Birthday in Singapore

Loads of fun, amazing and lively city, delicious food and lovely people, that is what describes Singapore. I visited the place this summer with my husband and had a superb time. We went there to celebrate my husband's birthday and it was a perfect destination.

 

I usually prefer a few leisure days on my vacation to relax and explore the local city and this time also out of five days we kept two open days. The first day was free so that we could explore a bit and get comfortable to the city and the environment. We got geared up with our sport shoes, picked up the city map and left to roam around and explore the place. We tried some amazing local delicacies at the local restaurants, checked a few malls and did a bit of shopping. Our hotel destination was amazing, with metro station, market and restaurants just below the hotel. In our entire 5 days vacation we just used the metro train for travel and I must say they have great connectivity and system. We did not face any issue even a single time and the entire process was really smooth and clear.

 

Next day we took a small city tour and headed for the special Sentosa island visit. It is a beautiful man made island they have created with water park, Madame Tussauds, Aquarium, a lot of rides, water shows, restaurants and also a few beaches where one can relax completely. There are many beach side cafes as well where you can enjoy some chilled beer and snacks with the mesmerising view in your front.

 

Next day we kept a bit adventurous for Universal Studios and were completely thrilled with their roller coasters and rides. Let me tell you I am super scared of rides but this time I tried everything when my husband insisted rather almost dragged me to the rides :) Thankfully one of my friend told me in advance that the no. of things to do and visit in the studios are a lot and the day would be short for all, so we took a list of show timings and a map without wasting any time started with the fun time. By the evening we could cover a lot of it but still some things we had to leave as our driver was waiting. We don't realise there but once we were back at the hotel, we were dead tired and the bed felt like heaven. We already had our evening planned for the casino but had to cancel it. After a little rest we just went to the nearby market and got some food and drinks and just got lazy.

 

We also went to some other places for shopping and visit the iconic Merlion. It is a huge sculpture created and we took our crazy pictures there. One of the most amazing experience on our trip was at the casino. I think they have the biggest casino than anywhere at Marina bay sands and one can get crazy inside. It is like a huge mall with gaming machines and tables all around, with people mostly getting disappointed at losing money and making more and more bets in frustration. We spent almost an hour or two in just observing people and understanding the games and finally settled in for Roulette. We took some coins and decided to go for a machine game as the bets were smaller and was easy to start with. I had all my luck with me then that we did invest 20 dollars and I made 100 dollars within minutes. I was thrilled and feeling on the top and my husband was amazed at my skills. He sensibly suggested to take out the profit and then reinvest but I was almost overconfident till now and within sometime I lost all the money. Haha, and that's the rule, only the house wins always.  Finally we left the casino early in the morning after losing a few dollars and I was super disappointed with my performance there. But we had an amazing time the entire night and the place was still full when we left at 4 AM.

In all I would suggest the below places as a must go if you are visiting Singapore and would also suggest the city of Singapore as one of the must visit places. Here is the list -

• Sentosa Island
• Universal studios
• Marina bay sands and it's casino. You can plan for the restaurant at the top, 55th floor and I must say the view and feel is amazing from there.
• Gardens by the bay
• Merlion place
• Clarke quay
• Orchard street for local clothes shopping
• and my personal experience, their public transport is amazing

The holy city - Varanasi

The city of temples and ghaats, Varanasi has its own charm. All around you will hear the noise of the temple bells and eating joints after every two steps. This city is a heaven for the foodies. One can find every kind of food like kachori jalebi, kachori chhole, samosa,  the world's famous chaat, superb sattu pranthas with chokha, a vast spread of sweets available and a lot more. It's a dense hub where you can find loads of things to eat and of course one can't forget the special Thandai of Varanasi.


I had a very special experience visiting Varanasi last year when I stayed at a relatives place and they took me and my husband to a lot of special places. As always, if you have a local resident along you get to see the best places.


We went to visit the very famous Banaras Hindu University on the first day after our special breakfast choora matar (Poha with matar). The campus is lovely with a very different environment inside with that of the city. It is very calm and green inside with no hustle bustle. Post that we had food at the most famous Burger King restaurant and headed for Ganga Aarti in the evening. The was huge and at a very large scale. I was amazed to know that it was the usual daily ritual and was done so beautifully. People enjoy the lovely view of the ghaats siting on the boats, munching some lovely snacks which are usually bought before going on the boat.


Next day we visited the most famous temples and museums in the city. Though it was a really hot day but we enjoyed a lot. Overall my 2 days stay in the city was lovely and I think this place is a must visit once atleast but I would recommend winters time rather than summers and most of the activities are outdoor and summers are super hot over there.