My First International Trip to Singapore

Travel | 01 May 2019

Being an Indian, this was my first ever international travel to another country. I never traveled alone so far in my life. But, this 10-day trip to Singapore was an unforgettable experience in my life.

This is my first ever travelogue in this website. So, please pardon me if you find my writing vague. You’re cute!

In this travelogue, I will discuss about the overall expenses incurred for this 10-day trip, places I visited, places I missed, my photography toolkit and about the amazing Singapore city in general.

Flight Expenses

I planned and booked tickets well before four months of my journey. I chose INDIGO flights as I have traveled before (domestic) and also, I’m a happy INDIGO customer. Below are the expenses incurred for departure and arrival of my travel.

  • Chennai to Singapore (17 April 2019) - INR 7,699 (Economy)
  • Singapore to Chennai (28 April 2019) - INR 10,725 (Economy)

These do not include any meal and I wasn’t choosy about my seat number either. If you need these, then your fare amount increases as per your liking.

Things you need to carry during these flight travel are

  • Your Passport (must)
  • Your Visa to Singapore (must)
  • Any of your Identity Card (not mandatory, but good to keep)
  • A black pen (as you will be filling immigration form at Singapore; hence, good to keep a pen with you)

Documents you need to get Singapore Visa are

  • Your Passport
  • Bank payslips for past 3 months
  • Bank statement for past 90 days
  • Passport of someone you know in Singapore
  • V39A form from someone you know in Singapore
  • Office ID card
  • Minimum Bank Balance (INR 80,000)
  • Passport Size Photo of You (Singapore specific)

Experience Singapore

I literally had no words to express when I looked out the small rectangular window in my flight at 4.30 AM when I reached Singapore. If you travel in a flight during night to Singapore, you will be seeing a land that has colorful stars fallen from the sky which reflects the comely architecture of this country.

Changi International Airport which welcomes you is a stunning architectural marvel where you will find numerous shopping centers, dinings, the world famous Jewel and much more that reflects the country’s modern as well as natural beauty.

Singapore - Jewel Changi International Airport

I was fortunate enough to walk around some beautiful natural trails around the country where I experienced a divine feeling, fresh oxygen and pure drinking water that comes out of the taps.

Singapore - Gardens by the Bay

In contrast to the lush gardens, forests and woods, Singapore has lots of impressive shopping malls, astoundingly amazing sky-kissing buildings and many popular tourist places that will make you think that you have landed on a futuristic world.

Singapore - Marina Bay Sands

Places that I visited

You can know a lot about all those stunning places and neighbourhoods at Singapore here. Nevertheless, I will list down all those breathtaking places that I visited at Singapore.

  • Singapore Merlion
  • Marina Bay Sands
  • Gardens by the Bay
  • Singapore Zoo
  • Windsor Nature Park
  • Woodlands Waterfront
  • Lower Peirce Reservoir
  • Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve
  • Orchard Road
  • Takashimaya
  • Harbourfront (VivoCity)
  • Little India
  • Mustafa Centre
  • Jurong Point Boon Lay
  • Sentosa
    • Tanjong Beach
    • Palawan Beach
    • S.E.A Aquarium
    • Maritime Experimental Museum
    • Skyline Luge & Skyride
    • Sentosa Merlion

Each place listed above has different feel and ambience attached to it. To visit all these places, one can easily use Singapore’s MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) or LRT (Light Rail Transit). It is cheap to go from one location to another inside Singapore if you understand it’s MRT/LRT map shown below. Only the first ride in an MRT/LRT will be anxious. After your first ride, you will understand how simple it is to move around the city using this cool commute system.

Some of the android apps that helped me move around Singapore are

If you are a nature lover (peace lover) like me, Singapore has got numerous breathtaking trails where you can get fresh oxygen (if you love walking or running) as well as capture beautiful pictures. You will fall in love again and again with nature’s beauty while walking along those amazing natural trails. Some of the natural trails that I walked are

  • Windsor Nature Park
  • Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve
  • Lower Peirce Reservoir
  • Singapore Zoo
  • Woodlands Waterfront

Some of the clicks that I have captured at Singapore are shown below. You can also visit my photography page to see more such clicks of mine.

Singapore - Marina Bay Sands & Gardens by the Bay
Singapore - Flyer
Singapore - Sentosa Universal Studios
Singapore - Sentosa S.E.A Aquarium
Singapore - Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve
Singapore - Zoo
Singapore - Lower Peirce Reservoir
Singapore - Harbourfront

Places that I missed

Due to time constraints, I was not able to visit some places at Singapore. But, I hope to see these places during my next visit.

  • Hort Park
  • Henderson Waves
  • National University of Singapore
  • Nanyang Technological University
  • Chinatown
  • Botanic Gardens
  • Pulau Ubin
  • Night Safari
  • River Safari
  • Universal Studios
  • Buddha Tooth Relic Temple
  • Clarke Quay
  • Jurong Bird Park
  • Kusu Island
  • F1 Track
  • Butterfly Park And Insect Kingdom
  • Siloso Beach

My Photography Toolkit

If you love photography like me, Singapore has got numerous photographic locations in this planet. It is rich in dense forests with neat trails at day and rich in beautiful lights and colors shining throughout the country at night. My photography toolkit comprises the below stuff.

  • Canon EOS 700D
  • Canon EF-S55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM lens
  • Canon EF50mm F/1.8 STM lens
  • Canon EF-S 18–55mm lens

If you are planning to visit Singapore Zoo or Night Safari or River Safari, make sure you carry a telephoto zoom lens such as Canon EF-S55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM lens.

Singapore Zoo - My favorite place

You can also read

In case if you found something useful to add to this article or you found a bug in the code or would like to improve some points mentioned, feel free to write it down in the comments. Hope you found something useful here.