This will be my last entry on the Singapore trip I had back in December 2011. It seem like ages ago when in fact, it was just two months back when I first stepped my feet in Singapore. We had gone to the Dream and Reality exhibition in National Museum of Singapore which I believe is over by now and also the amazing Wicked the Musical which is still ongoing until March or April 2012. We had ticked off shopping which we basically did quite often but the thing we did the most has to be walking around the city and sightseeing.

Old Chinese shop houses

Walking is the mode of transportation for travelling as it allows us to absorb all the scenic views the place has to offer and the same goes to Singapore. On the first day of our arrival, while the others were resting in the hostel for the main event at night, I went for a tour around Chinatown. Chinatown remains my favourite spot in Singapore as it manages to retain its charms as well as being a fully commercialized area. The old shoplots in Chinatown are refurbished and have been given a new leash of life instead of being neglected as all the shop houses had been renovated to either house hotels or souvenir shops.

While Chinese shop houses grace Chinatown, other significant races have their marks in the area as well. There is the Masjid Jamae Chulia where the Indian influence in the architecture is apparent as well as the Sri Mariamman Temple. All these makes Chinatown, like any Southeast Asian country, such a cultural potpourri.

Masjid Jamae Chulia

Sri Mariamman Temple

Buddha Tooth Relic Temple

The second last day was a walk-athon itself as we walked and walked around the Esplanade. Indeed, we walked a lot on that day, be it inside shopping centres or out in the open. We departed from the relic Chinatown and entered the urban cityscape of Singapore, filled with high towers and rising skyscrapers. It is amazing how these two different scopes of a city can mingle together and form the extensive part of the country. I left Singapore allured and another visit is well promised.

The signature Merlion

The six of us

Night view of Singapore

The lotus-shaped ArtScience Museum