Places that you could visit for free in Singapore

  

photo credit: en.wikipedia.org

Singapore is an amazing place to be at and when we visit this place, this beautiful cluster of islands, has a lot to offer for free, so don’t miss these places as they are  awesome.......

photo credit: en.wikipedia.org 

Merlion – At Merlion you could take a walk through the Marina Bay Sands, enjoy the view of the Iconic statue of Lion-Fish. Merlion denotes Mer-Sea and lion, also don’t miss the Firework Display at the Night.

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 Tree Top Walk - Nature lovers would definitely must take a walk at this bridge, to immerse themselves into nature and to gasp a fresh breathe of air.

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Sentosa Beach – At this Sentosa Island Only Universal Studios, Aquarium and Museum is located but you need to pay the entrance fees to get in, but you can visit the Casino at Sentosa, where the entry is free for foreigners, also you would you will be provided with free refreshments like tea, coffee and juice. Do visit this place and take a look at the Casino.

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Botanical Garden – Nature lovers will love this place and this place is so relaxing as you walk in, this garden is well planned with rich fauna that are so colorful and dense, which really makes us feel that we are lost in this beautiful place. The interesting part is it has a beautiful pond with beautiful water lilies, which is maintained so well. The plants on both sides of the passage look so beautiful.

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Buddha Tooth Relic Temple - This is a really large temple with four floors. The Buddha tooth, which is preserved at this temple, makes it so special, there is a dress code to visit this temple, as we should not wear short dresses. As you enter at the entrance they will provide incense sticks, which you have to lit and place it with you wish. And there is a spherical ball, on which you should place your hands and pray for your wish and the belief here is that it will be fulfilled.

photo credit: en.wikipedia.org

Chinese Garden -  This garden was built by the famous Taiwan Architect Yuen-Chen Yu, who recreated the Sung Dynasty of Northern China. As you enter this place you could witness the iconic Chinese Pagoda, Stone boats ponds and the pair of majestic Lion statues guarding the entrance and many varieties of Bonsai trees, plants and this place is easily accessible through MRT as a dedicated stopping is available for this Chinese Garden.

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Japanese Garden – This garden is operational between 6 am -10 pm and you could take a long walk across the garden, gasp for some fresh breath and enjoy the beautiful scenic Japanese garden.

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Gardens By The Bay - You could enjoy a relaxing view of Flower Dome and cloud forest. As you walk around the flower dome you could enjoy the light effects and if you are there at this point around 7:30 in the evening, which will be an eye treat and so colourful. So spend some time and enjoy the moments.

Top 10 Pavilions to Visit in expo 2020

 1.UAE PAVILION

 The Pavilion is shaped like a falcon in flight and features 28 wings which open to reveal solar panels. It is a four story building, which spreads across 15000sqmt.To avoid more waiting period you should visit early as this pavilion is one of the most crowded pavilion. As you get inside the pavilion it immerses us in the history of this nation as you could literally witness, touch and feel the real sand in a triangular shape on which the projections are made about the history and evolution of Uae in 50years and followed by which as you enter the main zone the flooring is done with interactive motion sensors which showcases a colorful display based on your movements, symbolizing  the unity is the strength and you can see the royal families of Uae on a photographic projections and finally you can witness a short animated video about the evolution of Uae from a humble start, don't miss to visit this pavilion.

2.SINGAPORE PAVILION

This pavilion is such a bliss for our eyes as it is green and people love to be around nature, then it's a must visit place as this pavilion is Nature Themed, Nurture and 

Future. Singapore Pavilion showcases Singapore’s urban 

innovations. Then Iconic pavilion brought a real rainforest 

kind of set up inside their pavilion, sounds interesting isn't 

it. Let's dive in. As we get inside this pavilion you could get to 

see greenery all around you and followed by which we could 

get inside the city cone and understand various human 

factors that cause climate change, triggers global warming 

and how to counter this and followed by that you can 

witness an immersive 3-Dimensional city in a garden, a green 

space flanked by forest trees. Vertical gardens inside this 

pavilion are really a bliss for our eyes and also decorate the 

walls everywhere inside this pavilion, which binds closely 

and makes us feel like we are lost inside a rainforest, which 

you could enjoy watching by 

climbing the spherical stairs inside. As you reach the center 

nodal point of the rainforest cone, you could see the beauty 

from the top, which was inspired by the Dipterocap Tree, 

one of the largest tree varieties of the South East 

Asia. Followed by which we could reach a dark room, where 

you see many varieties of fauna, which bloom in Exuberance 

and you could also get to learn from the laboratory.

3.SAUDI ARABIA PAVILION

The pavilion offers an open invitation to the world to explore the country through four core pillars: people, heritage, nature and opportunity. you will be able to experience its hospitality and learn about its authentic culture, heritage, diversity and promising investment opportunities. The exterior holds the world record for the largest interactive display which displays the kingdom's culture

As you enter you are greeted by a vertical fountain, followed by a large display portraying different landscapes of the country. while on your way to the first floor you can see the history of Saudi Arabia in the form of near-life size 3D models. On the first floor you can see a hemispherical display and curved displays on the wall. The displays show various

 iconic places of the country, supporting tourism. while on

 your way down you can see a vision of what the country

 might be in the future. finally you can see a globe shaped 

display interactive floors featuring the creativity of the 

country.

4 .BRAZIL PAVILION

 As you enter this pavilion you could witness a small shop

 with a cafeteria, followed by which you witness the

 important cities of brazil that are showcased and also

 arrangements were made to sit and relax at this pavilion.

 Kids love this pavilion as this place filled with water and

 artificial waves are created to give you a feel of a beach, you

 could also enjoy lying over the hammock and enjoy the

 atmosphere.

You are able to witness man-made waterfalls and you are allowed to indulge yourself and enjoy your time at this waterfall.

If you go up to the first floor you could witness many handmade products and you could also witness many paintings, promoting Brazilian tourism. Best time to visit this place is at night as you see the waterfalls at night is an eye treat and also many wall projections.

 

5.AL WASL PLAZA

It is called as the heart of the Dubai Expo 2020, and as the Arabic name of Al Wasl suggest it the connection point of all the three main zones namely, opportunity, sustainability and mobility and the main specialty of this pavilion is the 360^o LED projection surface over which mesmerizing beams will be projected on the translucent Dome with the help of 200 + projectors, which is the world’s largest Dome. So sit back, and enjoy the enthralling show for at least 15 minutes, which is so relaxing on seeing the color's and the music that was played.

6.JAPAN PAVILION

The duration of touring at this pavilion will take you around 60 minutes, as you enter this pavilion you will be provided with an earphone followed by mobile phone and you will be instructed on how to use the mobile phone and you had to enter few basic information like you name and place of origin etc. for setting up the phone, followed by which you will be let inside the pavilion in 10 minutes. As you enter the first section it will be dark, misty and also you could experience a string like projections with different places around Japan, also you could see many projections depicting the cultural heritage, history and people of Japan around the dark misty zones.

Next zone you can see special art form where the convert the real life subjects into miniatures showcasing sustainability and many other minutes that are based on

Section 3 has a projection on which you could see a lot of information about the atmosphere and followed by a small dance session to nature the sense of integration towards sustainable goal.

 

7.NETHERLAND PAVILION

You will be provided with an Umbrella at the entrance. As you

 get inside the Netherland pavilion you could see a dome 

shaped roofing and you will be instructed to open the 

umbrella and the interesting part of this pavilion is that the 

projections are made on the umbrella and the background 

music with a mesmerizing and colorful show and must visit 

the pavilion.

 

8.GERMAN PAVILION

If you want to get a back a classroom set, do visit German Pavilion as you get to the entrance and once the enrollment is done you will be provided with id card and followed by which you will be sent to a classroom set up and there will be an induction session, where you would get to know about “Anthropocene”, which is a geological approach which says past is the key to the future and also signifies positive impact created by human on climate and environment and also you could get to know possible ways through which we can attain positive global development.

Ball Pit

 Next we get to witness 100000 balls here and each ball tells us a new story, so 100000 balls has 100000 different stories were you need to pick one and place in a scanner to witness a short story on

 

Energy Lab

Here you could take part in an interactive session through the display boards and get to know many interesting facts about clean and sustainable energy. You can also be an energy manager and learn many interesting things through many interactive sessions and enjoy some games either.

 

Future City Lab

This place is one of the best places to be, where we could get to know how the future of the cities will be and the technological advancements across different fields. Here you could also get to see a magnet based elevator which could travel both horizontally and vertically, sounds interesting isn’t it….

 

Biodiversity Lab

This place gives us an experience and also we could learn the importance of flora and fauna towards maintaining the balance of our ecosystem.

Graduation Hall

Finally, to the graduation hall, where we had to take part in the swinging ceremony on an amazing swing with an awesome swing with a perfect lit ambiance, and the interesting thing is all had to swing in the same direction, which symbolizes unity for a better future. Which makes us feel a sense of achievement.

9.RUSSIA PAVILION

The pavilion is themed Creative Mind: Driving the future. It is one of the biggest pavilions in the expo 2020. The pavilion’s exterior is one of the most stunning places to visit at the expo 2020, which is designed on the motto to express different ideas to lead the future. The exterior of this pavilion is so colorful and the inside of the pavilion is as spectacular as the outside with the concept of the famous Russian Matryoshka stacked wood dolls and further this pavilion focused on the theme creative mind -Driving the future and conceptualized about human brain and the objectives that we should focus in creating better world for which the human brain and our thought process becomes fundamental and best visual in the world where used to demonstrate an experience of the future and LED motion sensing floor panels are used  which changes based on the movement. Finally we were able to witness the most amazing invention, that is a monitoring and control system that offers a safe driving through our eye movements and facial expressions, sounds interesting isn't it, with the most advanced technologies and inventions that Russia had come out with.

10.SWITZERLAND PAVILION

Every explorer would definitely love to visit Switzerland, because of its rich natural habitat, so as everybody does even I was excited to explore Switzerland Pavilion. You will be welcomed with a red carpet and at the entrance you will be provided a bright red umbrella and as you walk in you could see a duo of red and giant mirror exterior, as you get closer to the pavilion you can see a reflection of yourself on this giant mirror, which is majestic and eye-catching, so don’t miss to take a selfie. As you get inside this pavilion, you need to walk through a tunnel kind of a structure to dive into the Swiss hiking, so here we could get to surrounded by a fog and enjoy being at the top of a Swiss mountains and followed by which you take a look at the Alps and next is the summit were you could get to know about the latest technology for vertically travel by Schindler’s Electric Elevators on a pleasant blue light ambiance. Followed by which you see some of the exhibits like Satellite pictures of Dubai by the University of Zurich, captured by the state of art remote sensing Laboratories, Barn owl etc. Next you could get to learn about the advancements of Switzerland’s healthcare sector from the digital presentations and finally reached the chocolate zone, where we could see the display of the largest collections of chocolate and you can also purchase what you like and enjoy the world’s best chocolates.

Top 10 things to do at Dubai Expo 2020

 Top 10 things to do at Dubai Expo 2020

Despite the delay at the start of the Dubai Expo 2020, it was recently inaugurated in a grandeur way, just for the inauguration ceremony fireworks of about RS.50lakhs was spent . Expo 2020 occupies around 60 football grounds, which is massive. Below I Have mentioned top thing to do at Dubai Expo 

Ball Pit at Germany Pavilion

The Swing at Germany.

House of Mirrors at Mexico

Slide at Luxenberg

Waterfall at Night

Circus Game at Terra

Expo Explorer train

The Lagoon at Brazil

Waterfall at Day

Budget Trip to Dubai

Dubai is a dream destination for many not just for Indians, but even for the people across the world and it is the 4th most visited country in the world. 

 Dubai is an important city among the 7 cities United Arab Emirates namely Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah, Sharjah, Dubai and Umm Al Quwain. As we know Islam is the official religion and Arabic being the local language. But still you can find people talking Tamil, Hindi and Malayalam as the country is more populated with Indians.

I recently visited my dream destination Dubai and stayed for about 14 days. So in this article, I am going to share my personal experience and I believe that it would help people, who are planning for a short budget trip to Dubai. I started my trip from Chennai International Airport, I booked my return tickets to Dubai in last minute, hence it took me around INR 38000. When planning a trip to Dubai, if the tickets are booked 3months prior, you can even get return tickets(India/Dubai) for just around INR 16000 with Emirates, the best premium Air carrier to Dubai,which will save a major portion of your budget.

Emirates also offers free wheelchair service for senior citizens, so an executive will accompany once checking is done until we board the flight. So if you are taking senior citizen along with opt for this service, while booking tickets or request them during check-in at the airport. Food offered during the flight was exceptionally good. As I landed at the Dubai International Airport, I was able to witness the amazing view of Dubai’s busiest airport, it was flooded with Airbus A380’s and flights continuously departing and arriving every 10 minutes. Despite the Covid protocols, the airport’s hospitality and the arrangements for covid test at the venue was properly organized and it was hassle free and they instructed us to home quarantine for 24 hrs by then, we would receive our test reports.

Budget friendly places to visit in Dubai

Day-1

As you are out of the airport, you can use the metro(you require a NOL Card, which can be obtained from the nearest metro or bus station) or plenty of taxis and luxury cars are available, I hired a Benz car and moved to my accommodation as I have my relatives, So I got my accommodation there, which is located at AL-Nadha its basically located between the border of Dubai and Sharjah. Sharjah was just at a walkable distance. Many cheap accommodations are available in Dubai. I advise you to opt for an accommodation near metro station. So that you can easily access metro and bus commutating, the public transport charge ranges from 3-5 AED, which I felt reasonable for an Air-conditioned transport, even the metro and bus stations are completely air-conditioned. In areas like Burjman and ADCB you can find cheap accommodation in Dubai. You can also get cheap bed spaces in Dubai

You can start from your accommodation around 10am in the morning and get to the nearest metro station and take a train to reach union station and from there you can reach Gold Souq in 10 minutes by walk, it’s a must visit place,

where you can witness a large collection of gold jewellery and next you could visit Meena Bazaar in old Dubai and do some shopping, to visit this place you had to take a Abra(a small boat) which just costs you 3 AED and next you can visit the museum and get to know the cultural and historic heritage of the emirates, followed by which in the evening you could again get to the Union metro station to reach ADCB station and involve yourself on some pocket friendly shopping like chocolates and then move to Electronic Bazaar, if you like to do electronic shopping and late in the evening you could again get back to Gold Souq and experience the open boat dinner buffet(optional if your dinner permits) then return to the accommodation.

Day -2

You could visit the below mentioned place, which are easily accessible through metro.

 

Dubai Frame

The Dubai Frame stands at an height of 150 meters. Inside you can see the pictures of Dubai’s cultural heritage and its transformation over the years and it has a sky deck, where you can enjoy the amazing panoramic view of the old and new Dubai and at night it offers an eye treat by changing colours.

Reach the Nearest station ADCB Metro station and from there it’s walkable or you can hire a taxi, entrance fee is around AED 50 for adults, AED 20 for children from 3-12 years and the most interesting thing for senior citizens and for people accompanying them up to 2 years the entry fee is free.

Dubai Marina

It’s a lovely 8km stretch with lovely beach, luxury hotels and plenty of shopping malls, entertainment and looks beautiful in night. Marina beach is an amazing beach and one of the most visited beaches in Dubai, which is clean and makes you come here during the day time to take a sunbath and to gasp for some fresh air.

Desert Safari

Desert safari is another important and must do thing in Dubai and its budget friendly either, it’s a one-day safari, where you will be picked and dropped at your location itself and the package includes, free drinks, jeep desert safari, lunch and unlimited buffet. This package would generally come around AED 45.
 

Jumeriah Mosque

Jumeriah mosque is open to muslim and Non-Muslims as well, this mosque was influenced by the Fatimid style construction, which orginagted from Syia and Egypt. It is one of the best mosques in Dubai and a must visit place in Dubai.

Finally, when it comes to the budget part I have mentioned few things to consider and it will be purely based on you as I had almost mentioned the cost involved and made some breakdown. The visa would take around 4000rs, local transportations will take around 2000rs, food and accommodation would take around INR10000, covid testing INR8000 +(India and at Dubai and same while returning) and other activities will averagely take INR5000, considering this it would take INR50000. To make value for our time and money, less than that will not be advisable.

 

Meghamalai - The beautiful terrains of Western Ghats.

Meghamalai is also called as Highwavy Moutain, Which spreads across, the beautiful Western Ghats. This region is less explored and people are less aware about the hidden beauty of Meghmalai as the roads were not properly connected and the wildlife at this venue is still restored, so maneuvering our vehicles on this road makes the trip more interesting and adventurous, but recently, I happened to know that the road laying work is under progress, So you don't need to worry about the road in sometime.

Beauty at its Best.....

Meghamalai lies on the districts of Theni and exactly situated at an elevated height of about 1500 feet from the mean sea level, as you reach this place you can see a resplendent greeny layers, surrounded by a high volt mist and the temperature that is dropping around the valley,which could activate you dopamine, such wonderful treat for your Aura as well.

This region's diversity in-terms of its wildlife and tropical plantations like spices, coffee and tea plantations are balanced in such a way that wildlife is not affected by these plantations. As the people living at Meghamalai share the space without disturbing the wildlife. So definitely this place is rarest of its kind as such diversities, where the wildlife and social life are balanced and preserved.

Best time to reach : Will be during winter season that is from November to May.

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Places to watch out :

Highwavy Dam and Lake :

A long Shot of the Lake.....

This dam offers a good view, if you visit this place during the winter season, as this dam and its lake, are surrounded by beautiful tea estates and the feathery touch by the mist, really makes us feel that we are happily lost.

Manalar Dam :

This is another dam, which is really waiting for you to impress, as the layout of this dam, really looks amazing and a best place for photography.

Upper Manalar Estates :

Lush green Tea Estates...

The estates around the upper crust near the Manalar dam is extensively covered by lush green tea estates and the mist that surpasses further adds with the temperature dipping down.

 Vattaparrai :

Vattaparrai is a view point wherein you could take a deep breathe of some fresh air, and the view is amazing as you could see beautiful tea estates around you.

Maharaja Mettu :

This is a view point wherein you could see many rare varieties of birds and yet again the temperature that prevails around this zone.

Trekking at Meghamalai :

A Misty Road....

Meghamalai is one of the best place in south Indian that offer a perfect trekking experience as this place has a plenty of trekking venues depending up on the skill set you can chose your trekking spot. Places like Pothai Pull Medu, Elephant Corridors are some of venues, where you could have a greeting experiences and even you could have a sight on many wild species like monster squirrels, elephants and many more.

Misty Evening.....

How to Reach Meghamalai :

By Train : The nearest station is Dindugal. As you reach Dindugal, there are plenty of state transport buses are available. So grab a seat for you and get down in Chinnamanur and from there you gotta to hire a Jeep or a cab. 

By Bus : You could directly reach Chinnamanur and there by from there you could hire a jeep.

By flight : The nearest airport is Madurai from there you have to either reach Chinamanur by bus and from there you have to hire a cab.

So overall, Meghamalai is a best place for nature lovers, and for weekend trekkers and people who want to low there stress level should visit Meghamalai, as this destination can really make you feel happy with its climate and scenic beauties of Meghamalai.

A weekend trip to Yercaud...........

Welcome to Exploring Indian Terrains.....

Yercaud is a beautiful hill station, which spreads across, the eastern ghats. Located exactly at Salem district. Yercaud is always a best choice for your weekend getaways, as this place offer you with many scenic views and a pleasant temperature, which could act as your high octane stress buster.

On the way to Yercuad, you gotta face 20 beautiful hair-pin bends, the place is located near Salem, approximately around 22kms from Salem at 4970ft from the sea level. This place is also said to be the birth place of coffee plantation in India, as this region is highly fertile and has a good climatic conditions that suits orange plantations as well.

Swimming Pool @ TGI Resort....

Lesiure Time .....

All-set to stay warm....

I stayed at TGI resorts, they offered individual suit villas with a highly class service, this property is close to the yercaud boat house, this property is amazing, you facilities like swimming pool, badminton Court and a small park,they also arrange campfire on request. 

A view outside my Balcony.....

As summer is approaching, this destination could help you, to beat the heat on weekends. ,Many trekking organizers, offer regular trekking programs, as people who are interested on adventure activities,can make the thrill out of it and for the nature lovers, of-course Yercaud has plenty of options to offer, which I have explained clearly below.

Places to watch out :

Pagoda Point :

Its a view point, where in you could able see places down the hill, reach thue place between 4-6 pm, to have a better experience as the temperature that prevails at this point could really offer you a great experience.

Yercaud Boating :

Boating at Yercaud.....

At Yercaud, you will be offered pedaling boats, on which you could take a look around the blissful atmosphere and enjoy the breeze around you.

Gents seat,Ladies Seat and children's seat :

As this name seems interesting, similarly the place do.Ladies, gents and children's seats are basically a cluster of natural rock formation, which overlays between the route that connects the Yercaud and Salem at this location you could take a look at the Mettur dam with the telescope.

Kiliyur Falls :

Vistiors who are interested on trekking can try the new trekking route, through which you will be directed by the lane and it takes about 2 Kms to reach this amazing Kiliyur Water falls, which is about 300 Ft, and on the way towards the falls, you could experience many scenic beauties and drop in temperature towards the route.

Kottachedu Teak Forest :

If you wanna get the best in class exploration, I would definitely suggest you to go by bike, as a part of this region is covered with Teak Plantation and the other side covered with wild Bamboo and in between their is a river that flows across this place and joins Vaniar dam, which offers a splendid treat for your eyes.

Heavens Ledge :

This is an amazing view point, that lies on the west facing cliff of Yercaud, which offers a campsite with lush green coffee plantations, you could also engage yourself on trekking as well.

Best Time to Reach : 

October to June.

Workable Budget : 

For a weekend stay : Approximately 4000 INR/per.

Room Rental - 1700-2000 INR/per

Food - 700 INR/per

For transport and others - 1200- 1300 INR/ per