A day at the President's

We spent this CNY break in Singapore and finally had a chance to visit the Istana. That is where the Singapore President lives and works. Common folks get to visit the grounds only during the open house. These are the vast lush greens in the midst of the city, which we see from rooftops like Marina Bay Sands or while riding up in the Singapore flyer.

The entry is free for locals and residents, while foreigners(including those who are here on work visas or dependent pass) have to pay a dollar as entrance fee. You can read all about Istana here.

I overlooked the fact that many people were looking forward to the open-house just like me. By the time we leisurely finished our holiday brunch and reached Istana, we were greeted by an enormous queue extending all the way to the adjacent shopping mall (Plaza Singapura).

The first sight. 

Now I know why Manu doesn't feel suffocated  in a crowded place.  He hovers above the crowd! 

But the security screenings were impressively fast and we entered the gates in around 20 minutes. The grounds are enormous and well maintained.Kids will love it there with acres to run around and fountains to play with!

Sunbathing - a major activity at Istana

At the president's fountain!

Spot me ? Am I contemplating? Nope! Just trying to count the trees

There were guided tours of the Istana main building for a small fees. Usually, we always get distracted during guided tours because I always come up with significant stories on my own and then there is the camera.  We always lag behind the group and end up irritating either the guide or the group or at least the guards. So this time, we wisely decided not to be guided. We purchased a 2$ ticket to get into the building and drool at the beautiful and expensive stuff gifted by various nations. 

The Istana with the dramatic clouds which appeared suddenly.

Those clouds appeared exactly when I told Manu "Istana grounds are the perfect picnic spot!"

Upon entering the main building, I was disappointed that only one floor was open to public and photography was not allowed. I did not see any national secrets there. Since dignitaries from many nations have visited these rooms, there wasn't any secret to be kept from the outside world. If there were any secret passages, they are hidden well enough(I peeked hard didn't find any). So, I strongly think photography should be allowed.

My recommendation.

It is interesting for a one time visit, especially for families with little ones to entertain. Keep a look out on the schedules in the Istana website, if you are in town during public holidays. 

Singapore's finest Sling ?

Lately, December is becoming my fave month. Yes, the holidays officially makes it the month for family get togethers.

We planned to spend this Decemeber and New year at Singapore and invited my dad and brother to be with us. During their last visit, we had exhausted all the touristy spots. So, the relaoded version of the tour involves the places which they wished to re-visit & few additional ones we have 'discovered' through the years.
Since we don't have many high risers back home, it still thrills me to be high up in a tower and get the city view. The trend runs in the family. After a few successful high-floor views, we decided to pay a visit to the ever-famed Swissotel Stamford. My photographer companion declares the sunset/twilight as The most beautiful time of the day. So, we decided to get there for sunset and soak in the city below while itz glowing in the golden sunlight.

Readers, just becase we were on a tight schedule, we(as in I) scheduled to hit just the bar, spend an hour there and fast track to the next spot for dinner appointment. Genuinely, there is no other reason for me choose going to a star-rated bar. The swissotel has always been a happy and 'high'ly satisfactory experience. We have had our fair share of 'cheers' there. Happy moments ranging from crazy dancing when I was a tourist in SG, celebrating a friend's engagement, to late night rounds of drinks with our most-special Japanese friends. Most thrilling one for me was hitting the helipad for Manu's Birthday [Courtesy - Mr.Jha]

The rule at City-space bar is, each person should order a drink. I swear, I did not see anything non-alchoholic. I have been wanting to taste a Singapore Sling, for quite a while. Being in SG for 3 years and having a blog tag named after the drink, does it seem over-rated ? No.

When I saw "Singapore's finest sling" in the drinks menu, I did not hesitate. I shrugged away, when Dad wisely said that Cucumber and Rum doesn't seem nice together. If they ain't good together, would it be world-famous ? Famous enough for me to be charmed by it, without even seeing it, to name my precious scribblings as Singapore Sling ? But, when I saw the pale frothy drink in a tall glass tumbler, I realized, this is not what I wanted! Sigh!

Expensive Lesson learnt - Singapore sling and Singapore's finest Sling, are totally different!

Anyways, from the 70th floor the view was amazing, sunset was stunning, clings were heard and hearts were content.

When I saw the 'Am impressed' look lingering over my favourite faces, even when the ears popped in the escalator on our way down, I thought - Mission accomplished!

Kite Runners

Flying kite is an image which I always associated with visiting my mum's house during summer vacations. Back then, I ddn't own a kite and I never knew how to make one. So, I just enjoyed clapping and running behind the people who maneuvered the kites.
Manu knows to fly kites and we usually go for kite flying sessions. I did not deviate from my policy - "Do not attempt anything more than my old skills."
This weekend, we went to Marina Barrage with T.J. and my dad. Oh, Teena and Jai are the T.J., so named to respect Teena's extreme knowledge and love for abbreviations.
Thanks to the excellent navigation skills of our shotgun and driver, we reached the destination in just 50 minutes (usual drive time is 20 minutes)

Consequences - sky was getting ready for sunset colors, wind was dying out and the place was crowded enough. Our skillset dramatically shrinked, with a man-down situation. Manu gets easily distracted with the sunset, impending blue hour and his new camera. I know him well enough to walk away when that glazed look comes over his face and he starts talking sentences which have filters, shooting modes and cloud patterns.

Jai has enough knowledge on how to fly kites, from watching movies. Dad has seen the it live in Rajasthan. With the solid theory backing, we started. It was fun, not for us, but for our on-lookers. They circled around us and started giving suggestions on what step to take next. The kite somehow had an affinity to the ground and never wanted to defy gravity. How much ever we ran with the kite and released to the sky and envisioned it to soar high, the kite did not understand the concept. It just insisted on falling nose first to the ground.

Photos (almost always) never lie !

(ഇത് ഇപ്പോ എങ്ങിനെയാ ആകാശത്ത് എത്തിക്കുക? പണ്ടാരം  ! ഞാന്‍ പുലി ആണെന്ന് പറഞും പൊയി ) 

Being an expert, How do I make this thing fly ? 

അവന് അറിഞ്ഞൂടാ , ഞാന്‍  ദിപ്പൊ ശരി ആക്കി തരാം ! 

I will fly this kite in a minute!

Jai decided that the kite ain't good and went to buy another kite. Feel free to imagine my un-surprised face when he came back with cola & chips and a flying rubber band with lights. He named it "Shashi"! (പേര് ശശി)
Dad said that the wind has died and suddenly cultivated an immense interest in functioning of a reservoir and water purification!

Me and Teena decided to learn from scratch. In practical terms, it means to watch how others are launching the kites & duplicate it. Close inspection revealed that our experts had assembled the kite wrongly! So, we re-assembled it and started running around. The draft was stronger now and the kite started soaring high :) We got too excited and forgot to thread it. It came back at double speed! Once we had mastered the technique we were ok to fly it again.

Workers Me & Teena with Senior PM

After a while we noticed that our kite ain't flying higher even though when we were threading it quite generously. We tried to bring back the thread and realized that our kite was in a love triangle - A Donald duck kite and another rainbow beauty. How much ever I hate to interfere in an entangled relationship, this was a must do. We rescued the kites and relocated to another space in the park. When the sky was getting darker, we gave up the air space to kites with lights and retired to enjoy the beautiful skyline and the light show at the Super tree groves in Gardens by the Bay(Google for 'Garden Rhapsody' until I write about it one day and link it here).

It was a great evening peeps. We should do this more often with more kites and friends. Hereby, I officially declare Marina Barrage to enlisted be in my "Fave Five Spots in Singapore" list.

Note :
How to reach Marina Barrage, if you are taking public transport - Board the North South(Red) Line, go to Marina Bay and take Exit A. You will see MBS on the left side. Don't get distracted. Walk straight to the bus stop and board SBS 400.You will see the Barrage right after the Gardens by the Bay.

Singapore - Butterfly park for free

The butterfly park next to Alexandra hort park has free entrance for public on. last Saturday, every month.
Guess it will crowded .. but do plan to visit if u r free.
The whole park and the trails are quite beautiful.

See the hard work !

He was "shooting" them, until I accidentally scared them away!

For better pictures, visit this photo stream later ..
PS : He did get breathtaking pictures !
Njoy !