsThere’s quite a lot of windmill activity by Suzlon in these neck of the woodsThe road got narrower — which meant we were getting closeAnd by 2:15pm, we had finally reached our destination! Haritha Hotel Gandikota, by APTDC
When we called up this hotel (Ph: (0)90105 54899) to book a room, the guy who answered simply told Ramesh “just come”. Now we know why. There were hardly any other guests besides us!
The waiter/receptionist/attendant showed us the cottages, we didn’t want an A/C room, so we just took a fan room that had a large bed which could easily accommodate the three of us. The room cost Rs. 630 ($11/€9), and we didn’t have to pay anything extra for the third person. Unfortunately, the water heaters weren’t working. (Why is it just about every hotel in India that costs about the same has such a problem with providing hot water?!)
We were hungry, and sat down at the restaurant for lunch
There wasn’t a menu, so we just asked what was available for lunch. The receptionist/attendant/waiter told us: “chapathi, phulkas, dal curry“. That’s it. We didn’t have any choice but to order all three.
Since they hardly see any guests, they don’t stock any meat either. But receptionist/attendant/waiter assured us we would have more options available for dinner, like egg. Sigh…
When our food came, the chapathis and phulkas were essentially the same – both were made using maida, the phulkas only being a little smaller. And I doubt the phulkas were made the way they are traditionally done so. They cost the same too, Rs. 24 per plate (a plate has two), so you might as well just order chapathis. The dal (Rs. 40) was passable. We were hungry, so had to eat what was given.
By the way, they have the full stable of Coca Cola’s offerings like Kinley water and soda, besides the other carbonated drinks like Sprite, so you really don’t need to carry the same when coming here. Unless you’re a Pepsi fan.
We decided to take a few photos of the hotelYou can see the Gandikota fort wall from hereEverything is made of granite stoneOur room was in the backThe cottages are on the extreme left (Panorama comprised of 9 shots)(Photograph by Anand)
We decided not to leave our bags in our room just yet. Instead, we wasted no time in heading straight to the fort.
Once you reach the fort walls, you can take your vehicle inside and down a narrow ‘S’ path, through a small village to park right near Gandikota masjid (mosque).
We parked by the sideThere was no entrance fee to enter the masjid, but the guides there said we’d have to pay Rs. 25 since we have professional cameras
The Jamia Masjid
Anand’s Canon SX30IS super-zoom is truly impressiveAfter the masjid, we went in here to pay the ‘camera fee’There was no sign anywhere saying Rs. 25 was the ‘camera fee,’ but the guide sounded kind enough and eager to tell us about this place without asking for any money, so we didn’t mind paying up
Panorama comprised of 4 shotsPhotograph by RameshI walked to this temple while Ramesh and Anand walked towards the gorgeThe stones are mostly red granite
The temple is called Ranganatha Swamy temple
I was too chicken to enter this dark room
I left the temple and walked towards the gorgeA panoramic view from Ranganatha Swamy templeTread carefully, its all rocky grounds hereI was walking towards the main reason I wanted to come to GandikotaWait for it….… voila! Ever thought India had geography that looked similar to America’s Grand Canyon?
Oh, if you thought the above photo would make for an awesome wallpaper, here’s a 1920×1200 version! 🙂
It’s quite windy at the edgeWonder how these rock formations even came to beingThe rocks just seem planted there
(Photograph by Ramesh)
A very calm Pennar river(Photograph by Anand)
We looked for other ways to reach centre of the hills, from where I hoped to take panorama of the entire plateau in front of us.
Just then, we spotted this opening, and I went in to see if it led anywhere
It led us out hereThe view from down here… about the same as from up therePhotograph by Ramesh
We made our way back out one-by-oneWe moved on furtherWe had to move slowly and chart our own pathI can’t stress enough on safety. It’s just rocks and boulders you will be stepping on, so take your own time. Some of these rocks are loose too.But it was worth it, the view was fantastic…… and I got my panorama!
Took some last few shots with the 70-200mm lens
Imagine what life must have been in those daysWe would have liked to have gone all the way down to the river… but we didn’t see a way or anybody else down there (Photo from Anand’s super-zoom camera)
How cool is that? There’s a cave down there… and I would had *so* loved to have gone in thereRed granite
We attempted a group shot with Ramesh’s camera atop my bag. After a few attempts, we got this.
The river flows into the Mylavaram reservoirThe rocks here are quite somethingIt was past 5pm, and most visitors were on their way backIt was getting darker, but I still had some more to seeI wanted to go that Mayan-like structure right of the centreWalking away from Erramala hillsIt smelt of shit here — both goat and cow (and hopefully not human)Unfortunately as I got near the structure, the entry path to the steps was blocked by plants and weedHello you shitters!Walked through the villageEverything is made of stone here
One of the village’s source of waterI walked back to the car and re-grouped with Ramesh and Anand
We still had one more temple to see inside the fort, but we just couldn’t figure out the way to get to it. So we drove out of the fort and wondered if there was another way.
Once out, the guides told us the way to Madhavaraya temple was from inside the fort itself, but they suggested we go tomorrow morning as the fort was going to be closed (more like, the guides were done for the day).
Well hello turkeys! We don’t see much of you here in India.They may taste good, but boy are they ugly headed!
We decided to head back to the hotel. We were all pretty tired and we just wanted to rest.
We went up to the roof of our cottage
Standing on the roof I thought of how I could have brought my grill and some marinated meat in the cooler. I’m sure the staff wouldn’t have minded. It’s a perfect setting for a barbecue.
Mind you, Gandikota isn’t for everyone. It’s not what I’d call a ‘family destination,’ unless your family is the adventurous kind. The rocks you will have to walk over just to take the kind of photos of the gorge you see above aren’t easy for everyone to do. Also, there is hardly anything around for fun or excitement. Not even a hospital in case of emergencies.
If you want a weekend of peace and quiet, some privacy or even a new spot to usher in the New Year with close friends, then consider Gandikota as a perfect Bangalore getaway.
The evening sky at 6:15pm was a picture perfect end to an amazing day of discoveryThere is quite literally, nothing surrounding this resortOnly stray dogs for company
I took bath without hot water because I desperately felt the need to be clean after walking amid goat droppings and all the climbing. Fortunately, it wasn’t too cold outside.
The same receptionist/attendant/waiter came to our room to ask us what we wanted for dinner. It would help the kitchen if we ordered in advance. The options weren’t many, but we asked for some rice, chapathis, dal, tomato curry, egg masala and egg burji. Everything cost Rs. 40-Rs. 45, so our expectations weren’t very high.
There is the option to have cable (Dish TV) in our room but we told the guy we definitely weren’t going to be watching television. We had ‘Mr. Jack‘ for company and the three of us spent the night reviewing our photos and chatting away.
Tomorrow morning, we had to go to the temple, drive 60kms to Belur caves and then drive back to Bangalore before nightfall. Day 1 was fantastic, we couldn’t wait to see what day 2 had in store for us!
Bonus: Here’s video of the Gandikota gorge I put together using clips from Ramesh’s and Anand’s camera
Woke up around 8am today as I planned to get to Jurong Bird Park by at least 9:45am. The first show I was interested in seeing was at 10am.
To get to Jurong Bird Park from Aljunied, I first needed to get down at Boon Lay station. No need to switch trains as I was already on the East West Line (the green line).This was the first time I was going towards the Jurong sideChinese Gardens (a.k.a Jurong Gardens, in the distance)Hmm, maybe I should add the gardens to my list of places to see as wellSaw quite a few construction activity along the wayNice looking drive-in
The ride to Boon Lay took nearly 30 minutes. I walked through Jurong Point mall to get to the SBS bus station.
I now had to take bus no. 194 to get to Jurong Bird ParkYou can use the same MRT card to pay for SBS (Singapore Bus Service) buses too
Jurong has a lot of industries
Caterpillar’s factoryUnfortunately, by the time I go to the Bird Park, it was already 10amI walked faster to get inThese macaws welcome visitors at the entranceI bought my ticket, which cost SG$18 (Rs. 700/$13/€10)I asked the staff which way the Kings of the Skies Show wasBy the time I got to the Hawk Walk venue, I had already missed the first half of the showToday being a Monday, a lot of school children were on their field tripThey brought out some owls to the crowdThey have a variety of owls here“You, with the fancy lens, what… you think I LIKE being here?!”As with such shows, audience participation is encouraged
This vulture came sweeping in from a higher platformThe volunteers are instructed to stay completely still
All the vultures surround a fake carcass
Next, the eagles make a grand entranceI don’t think this is where the eagle was supposed to land…
After the host talked a bit about the eagles, the Kings of the Skies Show came to an end. Damn, I missed the falconry segment. The next show was only at 4pm, which meant I could catch the show again by the time I managed to finished seeing all the birds in the park.
Next up, pink flamingos
After flamingos, macaw parrotsThey had all the common colours – red, blue & yellow, and a few green macaws
A few cocatoos and cockatiels“Cockatoo sliiiiide…”I then walked to the next showBirds ‘n Buddies show at the Pools Amphitheatre (Shot this using my phone; panorama comprised of 3 shots)Visitors filled up the chairs quicklyThe show began with flamingos making a grand entrance
The host brought out a yellow-crested cockatooIt was time for the flamingos to leaveTime for some audience participationThe cockatoo had a note to deliver
We were all asked to look up above…This great hornbill came sweeping in from behindThe host talks about each bird, its rarity, about conservation and suchObviously this show is mostly catered to kids, so they have costumed birds for the funny bitsThey brought out toucans nextMore audience fun
They brought out macaws to play a game
But in round two, one of the macaws simply decided he wasn’t going to play…
… for a while anyway 🙂
After the parrots, it was time for another audience participation game.
The good old ‘using bird to take money’ gagDon’t worry, they give it backNo guesses for what bird was nextBlack vulturePelicans were next
This next bird was a very interesting one, he was going to talk. Which is why I took a video…Time for one final audience participationKids were desperate to take to part. Sadly for them, only adults allowed for this one.
I wonder how they train animals to do all thisWith that, the Birds n Buddies show came to an end. The host announced the sale of merchandise and that we could now come closer to have a good look at the parrots.
Beautiful design of nature
I bought a pair of stuffed toy souvenirs, which at $15, the staff said was lower than what the stores were selling them for.
Went in here nextIt was fairly chilly in hereNo flash allowed, meaning it was going to be a challenge to shoot inside here. I wasn’t carrying my tripod either.Snow owl (I know the photo is slightly out of focus — it was hard trying to shoot handheld in near darkness)Common barn owlsI had to stabilize my camera lens against the glass (gently) to take a steady shotMalay or Buffy fish owl
Check out this fella – the great grey owlEurasian eagle owl
I left the ‘World of Darkness’ and stepped back out into the light.
I continued my walkThe monorail train service (not included in the $18 ticket)
I walked to the section dedicated to smaller (and the none too exciting) birds.
The lighting conditions weren’t getting betterThe clouds were getting darker and darkerAnd I was trying to shoot behind the cagesThese photos appeared darker, I made the adjustments in Photoshop as much as I could
And then… it began to rain!
It rained so hard that the skies were really dark grey for quite some time (Took this photo on the phone as I kept my camera back in the bag)
Fortunately I was carrying an umbrella, which helped me protect myself from getting too wet. Unfortunately, many other hapless visitors were running for cover. I sat there on the bench waiting for the rain to stop. In some ways I was glad I chose to wear shorts and slippers. My feet got wet regardless of how much I tried to shield my whole body from the rain.
The rain didn’t stop, but after nearly half-an-hour, the heavy rain was reduced to a drizzle and I decided I move again. I couldn’t sit there all day. I needed to see everything else before the 4pm showing of ‘Kings of the Skies’.
Water droplets kept hitting my DSLR even as I tried taking photos under the umbrella, so I kept my camera back in and tried taking photos using my phone instead…… which wasn’t going to work outFortunately the next section I went to had a roof over itThis section is mainly home to three species of birds
The Scarlet ibisStraw necked ibis
Just because the hall had a roof, didn’t mean the birds had one too. The glass was still wet.I tried my best to shoot behind the glassIt was 1:30pm and I still had a lot more ground to coverIt was a constant drizzleWent in here nextCrowned pigeonsIt such a bitch to pass through these doors, given I was holding my umbrella with my left hand, my camera on my right and rain dripping from aboveThis section fortunately had a proper roof and I could finally put down my bag and umbrellaThey have three species of crowned pigeons hereBut unless you look closely at the design patterns above their heads, you can’t really tell them apartI came to this elevated section next, dedicated to Bird of ParadiseIt took me a while to spot it, but what a beautiful bird!Had to take out the 70-200 lens for a closer lookIt was still wetI tried spotting this bird but I just couldn’t find it among the trees and plantsWent to the hornbill section nextRhinoceros hornbillLighting conditions weren’t ideal in here and I was trying to take slightly longer shutter speeds while holding my heavy camera with the even heavier 70-200 lens mounted — with just one hand!
There were many other hornbill varieties, I just couldn’t manage to get good shots of themThese were the few good shots I managed to captureI left the hornbills and moved onWent there nextSaw this at the train station across the Lory LoftLories and lorikeetsThis section had a roof above, so I could put my umbrella down and take photos properly, using both hands!
I decided to walk the plank. This whole loft is netted. (Shot on the phone, panorama comprised of 4 shots)You come down via a spiral staircase to this hanging bridgeThe Lory Loft seems to have been sponsored by the Australian GovernmentSo they have facts and trivia about life in the Outback
You can pay extra to feed the birds, but it means the lories are surely going to be all over you
Since it was past 2:30pm, I was more concerned about feeding myself. As per the map of the park, I was nearly done and I wanted to quickly see the remaining attractions and make my way to the restaurants before catching the 4pm show of Kings of the Skies.
This section was for eaglesAfrican fish eaglesSorry, I just had toI tried my best to shoot through these thick cage wiresSteller’s sea eagle – the largest sea eagle in the world
They had a few other species of eagles but the photos came out dark because of the lighting conditions and the positions the birds were in. At this point I realized I would have to come back another day if I were to get any good shots and vibrant colours.
‘Dinosaur Descendants’ – oooh, sounds exciting doesn’t it?Ostriches, that’s allIt was feeding time for them
I didn’t linger around much with the ostriches. I walked down the slope and towards the restaurants. And then… I slipped and fell on the ground!
It was a pretty nasty fall too. Happened in a split of a second. As I tried to get up on my feet again, I looked at my fingers and they were bleeding. With the rain hitting my hands, it made the bleeding look worse than it was. Since I was going down a sloping road, my right leg slipped and I tried to stop my fall with my right hand — the hand I held my camera with (I was holding the umbrella with my left hand) Even more painful was the sight of my camera, which was mounted with the 70-200 lens — my most expensive lens. There was a very bad dent on the filter and it was tightly lodged in. I tried to unscrew it by hand and I couldn’t!
As I got up, the lady you see in the above photo along with her staff mate ran towards me and asked if I was alright. But they could see I was bleeding quite badly and told me they would take care of me. They brought the golf car they were driving and took me back to their station. There, they called other staff members to help me, they wiped my blood and bandaged me up.
All this while, I was rather speechless, wondering how (and why on god’s earth) this had to happen on just my second day of visit in Singapore. The rains ruined the bird park experience and now this! I kept looking at my dented lens filter and I felt even worse.
I took this shot just to test the camera if anything else was wrong. The auto-focus worked fine which meants the lens wasn’t damaged internally.
The staff asked me where I was from, among other questions, and told me not to worry about how my experience at Jurong Bird Park went today. I told them I hadn’t eaten yet, and that I had planned to watch the 4pm show… but now, I just felt like leaving. The staff adviced me it’s best I visit a clinic and get a tetanus shot since I scraped the tarmac. I was thinking the same since the clean-up work the staff performed was using whatever they had in their first-aid kit.
They asked me for my contact information and I handed them my business card. One of the staff escorted me back to the bus station and I took the bus back to Jurong Point shopping center. Once there, I visited one of the clinics they suggested. I waited for my turn alongside what looked like labourers here for some check-up. Once the doctor called me in, he inspected my injuries and told me there was nothing serious and all it needed was a proper clean up.
The nurse then escorted me to another room and she performed the proper clean up. She began talking to me, asking me where I was from and if I was working here in Singapore. I told her ‘no’ and that I was just visiting, this only being my second day in the city-state. Since she was a native Singaporean, I used the opportunity to ask her some questions to learn more about the country. When I asked her when was the best time visit Singapore, she smiled and told me Singapore only has one season. It rains pretty much throughout the year, she said.
With just about everything in Singapore being expensive, I asked the nurse if healthcare too was quite expensive. She told me it’s subsidized by the government for its citizens, but since I didn’t have a health card, my rates would obviously be higher. (Gulp!)
I was properly bandaged up and she gave me some extra band-aids along with some prescribed anti-biotics. The cost for all this – SG$52 (Rs. 2000/$38/€29).
I wasn’t feeling good at all. I walked around Jurong Point checking out the restaurants and felt a little bit better when I saw the mall had a Mosburger outlet — the not-so ubiquitous Japanese burger joint. I really like their food (and their fries), so I sat down and ate to comfort myself. (It often works). I looked at my lens again and tried repeatedly to unscrew the lens filter but it just wouldn’t budge. I had no choice now but to go back to John 3:16 and hand it over to the Canon service center.
I took the metro and headed back to City Hall MRT, from where I then walked to Funan IT mall. As soon as I walked into the store, the staff at John 3:16, who had just seen me yesterday when I bought my Kata bag from them, exclaimed as they asked me what happened to my hand. I told them my sob story, and then showed them the 70-200mm lens. They tried by hand to unscrew the filter but gave up and said it’s better to just hand it over to the Canon service center.
I had no choice. I couldn’t do without this lens, and so I did. They told me I would get it back tomorrow. I said fine, and left, with my camera bag feeling like it was missing something.
The Central Fire Station, right opposite Funan IT mall
There was nothing else for me to do besides go home. But as I sat in the train, I told myself I wasn’t going to let this incident ruin my trip. So instead of alighting at Aljunied, I got down at Paya Lebar MRT instead. I decided to check out the Geylang Serai hawker centre and thought I could have my dinner from there.
The Singapore Post building, right next to Paya Lebar MRTAfter asking a few people for directions (some of whom who just plain ignored me), I made my way towards the Geylang Serai marketThis hawker centre was closed… and it wasn’t even 8pm yetMuslim Converts Association of SingaporeAcross the road is the Geylang Serai Market and Food CentreBut as I walked towards it, some men who were loitering about there told me it was closed, and that it’s open only from morning until afternoon.
I can understand the markets, but do all hawker centres in Singapore close early? As in, you can’t go to such places for dinner?
Disappointed, I just roamed around the area to see how the people on this side of town go about their lives. Noticed a lot of Malays and people of Indonesian descent live in this part of Singapore.
Walked around some apartmentsHotel 81 has quite a few branches in the area, this one looked rather nice thoughAfter walking around a bit, I took the bus back to my areaSaw this football field after I got down from the bus and walked back towards Aljunied MRT
Back at Aljunied, I had dinner at an Indian restaurant in the same block as WoW Hostel. I looked at my hand and wondered how I could to Sentosa tomorrow in this condition…
It wasn’t hurting much, but I couldn’t bend my fingers or my arm
Even having dinner was a challenge. I went back and felt better after taking a warm shower. I informed my folks back in India and my friend in Singapore of what happened.
I went online and saw an e-mail from one of the staff at Jurong Bird Park who wrote to me saying if I felt like visiting the bird park again this week, my ticket would be free. I told them with the weather conditions tomorrow and the fact I was mainly here for the F1 weekend, I couldn’t devote another day for Jurong. I asked if I could come back in February next year, to which they replied saying it’s fine and I could just bring a print-out of this e-mail to get a free entry.
Still, I couldn’t stop thinking about how my Rs. 60,000 ($1,100 ) lens was now getting operated on and it hadn’t even been one year since I bought it from Bangkok last year. As with all accidents, I kept thinking of the ‘shoulda, coulda, woulda’: I shouldn’t have worn slippers, I could have simply left the lens hood on the 70-200 lens, the lens hood would have protected the tip by absorbing much of the impact. But alas, what’s done was done.
Plans were obviously going to change for tomorrow and day after.
By landing a second time I meant, this was my second visit to Singapore. Not that the plane failed in its first attempt to land successfully. After all, I wasn’t going to be flying Tiger Airways this time.
I first visited Singapore last year, along with two of my friends. We assumed 3 days & 2 nights would have been ‘okay’ for such a small city-state, and though we did manage to see a lot, there were still many popular attractions left unvisited. Plus, we underestimated just how expensive Singapore is! It was a learning experience, but we all told ourselves we would go back a second time. Unfortunately… due to the circumstances at work (hint: the lack of it), plans changed. Only one of us booked a flight to Singapore this time — me.
I told myself if at all I planned on visiting Singapore again, it would be during the F1 week, and the decision to book early was easy when the organizers announced Linkin Park was going to headline this year! I saw them perform at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last November but being the fan that I am, I made no hesitation to see them perform again.
When it came time to make a decision on which flight to take, it wasn’t an easy one. As much as I derided Tiger Airways, the fact they had temporarily stopped flying from Bangalore was a bit of a downer. Because the only option left to fly direct to Singapore from Bangalore was Singapore Airlines — and there’s obviously quite a price difference! I considered other premium carriers such Sri Lankan Airlines, Jet Airways and Air India — but all of them had stop-overs in excess of 2 hours.
I also wanted to try Singapore Airlines, just to see for myself why it’s rated as one of the best airlines in the world. Despite the fact SIA cost more than Sri Lankan Airlines, Jet Airways, Air India and Malaysia Airlines, I still went ahead and booked a direct flight via Cleartrip.com. Using a voucher I had, I got my ticket for Rs. 19k.
On 18th night, I boarded my Singapore Airlines flight from BangaloreThe flight left at 11:05pmThe first time I ever got a menu in an economy class flightPretty impressive beverages listI had a few of these — the Singapore SlingThe food was good too
I know I can’t even start to compare a budget carrier to Singapore Airlines, but compared to all the legacy carriers I’ve flown so far, I must say I really like the in-flight service in SIA more than Emirates. I don’t know if it’s attributed to the training the stewards receive, but the air hostesses were really good at the whole ‘service with a smile’. They looked upbeat and happy to serve you (at least me), and overall do a good job of embodying the image of the ‘Singapore Girl’ — a concept the airline has been using in it’s marketing campaign for decades.
Their in-flight entertainment service, called KrisWorld, though not as exhaustive as Emirates, was still alrightQuality over quantity I guessFour and half hours later…
Landing at Changi airport at 6:05am
Overall, I had a good first impression of Singapore Airlines. The airplane wasn’t old, the service was very good, and quality was seen in just about every other aspect of the airline.
Another reason why I wanted to fly a legacy carrier (and not budget) was because I wanted to see Changi Airport. Last year I landed at Changi Airport too, but I wouldn’t call the budget terminal a worthy addition to the ‘Changi’ repute.
But first impressions when I entered Terminal 2 were “Hmm, this doesn’t look that new”It didn’t look any fancier than, say, Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi or KLIAI made my way to immigrationI wasn’t WOW-ed by the airport or anything
Immigration took a couple of minutes, collected my bag and then made my way to the MRT station
I still had my MRT (metro) card from last year, which still had SG$6 on it, but I bought an additional SGD20 (Rs. 800/$15/€11) worth of credit anyway. I boarded the train and made my way to Aljunied.
I had booked a dorm bed for four nights at WoW Hostel, which after much deliberation, seemed like one of the best hostels right next to an MRT station — which was of absolute importance to me. Last year I stayed at ABC Hostel, though nice, was a bit of a walk to get to a MRT station. But after stepping out of Aljunied MRT station, finding WoW Hostel proved a bit of a challenge.
I first walked into a building which had ‘WOW’ written on it assuming that’s where the hostel was. But I went upstairs to a grumpy woman who woke up on the wrong side of bed, slamming the door on me after she asked me to look at the address once again.
I did. And tried looking across the road and noticed another sign, this time, saying ‘WoW Hostel’. (As you’ll see below, it’s not easy to notice that sign). I climbed four flights of stairs to finally reach a door. I rang the bell, got in and sat on the couch, tired from all the climbing early morning.
Like many hostels, this was another one of those houses-turned-hostel. I sat on the couch in the living room/reception. They have a big screen TV and a computer for use to the right.
I had to wait nearly half-an-hour for somebody to come and help me ‘check-in’… because everybody was asleep. After the guy in charge of the flat finally woke, I paid up and he showed me to my room.
Like a lot of hostels, most of the furniture was IKEAThis room had two split A/Cs and included in the price were lockers in the room
The beds were really comfy and you get two fluffy pillows per bed, which was nice. The place was quite clean and I feel like I made the right choice booking a room here.
I stepped out soon after checking in to get a local SIM card (there’s a 7-11 in the same block). After informing my parents about my safe arrival, I then freshened up and caught some sleep. I barely slept on the flight.
I woke up around noon. It had drizzled it a bit in the morning and I was hoping rain wouldn’t ruin my day as I had two important things to do today. First, I had to collect my F1 ticket. Second, I had to buy a camera bag.
Took out the Canon 7D. The lockers are to the right where I was standing.That’s Aljunied MRT stationThe hallway just outside my roomThe ticket collection center was located inside the Swissotel The StamfordCollecting my Zone 4 passes didn’t take much timeI left the Swissotel. Next up, Funan IT Mall.As I stepped out, work was on-going for this weekend’s Singapore F1
They had cordoned off many roads and diverted traffic as the unique thing about the Singapore Grand Prix is that the race happens on the city streets! The roads were barricaded, meaning I had to walk all along the F1 track.
Which meant passing by The Esplanade theatres by the bay‘Richard III’ starring Kevin Spacey and directed by his ‘American Beauty’ director, Sam Mendes, was playing herePanorama comprised of 9 shots
Panorama comprised of 7 shotsThe race track starts all the way thereLast year, because of rains, the sky deck at the Marina Bay Sands was closed. But I planned to go again.The financial centre looks even better at nightI decided to check out the Merlion Park, since I couldn’t go up close due to lack of time last yearThis is the mini-MerlionThis is the big one, the symbol of SingaporeThough, now there are newer and more sophisticated symbols in Singapore
Looking around, you could see the bus loads of Korean, Chinese and other tourists from across the globe. Everyone that is, except a local Singaporean! 🙂
I moved onWalked under the bridge
The bridge is also a part of the F1 circuit
See, not everyone follows the rules in SingaporeThe murky skies weren’t helping with today’s photographyThis is the Old Supreme Court buildingIt’s getting refurbished to be turned into the National Art Gallery in a few years timeThe Singapore Cricket Club (Do any Singaporeans besides the Indians even play cricket?)This is the Zone 4 grandstand seating, right in front of the Old Supreme Court buildingThe pink building is Funan IT mallWhen I came here last year, I barely got much time to visit all the stores I wanted to. It may be slightly pricier than say, Sim Lim Square, but there’s little of the grey market dealing here.
Since it was nearing 3pm, I had lunch from McDonalds before going upstairs.
Microsoft held a Gears of War 3 launch event. Singaporeans could get their hands on the game a few hours ahead of their Western counterparts.It may look like a joke to the mainstream, to see young folks sit and wait for a videogame to be launched, but in the world of gaming, being the few to go online first is quite the bragging right! 🙂
Even though I knew which store stocked the bag I had in my mind, I still went to pretty much all the other photography and electronics stores to have a look at the other models before finally picking up a bag.
I saw a lot of camera backpacks, but none of the other stores stocked the bag I had strongly considered – the Kata Owl 272. So I went to John 3:16, and lo and behold, he had it in stock. At SGD185 (Rs. 7k+), it cost Rs. 2000 lesser than it did in India. I checked it out and after feeling quite satisfied with its features, abused my credit card and bought it.
With backpack in tow, I left Funan IT mall after chatting with the sales staff at John 3:16 for a while. I was happy. I finally had a good camera backpack of my own for all my camera equipment.
Still a few hours left
I left Funan IT mall and walked right next door to Peninsula Plaza, an old but famous shopping complex, which also houses quite a few photography stores. But once inside, the place looked more like ‘Little Myanmar’.
(I kept the Canon 7D inside and just shot using the lighter 450D from here on)
A lot of the businesses here were owned by and cater to the Burmese population in Singapore. Restaurants, Myanmar clothing and plenty of money transfer shops. With all the troubles back in their homeland, I’m not surprised to see thousands of them in Singapore, seeking a better life. There was a distinct stench in the air too… I don’t know what it was, but it was like being reminded of the fish sauce stench in Bangkok.
I left Peninsula Plaza because I couldn’t take the smell anymore.
When I was working on this photograph of St. Andrews cathedral, I was playing around with the Levels tool in Photoshop. Accidentally went to the extremes, and then paused when I saw the result. I liked how the right side looked like a painting, while the left looked like an etching.I walked through Suntec CitySaw this giant wheel fountain at Suntec
Air Asia had their sponsored Team Lotus car on display in another building at SuntecSuntec City is one massive commercial complex: malls, offices, exhibition centres — all right in the central business district
This is the Convention Hall buildingI love the looks of this food courtIt was past 6pmYou can spend a lot of time in Suntec CityWalked to Raffles MRTThis is Aljunied MRT station, and now I’m going to show you how to get to WoW Hostel from hereOnce you exit the station, to your left is this building. Plenty of restaurants, a 7-11 and other stores on that block as well.Walking straight up will lead you to this road which is in between two blocks. In the morning, when I came here, I saw the WOW written below the 98SG and assumed this is the right building. It’s not.Turn around and look for the store named Jas Medical. Walk up closer to those steps you see beside it.This is how you will arrive at the right entrance to WoW Hostel (and another hostel)Climb up past Urban Hostel and you arrive at WoW Hostel
Once back in my room, I dumped my bag and decided to roam free while checking out my surroundings.
This was happening nearby (Took this photo earlier)I don’t know what it was about, but the stage looked niceThere are markets and plenty of restaurants around. Down this road is the Geylang Serai Market & Food Centre — a hawker centre I planned to check out.
I stopped by a supermarket to pick up some water. One lesson learnt from last year’s trip was not to waste money buying small bottles, that too from 7-Eleven, who price their goods higher than most convenience stores. While a small bottle of water at 7-Eleven costs more than SG$1 (Rs.38/$0.77/€0.58), I picked up a 1.5 litre of water from this supermarket for SGD1 and a 500ml bottle for just SGD0.60. You may think I’m just penny-pinching, but trust me, it all adds up in Singapore. The humidity here will see you drinking so much water, you’ll be spending a lot more on water than you think!
I was near the bustling Geylang area, famed for its street food and nightlife (This and the below were all taken on my phone)This area has a significant Malay population tooI kept walking around in the hopes of finding the Geyalng Serai hawker centre, but it looked like it was much further down the road than I earlier presumed it would beThis looked like a decent residential area not to far from the CBD
Nice name 🙂I eventually walked back to my block
I sat down at a Malay-Indian restaurant to have some piping hot prata with some not-so-piping hot chicken curry.
For drink, I chose canned carrot juice
The satisfying dinner cost me SGD5.60 (Rs. 223/$4.3/€3.2), which cost less than the SGD7.40 (Rs. 295) my McDs Quarter Pounder meal cost in the afternoon. (I know you can’t always compare prices in Singapore but, man, nearly Rs. 300 for a McDonalds meal! :-/)
I was satisfied after a productive first day in Singapore. Tomorrow, Jurong Bird Park.
When our food came, the chapathis and phulkas were essentially the same – both were made using maida, the phulkas only being a little smaller. And I doubt the phulkas were made the way they are traditionally done so. They cost the same too, Rs. 24 per plate (a plate has two), so you might as well just order chapathis. The dal (Rs. 40) was passable. We were hungry, so had to eat what was given.
We decided to head back to the hotel. We were all pretty tired and we just wanted to rest.
