Singapore: As a year round destination - Part II #AsiaTravels

I would recommend you to go through the following series of blog before you read this. This would give you A to Z about planning your trip to Singapore!

Singapore Essentials: All you need to know

5 Reasons to Visit Singapore during Chinese New Year

Singapore: A year round destination - Part I

So, in continuation with Part I of this blog, here are the remaining list of places I explored while my time in Singapore. Trust these are essential ones which one should must visit; however, if you have more time you can easily spend couple of more weeks in Singapore exploring the other and never ending places ☺️

Art and Science Museum – Marina Bay Sands

This lotus shaped building is known for its design where rainwater is harvested and channeled down the center of the building. It then flows into the reflecting lake at the bottom and is then recycled and used in the building’s toilets.

It has some permanent exhibits as well as touring exhibits. I visited one of the permanent exhibits with the name “FUTURE WORLD: Where Arts Meets Science” featuring the futuristic world of high-tech interactive artwork in different dimensions like nature, town, park and space.

I especially liked the “Nature” artwork as it takes you to a next level of imagination – overcoming the boundaries that exists between the artwork and viewer! See it to believe it.

You would need some time to visit the exhibits here as they offer a lot of activities and opportunities for interactive learning in a high-tech way, to show how artwork and science can help in shaping the future!

Sky Park Observation Deck – Marina Bay Sands

If you think you are done with exploring Marina Bay on land, then go and visit the 57th floor of Marian Bay Sands hotel! You won’t regret spending the 23 SGD that it takes; trust me. There is also a Sky Park Café at the top where you can order yourself a drink or two while enjoying the views around!

I visited the Sky Park Observation deck a day before my birthday and fortunately Anuj also joined me on the day We spent three and a half hours at the top, watching the sun set and then enjoying the Fountain and Laser show followed by the 10 minutes of Chinese New Year fireworks from the top.

I would only recommend watching the Fountain and Laser show display from the top if you can time it right, as it gives you a chance to get uninterrupted views of this show from the top of the Marina Bay Sands!

Ce La Vi Sky Bar – Marina Bay Sands

Now, one can either visit Ce La Vi or go the Sky Park Observatory to get panoramic views of Singapore – both are pretty similar. However, if you are visiting Ce La Vi, be ready to part with some extra cash to buy relatively expensive drinks. There is a 23 SGD entrance charge that can be exchanged for drinks here. The bar is very crowded on most days and there is little guarantee that you would get a table by the side of the glass enclosure needed for the clear views!

I visited Ce La Vi with my bestie from college who now lives in Singapore. The bar offers ladies night on Wednesday evenings after 9 PM, where ladies get a free entry and a complimentary glass of bubbly! We got the day right and came in around 11:30 PM and it was still very crowded. We had to wait for 40 minutes sipping our bubbles before we could finally get a seat! Once settled, we could really enjoy the views. Good music, a couple of more drinks and our chit-chat made it an evening to remember. We finally called time at around 2:00 AM

Universal Studios – Sentosa

Now, if you are a theme park freak, keep a day aside to visit the universal studios in Sentosa island. I know people plan to go early hours usually to avoid the queues on the famous rides in the studios (and I did the same), however after seeing the trend, I would recommend to start around late morning and finish late evening and try to cover the famous rides just after or before the famous Disney character parade which starts around 7 PM. Just before and after the parade, usually there are no queues and you can do these rides literally in no time (max. 10 minutes waiting time)!

This was my 3rd visit to Universal Studios after Los Angeles and Orlando, and I must admit this was the smallest of the three. A day is more than enough to visit the Universal Studios in Singapore as opposed to the others where in you can easily spend a couple of days exploring the massive lands of these theme parks with hundreds of attractions.

For me the highlights of the park were the two roller coaster – Battlestar Galactica Human Vs Cyclone which is a combination of 2 roller-coaster rides. If you really enjoy going on roller coasters these two are not to be missed and according to me are the only ones which are fast enough roller coasters in the whole park which can kick in your Adrenalin :). Out of these 2, the cyclone is more fun as it literally turns you up side down in a few sections of the ride.

Apart from these two, the major attraction and something which I did not see in any other universal studios and made my visit worth to this one was “Transformers – The Ride”. This is a 4D ride where in you put on glasses and sit in a car which takes you around in time to the action on the giant screens that makes you feel like you are actually part of a transformer movie/set chased by giant fighting robots, and it is incredibly effective.

If you are prone to motion sickness though, then this one is very likely to set you off, so please go for it accordingly. For everyone else and especially Transformer movie fans, it’s an incredibly thrilling, exciting, dramatic & a next-generation ride.

Apart from these 3, there are many other themed rides like Revenge of Mummy Returns, Shrek 4-D show, Jurassic Park, etc. which are definitely good if you are visiting Universal Studios for the first time, however may not excite people who have already been to other larger Universal Studios.

Other Attractions – Sentosa

There are multiple attractions in Sentosa and if you are an adventure freak, a theme park lover and are ready to spend on buying expensive entrance tickets, you can easily spend a week exploring Sentosa Island in Singapore. It has many attractions like the “Butterfly Park and Insects Kingdom”, “Wings of Time” show, “Sentosa 4-D Adventure Land”, “Madam Tussaud”, “Wave House”, etc.

Based on the reviews, entrance ticket prices, and the things I had already seen around the world, I didn’t bother to visit any of these; however have heard that “Wings of time” is worth a visit!