Around Singapore in $330

Bidding adieu to Australia causes me heartache each time, but this time around it was different. I had something to ‘look forward’ to – A 3 DAY TRIP TO SINGAPORE during the transit. The arrangements for my stay were made well in advance courtesy a family friend pursuing her education there. I landed in Singapore quite early, around 7 o’clock in the morning and advanced through the immigration queue rather quickly. As I peeped out of the Exit Doors, I could feel a wind of numbness and uncertainty; proliferate through me, quite contrary to what I had imagined. I guess it was the feeling of being isolated in a completely new Country that had taken over. Coming out of the airport, I was puzzled and a little unsure of my next move. Nevertheless, I hailed a cab and it took me an hour and a half to reach my destination. My friend was rushing to her college by the time I reached. She greeted me and hurriedly scribbled down the name of an app ‘gothere.sg’ that would come in real handy in moving around. Drained out after an 8 hour long flight, I decided to sleep for a while.

After waking up, I captured quick screenshots of the places I had planned to visit using the handy App my friend had suggested, as there would not have been any internet access thenceforth. Ready to start my day, I stood at the apartment gates with a hazy idea of where to head. With a little guidance from the apartment guards, I managed to trace down a nice place to eat. I was beginning to realise that I was, in true sense, wandering in an unknown territory and it would be quite a challenge to explore this small but richly developed Country.

I reached Hawkers Centre, a place housing many stalls that sell a variety of inexpensive food, that you can’t understand and relate to a single dish listed on the menu card is a different story altogether. Nevertheless, you have got to place an order to keep up with the demons fighting for food in your tummy. The good news though is that the food is as cheap as $6 per meal. So, for the next three days, considering breakfasts, lunches and dinners, I spent as less as $54 for meals. Anyway, I finished my breakfast quickly and boarded a bus to Marina Bay Sands from a nearby bus stop. The best part of commuting via Singapore BRT is that one can drop coins and avoid the hassles of buying a travel card. To be precise, on an average, changing the bus 6 times in a day was priced at around $2 each time i.e. $36 for 3 days. Transportation through the bus network turned out quite pocket friendly and gave me a chance to glance through many wonderful attractions Singapore has to offer, thanks to the extended bus routes.

The bus dropped me at the Flyer where I bought a package deal for $89 after having a brief conversation with an agent. In the next half of the day, I completed the activities mentioned in the booklet which included Flyer, Duck Ride, Hop-On Buses, Cruise and much more. The Cruise dropped me to the Clarke Quay which is one of the most cosmopolitan destinations of Singapore. Resto Bars playing offbeat music, lined against the waterfront made the ambience real pleasant.

A happening and tiring day was coming to an end and I decided to go back to my residence, this time through the MRT. The process was quite convenient. I shelled out $6 to buy a travel card valid for 3 days. On the metro there were 3 Indian chaps who looked rather keen to strike a conversation with me. I had a quick chat with them regarding the places I had visited by far and where I plan to go in the next 2 days. I reached home and the next thing, I had to rush to the INSEAD party with my friend. That party turned out to be a treat in itself. A gathering of around 60 people – a blend of different nationalities, cultures and different languages; it was a unique experience altogether.

The next day I got up as early as 8 in the morning, as I had planned to visit Sentosa Island which is a must visit destination of Singapore. I again commuted though the BRT which directly dropped me to the Vivocity station. After a long walk of around 15 minutes I reached Sentosa and quickly bought the entry tickets for $24. There is a metro that runs through the island across 3 major stations. My sister had already booked the tickets for Universal studios online for $67. I got down at the Waterfront Station and entered the theme city of Hollywood, with famous characters of Despicable Me, Madagascar and Disney dancing on the roads. Being a single rider I was at an advantage for all the rides and skipped the long queues. Madagascar ride was a light boat ride in the water while Jurassic Park was a more ferocious one, but the ride that actually gave me an adrenalin rush was the “Transformers”. A 3-d ride in a fast moving car, running in an in-house setup, going back and forth over the track at a very high velocity, creating a mirage of an invincible catastrophe, sending chills down the spine, wow that was something! A ride to remember! The very fact that I could gather courage to get in to each and every ride all by myself was a great feeling. I felt accomplished. It was a new found courage which I didn’t know existed in me.

Next, I rushed to the Imbiah station to see the giant Merlion and a lookout. I spent a short while there and proceeded to the Beach station where I had a few more exciting things to do. My feet were aching after endlessly running around the whole day. I took premium tickets for the ‘Songs of the Sea’ show for $18 and the 2 hours that I had in between, I took a tram to visit the Dolphin Show ($24) and Twin Beaches i.e. Palwan Beach and Tanjong Beach. At dusk, I went back to watch the show. It was a musical role play performed by a group of young folks amidst the Siloso beach. The combined effects of light, water and fire were mesmerising and helped the show live upto its reputation backed by several awards. Sitting in front of the vast ocean all alone in the luxury seat, watching the world’s top rated show gave a true glimpse of the happiness that freedom brings to one’s soul.

After the show ended, I traced back the entire route to get back home where my friend was waiting for me, to take me to another house party with her friends. I was extremely drained out but still the idea of partying was a big temptation which puts weight on the theory that mind takes control when the body gives up.

On the last day of my trip, I only wanted to explore the city so that I can conveniently get back home for my flight in the evening. I covered Singapore Botanical Gardens first. Although, the idea of exploring gardens does not fascinate me much, but this one took me by surprise for the rare orchid plantations and rainforests. I went to China town, Little India and Mustafa Market to cover everything. From Mustafa Market I bought a souvenir of the Merlion as a token of memory.

Late evening, before my flight, I along with my friend went to a luxury restaurant to try out some Lebanese Cuisine. I paid $23 for my last meal in Singapore and was left with $56 out of which I spent $50 for the journey back to the airport and $6 to feast on a Dunkin Donut Croissant.

Refreshing Dubai

Dubai- the city of extravagance as I call it, is not just a city of malls and buildings but is a miracle of mankind. Its a city full of such grand architectures that your neck will get a steep pain, creativity put into these structures from the very foundation, water bodies created artificially in a desert, gold displayed into the markets showing a mark of richness.. Worlds most expensive cars, tallest buildings, biggest malls, highest fountains, filthy expensive hotels is a charismatic watch. All in all everything created in Dubai is with the idea that it should out-beat everything else in the world. Right from the moment I reached the airport, the place seemed like a chessboard. The men always dressed in a white attire called Kandoora and the women dressed in a black attire called Abaya walking side by side. 

In the first and the second day of my trip I covered the Gold Souk, Dubai Mall, Atlantis Hotel, Marina Walk, JBR walk and Barasti. Every place has a story to tell. All gold shops in the Gold Souk did not have a single security guard outside the shops coz of the strict law an order of that place. Dubai mall is the biggest mall in the world and the fantabulous light and water show on the riverside is the worlds highest. Atlantis Hotel located on the stem of an artificially created island- Palm. And JBR walk is the driveway for the most expensive cars.

Late evening on Saturday after running endlessly with my friends, I was on my own as they had offices on Sunday. Yeah !!! People work there from Sunday to Thursday unlike us. Sadly they had to depart and I decided to explore the city on my own. 

I as a single girl have carried the same fears as any other girl of being on my own in a different country. Fear of getting into some serious trouble, feeling of being unsafe in the night, doubtful of getting bored, fearing people might think I am insane or who would click my pictures :P etc etc. But this time while I was in Dubai visiting my angel hosts, I dropped my fears and set out alone to various expeditions in the unknown country. I thought to myself what will go wrong ? Its a safe country. Lets figure out how is it?

My first solo visit was Barasti Beach bar coz that's the only thing which comes to our mind on a Saturday night. Barasti is the most well known party places there. Beach side club with beds on the sand, what else can one ask for. Quickly I grabbed something to drink and sat on the beach for a while. Wow !!! Just cant define the feeling of sitting there for hours.

My second visit included the Burj Al Arab beach where I met a Malaysian family. It was wonderful listening to their experiences and they gave me a teaser for my third visit, which was  a Desert Safari. Well it turned out to be the most thrilling experience of my life. 4*4 SUV's running up and down over the sand dunes at fast speeds, sometimes turning right and sometimes turning left, almost diving through, sliding on its own due to excess slide. My heart was pumping twice as fast coz it was damn scary but a Must go !!!

For the fourth visit , I booked a tour cab for Abu Dhabi for the next day. I got ready by 9 but to my scare it did not turn up. I was left stranded but was in no mood to give up on visiting the place. I decided to take a taxi and go by bus. But damn !!! I missed the bus by 2 minutes. Luckily a group of youngsters working in Abu Dhabi invited me to come into a shared taxi. Had it been India I would have refused, but I did not feel scared there and said yes. 1 hour and I was in a new Islamic city which is a little more conservative than Dubai for the reason that its less open to tourism.

I treated myself with a delicious Biryani and took a walk on the Corniche street until my friend joined me. He took me around the city and to the Sheikh Zayed mosque which is like spread across an area of five football fields put together. Shining marbled floors, beautiful walls, huge chandeliers was indeed spectacular. I had to wear an Abaya to go inside which gave me feeling of melting into their community. Rushing back to the bus stand to catch the bus back to Dubai, I realised that Abu Dhabi was not a place to be missed. I boarded the bus and it was the worlds first bus to have an in-house pantry. I ate a lot and reached back tummy full.

On the last day, with the thought of having an evening flight back to India, I decided to give peace to my legs and just relaxed. All day I was being filled with sadness to bid adieu to the city , but also happy to have bundled such splendid experiences. Roaming on the streets of an unknown country has always been a refreshment and this trip came out to be an energizer which hopefully keep me going for sometime now.

Land-ending of the Hot Air Balloon

So during my visit to Australia, my pre itinerary list included a breathtaking ride gushing through the clouds, engulfed in the exceptionally clear morning sky of the Victorian state- Melbourne. 

On the previous day itself, an unfateful hot air balloon had crashed in the Carterton region of New Zealand killing 11 passengers after getting stuck in the electric wires. It sounded creepy while it was airing on the BBC news but we did not want to dampen our spirits.

Global ballooning, one of the most trusted names for this sport became our escort for the day. We had been asked to reach the starting point at the Hilton hotels reception at 5:00 a.m . We quickly signed forms to take the entire responsibility of any mishappenings that might happen during the adventure. Soon after that we were made to jump in a mini van and taken to Kakarook Park for the take off. The park in itself was a delight to watch. A beautiful lake amidst the curvaceous roads, wooden bridges and chairs placed over the pitch green finely chopped grass to watch the ducks floating in the crystal water .

Global Ballooning car

The setup of the balloon takes close to 1 hour, and the staff seeks volunteering from the passengers for the same. As girls shirk from moving their butts so I rather preferred to capture some pictures around. Meanwhile the volunteers pulled the balloon out of the cars with the help of attached cables , opened it slowly by rolling it outwards spreading it on the ground like a cheese slice on the bread and attempted to heat the air inside the balloon to create buoyancy partially by ignition of burners and partially by blowing cold air into it with the help of air coolers. After filling the belly of the balloon for around 30 minuets the flimsy looking balloon turned into a gigantic flying machine. As per the instructions we jumped into the Gandola (the basket to carry passengers). One hard push by the staff and the balloon took a flight to conquer the territory of the sky fighting through the clouds just like warriors in the battleground. We were soon flying over the lake and there were several other multicolored balloons flying sky-high.

Volunteers pulling out the balloon

Heating the air inside the balloon

Flames by burners

The flight

The flight that we booked was for the Melbourne skyline route ( Colossal buildings in the Yarra river area) ,but the pilot informed us that the destiny of the ride is decided by the wind, which gave me the first jitter that the pilot was probably not the right choice. Surprisingly the wind traced a path upon the residential area. To gain altitude the ignition was started and to drop the altitude the ignition was stopped. While dropping we almost touched the heads of the wooden houses (which gave me a second jitter of suspicion for the pilot) and people on the ground waved at us in excitement. On the contrary immense height blurred the view to the city due to blindness caused by the clouds below. The whole excitement of surrendering to the sky with open arms sent shivery thrill to electrify my body. I took an aerial view of the entire city which included box like structures , toy cars, green sketches, well at least they appeared to be like one from the naked eye. The brisk air was very cold but was being nullified, time and again by the heat of the balloon.  

View blurred by clouds

Residential area

The shadow of balloon fell on the clouds and my eyes sparkled at the view. This journey was special for everyone. An Aussie man had gifted this to his wife to celebrate the 35 year old bond that they shared. A daughter surprised her mother with the big ride on her 60th birthday and my Jiju had surrendered to my unruly desire to get on the monster as a gift to save his marriage. 

Shadow of the balloon on the clouds

So after an hour of the flight, it was coming to a close and the pilot had informed the staff about the landing in an open golf ground. We were all asked to hold the Gandola firmly, facing opposite to the landing and crouch a bit. We followed the instructions and turned our faces which luckily kept us from the witnessing the collision that was about to happen. As the balloon descended the pilot lost the estimate of the drop. The landing missed by seconds and almost reached the boundaries of the ground. It bumped into a huge tree and collapsed just before landing. The Gandola tilted some 2 meters above the ground and like a ring a ring a roses rhyme we all fell down. My free fall rested on my back and sent a steep pain down my butt. All of us got up quickly and took a look at what had happened. The balloon was stuck in the tree and the Gandola had detached from it. Stunned by the sudden jerk, everyone other than the 60 year old lady who was surprisingly clicking her own pictures while lying down, went furious. To pacify the situation the old lady laughed out loudly which made me think that the jerk had affected her head. The others followed her in the laughter exercise to bring peace but I could not even spare a smile as I had clearly hurt my back.

60 Year old lady

My Jiju, questioned about the careless landing to the pilot but no explanation could have helped. I got up and waited for the entire process of packing up the balloon to complete so that I could go back home and narrate the whole story to my sister. Back home, my sister in a winning tone expressed that how she was right to caution us for the silly ride. She expressed her remorse for my pain and applied me a balm. The pain was severe that lasted for 3-4 days and costed me 30$ for the doctors fee, a 2 day bed rest and an extension of my trip in Australia by a week.

Nightmarish New Year

As a child,  I would look up into my fathers eyes and ask him...Dad when will I get to experience the New Year's Eve of Sydney. This was amongst the many other wishes that as a child I felt should essentially come true, like becoming an astronaut and eating uncle chips on the top of the moon, getting into CBI and solving some complicated murder mysteries or becoming an actress and making some really horrible faces as a vamp. My dad taking all my wishes quite seriously( god knows how ) would say, definitely all your wishes will come true. I am not sure about the others but New year's eve in Sydney definitely came true some 20 years later during my visit to Australia in the much hyped Mayans cataclysmic year 2012.

It was 31st Dec 2012, 2:00 p.m in the afternoon. We were well in time to occupy the best spot on the circular quay wharf no 6 which was one of the listed places to view the Darling harbour bridge on the maps. Darling harbour is the bridge where the grand show happens every year and this year it was exactly 10 hours away. We had occupied a small place and marked out territory with the help of a bed sheet. People were flowing in from every corner and the entry was allowed till 6:00 pm. As time passed a group of 6-7 Chinese girls and guys came in. They placed themselves besides our spot and very smartly kept dragging inch by inch in our LOC. My sister frowned at them to scare them away but all that while we had to protect our space from them as they were constantly on a hunt to snatch it. 

So after waiting for 10 hours where each passing hour seemed like a day, we were close to the clock striking 12:00. We had been madly waiting for this one moment of spectacular fireworks and were surviving on a single Nando's burger and lots of caffeine. Now was the moment that I had once wished 20 years back to come true and I could not wait for it any longer. 

Suddenly amidst all excitement I heard some fearful noises of people that broke the chord between my eyes and the darling harbour bridge. I turned to see what had happened and saw some flames rising which were bleakly visible with my naked eye. My sister sounded frightened too and I realised within seconds that a fire,  a genuine fire that was getting uncontrollable had broken a little farther from where we standing. My jiju zoomed in from his handycam to catch a clear glimpse of it and to our utter shock the fire had already caught hold of a huge tree and was advancing hastily towards the boundaries. My blood froze in my body and my life force got stuck somewhere in my throat. I totally panicked of a stampede like I had heard in stories of crowded places. I realised that I will have to get out of it before its too late.The only thought running in my mind was that I did not want to die in a foreign land and I shall not let the Mayans win. I gathered courage and gave an invitation to my sister and jiju to save their lives. My jiju was too engrossed in capturing the end of the world with his tiny handycam and my sister was not by any chance agreeing to surrender the territory to the blood thirsty Chinese troops. After-all she had been protecting our 2 by 2 square feet of area from the Chinese scavengers from past 10 hours. So without wasting any time I started running alone to save my life whereas people were shooting pictures of the fire and standing unhindered by the flames. My brain started working like shakuntala Devi. I applied all permutations and combinations to save myself and came up with two brilliant ideas for disaster management i.e. either to jump in the water and get hold  of the armour in the ship or climb up the terrace of the coffee shop which had earned a lot of dollars from us today.

For implementation of the first idea I had to convince the police who stood guards to the huge closed gates. I ran up to the man and narrated him that I had come from India and that he will have to let me get out of the gate. I was strongly pushing the gate back and forth to open it. The police guard with a blank face told me that the fire brigade was on the way and there was nothing to panic but I did not care to listen. I wanted to make a last minute calI to india and speak to my parents for one last time but the battery of the phone had died down. I quickly ran off to implement my second idea and that was to climb the coffee shop terrace. The climb did not seem to be an easy one but I buckled up my shoes and started to climb by placing my foot over the window. The IPad in my hand was becoming a roadblock but it was too precious to be abandoned even in a pressure situation like that one. All this while whenever I saw some 70,000 odd people, I was surprised to see them standstill. Why were they not running? how come they were clicking pictures? We're they out of their mind? 

Anyways fearing the IPads life, my jiju came running to save its  life and asked me to return the poor thing. He convinced me hard to come down the window and I came down some seconds later because the flight was getting impossible. After failing in all my attempts to get out of the closed boundaries and nowhere to go, I started running in circles in the closed area where we were locked, in a hope to bring my anxiety to rest.

An English guy who had become our neighbour for the day and was a silent spectator to the whole situation checked with my sister twice if that was some kind of dance Indians like to do before the celebration starts. My sister bewildered herself just nodded her head in agreement as she had not much to say for my behaviour. 

A few minutes later, living through a nightmarish near death experience, I heard a fire brigade roaring across the road.  The melodious sound of the machine allayed my fear and lightened a hope that this was not the end, I will witness the charismatic new year and share some mind blowing stories with my friends back home. An announcement was made soon after that the fire has been put off.

The phenomenal fireworks started exactly at 12:00 a.m.  to welcome the new year 2013 and also put an end to a traumatised yet the most unforgettable New Year's Eve of my life in the vivacious Sydney. 

To watch the video of fire at new years please click on the link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Opfkg35GKbs

Kashmir- the heavenly abode

A long awaited trip to the picturesque valley came to an end in April this year. Somehow the trip was getting delayed for a longtime, many a times due to my fear or due to some unrest in the city. I along with my family boarded a direct flight from Chandigarh to Srinagar, a 1 hour zip through the clouds.


The first cold breeze that caressed me stepping out of the airport brought a smile on my face and I came to realize that this trip is going to be something that I have never experienced before. A taxi had come to pick us from the airport and while driving to the hotel I had already started filling my memories with some of the most splendid views and an unseen city life.


Luckily the hotel we had chosen for our stay was just opposite to the most famous landmark of Srinagar, a standstill yet a lively Dal Lake. There were loads of houseboats placed aisle to aisle in the clear water each carrying a different name like New Melbourne, Honeymoon special and I clearly got an idea that they were not meant for me as I am still single.


To re-energize ourselves for exploration, we decided to grab some food quickly. We went to a small vendor who had all sorts of pakodas and while having them with a cup of tea we stroke a conversation with the kashmiri people around. I have always felt a strong connection with the place , one because J&K is my birth place and second because I lived with a Kashmiri family when I was a child.I couldn't understand their language but Kashmiri came as a music of the past.


We visited some famous gardens of Srinagar that day including Shalimar Bhag, Chasme Shahi, Pari mahal. These gardens were made at the time of Mughal rule which was clearly visible from the architecture of the place. We were lucky to have seen Tulip gardens as it was closing down for a year. The gardens were in full spring, wherever the eyes could reach there were flowers everywhere. The air was fresh and I could see a group of around 50-60 school girls all dressed in a black robe covered tip to toe and heads neatly done with a white dupatta. Though they were so many in no. but still there was not much of a difference in their appearance. I wondered were they being allowed to blossom or their wings being cut forcing them into a deep sleep. Curiously I requested a picture with them and they were all extremely happy to pose. My eyes were looking at their innocence which is rare to find in metro life and theirs were anxious to seethe freedom I was enjoying. On the contrary, men were wearing a robe with hanging arms as their hands were holding on to kangdi (a traditional hand heater) beneath their robe. They generally do this to beat the cold. Both men and women had one thing in common, their impeccable skin.

In the evening we went for a walk along the Dal lake. The glimmering lights from the houseboats were dancing on the water. The clear reflections were so colorful that they seemed to be a painter’s imagination. That night floated with thoughts of colors that so distinctly characterized the different phases of my life.
The second day started with breakfast in a Punjabi dhaba ( After-all Punjabis will remain Punjabis wherever they go) and soonafter, we headed towards Pahalgam. The drive across Lal chowk and various suburbs had repeated sights of the military men standing every 100 meters as if we were inspecting a border post and swept a feeling of some disturbance and unrest in the air. Heading closer to Pahalgam the views charismatically changed from city life to hastily flowing rivers amidst the tree stacked mountains. The blanket of the blue sky protected the beautiful landscapes. For a while we stopped the car and enjoyed by the riverside.To visit Betaab valley and Aru we had to board a local taxi. On the way the roads were quite narrow and time and again sent shivers down the spine. The magical rivers and the greenery were uninterrupted.Both the destinations have been sights for Bollywood shoots long time before. Nonetheless they reminded me of old Hindi songs, the actress wearing colorful saris, dancing excitedly either to celebrate or to scare the new found love. The journey back was quite a long one and culminated into a big fat dinner and then a deep sleep. 


The next day soon after stuffing our bellies we were off to Gulmarg. On the way we passed through many less traversed villages of old Kashmir. The driver kept telling stories about incidences that happened over the past few weeks including Afzal guru assassination which brought their business to a standstill, a compulsory dress code inflicted over the females and an unexpected militant attack in the local school cricket ground. We debated a lot over how Kashmir was robbed of cinema, entertainment and freedom but nothing could get us to a logical end. 


Gulmarg as I can recall had vast green uneven fields and huge snow clad mountains standing upright. Local men were trying hard to convince tourists for a horse ride to the chair car ride. The place was extremely crowded and as the queue for the car ride was a km long we dropped the idea to wait so long to reach the top. We just marched down the green fields and that in itself was something that could make one run all around and shout to the world that if heaven exists, its here, here and only here. Late in the evening while coming back from Gulmarg, we decided to take a ride over the shikara. After short negotiations we jumped into one and sooner than we could think of we were in the middle of the lake. The quietness of the lake was disturbed by the humming sound of the oars that brushed inside the water. The shikaras threw their reflection in the vast expanse of the water creating a mirage and made me wonder that illusions are so deceiving and in life innumerable times I have believed them to be real.



Time and again vendors in the boat would come along and sell traditional stuff. Driving hastily as the time was short we reached the floating market. The whole hustle and bustle of negotiations between the customers and shopkeepers had created a marketplace over the water.As the night approached and we prepared for sleep, the mosques were in no mood for rest. The soft music echoed in the air and stirred up the deepest emotions of hope and desire. Since I was a child I have been fond of Namaaz and could not resist myself from hearing it until I was enveloped by fatigue into a deep sleep as if a lullaby had poured from the heavens and I was in the laps of Allah.


The next day which was indeed the last day we were quickly packing our stuff and were out on the streets for last minute shopping.After-all women are meant to shop even if their closets are stacked to suffocation. We bought hand embroided suits, hand woven baskets and traditional jewellery. Our driver signaled us to bring an end to our cravings or else we will miss our flights. We rushed to the airport and after two rounds of security check we were all set to board the flight back to the city beautiful.We left the valley with some beautiful memories and a strong desire to be back to the heaven where nature awaits with arms wide open.