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Mike Shinoda guitar Linkin Park concert Singapore F1

Singapore: Day 7 – Little India, F1 Sunday race, Linkin Park concert and Avalon Club

By Mithun Divakaran
/
Feb 09, 2012
/
Singapore, Travel

Date: September 25th, 2011

How time flies. I landed on the 19th and thought “Hmm, I can take it easy, I have lots of time!”. Now it was my last full day in Singapore.

I decided to visit Little India, as last year I had to rush through it. Plus, I wanted to have lunch from a restaurant there.

Little India mrt station Singapore — Took the MRT

Kerbau hotel Little India Singapore — It was noon by the time I got here

Chander road colourful old buildings Little India Singapore — It’s Indian, expect lots of colour 🙂

Sri Veeramakaliamman temple Indian gods design Singapore — Sri Veeramakaliamman temple, on Serangoon Road

Sri Veeramakaliamman temple Indian gods models — It’s a major tourist draw in Little India, but to most Indians — we’ve seen bigger

Shoe rack Sri Veeramakaliamman temple Indian Singapore — It was closed at this time

Mustafa centre Little India Singapore — Went to the famous Mustafa Centre

Mustafa center Little India Singapore — Even though Mustafa Centre is famous for being open 24 hours, I consider it a lousy place for certain goods, especially as far as pricing goes (Read my 2010 experience)

Ananda Bhavan vegetarian restaurant Little India Singapore — You have enough vegetarian food available in this part of Singapore

Serangoon plaza Little India Singapore — I just walked around aimlessly hopping from one shopping centre to another

Flour mill auto supply store Little India Singapore — It was time to find a place to eat

Azmi restaurant Norris road Little India Singapore — After checking out a few restaurants, I sat at this corner shop. You can buy beer from the Chinese vendor on the right and food from two other vendors on the left.

Mutton kheema chapathi Tiger beer Singapore — Had a few phulkas with mutton kheema & peas curry (and a beer). The whole meal cost less than SG$10.

Thye Chong restaurant Norris road Singapore — This is the place

Little India white building windows pattern Singapore — I walked back to the MRT station

Gandhi restaurant Little India Singapore — This place seemed really popular as there was a long queue for takeaways

Shree Lakshminarayan temple Little India Singapore — Shree Lakshminarayan temple

No durian sign MRT Singapore — ‘No Durian’ – popular fruit in Singapore, but not allowed in public transportation! 🙂

Back alley pubs boat quay Singapore — I decided to enter the circuit via Gate 5 as I figured the lines would be smaller than the more easily accessible Gate 4

Gate 5 entrance Singapore F1 circuit — I made it just before 3pm and I was right, the queue wasn’t that long

As soon as the gates opened and the security check was done, I began to run. Because so did many other youngsters! And by youngsters, I mean Linkin Park fans!

Line for Linkin Park Padang Singapore — Because this was the scene just 10 minutes past 3 ‘o’ clock. Two lines had already formed on either side!

F1 concerts Fanzone wristbands Singapore gp — Luckily, I got my Fanzone wristband! Woo-hoo!

Fanzone section Padang concert Linkin Park Singapore gp — Some people were already queuing to get as close to the stage as possible

Linkin Park concert line Singapore F1 — Just shows how popular Linkin Park is!

LG Cinema 3d tv booth Singapore F1 — I didn’t really have anything on my agenda, so I checked out LG’s booth where they were showcasing their 3D Tvs

LG booth babes Chinese model Singapore GP — I checked out the demos and left. (That model is really pretty isn’t she?)

Instead of wasting time, I decided to go all the way up to Avalon Club at Marina Bay Sands to find out when The Chemical Brothers were set to hit the stage for the F1 After Party tonight. The Linkin Park concert was surely going to end past midnight and I didn’t want to miss The Chemical Brothers. After all, I paid good money to see these both these acts!

Walking to Avalon club Singapore — I took the MRT and then walked to the club

Avalon club Chemical Brothers Singapore — I saw two guys who resembled Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons (a.k.a The Chemical Brothers) but I couldn’t go up closer as they were testing the visuals and the sound. I at least felt good knowing I could expect a good set tonight!

I asked around the club when The Chemical Brothers would take the stage for their set but no one could give me a definite answer. They guessed it would be after midnight, and well after the race.

The reason I came all way to Avalon Club is because when I tried calling them earlier, no one answered. I had good reason for concern. When I tried visiting their Facebook fanpage yesterday, it had been deleted. I wanted to know how Friday night’s party (LMFAO and Ludacris) went but there was nothing! (Avalon has a new page now with a different Facebook url)

Marina Bay sailing Singapore — I left Avalon Club with the notion I may be able to catch The Chemical Brothers in time tonight

Marina Bay Sands The Shoppes mall interiors Singapore — Stepped inside The Shoppes for some air conditioning

Marina Bay MRT station Singapore — I took the MRT back to City Hall

St. Andrews cathedral church Singapore — I decided to go inside St. Andrews Cathedral as I passed by it so many times but never went in

Chinese fish St. Andrews cathedral pond Singapore — The Asian touch

St Andrews cathedral prayer hall Singapore — Christianity is the second most widely practiced religion in Singapore after Buddhism

Zone 4 grandstand Singapore F1 circuit — By 5:40pm, I went back in

Earth Collide Thai band Singapore F1 concert — A Thai band called Earth Collide were playing at the Esplanade Outdoor Theatre

Marina Bay Sands hotel Artscience panorama — Marina Bay Sands was gleaming in the afternoon sun

Marina Bay Sands skypark Singapore — Took out my 70-200mm lens again

Singapore evening by the bay — The sun was about to set

Concert by the bay next performance Singapore — I waited for the Forbidden Broadway show to begin

Drivers parade on screen Singapore gp — But just then, the F1 drivers parade began

Drivers parade Singapore F1 Sunday race — I rushed back to Esplanade Drive and raised my camera over a barricade to try and get a clear shot

Rubens Barrichello drivers parade Singapore F1 — Rubens Barrichello

Jenson Button drivers parade Singapore F1 raceday — UK’s Jenson Button

Sebastian Vettel drivers parade Singapore F1 raceday — And the obvious guy to win the race — Sebastian Vettel

I went back to the Esplanade Outdoor Theatre where the Forbidden Broadway show had began.

Forbidden Broadway show Singapore F1 — New York’s longest running off-Broadway musical comedy revue parodies popular Broadway shows

New York off-broadway Lion King spoof — Like ‘The Lion King,’ which ironically, was playing right behind them at the Marina Bay Sands theater

Forbidden Broadway Singapore show Lion King spoof — They ripped Walt Disney for its corporatization of Broadway and invading live theatre with their successful film franchises

Lion King spoof Forbidden Broadway Singapore — It was pretty funny

Ariel Little Mermaid Forbidden Broadway Singapore F1 show — Even Ariel, The Little Mermaid, wasn’t spared

Avenue Q Forbidden Broadway Singapore show — Next up was Avenue Q (Poor Elmo, what did they do to him!)

Forbidden Broadway puppets Singapore F1 — Shows using puppets were ridiculed next

Mary Poppins spoof Forbidden Broadway Singapore — Oh god…

Mary Poppins spoof Singapore F1 show — Mary Poppins! Another Disney franchise that was made into a Broadway show.

Les Miserables spoof Forbidden Broadway Singapore — Next up, the long-running Les Miserables

Les Mis spoof Forbidden Broadway Singapore — The actors were funny, but they were great performers and singers too

Phantom of the Opera spoof Forbidden Broadway Singapore F1 — ‘Phantom of the Opera’

Wicked spoof Forbidden Broadway Singapore — ‘Wicked’

Even though I had never seen a Broadway musical live, I still got most of the jokes. After all, if you watch enough Glee or follow popular culture, one would have found this show funny. I enjoyed it, it was good change from the usual concerts.

Floating stage Mambo Jambo Singapore F1 — I caught up with my friend Niranjan who had also flown down from Bangalore for the Singapore F1

Marina Bay Sands hotel ArtScience museum F1 night — We just sat by the bay and took a break from the heat

Marina Bay Sands F1 car lasers Singapore GP — Marina Bay Sands had laser F1 cars going up the towers

Esplanade drive crowd Singapore F1 raceday — We walked back to Esplanade drive

Mithun Divakaran Niranjan Singapore — Me and Niranjan (Photo was taken by his wife)

I parted ways with Niranjan and we agreed to catch up after the race. I decided to watch the race for a bit.

2011 Singapore F1 starting grid — The 2011 Singtel Singapore Grand Prix was a go!

Zone 4 Grandstand Singapore F1 Sunday race — I walked to the overhead staircase near the Zone 4 grandstand to get a better view

Zone 4 seating from staircase Singapore F1 — Also, I wasn’t the only cheapskate tried to get to a better view, there were quite a few

Singapore F1 zone 4 grandstand race day — I didn’t stay on the bridge for long, just took these photos and left

Zone 4 walkabout Singapore F1 circuit — I walked to another vantage point

Singapore Grand Prix circuit turn — I mounted my 70-200mm lens again

Force India F1 car Singapore GP — Bends are probably the best spots to snap these cars, because that’s where they actually ‘slow’ down

Ferrari racing Singapore F1 car — And when I mean ‘slow down’, I mean taking turns at 90-100kmph

Air Asia racing F1 Lotus car Singapore GP — I shot these hand held over the photographers who had placed themselves right in front and set up their tripods

Red Bull racing Singapore grand prix F1 race day — Red Bull Racing has had an amazing 2011 season so far

I got bored and walked back to the concert ground. My opinion about watching an F1 race remains the same. When I watched the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix from a grandstand seat in 2010, at first the prospect of it sounded exciting — but it soon got very boring. Be it seated or even with these walkabout tickets, watching cars whizz by at speeds in excess of 100kmph gets boring pretty quick. Given how loud these cars are too, you can’t even hear the on-air commentary through the speakers until the cars fade away.

Crowds watching race Esplanade park Singapore F1 — Watching a race on the big screen is any day better in my opinion. You get to see the cars better, hear the commentary and view multiple angles.

But the Singapore Grand Prix is an experience like no other. First of all, the city is the circuit! That too the impressive central business district, which looks even more impressive at night. They don’t set up most of the grandstands until a few days prior to the race week. It’s an event which really showcases Singapore’s glamour — something the government is really good at marketing.

Watching Singapore F1 race Padang stage — I went back to the concert grounds and watched the race on the screens there

Padang stage crowd watching race Singapore F1 — It wasn’t that exciting a race anyway

Germany flag Singapore F1 crowd — As expected, Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel won

Linkin Park Padang concert Singapore F1 — With the race over, there was one final moment everyone was waiting for

Linkin Park concert Singapore show — One of my favourite bands, and one of the best bands that debuted in the last decade — Linkin Park!

Linkin Park concert Singapore GP 2011 — Linkin Park hit the stage at around 10:45pm

Linkin Park Chester screaming Singapore F1 concert — Took out the big lens for a few close-ups

Chester Bennington Linkin Park live in Singapore — I don’t know how he does it every night, but Chester Bennington’s heavy vocals are amazing!

Chester Bennington Linkin Park Singapore F1 concert — His screaming especially! Undoubtedly one of the best rock vocalists out there!

Mike Shinoda Chester Mr Hahn Linkin Park live Singapore — From their early days when they mostly wore casual black, these days the members look very ‘grown up’ 🙂

Mike Shinoda Linkin Park concert Singapore — The unofficial leader of Linkin Park, Mike Shinoda, and resident DJ Joesph Hahn on the turntables

Linkin Park clapping hands Singapore concert — It was harder for me to take photos of the other members as they remained ‘in the shadows’

Dave Farrell Phoenix bassist Linkin Park Singapore concert — Bassist Dave “Phoenix” Farrell

Brad Delson guitarist Linkin Park Singapore concert — The rather quiet Brad Delson on lead guitar

Linkin Park white stage lights Singapore concert — Linkin Park were on the Asian leg of their ‘A Thousand Suns’ tour, so they played a lot of their new material along with all their hits from albums past

I didn’t record videos because I did enough of that at the Abu Dhabi concert. I wanted to enjoy the show this time, so I only took one video. Here’s “The Catalyst,” from one of my favorite Linkin Park albums:

Linkin Park live stage lights Singapore concert — It wasn’t easy for me to take photos surrounded by so many people, but I did my best

Chester Bennington on-screen Singapore concert — I had a blast seeing these guys again

Mike Shinoda guitar Singapore concert — Mike Shinoda’s look reminded me of technology editor Joshua Topolsky (Yeah, what a geek am I right?)

Linkin Park Singapore F1 concert — The show lasted nearly one and half hours

Chester Bennington end of concert Singapore — Chester finally got to rest his vocal chords

Linkin Park end of concert Singapore — The band gave out guitar picks as usual

Rob Bourdon handing out drumsticks Linkin Park concert — Drummer Rob Bourdon finally came to the front of the stage

If you want to see the entire concert, this guy filmed it — but don’t assume the crowd was lousy based on that video. The crowd was much better on my side! It was a better crowd than at the Abu Dhabi concert, all thanks to the Zone 4 ticket prices which made it affordable for real fans of Linkin Park to come see them. Something the mostly younger fanbase couldn’t afford in Abu Dhabi.

For a band that has yet to perform in Bangalore, I feel quite privileged to have seen them twice. The setlist was slightly different (at least the order of songs) from the Abu Dhabi show late last year. Of course, in Abu Dhabi, I actually met Mike Shinoda in person! That luck didn’t repeat itself here in Singapore.

My 2011 Singapore F1 experience was finally over. I truly got my money’s worth! For SG$138 (Rs. 5000/$110/€83) I got to see Linkin Park, Shakira, a bit of Shaggy, 3/5th of K-pop supergroup BIG BANG, Charice, Rick Astley, an off-broadway show, samba dancers, etc. — and cars racing. Beat that for value! Had I not stepped out of the circuit to go around town with Aimee, I would have seen much more. The organizers definitely did a better job this year as far entertainment went. In 2010, they had a pregnant Mariah Carey headline on Sunday. Yeah, don’t ask. My friend Ramesh attended the race last year and he told me how bad it was!

I have my bets placed on Coldplay headlining the concert series in 2012 and even though I would love to go back to Singapore, the same Zone 4 Walkabaout ticket is now SG$178! :-/Update (10/02/2011): A day after this was pushed live, Maroon 5 has been announced as the headliners for Saturday. Now that a band is headlining one day, will it be a female artist like Rihanna or Madonna (or Katy Perry) headlining Sunday? (Please, no Britney!)

As I exited the concert grounds, I bumped into another friend from Bangalore who told me he attended the Friday party with LMFAO and Ludacris at the Avalon Club. He told me the experience wasn’t great. That… didn’t sound to good to me. None the less, I exited the circuit after catching up with Niranjan and his wife.

I said my goodbyes to them and took the MRT to Marina Bay, which was on its last journey for the night.

Marina Bay Sands light signals Singapore — I walked to the Avalon Club

Marina Bay Sands hotel shoppes night Singapore — The excitement I initially had for seeing The Chemical Brothers had wore off a bit. I was quite tired and I wondered if it was too much to attend this party as well.

As I entered the club, there was a sign outside stating an apology for Saturday night’s Sander van Doorn party — which was cancelled. This was yet another sign implying something wasn’t right about Avalon. It was too late for me to bail out though, I had no choice but to go in.

Once inside, I wasn’t too impressed. One, despite its exterior, the dance floor didn’t look that big for a big-name club. Two, what the hell is this?

Avalon Club smoke fog inside Singapore — I haven’t been to hundreds of clubs, but where have you seen this much smoke/fog?

It really irritated me. It’s as though the management didn’t want us to see if the DJ was even there! I made my way through the smoke and to the DJ stand, where there was no one playing a live set at the moment. I went upstairs because the smoke got nauseating after a while, plus it was really hard to see.

Avalon club Singapore F1 after race party — I still couldn’t see the stage from here, but at least I could breathe better

I ended up chatting with a few youth who had come down from Indonesia just to see The Chemical Brothers. We were excited and danced away when any Chemical Brothers track came on. An hour passed and after the popular tracks like “Star Guitar,” “Do It Again” and the epic “Hey Boy, Hey Girl,” I stopped dancing. The smoke machine was still on and I began to wonder if The Chemical Brothers were even performing live!

I bought my tickets for this gig with certain expectations. I wasn’t expecting Glastonbury-level of epicness inside a club, but the visuals are very much a part of The Chemical Brothers experience. When I visited the club earlier in the afternoon, they were running some visuals on the screen. As long as I was in the club, that screen didn’t even come on once! I felt so ripped off.

Avalon club fog machine Singapore — All I got was smoke & mirrors – quite literally

The Indonesians left after a while and I felt like leaving too. That is until I looked outside…

Heavy rain Singapore night Marina Bay — It was raining so heavily! For the past three days, it was sunny! It’s like the deal F1 organizers had struck with the rain gods ended as soon as the race was over.

Avalon Club inside VIP lounge Singapore — I was stuck inside the club. I had to wait until the rain subsided as I wasn’t carrying an umbrella — and the roads were a bit of a walk away.

Long chandelier Avalon club Singapore — Looked like they floors going a few level below the entrance

For something that was branded an ‘F1 After Party,’ I didn’t see many who even remotely looked like they were part of the major F1 teams. No drivers, nothing. Just a bunch of fat men who were ordering pricey vodka bottles and had Asian girls much younger to them on either arm. It wasn’t the crowd I was expecting for a Chemical Brothers gig.

Boy George DJ Avalon club Singapore — The smoke only subsided during Boy George’s set. His set was pretty good actually, but I was quite angry reaffirming myself all that smoke from earlier was to hide the fact The Chemical Brothers set wasn’t live!

It was nearing 3am, and I wanted to leave so badly. I didn’t care about the SG$83 I paid for this ‘party’ because I needed to get some sleep . I still had things to do before I left Singapore later in the evening of the 26th (which it already was). After Boy George ended his set and before the next DJ began his, I left. It was still drizzling, but I placed my handkerchief to cover my head. I was told by the staff at Avalon I could get taxis in front of the convention centre at Marina Bay Sands. I went through the Shoppes to the bus stop in front and waited.I showed my hand to many taxis that passed by, none of them stopped. Some were full, some were not — and there were quite a few of us in need of a ride home.

Fed up, I then walked to dropping point at the casino, to try my luck there. All the taxis that stopped here were already booked or weren’t taking any passengers. A bunch of Indians from Mumbai were frustrated and said if it were back in their city, they would have already gotten a rickshaw or a taxi in a matter of minutes. It’s true.

I was getting really angry at this point. It was still drizzling, I was wet and sleepy. Past 4am at this point, I then walked to the Marina Bay Sands hotel lobby hoping the reception could call me a taxi no matter what the cost. At the lobby, I was then shown to the dropping point where an snake-line had already formed, and where many like me were waiting an awful long time to get a taxi. An Italian woman who looked like model was frustrated at the notion of waiting this long to get a taxi at an “$8 billion hotel”! Couldn’t help but agree with her to an extent.

Many in line were fuming. Some tried the old ‘slip some money in the hands’ of staff to get an advantage, but the staff declined. But it didn’t matter. Some people saw that and started shouting at the staff over preferential treatment — even though the hotel employee didn’t show any. One taxi that did stop by demanded SG$500 from some Westerners who needed to go the airport. The taxi driver got a “Fuck off!” instead.

I stood there quietly, but very, very frustrated. Eventually I got fed up as the line wasn’t moving as fast as I hoped. I asked the staff when the MRT would open and he told me 5am. Fuming, I walked in the drizzle to the MRT station as it was only few minutes until 5am.

Got the first train, and finally reached Central mall. I didn’t take the overbridge, I just hopped over the divider and crossed the road. Yeah, I jaywalked, I didn’t care! I was so frustrated with how my night turned out after what until Avalon, was such a good day! Never going to make this mistake again. Another lesson learnt? Carry an umbrella at all time when in Singapore.

As soon as I got to my room, I took off my socks and slept. There was little else I was in the mood for.

Next Post:

Leaving Singapore, and discovering certain truths about this famous city state

Previous posts in the series:

Singapore 2011: Day 6 – F1 Saturday (Rick Astley, Shakira and Shaggy concerts)

Singapore 2011: Day 5 – Chinatown, F1 Friday (Charice, Seungri and GD&TOP concerts)

Singapore 2011: Day 4 – Marina Bay Sands Casino and views from the SkyPark observation deck

Singapore 2011: Day 3 – Bukit Timah and Singapore Botanic Gardens

Singapore 2011: Day 2 – Jurong Bird Park and… *ouch!*

Singapore 2011: Day 1 – Landing a second time; walking around CBD

Infinity pool view Marina bay sands hotel Singapore

Singapore: Day 4 – Marina Bay Sands Casino and views from the SkyPark observation deck

By Mithun Divakaran
/
Jan 15, 2012
/
Singapore, Travel

Date: September 22nd, 2011

Yesterday turned out to be better than I hoped. Today I was adamant to make it even better!

Geylang wet neighbourhood Singapore — UNfortunately, it was raining (Taken on my phone)

Singapore post park mrt station — Fortunately, the rain was reduced to a slight drizzle a few minutes later

Singapore Post headquarters building — I took a bus and got down near the Singapore Post building

Malay village Geylang Singapore — I was on my way to the Geylang Serai hawker centre & fresh market

Geylang Serai hawker centre market Singapore — I wanted to check out the food stalls

Geylang Serai fresh market Singapore — This market was recently renovated

Geylang Serai market stalls Singapore — So I didn’t really sense a “charm” to this place

Geylang Serai market fruits vegetable shops Singapore — I went upstairs to where the food stalls were

Geylang Serai market clothes Singapore — They have a few other stores too

Geylang Serai market history Singapore — This place is quite famous in Singapore — or at least it used to be in it’s original form

Geylang Serai hawker centre Singapore — I wondered what to eat

Malay biriyani stall Geylang Serai Singapore — This ‘baryani’ stall seemed fairly popular as they were dishing out hot plates is quick succession

Malay chicken biriyani Geylang Serai market Singapore — At $4 (Rs.160/$3/€2.4 ) a plate, the ‘bariyani’ was just about alright as far as taste went. Fairly similar to Hyderabadi biriyani in taste.

I shared my table with a local who began chatting with me after he asked me why I was taking photos of what I was going to eat. I told him about my website, and why I was taking many photos. He asked me whether I worked here, and I told him ‘no’. I gave him my brief life story and in the end, he complimented my English. He suggested I could try for a job in Singapore but all this while, my food was getting cold.

Sucks. The only reason I ordered the biriyani was because it looked piping hot as they served it. Most of the food served at these kind of stalls restaurants are rarely ever hot. They’re usually pre-cooked and served out of buffet trays as per order.

The local sat with me long after he finished his meal as he continued to make conversation with me. The only thing I asked him was “what other good hawker centres are there?” He told me a few, and I noted them down. I gave him the link to my website and we parted ways.

Post lunch, I headed straight to Funan IT mall to pick up my 70-200mm lens from John 3:16.

Maid cafe Funan IT mall Singapore — Fortunately my lens was fixed and I tested it by taking a few shots

They told me the Canon service center had to drill two holes on the filter and break the filter carefully so as not to touch the main lens glass. The lens was checked thoroughly and re-calibrated. Sadly, I had now lost my rather pricey HD filter, to which they said it’s not even required that I use those expensive filters, as even a standard UV filters would suffice. All said and done, the damage wasn’t over. The cost of all this repair: $130 (Rs. 5100!). I had no choice but to pay up. I was just glad to see my most expensive lens back in my bag in perfect working condition.

But when you’re unemployed and trying be very careful with your spending, losing $130 plus the $50 I spent day before yesterday at the clinic simply felt like unnecessary waste of money. Sigh…

Gaming world software store Funan IT mall Singapore — I prefer shopping at Funan IT mall over Sim Lim Square

Nikon store John 3:16 Funan IT mall Singapore — The shops here are good and slightly more trustworthy

Central fire station building Singapore — Left Funan IT mall. This is the Central Fire Station bang opposite.

Ministry of Information Communications and Arts building Singapore — MICA building

Singapore parliament building junction — That’s the Singapore parliament

Funan IT mall building Singapore — I walked to City Hall MRT and headed towards Marina Bay

Marina Bay blue building construction Singapore — Marina Bay was still buzzing with construction activity

Singapore Marina Bay financial center buildings — Panorama comprised of 7 shots

Marina bay city gallery Singapore — Decided to see what was in here

Inside Marina Bay city gallery Singapore — Inside were interactive displays showcasing Singapore’s development history

Singapore Marina Bay planning model — Specifically Marina Bay

Marina Bay model plan Singapore — Marina Bay was mostly developed by dredging and land reclamation

Singapore passing of land acquisition act — The Land Acquisition Act was passed in 1966

Singapore developing the city phase — The Merlion Statue at the mouth of Singapore River was installed in 1972

Singapore concept plan 1971 — It was in 1971, with the help of the UN, that the first major infrastructure plan of Singapore was laid out

Review of Singapore masterplan 1980 — They made some changes to the masterplan for Marina Bay in the early 1980s

Singapore masterplan 1998 — It wasn’t until the mid 1990s that Singapore even thought about implementing a Common Service Tunnel, which would house piping and essential utilities. At least they did it. How many cities in Asia have such massive underground infrastructure?

Singapore masterplan 2003 — In 2003, another draw-up of Marina Bay

Singapore infrastructure interactive display — If I had the time, I would have just sat there and read through it all

Marina bay future concept Singapore — I was really keen on learning about all this

Walter bunny art exhibit Singapore — This bunny is an art exhibit. He’s been spotted around Singapore.

Oue Bayfront building Marina Bay Singapore — Had to crop this tight for a closer look

Audi Ultra sail boat Singapore Marina Bay — Audi had this impressive boat, but it was for invited guests only

Singa lion mascot Singapore marina — Singa, the mascot for Singapore’s Happiness Movement. (Seriously).

Marina Bay Sands walk mist cooler Singapore — They have placed these mist coolers to make the walk here more comfortable

Cool mist pipe Singapore Marina baywalk — But Singapore’s humidity being what it is, the mist had little cooling effect

Marina Bay financial centre Singapore panorama — One final panorama before going in

Salvatore Dali art exhibit Singapore Marina Bay — There was an exhibition of Salvador Dali’s work going on

Marina Bay Sands Shoppes Singapore — This was the mall

Marina bay sands shoppes mall Singapore — When I came here last year the mall was rather empty as Marina Bay Sands had just opened

Marina Bay Sands shoppes fountain — The Shoppes has slowly started to fill up

Singapore Marina Bay Sands mall Venetian gondola boats — Marina Bay Sands Singapore is after all by same people behind The Venetian in Las Vegas

Way to casino Singapore Marina Bay Sands — Enough of the mall. Time for the first thing on my to-do list – the casino!

I walked to towards the entrance, past the security and straight to the baggage counter. Last year when I came to Marina Bay Sands, I couldn’t enter the casino because I got wet in the rain and I was wearing shorts. There was a dress code and the casino was only open to foreign tourists. This time around, I came dressed in formal wear and now Singaporeans could enter — after paying a $100 entry fee (which is ridiculous!).

No bags are allowed, and more strictly – no photography… at all… not even using your mobile. Which sucked, because you should have seen how the casino looked! Man, the chandelier inside was huuuge! Hundreds of slot machines, and other games with each one with scores of people playing.

I had never been to a casino before this, and had only seen them in Hollywood movies, so this was quite a revelation for me. I came with the intention of gambling a little bit, because hey, I didn’t have a job — so I thought I’d try my luck at winning some money! I even set aside a $100 just for this, but obviously I wasn’t going plonk it all down in one easy shot. Since I had never gambled before, I didn’t even know how to play most of the games. Slots was easy, pull a lever and hope you get match. Or at least that’s what I thought, because now, slot machines have gone digital — and they had way more buttons than a single lever.

You can play for as little as $1 and that made it easy for everyone to get in and begin. I converted $30 into chips/tokens and started with the Wheel of Fortune. Waged $10, placed my bets on a ‘x 10’ multiplier and a number. The lady spun the wheel and the needle stopped… at a number three stops after mine. Damn, there goes my first $10. The lady smiled and asked if I would want to try again. I thought, “Yeah, why not?” and put down another $10. She spun the wheel again, it stopped and she smiled again. I walked away after losing another $10. Sigh.

I then moved on to the slot machines and sat down at Queen slot machine. I played for $10, and ended up winning $17! I could have played for more but I decided to cash in my winnings and printed the receipt. Besides cards and tokens, the machines can use the same receipts to begin play. I had $17 with me and I started to wonder if my luck was improving. I walked past the roulette table and asked the attendant how the game worked. After he told how the game worked, I had to go and buy some more tokens as I obviously couldn’t place a receipt print on the table. So I got chips for $30 more.

I placed $10 as that was the minimum bet for this table (there were tables with $20 and $30 minimum bets too, larger payouts obviously). He spun the wheel in one direction and then the ball in the opposite direction. As the ball slowly lost momentum, it did the bounce – just as in the movies. But in my present real world scenario, it finally dropped into a number I didn’t select. So I tried again, and believe it or not, the ball stopped at a number just one spot away from mine.

So another $20 lost. So much for my hopes of being on a winning streak. I just played the slots after that. I won, wagered my winnings and then lost it all. At the end of it all, I had spent $60 and not really won anything big. I decided to stop.

I had no regrets though. It was an experience I smiled through. Looking around, it’s amazing how many people (most of whom were Chinese tourists) were spending so much money and I could only imagine how much money the casino was making — daily! You would think playing for as little as $1 is simple, harmless fun. But as I experienced it myself, human greed is what makes gambling harmful. And it’s as though the casinos have figured how a gambler’s mind works. There is a science to gambling and it’s a good bet to assume, very few ever make it out of a casino with more than what they spent in the hopes of winning big. It’s fair to see why gambling, to this day, remains controversial and banned in many places. Just because I stopped after losing $60, doesn’t mean others will. I even saw labourers from the sub-continent playing, and imagine how much they make in a month here in Singapore.

That said, there were the high rollers too. Some Korean guy came to the roulette table I was playing at and just dumped chips worth $1000. $1000, just like that! And to think above the two floors I could walk around on, were private rooms meant for even bigger players. Now think of the kind of money they’re playing for!

In the end, this place was not for a middle-class guy who spent the last eight years working and trying to save up as much as possible. I left the casino and collected my camera bag from the counter.

If you’re a foreign passport holder in Singapore, I still recommend visiting the casino at the Marina Bay Sands, the place is really well done up. The chandelier alone is worth seeing, it’s one of the world’s largest and it really is impressive.

Patek Philippe Vacheron Constantin Singapore Marina Bay Sands — I made my way to the hotel towers

Marina Bay sands hotel lobby Singapore — This is the lobby of Tower 3

Marina Bay Sands hotel reception — I walked towards Tower 1

Marina Bay Sands skypark ticket counter Singapore — Took a left and went downstairs to the ticket counter of the Sands SkyPark

When I came here last year, I made it all the way to the ticket counter, but only told be told that the SkyPark was closed due to rains that day. It rained earlier today as well, but fortunately the observation deck was open! I bought my ticket, which cost SG$20 (Rs. 800/$15/€12).

On top Marina Bay Sands SkyPark Singapore — Here we go…

Marina Bay Sands Skypark first sight Singapore — The views from up here, are needless to say, awesome!

Gardens by the Bay construction panorama Singapore — The first thing you see is this – the Gardens by the Bay project (still under construction)

Gardens by the bay glasshouse Singapore — This Flower Dome will house plants and trees and re-create a Mediterranean climate

Supertree grove construction gardens by the bay Singapore — This is the Supertree Grove, another attraction part of the Gardens by the Bay

Singapore bay ships docked in sea panorama — This is how many ships are anchored outside Singapore Port…

Container ships waiting Singapore dock panorama — … and some more. It goes all the way like this until the port.

Singapore Marina Barrage reservoir ships sea — The Marina Barrage

Marina Barrage Singapore bay — It controls the flow of water in and out of the reservoir

Bay East garden Marina Bay Singapore — That’s the Bay East gardens

Singapore East coast aerial view — I guess that’s where East Coast beach is

Floating stage zone 3 Singapore F1 circuit — The Zone 3 grandstand of the Singapore F1 circuit

Singapore Marina Bay skyline evening sky — I don’t think I’ll ever tire of this skyline

Singapore Marina Bay bank buildings panorama — Panorama comprised of 3 shots

One Fullerton Hotel aerial view Singapore — The Fullerton Hotel & One Fullerton entertainment complex

Singapore Merlion park aerial view from Marina Bay Sands Skypark — The Merlion Park

Marina Bay Sands Arts Science museum Louis Vuitton — The Arts Science museum is one on the right

Louis Vuitton floating store Singapore Marina Bay — The Louis Vuitton ‘floating’ store

Avalon club Marina Bay Sands Singapore — I was disappointed to know the Avalon Club was down there since I had initially read it was up on the SkyPark

Boat ripple Marina Bay Singapore — But I was really happy I got my 70-200mm lens back

Marina Bay Sands convention centre mall roof Singapore — The Shoppes down below

Marina Bay financial center buildings panorama — You can tell the new from the old — by the use of glass mainly

Singapore concrete jungle aerial view — Concrete jungle or what!

Singapore Padang grounds stage Esplanade Marina Bay aerial view — The lawn in the back is the Padang stage, where the big concerts this F1 weekend were going to happen

Esplanade theatres by the Bay aerial view Singapore — The Esplanade theatres glow at night — imagine the sight from up here!

Singapore boat Clarke Quay aerial view — Singapore river, passing through Boat and Clarke Quay

Singapore port view from Sands SkyPark — That’s Singapore port, in the back

Singapore port container cranes — One of the busiest ports in the world

Way to swimming pool Marina Bay Sands hotel Singapore — Okay, now time to check out the coolest attraction at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel

Infinity pool trees Marina Bay Sands hotel guests Singapore — The infinity swimming pool!

Infinity pool trees Marina Bay sands hotel Singapore — Quite possibly the most famous infinity pool in the world

Infinity pool access Marina Bay Sands hotel — The swimming pool is accessible to hotel guests only. Damn, so there goes my plan to just sit by the pool and have a drink.

Couple swimming infinity pool Singapore — Sigh, one day. One day I will definitely stay at this hotel.

Marina Bay Sands hotel kids playing infinity pool — And to those who think: “Oh my god, it looks so scary!”

Marina Bay Sands infinity pool walkway Singapore — Don’t be, it’s just an illusion. There’s no way you are going to fall over. I mean, you could try…

No access door infinity pool sands skypark — Access is for hotel staff only

Marina bay sands skydeck steps Singapore — Went back up to take one final look around

Singapore Flyer east coast highway panorama — I had plans to even go on the Singapore Flyer

Singapore Flyer observation wheel panorama — A ride on this costs $29.50

Singapore Flyer view from Sands skypark — But look at the height difference!

I don’t mind checking out the Singapore Flyer now… but I decided to keep it for next time. If you had to choose between the two, I’d recommend the Sands SkyPark over the Flyer any day.

Singapore evening traffic jam aerial view — Evening traffic was starting to pile up, that too with the diversions due to F1 work

Container ships sea Singapore — Traffic, even at sea 🙂

Singapore building skyline hill distance — Wonder which hill that is in the background

High rise buildings concrete jungle Singapore from above — Took the last few shots, just to make sure I got every view possible

Residential apartments new construction Singapore — Wonder what they’re constructing over there

Singapore skypark observation deck Marina Bay Sands — It was 6pm, time for me to leave

Marina Bay Sands view from skydeck panorama — One final panorama

Mithun Divakaran Marina Bay Sands skypark Singapore — Got a picture of myself taken… (yeah, Mithun in formals, save it)

Marina Bay Sands sky park restaurant panorama — … and I left the SkyPark

Closed road Marina Bay Sands hotel Singapore F1 — Mithun has left the building

Marina Bay Sands hotel and casino Singapore panorama — I tried to fix the distortion in this panorama as much as possible

Helix bridge Marina bay sands hotel Singapore — Planned to walk on the Helix Bridge next

Helix bridge during Formula 1 Singapore — The Helix Bridge is closed during F1 weekend as it’s one of the entry points to the circuit

Helix bridge Marina Bay Singapore — Still, people were walking on it, so I figured I could check it out until a certain point

Helix bridge Singapore evening — The Helix Bridge lights up, and looks even more impressive at night

Helix bridge Gate 10 Singapore F1 — Pedestrians couldn’t go beyond a few metres from here as there was a private event taking place

Arts Science museum Marina Bay from Helix bridge Singapore — So I walked back

Singapore river cruise Marina Bay station — You can take the river cruise from here too

ArtsScience museum Marina Bay Singapore — The design of the ArtsScience museum is inspired from a lotus flower

Salvador Dali melting clock display museum Singapore — The signature melting clock artwork of Salvador Dali

ArtsScience museum Singapore — There’s an entry ticket here too

Marina Bay Sands ice skating rink panorama — Went back into the mall for some air-conditioning (Panorama comprised of 5 shots)

Empty stores Marina Bay Sands shoppes Singapore — I guess there’s still more leasable space left

Marina Bay Sands shoppes mall interior — ‘The Lion King’ was in town

Singapore marina bay arts Science pool — What was that?

Singapore Arts Science space in pool — Clever design

Rectangle gap in pool Arts Science Singapore — Pretty cool none the less

Marina Bay buildings Singapore — Again, I keep photographing this skyline

Marina Bay Louis Vuitton customers Singapore — Felt like stepping in, just to see what the store looked like from the inside. Not like I could afford anything in there anyway.

Singapore Marina Bay Sands hotel panorama — Panorama comprised of 6 shots

Avalon club Marina Bay Sands Singapore evening — Avalon Club

Hippo River Cruise station Marina Bay — Hippo River Cruise is another boat tour company

Marina Towers blue glass Audi boat Singapore — Panorama comprised of 5 shots

Audi sailing boat Singapore dock Marina Bay — Pretty impressive sail boat

Wedding photograph Marina Bay Singapore — I guess a lot of wedding shoots happen at Marina Bay

Marina Bay solar panels jogging park — Instead of taking the MRT, I decided to walk around the bay area a bit more

Marina Bay link Singapore — I guess this connects you straight to the MRT station

Customs House Marina bay Singapore — A lot of choice for the bankers in the area to hang out after work

I walked to Raffles Place MRT and boarded the train from there. Got down at Bugis, simply because I felt like walking through the area I first saw when I visited Singapore last year.

Bugis Junction mall Singapore — Did a bit of mall hopping

Bugis street shopping market Singapore — Walked through the Bugis Street Shopping market, where they had recently opened an upper level

Bugis Chinese market statue Singapore — After doing a bit of shopping at Bugis Street, I walked around the adjoining Chinese market

Bugis apartment complex shops building Singapore — I somehow just enjoy walking and soaking up the local life, even if it isn’t always buzzing

Raffles hospital junction Singapore at night — The junction at Raffles Hospital

Kampong glam at night Singapore — I walked to Kampong Glam (the ‘Arab area’), which is where I stayed last year

Singapore Zam Zam deer meat biriyani Kampong Glam — Deer meat. As weird as it sounds… I felt the temptation to try it.

Grand Sultan Mosque at night Singapore — The Grand Sultan Mosque

Victoria street traffic signal Singapore — I decided to walk to Victoria MRT

Wendy's Victoria street Singapore — Spotted a Wendy’s across the road, knew right away what I wanted for dinner.

Had a shrimp burger meal from Wendy’s, one of my favourites from the chain. Also picked up some donuts from a local bakery in the same block and then took the MRT back to Aljunied.

Today was a good day. I was really happy with the photographs I clicked, though I do wish I got a bit of sunshine, which seems to be something of a rarity in Singapore.

Tomorrow begins the first of my three day F1 weekend.

Next posts in this series:

Singapore 2011: Day 5 – Chinatown, F1 Friday (Charice, Seungri and GD&TOP concerts)

Singapore 2011: Day 6 – F1 Saturday (Rick Astley, Shakira and Shaggy concerts)

Singapore 2011: Day 7 – Little India, F1 Sunday race, Linkin Park concert and Avalon Club

Leaving Singapore, and discovering certain truths about this famous city state

Previous posts in this series:

Singapore 2011: Day 3 – Bukit Timah and Singapore Botanic Gardens

Singapore 2011: Day 2 – Jurong Bird Park and… *ouch!*

Singapore 2011: Day 1 – Landing a second time; walking around CBD

Non-veg meal Singapore airlines bangalore flight

Singapore: Day 1 – Landing a second time; walking around CBD

By Mithun Divakaran
/
Dec 09, 2011
/
Singapore, Travel

Date: 19th September, 2011

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.

Inside Singapore Airlines Boeing plane Bangalore flight — On 18th night, I boarded my Singapore Airlines flight from Bangalore

Bangalore city lights from night sky — The flight left at 11:05pm

Singapore Airlines food menu card inflight service — The first time I ever got a menu in an economy class flight

Singapore Airlines inflight service bar menu — Pretty impressive beverages list

Singapore sling inflight drink Singapore airlines — I had a few of these — the Singapore Sling

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.

Krisworld menu inflight entertainment Singapore Airlines — Their in-flight entertainment service, called KrisWorld, though not as exhaustive as Emirates, was still alright

Krisworld inflight movies Singapore Airlines — Quality over quantity I guess

Flying over Singapore night lights — Four and half hours later…

Landing at Changi airport Singapore — 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.

Changi airport terminal 2 gates Singapore — But first impressions when I entered Terminal 2 were “Hmm, this doesn’t look that new”

Changi Airport terminal 2 walkalator Singapore — It didn’t look any fancier than, say, Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi or KLIA

Singapore Airport Changi Terminal 2 arrivals — I made my way to immigration

Singapore Changi Terminal 2 escalator to immigration counters — I wasn’t WOW-ed by the airport or anything

Changi Airport way to MRT station Singapore — 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.

WoW hostel interiors Geylang Singapore — 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.

Wow hostel dorm bed Singapore — Like a lot of hostels, most of the furniture was IKEA

Wow hostel mixed dorm room Singapore — This 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.

Mixed dorm room Wow hostel Aljunied Singapore — Took out the Canon 7D. The lockers are to the right where I was standing.

Aljunied MRT station from WoW hostel Singapore — That’s Aljunied MRT station

Wow hostel hallway rooms Singapore — The hallway just outside my room

Inside the Swissotel The Stamford Singapore — The ticket collection center was located inside the Swissotel The Stamford

Stamford Raffles mall interiors Singapore — Collecting my Zone 4 passes didn’t take much time

Cafe Swiss at Swissotel Singapore — I left the Swissotel. Next up, Funan IT Mall.

Singapore GP preparations work — 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.

Esplanade theatres by the bay cbd Singapore — Which meant passing by The Esplanade theatres by the bay

The Esplanade theatres entrance Singapore — ‘Richard III’ starring Kevin Spacey and directed by his ‘American Beauty’ director, Sam Mendes, was playing here

The Esplanade theatre domes Singapore panorama — Panorama comprised of 9 shots

Esplanade Marina Bay panorama view Singapore — Panorama comprised of 7 shots

Esplanade theatres by the bay Marina flyer Singapore — The race track starts all the way there

Marina Bay Sands casino hotel Singapore — Last year, because of rains, the sky deck at the Marina Bay Sands was closed. But I planned to go again.

Fullerton Hotel Maybank building financial centre Singapore — The financial centre looks even better at night

Merlion Park Marina Bay Sands Singapore — I decided to check out the Merlion Park, since I couldn’t go up close due to lack of time last year

Merlion Park statue fountain Singapore — This is the mini-Merlion

Merlion park fountain statue Singapore — This is the big one, the symbol of Singapore

Merlion fountain statue Marina Bay Sands Singapore — Though, 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! 🙂

Merlion park near Marina bay bridge Singapore — I moved on

Under marina bridge Starbucks Singapore — Walked under the bridge

Marina river bridge F1 track Singapore — The bridge is also a part of the F1 circuit

Underpass tunnel Esplanade Park Singapore — See, not everyone follows the rules in Singapore

Singapore financial centre buildings skyscrapers — The murky skies weren’t helping with today’s photography

Old supreme court building Singapore — This is the Old Supreme Court building

Old Supreme Court building dome Singapore — It’s getting refurbished to be turned into the National Art Gallery in a few years time

Singapore Cricket Club ground — The Singapore Cricket Club (Do any Singaporeans besides the Indians even play cricket?)

Singapore GP zone 4 seats track — This is the Zone 4 grandstand seating, right in front of the Old Supreme Court building

Way to Funan IT mall Singapore — The pink building is Funan IT mall

Funan IT mall inside Nokia Samsung Singapore — When 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.

Gears of War 3 launch Singapore — 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.

Gears of War 3 Singapore release Funan IT hall — 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.

Gears of War 3 launch party shot from up Funan IT mall Singapore — 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’.

Peninsula Plaza interior floors Singapore — (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.

St. Andrews cathedral Singapore art effect — 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.

Suntec city building lights interior Singapore — I walked through Suntec City

Suntec City giant water wheel fountain Singapore — Saw this giant wheel fountain at Suntec

Air Asia Lotus F1 car display Suntec City Singapore — Air Asia had their sponsored Team Lotus car on display in another building at Suntec

Suntec city mall stores Singapore — Suntec City is one massive commercial complex: malls, offices, exhibition centres — all right in the central business district

Suntec City expo center lobby Singapore — This is the Convention Hall building

Suntec City library food court Singapore — I love the looks of this food court

Pedestrian bridge Suntec City Singapore — It was past 6pm

Suntec city atrium Singapore — You can spend a lot of time in Suntec City

Suntec City beauty stores mall Singapore — Walked to Raffles MRT

Aljunied MRT station Singapore — This is Aljunied MRT station, and now I’m going to show you how to get to WoW Hostel from here

Hostel building outside Aljunied MRT station — Once you exit the station, to your left is this building. Plenty of restaurants, a 7-11 and other stores on that block as well.

98SG hostel building near Aljunied mrt station — 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.

Jas Medical WoW hostel building Singapore — Turn around and look for the store named Jas Medical. Walk up closer to those steps you see beside it.

Wow hostel Urban hostel building Singapore — This is how you will arrive at the right entrance to WoW Hostel (and another hostel)

WoW hostel level 3 entrance Singapore — 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.

Chinese procession Geylang evening prayers Singapore — This was happening nearby (Took this photo earlier)

Chinese procession prayers Geylang Singapore — I don’t know what it was about, but the stage looked nice

Geylang road Singapore market evening — There 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!

Geylang road nightlife Singapore — I was near the bustling Geylang area, famed for its street food and nightlife (This and the below were all taken on my phone)

Khadijah Mosque Aljunied Geylang Singapore — This area has a significant Malay population too

Lor 28 Geylang apartment night Singapore — I 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 be

Geylang road night Singapore — This looked like a decent residential area not to far from the CBD

No Signboard seafood Geylang Singapore — Nice name 🙂

Sims Avenue Geylang road Aljunied Singapore — 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.

Pokka carrot juice can Singapore — 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.

Nest posts in this series:

Singapore 2011: Day 1 – Landing a second time; walking around CBD

Singapore 2011: Day 2 – Jurong Bird Park and… *ouch!*

Singapore 2011: Day 3 – Bukit Timah and Singapore Botanic Gardens

Singapore 2011: Day 4 – Marina Bay Sands Casino and views from the SkyPark observation deck

Singapore 2011: Day 5 – Chinatown, F1 Friday (Charice, Seungri and GD&TOP concerts)

Singapore 2011: Day 6 – F1 Saturday (Rick Astley, Shakira and Shaggy concerts)

Singapore 2011: Day 7 – Little India, F1 Sunday race, Linkin Park concert and Avalon Club

Leaving Singapore, and discovering certain truths about this famous city state